Teresa Bergen

While more and more cities plan an end to sales of vehicles powered by fossil fuels and car manufacturers announce goals to go all electric, there’s a major complication. Where will all the metal for EV batteries come from? Some companies are looking toward deep-sea mining, which could have a whole new set of dire consequences. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “These spaces out in […]

When people think of the world’s toughest vehicles, an electric car doesn’t spring to mind. But rugged U.K. adventurer Chris Ramsey is planning to cover 17,000 miles from the South Pole to the magnetic North Pole in electric vehicles. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Ramsey has been planning his upcoming journey for four years. The route will take him across 14 countries and three continents, […]

“Seaspiracy” is trying to save the oceans, and the new Netflix documentary and movement is making strides. Already, it’s convinced Slowood, a grocery store in Hong Kong, to phase out the sale of fish products. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The documentary is produced by Kip Anderson, who also brought the world “Cowspiracy” and “What the Health.” “Seaspiracy” teaches viewers about the global fishing industry’s […]

Earth’s skies have grown increasingly brighter over the years, as humans accelerate their love of electricity. Then came 2020, the year of lockdowns. One welcome side effect has been reduced light pollution. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos A recent U.K. star count organized by a charity called CPRE found that light pollution continues to drop, with a 10% reduction since last year. Between February 6 […]

A leak in a wastewater pond caused a state of emergency in Manatee County, Florida last weekend. More than 300 homes were evacuated in case the reservoir at a former phosphate mine collapsed. If the 400 million-gallon reservoir were to totally collapse, residents could face a 20-foot wall of water in less than an hour’s time. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos To avoid a burst […]

If you’ve always considered the humble radish as a garnish, an afterthought or a minor player in salads, these radish recipes may surprise you. Late winter to spring is the best time for this vegetable. Here are a few things to do with those radishes you might find in your yard, your community supported agriculture box or product section at the grocery store. But first, a […]

On Monday, President Biden announced that he intends for the U.S. electricity sector to be carbon neutral by 2035. His sights are set on lots of wind energy and lots of jobs. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Later this year, the Interior Department intends to begin selling leases for a new wind energy area between the Jersey coast and Long Island. These relatively shallow waters are known […]

When most people swing by the store to pick up a few items, they aren’t aware that they are basically entering a minefield of toxic chemicals. But the fifth annual Who’s Minding the Store? retailer report card reveals which major retailers are safer and which ones should probably be entered only after donning hazmat suits. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Toxic-Free Future is behind the […]

As countries around the world increasingly embrace electric vehicles, charging is top of mind. In Scotland, the island of Yell is powering its EVs with tidal energy. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Nova Innovation has built an underwater network of revolving tidal turbines anchored to the ocean floor. You can’t see them from above, and they’re designed to pose no navigational hazards. One thing is […]

Banks are taking greenwashing to a whole new level. Despite climate-conscious PR, they are still putting their money toward financing fossil fuel projects, according to the new Banking on Climate Chaos report. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos In the last five years, while acceptance of climate change has gone more mainstream, the 60 largest commercial and private investment banks in the world financed the fossil […]

Starting in the years after World War II, Black neighborhoods around the U.S. were destroyed and replaced with highways in the name of urban renewal. But people in Harris County, Texas have had enough. The county is suing the state to stop an I-45 expansion that would displace more than 1,000 households and would mostly affect people of color and low-income residents. Continue reading below Our […]

Prepare for more drought in the West and flooding in the East, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s spring outlook report. Most of the western half of the country is already in moderate to exceptional drought conditions, which, unfortunately, is likely to expand into the most significant spring drought since 2013. The drought could impact about 74 million people. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “The […]

Florida’s warm temperatures and lush flora help new residents thrive — but some of those transplants are eating the very ecosystem that’s sustaining them. And we’re not talking about New Yorkers. No, certain newbies of the herpetological kind have become reptiles non grata, and Florida is saying “no more.” Last month, the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission unanimously decided to ban possession and breeding of […]

