The oceans are the cradle of life and the most biodiverse habitat on our planet. Around 23,000 species are known, but scientists estimate that as many as 10 million species could live in the oceans! (In comparison, around 1.4 million species live on land.) Although the Earth is a “water planet”, the depths of the […] Read on...

World No Tobacco Day, proclaimed by the WHO, takes place on May 31st. Before we deal with partly alarming, partly delightful facts about this, we would like to broaden the focus and look at breathing. As with the heartbeat, the special thing about breathing is that, seen from the outside, it simply “does”, the heart […] Read on...

In the mid 19th century, many farmers in the centrally located states of the USA were struggling with erosion. To counteract the loss of fertile soil due to storms, wind and water, they planted trees. The politician and farmer Julius Sterling Morton was consequently one of the first to reforest his property. After only a […] Read on...

This planet Earth is “custom made” for us humans; it offers everything we need for our survival and our wellbeing. At least, this is the case for what nature provides for us, for it is especially civilisation – cities, traffic, industry and so on – that causes problems for us, for example in the form […] Read on...

Nearly 85% of New Zealanders are smoke-free. But New Zealand is aiming even higher: The New Zealand Government has set the goal that by 2025 fewer than 5% of New Zealanders will be smokers. To this end, on 9th December 2022, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall launched a new legislation, Auahi Kore Aotearoa […] Read on...