Coral reefs have always lived near the edge. Now, thanks to global warming, life there is five times more precarious.
Forty years ago, the world’s coral reefs faced a known risk: every 25 or 30 years, ocean temperatures would rise to intolerable levels.
Corals would minimise the risk of death by everting the algae with which they lived in symbiotic partnership: that is, the reef animals would avoid death by getting rid of the algae, deliberately weakening themselves.
Planting trees as a business venture
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) analyzed over 140 companies that have made landscape restoration and reforestation their core business model. Out of all those companies, 14 who had reached median sales growth of 100 percent in 2017, were showcased in a new report titled The Business of Planting Trees: A Growing Investment Opportunity.
The restoration economy, according to the report, refers to the network of businesses, investors, and consumers that engage in an economic activity related to restoring the land. And while there are no officials records on the size of the restoration economy, yet, it does include a vast array of companies, including early stage, pre-revenue startups to timber funds that manage billions of dollars. Similarly, the goods and services produced by these companies vary widely as well, from biofuels to climate-smart credit systems to green infrastructure.
http://www.wri.org/publication/business-of-planting-trees
Much news about the environment in 2017 focused on controversies over Trumpadministration actions, such as proposals to promote more use of coal and budget cuts at relevant federal agencies. At the same time, however, many scholars across the U.S. are pursuing innovations that could help create a more sustainable world. Here we spotlight five examples from our 2017 archives.
https://www.ecowatch.com/sustainability-innovations-2017-2520468655.html
We have a whole world of plastic that needs to be replaced with other biodegradable materials. We have come to rely on this indestructible modern material for every single facet of daily life.
The food you ate today was probably sold in plastic packaging, the vehicle you transport yourself in has plastic components, be that a car, bus, bike, train, plane, boat, kayak … the computer you are reading this article on, even the charger and the wall socket protector … just look around.
https://www.ecowatch.com/toward-a-plastic-free-future-2519406874.html
Ryan Zinke has recommended three major marine monuments be reduced to allow greater commercial fishing, prompting anguish from environmental groups.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/02/us-ocean-monuments-environment-trump
Many East Coasters will be returning to work today in bitter cold conditions after the second-coldest New Year on record.
The low temperatures over the festive period did not go unnoticed by President Donald Trump who tweeted in late December:
“In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!
The utter ignorance and stupidity underlying this tweet is staggering for someone with so much power. As the New York Times noted in response: “Trump’s tweet made the common mistake of looking at local weather and making broader assumptions about the climate at large.”
The paper added: “To use an analogy Mr. Trump might appreciate, weather is how much money you have in your pocket today, whereas climate is your net worth. A billionaire who has forgotten his wallet one day is not poor, anymore than a poor person who lands a windfall of several hundred dollars is suddenly rich. What matters is what happens over the long term.”
http://priceofoil.org/2018/01/02/as-trumps-climate-denial-continues-experts-take-flight-to-france/
In 2013 the United Nations declared Dec. 5 to be World Soil Day, a recognition of the significance of healthy soil in both improving food security and nutrition, and mitigating the effects of climate change, including drought, flood, soil erosion and sea level rise. This year the U.N. held a conference at its New York headquarters on the theme of “caring for the planet starts from the ground.”
Didi Pershouse, founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine in Thetford and author of The Ecology of Care, and the downloadable PDF which was released online in August, was one of five panelists invited to speak at this year’s conference.
http://www.vnews.com/Soil-expert-Didi-Pershouse-speaks-at-UN-conference-14410464
and
didipershouse.com
A lady walks her dog through a winter forest with the morning light streaming through the trees and illuminating the pine trees behind.
Evidence keeps mounting that, in stressful times, there is much to gain by surrounding yourself with plants and trees.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/new-study-links-living-near-forests-to-healthier-brains-20171130