Last spring, many environmentalists were cheering about the lockdowns’ side effects, such as reduced air pollution. While cars stayed parked and the air got cleaner for a few months, wildfires negated any lasting improvements. A new report from IQAir breaks down the winners and losers — mostly losers — in the air pollution battle. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “You look at August through December, […]

Gorillas, pangolins and other endangered animals are getting help from a surprising source: small traders who benefited in this year’s famous GameStop event. Many have donated stock market gains to conservation groups. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The biggest winners? Gorillas. In normal times, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund may get 20 new adoption pledges (this is a sponsorship deal — the gorillas do not come to live […]

Tang, memory foam, cordless tools, invisible dental braces — space research is a gift that keeps on giving. Now, the SMART Tire Company has unveiled a new eco-friendly consumer airless bicycle tire derived from space science and technology. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos What’s good enough for rovers on Mars and the moon can certainly handle the roads and bike trails of Earth. The SMART […]

Starting January 1, 2022, the state of Virginia will no longer allow animal testing or the sale of cosmetics tested on animals. Thanks to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam — and other kind and dedicated Virginians — the Virginia Humane Cosmetics Act became law this month. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Senator Jennifer Boysko and Delegate Kaye Kory introduced the bill. Its passage makes Virginia the […]

An Icelandic startup has an intriguing solution to the emissions problem: turn carbon into stone. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos While it sounds like an evil power out of a fairy tale, and maybe there is a little bit of magic to Carbfix’s approach, we’ll assume its proprietary technology is scientific. Here’s how it works. As most of us know, trees and plants bind carbon from the […]

Back in the pre-internet days, if you were cleaning out your cupboards and found five empty jars, a can of beans you were never going to use and some mystery kitchen tools, you’d have to decide whether you were going to add them to the landfill, transport them to a donation site, pawn them off on unsuspecting guests or leave them in the cupboard for another […]

Owls will no longer be forced into show biz in live Harry Potter productions. Thanks to Warner Bros. listening to Tylor Starr, president and co-founder of The Protego Foundation, owls can get back to hunting and leave wizarding to the humans. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “We learn in the Harry Potter series that owls are sensitive and remarkably intelligent birds who should be treated […]

Schoolkids and surfers might think an endless summer sounds too good to be true. But the world may soon be facing six-month summers with staggering consequences. A new study published in Geophysical Research Letters predicts that if emissions continue at their present pace, by 2100 it’s going to be summer for half of every year. These long summers will be filled with heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and […]

Consumers have become accustomed to the idea of planned obsolescence — that the things we buy will deliberately fail sooner rather than later, requiring us to buy more. But the U.K. has announced that it will implement EU rules for increasing the lifespan of certain consumer goods. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The new measures go into effect this summer and apply to appliances like dishwashers, TVs, […]

Thunderstorms, snow, 117°F temperatures and even ash falling from the sky couldn’t keep Edgar McGregor from his mission: cleaning up Eaton Canyon. The 20-year-old man, who self-identifies as autistic, shows how a plan and commitment can turn an ordinary citizen into a climate activist and anti-litter hero. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The plan was simple: pick up litter at one of Los Angeles’ most […]

If you’ve ever stayed in a hospital or visited someone in one around mealtime, you might have wondered if the lukewarm processed food was really going to aid in recovery. At Beirut’s Hayek Hospital, the personnel have given the issue serious thought and decided to become the world’s first vegan hospital. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The switch didn’t happen overnight. For a while, Hayek has given […]

The Peruvian Amazon is the world’s fourth largest tropical rainforest and an important biodiversity hotspot. But as usual, people are putting financial gain over preserving endemic and endangered species. As the price of gold has passed $1,700 an ounce, gold miners have swarmed the Amazon rainforest. Some are poor, desperate to feed and clothe their families. Some are downright greedy. Either way, digging up gold is […]

In California, like other states, officials have come up with a priority list of COVID-19 vaccination recipients: healthcare workers, long-term care residents, elderly people, endangered apes — wait a minute, did the bonobos and orangutans at the San Diego Zoo just jump the line? No, they’re the first great apes to receive an experimental COVID-19 vaccine made specifically for animals. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos […]

