Fintan McDonnell

Jul 1, 2024 | context.news | Fintan McDonnell

Our data hoarding habit is becoming unmanageable. We’re expected to hit 175 zettabytes of data being stored by next year - that’s 175 trillion gigabytes. This will require a lot more energy- and water-hungry data centres in a rapidly warming climate. But teams of biologists and computer scientists think they have the answer - storing data in DNA, or what some call ‘nature’s storage device.’Software translates binary code into a string of DNA, which is synthesised into a vial of material.

Oct 2, 2023 | context.news | Fintan McDonnell |Nazih Osseiran

On paper, Lebanon’s coastline is public and open to all. In practice, it’s a different story. Activists say up to 80% of the country’s coast is occupied by private businesses that charge for entry, and the remaining 20% is often crowded and full of pollution. So when a fence, then a wall, then a gate began to appear at a popular local beach in Batroun, north of Lebanon, locals decided to act.

Sep 21, 2023 | context.news | Fintan McDonnell |Nazih Osseiran

Despite its snow-covered peaks and abundance of rivers, Lebanon is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. How did this happen - and what happens if Lebanon runs out of water? To answer this question, we travelled to the Bekaa Valley, one of the most water-stressed regions of Lebanon, to discover what life looks like when the water runs dry. Decades of corruption, an economic crisis, mismanagement and climate change have polluted the rivers and crashed their levers of control.

Aug 16, 2023 | context.news | Fintan McDonnell

Traffic roundabouts are common in Europe, Australia, and much of the developed world, but less so in the United States. That’s not good enough for Kevin Beresford, chair of the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society, who says they are safe, cheap to maintain, and can even help save the planet. And the science backs him up. Researchers have found that replacing traffic light intersections with roundabouts can reduce polluting emissions by up to 45%.

Aug 8, 2023 | context.news | Albert Han |Fintan McDonnell

Groceries are getting much more expensive – but one Dutch organisation thinks they should cost even more to account for the environmental and social damage they cause. Neighbourhood store De Aanzet in Amsterdam is the first in the world to implement “true pricing” – a system of extra charges for food products that reflect the negative impacts from their production, from underpaid workers to carbon emissions and land and water use. The lower the “true price” cost, the more sustainable a product is.