Top articles of May 2014

The longitude prize, banned pesticides, record carbon dioxide levels and melting ice in the East Antarctic all make it into the top articles of May 2014, highlighting the range of challenges sustainability faces. Blue & Green Tomorrow’s first Guide to Sustainable Democracy also proved popular.

Longitude Prize revived to offer £10m to solve greatest scientific challenges

Tom Revell: A 300-year-old competition that offered a cash reward to the innovator that solved the toughest scientific challenge of the day has been revived, now offering £10m for a solution to one of today’s biggest health or climate problems. Read more.

Banned pesticides highly likely to cause bee colony collapse, says Harvard study

Ilaria Bertini: The widely used neonicotinoid pesticides, three of which are currently banned in the EU, are a crucial factor in the collapse of US bee colonies, according to a new study led by the Harvard School of Public Health. Read more.

April carbon dioxide levels above landmark 400ppm threshold for entire month

Tom Revell: For the first time in at least 800,000 years, the average level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere exceeded 400 parts per million (ppm) for a full month in April. Read more.

East Antarctic more vulnerable to devastating melt than first feared

Tom Revell: A part of remote East Antarctica, previously thought to be largely immune to warming, may be susceptible to climate change with a potentially devastating impact on global sea levels, a new study has revealed. Read more.

The Guide to Sustainable Democracy 2014

Alex Blackburne: How do we make democracy sustainable? That’s a question we set out to answer in The Guide to Sustainable Democracy 2014, which is published exactly a year to the day until the 2015 general election takes place. Read more.

Photo: James Patrick Casey via Flickr