Scientists have found three glow-in-the-dark sharks off the coast of New Zealand. The kitefin shark, blackbelly lanternshark and southern lanternshark weren’t unknown to science. However, scientists had never seen them glow until recently. It’s the first time this phenomenon has been observed in larger sharks. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Researchers found the glowing sharks at the Chatham Rise, a 1,000-meter deep area of ocean […]

As climate change worsens, spring temperatures come earlier in the year, cueing tree swallows to build their nests sooner. This leaves baby swallows vulnerable as the inevitable cold snap happens. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “It’s getting warmer overall. They’re thinking, OK, it’s a good time to breed, to lay my eggs,” said Lily Twining of the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany. […]

This was a big week for Volvo, which made two bold and forward-looking announcements and debuted the C40 Recharge. The Swedish automaker, which is owned by the Chinese conglomerate Geely, will only sell electric cars by 2030. It’s also closing all show rooms and only selling cars online. The company will be phasing out leather interiors as well to meet its sustainability goals. Continue reading below […]

One of the world’s biggest ammonia producers in the world is preparing to ramp up its so-called “green ammonia” production. By using hydropower with its existing ammonia plant, Norway’s Yara is about to manufacture green ammonia commercially. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Last week, Yara announced its partnership with Aker Horizons and the Norwegian utility company Statkraft for producing green hydrogen at its plant in […]

Manatee mortality in Florida has shot up this year, with 358 recorded deaths in January and February. Last year, the first two months had a combined total of 143 deaths — less than half this year’s current toll. Conservationists worry that the manatees are starving to death. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Some causes of 2021 manatee deaths are known and include boat strikes, cold stress and […]

The United States Postal Service announced last week that it was awarded a multi-billion-dollar contract to update the postal delivery fleet. Oshkosh Defense of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, won the 10-year contract to build more efficient vehicles with fewer emissions. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos In recent years, the USPS has faced stiff competition from private delivery services and has endured derision over being less reliable. Investing […]

Almost one-third of crop-growing land in the upper Midwest is now devoid of its most fertile topsoil, says a controversial new study. Evan Thaler, a PhD student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst who worked on the study, acknowledged that their estimates are at odds with those published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “I think the USDA is dramatically […]

Spanish engineers have updated the old citrus cliché, bringing it into the eco era — when life gives you oranges, make electricity. In Seville, they’re repurposing the many tons of fruit that the city’s 48,000 orange trees drop in the streets. Instead of a sticky, pulpy wintertime hazard, the methane from these rotting oranges will soon generate clean energy. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Seville’s […]

An unlikely hero is emerging in Israel’s fight to save sea turtles from one of the country’s worst ecological disasters. Mayonnaise is making the difference between life and death for some turtles affected by the estimated 1,000 tons of tar washing up on Israel’s Mediterranean coastline. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos North of Tel Aviv, at the Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Michmoret, medical assistant […]

From hefty tuna to tiny anchovies, most of the world’s favorite fish species are found in the oceans. But in the recently published World’s Forgotten Fishes Report, 16 global conservation organizations make the case for looking after our freshwater fish as more and more of these species are threatened with extinction. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Just over half of the world’s fish species are […]

As promised, President Joe Biden has helped the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate accord after Donald Trump’s reign of eco-terror. As of last Friday, it’s official. But now comes the hard part: getting the U.S. to set and meet a national target for cutting fossil fuel emissions. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Although the U.S. president is also busy with COVID-19 deaths surpassing 500,000, the […]

While the brutal winter storms across the U.S. are difficult for humans, they also put wildlife at risk, particularly cold-blooded reptiles, like sea turtles. Fortunately, instead of staying home and trying to keep warm during massive power outages, volunteers in coastal Texas are braving stormy waters and cold weather by boat or on foot to haul in cold-stunned sea turtles. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos […]

Terrible hurricanes in the summer and temperatures now plunging to the lowest they’ve been in decades in much of the U.S. — is all this bad weather just bad luck? Not according to climate scientists, who say this deadly weather is one more sign of climate change. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Oklahoma City saw a temperature this week of -14°F, the coldest it’s been […]

