Paul Behrens

Jan 22, 2025 | theconversation.com | Paul Behrens |Nathalie Pettorelli

As climate and biodiversity scientists, we spend most of our lives trying to understand how our planet works and how best to address the environmental challenges of our times. Yet, for the past three years, many scientists around the UK, including the two of us, have been working on legislation and engaging with parliamentarians. We believe that many of the fundamental flaws in the way we tackle the current environmental crisis is due to missing pieces in national policies and laws.

Nov 27, 2024 | oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk | Paul Behrens

A limited 20% reduction in sugar is estimated to save US$10.3 billion (£8.1 billion) of health costs in the US alone. Yet, sugar’s impacts go far beyond just health and money. There are also many environmental problems from growing the sugar, like habitat and biodiversity loss and water pollution from fertilisers and mills. But overall, sugar hasn’t received a lot of attention from the scientific community despite being the largest cultivated crop by mass on the planet.

Nov 22, 2024 | sciencealert.com | Paul Behrens

Sugar addiction is on the rise. Globally, sugar intake has quadrupled over the last 60 years, and it now makes up around 8 percent of all our calories. This sounds like sugar's keeping us fed, but added sugars are actually empty calories – they are bereft of any nutrients like vitamins or fibres. The result is massive health costs, with sugars linked to obesity around the world. Some estimates suggest that half the global population could be obese by 2035.

Jun 30, 2024 | msn.com | Paul Behrens

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Jun 30, 2024 | metro.co.uk | Paul Behrens

It's no secret that LGBTQ+ history can be grim. Discrimination has been a fact for centuries; in some countries, it is still a reality. But when you look at the development of LGBTQ+ rights in more detail, you also come across some stories that stand out: little nuggets that shine a light in the darkness. This is what I discovered when I was setting up a Masters course on LGBTQ+ rights at Edinburgh University.