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Biodiversity

12 Climate Change Books You Need To Read This Fall

9 Mins Read After the daunting heatwaves and storms of this summer, our cheery visions of the season seem at odds with our climate-changed reality. By Michael Svoboda, Yale Climate Connections This story was originally published by Yale Climate Connections. Officially, the end of summer is marked by the autumnal equinox on September 23. Unofficially, summer ends some weeks […]

Hong Kong High School Student Creates Board Game to Highlight City’s Beach Pollution

5 Mins Read A high-school student has developed Beach Board Hong Kong, a Monopoly-style game that sheds light on the environmental issues faced by the island’s beaches. Featuring damning pollution facts, action prompts to tackle these challenges, it’s an innovative tool to help educate local schoolchildren about beach pollution, with all proceeds donated to charity. Last year, Carmel […]

The EPA Rejected Calls for Tougher Water Pollution Regulations at US Factory Farms – Now, It’s Being Sued

5 Mins Read Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a 2017 petition calling for stricter water pollution regulations for factory farms. The agency formed a research committee to recommend solutions in a process that could last over a year and is now being sued for its decision. The petition urged the government to introduce tougher regulations […]

Advocacy Group Calls for Adding ‘Zero Animal Exploitation’ as 18th UN SDG

5 Mins Read Animal advocacy group Beyond Cruelty Foundation (BCF) is calling for the addition of SDG18 – Zero Animal Exploitation to the UN’s list of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The organisation argues that none of the current 17 targets is achievable without this animal welfare goal, and has had discussions with UN representatives across various departments. The […]

These Four Nature-Based Solutions Can Help Solve Biodiversity & Climate

5 Mins Read By Pete Smith, Professor of Soils and Global Change, University of Aberdeen; Camille Parmesan, Professor of Climate Change Impacts, CNRS, University of Texas, University of Plymouth; Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science, UCL A landmark report by the world’s most senior climate and biodiversity scientists argues that the world will have to tackle the climate crisis and the species extinction […]

Saltyco’s BioPuff: the Plant-Based Material Revolutionising the Puffer Jacket

4 Mins Read UK startup Saltyco has developed a BioPuff, a new bulrush-based fill material for puffer jackets that has a feather-like structure. A sustainable alternative to animal- and petroleum-based materials like duck or goose fibres and polyester or nylon, it’s designed to provide warm, lightweight and water-resistant insulation. A winner of the H&M Foundation‘s Global Change Award […]

What Is Sustainability? And Why Does It Matter?

4 Mins Read Meaningless buzzword or key survival concept? “Sustainability” is more important than ever before – but what does it even mean? Today, googling “sustainability” turns up over 1.65 billion results. We have become so obsessed with this concept that “sustainability” has quickly become a trendy, meaningless buzzword: businesses love to advertise their sustainable practices, while climate […]

Restoring These 9 Wild Animals Population Could Sequester Enough CO2 To Meet The Paris Goals

5 Mins Read Gray wolves, elephants, wildebeests, and sea otters are a few of the species that can help keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C. By Gabriela Aoun Angueira As the world increasingly turns toward natural climate solutions like reforestation and grassland restoration to sequester carbon, it may be overlooking a crucial ally: animals.  Protecting existing populations […]

Octopus Farms Raise Massive Ethical And Evironmental Concerns

5 Mins Read By Alexandra Schnell, University of Cambridge, Heather Browning, London School of Economics and Political Science, Jonathan Birch, London School of Economics and Political Science When you imagine an octopus’s world, you might well see a curious creature in a complex undersea environment.  Yet the reality of life for some octopuses is existence within a barren tank, inescapably surrounded by humans and other […]

10 Things You Need To Know About The 2023 IPCC Climate Report

7 Mins Read The latest IPCC report is out and the findings are distressing and we highlight the ten most important ones you need to know. It’s been a big week for the climate emergency. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN-founded body charged with “advancing scientific knowledge about anthropogenic climate change” released its latest report […]

An Open Letter To The WSJ: Indonesia’s Deforestation Policies Are Far From A Model Of Success

4 Mins Read While it’s true that forest destruction in Indonesia is at its lowest pace in twenty years, deforestation policies in Indonesia are anything but a model of success. I wrote this response to the Wall Street Journal article, “Indonesia Shows It’s Possible to Tame Rainforest Destruction.” With all due respect to Jon Emont and The Wall Street Journal, while […]

Regenerative Agriculture Needs A Standardized Definition, Says New Report

3 Mins Read A new report says that an inconsistent understanding of what regenerative agriculture entails and what it can achieve means an outcome-based framework for measuring and assessing regenerative agricultural practices is needed. The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), a non-profit organization that describes itself as a coalition of ambassadors, donors, country platforms, and partners working […]

The E.U. Bans Imports on Products Linked to Deforestation

4 Mins Read Earlier this month, the European Union announced a new law that will prevent the sale of products including beef, soy, and coffee linked to deforestation. Under the new law, companies selling commodity items from regions where deforestation is rampant will be required to produce due diligence statements about their supply chains. Failure to comply will […]

Can These 6 Marine Tech Startups Help Solve The Many Issues Facing Our Oceans?

4 Mins Read Some of the most exciting young “ocean innovators” accepted into UpLink, the open digital platform launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF), are working toward sustainable progress in ocean conservation.  Life below water is a vital planetary resource that we depend on for everything from absorbing nearly a third of carbon dioxide produced by humans, […]

Agriculture Is Responsible for Nearly All Tropical Deforestation, New Study Finds

4 Mins Read New research finds between 90 to 99 percent of all tropical deforestation is related to agriculture, either directly or indirectly. The new research, published in the journal Science found only half to two-thirds of deforested land for agricultural purposes actually winds up seeing active agriculture. Much of the land lies razed and unused. The study […]