Last year, the Global Forest Watch tracking system starting allowing people to help monitor deforestation in far-flung parts of the world while sitting at home with their laptop. But the satellite program had a flaw: perpetrators could hide behind cloud cover. The system recently announced a new upgrade that uses radar to see right through the clouds. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “Essentially, the satellites […]

If you’re familiar with geocaching, you already know it’s one more way to get outdoors and is especially helpful if you have family members who can’t stand to put down their electronic devices to go on a hike. But this year, geocache aficionados are being challenged to use the activity to improve the outdoors, not just spend time there. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos If […]

Bitcoin is a huge energy hog. And Tesla’s recent announcement that it had bought $1.5 billion bitcoin — and will soon accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its cars — will only encourage more energy usage. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Inhabitat reported on Bitcoin’s out-of-control energy use in 2018. Back then, we noted that Bitcoin was on track to use as much energy as Austria by the end […]

If you feel like you’re going through hankies faster than ever, you’re not just imagining it. Climate change is making allergy season even worse, according to a new study. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Researchers concluded that pollen and planetary warming are closely tied in a study published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Allergy season is both beginning sooner and […]

Richard and Cindy Traylor are part of a growing number of ranchers who have made the surprising switch to plant-based agriculture. In 2018, Honey, Cindy’s favorite cow, was injured. Cindy had become so attached to Honey that she didn’t want the cow to go to a slaughterhouse. She got in touch with Renee King-Sonnen of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, who introduced the Traylors to a whole new […]

While people rooted for the Kansas City Chiefs or Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday, General Motors waged a war with greater implications. The foe? Norway. General Motors’ war isn’t directed at the Norwegian people but at beating them for global leadership in electric vehicles sales. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos For a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, the auto company recruited actors and […]

This probably won’t shock anybody familiar with former President Trump’s disdain for eco-friendly policies, but Judge Sophia H. Hall ruled last Friday that the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago violated Illinois’ environmental laws. The hotel’s heating and cooling systems sucked almost 20 million gallons a day from the Chicago River with no concern for the 30 types of fish that call the river home. […]

Lizard lovers will swoon over a newly discovered species of tiny chameleon. Brookesia nana dwells in the Madagascar rainforest and may be the smallest — and cutest — reptile on Earth. Scientists announced its discovery in the journal Scientific Reports late last month. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos With a full-grown male measuring 21.6 millimeters from nose to tail tip, this wee chameleon can balance […]

On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he ordered a review of an obscure but important number: the social cost of carbon. According to climate economist Gernot Wagner, this is “the single most important number that nobody has ever heard of. It’s one of the most important questions in public policy that will define life on this planet.” Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Everybody […]

While humans often feel like the luxuries money can buy enhance their lives, human prosperity has not been good for the planet. Now, a landmark review by Sir Partha Dasgupta of the University of Cambridge is showing just how devastating prosperity can be. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Dasgupta is challenging the idea that the internationally used Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a worthy measure […]

General Motors has announced an ambitious plan to be carbon-neutral by 2040. The largest U.S. auto maker also aims to eliminate tailpipe emissions from light-duty vehicles by 2035. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world,” said Mary Barra, GM Chairman and CEO, in a press release. “We encourage […]

Scotland is planning to have its first hydrogen-powered train ready to go by November of this year. It’s a huge undertaking involving many partners, including the Hydrogen Accelerator at the University of Saint Andrews and engineering firm Arcola Energy. “With Scotland’s focus on achieving net zero emissions by 2035 and rail playing a leading role in this, hydrogen offers a safe, reliable and zero carbon alternative to […]

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden ordered construction to halt on Trump’s infamous border wall. But environmentalists and communities living along the border want him to go much further, tearing it down and reversing the wall’s damage. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Donald Trump set aside $15 billion for his “big beautiful wall” between the southern border of the U.S. and Mexico. […]

There’s not much cuter than a baby squirrel — until they grow up to be invasive acorn hoarders that interfere with tree planting and, by extension, efforts to slow climate change. So, U.K. environment minister Lord Goldsmith has announced it’s time to put these squirrels on the pill. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos And what a delicious oral contraceptive it will be. The plan is that […]

