Ecology
Mangrove Conservation More Valuable Than Ever Thanks to Carbon Trading
When a proven ecosystem restoration method also helps reduce poverty and build economic resilience, governments will often back them as a win-win solution. The UN Environment Programme, the Kenya Forest Service, the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute and partners…
June 2019 Was Hottest on Record for the Globe
Mother Earth worked up a major sweat last month. Scorching temperatures made June 2019 the hottest June on record for the globe. And for the second month in a row, warmth brought Antarctic sea-ice coverage to a new low for…
World Hunger Is Still Not Going Down and Obesity Is Still Growing
An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous year, which is the third year of increase in a row. This underscores the immense challenge of achieving the Sustainable…
Your Next Pair of Sneakers Could Be Made from Coffee
Coffee is a big deal. While just a handful of countries dominate production, it’s consumed in vast amounts almost everywhere on the planet: around 2 billion cups are drunk every day. All that coffee produces a lot of waste. Coffee…
Supermarkets in Asia Are Now Using Banana Leaves Instead of Plastic Packaging
Supermarkets in Vietnam have adopted an initiative from Thailand that makes use of banana leaves instead of plastic as a packaging alternative. Supermarket in Chiangmai, Thailand earned praise on Facebook for coming up with the eco-friendly packaging after a local…
Breaching a “Carbon Threshold” Could Lead to Mass Extinction
Carbon dioxide emissions may trigger a reflex in the carbon cycle, with devastating consequences, study finds. In the brain, when neurons fire off electrical signals to their neighbors, this happens through an “all-or-none” response. The signal only happens once conditions…
Massive Reforestation Is Key to Averting a Climate Catastrophe
Restoring the world’s forests on an unprecedented scale is “the best climate change solution available”, according to a new study. The researchers claim that covering 900m hectares of land – roughly the size of the continental US – with trees…