City-dwellers often complain about pigeons, calling them “rats with wings” and condemning them as noisy, messy, disease-carrying feces machines. But they’re really pretty benign. Much of the problem is that pigeons aren’t afraid to colonize areas that people think of as theirs. So can we really justify the usual methods of pigeon control: trapping, shooting or poisoning? Erick Wolf, CEO of Innolytics, thinks not. For 15 […]

If the high price tag is all that stands between you and your dream Tesla, you might be able to afford one in a few years. Panasonic is working on making new, cobalt-free batteries that will bring down costs and make Tesla vehicles more environmentally friendly. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “Two or three years from now, we will be able to introduce a cobalt-free, high […]

Seven years after the infamous Flint, Michigan water crisis, former governor Rick Snyder was charged Wednesday for his part in the environmental disaster. If Snyder is found guilty of two counts of willful neglect of duty, he could be fined up to $1,000 and spend up to a year in prison. Eight other former members of Snyder’s administration have also been charged. Continue reading below Our […]

The European bison’s population has increased sufficiently for it to be removed from IUCN’s list of vulnerable species. Thanks to long-term conservation work, the population has increased to more than 6,200, up from a 2003 figure of only 1,800. Rather than vulnerable, the European bison is now classified as “almost threatened.” Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Romania is the place to be if you’re a […]

Manatees resemble half-ton potatoes, but researchers can tell them apart. According to Patrick Rose, aquatic biologist and executive director for Save the Manatee Club, most adult manatees have unique scars from accidents like boat strikes. But one manatee stands out more than the rest. This week, viral videos showed a West Indian manatee with “Trump” scraped into its back. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The […]

The U.K. government is reversing a ban on a dangerous pesticide. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and British Sugar lobbied hard to get a product containing neonicotinoid thiamethoxam sanctioned for emergency use on sugar beets. Not only is this chemical thought to kill bees, but rainwater will wash it from fields into rivers. Last we heard, fish weren’t requesting neonicotinoid thiamethoxam any more than were insects, […]

If you’re already vegan — or you love Veganuary so much you decide come February to move to a more veg-friendly locale — here are the top places in the country and the world to live. Every year, the website Chef’s Pencil uses Google search statistics to rank the best cities and countries in the world for vegans. The site, which covers industry trends and news […]

If you think that investing in solar panels and a sustainable wardrobe instead of fast fashion are expensive, take a look at how climate change is escalating the cost of repairing disasters. The U.S. spent $95 billion on fixing damage caused by natural disasters last year, which was almost twice the 2019 costs. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos These figures come from Munich Re, a […]

People have turned toward outdoor exercise as a way to keep fit, lift spirits and fight the monotony of a pandemic. Now, new and veteran outdoor athletes have something exciting to train for: the cross-country Great American Rail-Trail, which will one day let people bike or hike from Washington state to Washington, D.C. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The Great American Rail Trail is a […]

While some folks swear by packaging-free underarm crystals to soak up their smells, many feel they need a stronger chemical solution in the form of a name brand deodorant. So for those folks who are both eco-conscious and smell-conscious, Dove is introducing a new refillable deodorant. The beauty giant partnered with global campaigners A Plastic Planet to design a stylish, ergonomic container that will save 300 […]

Not everybody has an ALDI store in their neighborhood, but those who do rave about the Illinois-based grocery chain with more than 2,000 outlets in 36 states. One draw shoppers enjoy is the increasing number of suitable ALDI vegan food products. “We want all shoppers to enjoy the foods they want at affordable prices, regardless of their dietary needs or lifestyle,” said an ALDI spokesperson. “We are constantly evolving our […]

People come from all over the world to see Bali’s famous white sand beaches. But lately, you can’t see the sand underneath the tons of plastic waste washing ashore. And it’s getting worse. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Coastlines around the world are groaning under the weight of plastic trash. “It’s not new and it’s not surprising and it happens every year, and it’s been […]

Off the coast of Tofino, British Columbia, floats a forested, eco-fairyland of greenhouses, ramps, towers and small buildings, most of them painted fuchsia and teal. It’s the innovative and whimsical off-grid project of two artists, Catherine King and Wayne Adams. King and Adams began constructing Freedom Cove in 1992. They did most of the work themselves, building four greenhouses, an art gallery, dance floor (adorned with […]

The January 5 Senate runoff in Georgia pits two very different candidates against each other. There’s incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler, a pro-Trump business executive. Then there’s Raphael Warnock, a Democrat and senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, which has been part of a growing trend of Black churches pushing for environmental justice. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Loeffler has warned that Warnock will turn […]

Are you already recycling? Carrying around a refillable water bottle rather than contributing to the ocean-bound plastic problem? Composting your food scraps? That’s all commendable, but there’s more to be done to achieve a net-zero lifestyle. If you’re ready to up your environmental commitment this year (and hold larger entities accountable along the way), here are a few ideas — some more dramatic than others — […]

Honduran environmental hero Félix Vásquez was murdered on December 26 for his brave work defending the land. Vásquez, 60, a long-time leader of the indigenous Lenca people, was shot at his home in front of his family. He lived in the rural community of Santiago de Puringla in western Honduras. Four assailants also beat his adult children who were present, but they survived. Continue reading below Our Featured […]

Activist Matt Johnson won great acclaim from animal rights supporters by pulling off a neat trick: fooling Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo into interviewing him as Dennis Organ, the new CEO of Smithfield Foods, on her show last Wednesday. The prank went on for six minutes before Bartiromo caught on that something was gravely amiss. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Unfortunately, those who want to watch the […]

As we scramble around gathering up last-minute Christmas gifts, we often worry more about hurting somebody’s feelings if we don’t get them something compared to how much we consider that gift’s impact on the environment. But the societal pressure of all this gift-giving has many bad consequences for the planet. The top 10 types of Christmas gifts given in the U.K., in order, are: clothes and […]

Not everybody loves extremely windy days. But if you’re trying to generate more power via wind farms, there’s nothing like a blustery day in the winter. Last Friday, the wintry weather set a record in Britain as more than 40% of that day’s electricity was generated on wind farms. The 17.3 gigawatts (GW) generated by wind turbines just beat the former record, which was set in […]

A $35 billion investment in clean power and other climate initiatives hitched a ride on the latest COVID-19 relief package. Backed by Senate Republicans as well as Democrats, the legislation will be the first significant climate change law in more than a decade — if it gets past President Trump’s desk this week. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “This agreement protects both American consumers and […]

McDonald’s is one of a growing number of businesses that are installing cameras in dumpsters to give more intel on their waste streams. This data can help each company recycle more efficiently and save money. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The idea to place cameras inside dumpsters to track waste comes from Jason Gates, CEO of the San Francisco-based start-up Compology. Since 2013, Compology has […]

It’s hard to imagine everybody making the necessary sacrifices for the U.S. to be carbon-neutral in 30 years, even if it does mean the difference between an inhabitable or uninhabitable planet. But an optimistic new study from Princeton claims that yes, it is possible. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The 345-page Princeton University report, published last Tuesday, explains several ways that the U.S. could attain […]

As president-elect Joe Biden continues to pick his Cabinet and agency heads, eco-conscious Americans watch to see what his choices will mean for the climate crisis. So far, it looks like Biden is surrounding himself with a strong climate team consistent with his top priority of quickly reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos On Wednesday, Biden named former South Bend, Indiana […]

More than 3,000 Americans died of COVID-19 on December 15 alone. But instead of focusing on the public health crisis that is killing citizens and ruining their livelihoods, President Trump’s administration was busy getting in a few more digs at wildlife before leaving office. So on Monday, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service finalized a change in the Endangered Species Act which will push many species […]

A 9-year-old girl who died of acute respiratory failure is at the center of a landmark London case on air pollution. Coroner Philip Barlow ruled that failure to keep air pollution below legal limits was one of the causes of Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death in 2013. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Kissi-Debrah lived in Lewisham, a part of London where nitrogen dioxide emissions exceed both national […]

It’s the birthright of every generation to rebel against its forebears. So how can young people today define themselves as different from their phone-obsessed, digital-native parents? By donning Little House on the Prairie dresses, baking pies and cavorting with fairies. The cottagecore aesthetic has become popular with Gen Z, but what many don’t realize is how this trend actually finds its roots in sustainability. According to […]

A French judge has sentenced a pond full of frogs to capital punishment. Their crime? Being too noisy. The judge decreed the pond must be drained within 90 days. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The legal battle over the frogs of Grignols, a village (population: 587) in the Dordogne area of southern France, has a long history. The frogs live in the backyard pond of […]

President-elect Joe Biden is making it clear that he won’t be fooling around regarding climate change. He has pledged to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office and to hold a global climate summit within the first 100 days. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Last week, 75 countries met in a virtual Climate Ambition Summit co-hosted by the UN, France and the […]

As the need for safe outdoor space is more pressing than ever, the Bradley Plaza Green Alley project has opened a new community park in an old industrial neighborhood of Los Angeles. What was once an alley surrounded by factories in Pacoima is now a vibrant space that features shade trees, ADA-accessible amenities and a stormwater management system. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Project partners […]

TikTokers aren’t just young, fashionable and good at lip-synching and skits. More and more users of the social media platform are on a campaign to save the world. Originally called music.ly and used for sharing user-generated music videos, the platform is now popular with people sharing sustainability tips, promoting veganism and talking about their concerns for the future of the planet. TikTok now has about 850 […]

The latest IUCN Red List has declared 31 more species extinct, and about 30% of plant and animal species on the Red List are at risk of extinction. While much of the news is grim, there were a few bright spots, with several species showing signs of recovery for their populations. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The International Union for Conservation of Nature regularly updates […]

Like an evil troll throwing a curse over its shoulder before being banished from the kingdom, President Donald Trump’s EPA finalized a rule that could make it harder for Biden to address pollution and climate change. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, announced the new rule. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are ensuring that future rulemakings under […]

You grew up with them and have probably known them your whole life. So why are some siblings so hard to shop for? We’ve scoured the internet for fun, thoughtful and sustainable gifts which even the most discerning sib will be thrilled to receive. Zero-waste cocktail kit This zero-waste cocktail kit lets your siblings stir up a gimlet or French 75 anywhere. The mason jar cocktail shaker, two stainless steel mini straws […]

Water has now joined oil and gold on the commodities market. This week, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched the United States’ first water market tied to California water prices. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “Climate change, droughts, population growth, and pollution are likely to make water scarcity issues and pricing a hot topic for years to come,” said Deane Dray, RBC Capital Markets managing director […]

The retirement contributions of New York state workers will no longer be invested in fossil fuels. The state announced Wednesday that it is removing oil and gas stocks from its portfolio, making it the world’s largest pension fund to divest from the fossil fuel industry. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The pension fund’s financial portfolio is worth $226 billion, and it disburses $1 billion to […]

Like most holidays, food is an integral part of Hanukkah. But as is often the case at holiday celebrations, it’s easy for vegans to feel left out of the fun. Don’t despair. Genius chefs have found workarounds so that vegans can eat a plant-based rendition of everything from matzo ball soup to brisket. Here are some recipes to accompany lighting the menorah. Latkes Latkes are a […]

People who like to decorate their houses for Christmas often face a tree dilemma: should they buy an artificial, plastic tree or a real, dead one? Now, a new U.K. business saves Londoners from that choice. London Christmas Tree Rental delivers a real, pot-grown tree, lets customers enjoy it for a few weeks, then picks it up in January and takes it back to a farm, […]

If you look at an aerial view of Hot Springs, Arkansas, you see a few rows of buildings squeezed in between wild, green mountains. This resort town, about an hour southwest of Little Rock, is an unusual place where you can walk out the door of your downtown hotel and within minutes be shopping at boutiques, taking the waters in a historic bathhouse or hiking a […]

A group of award-winning architects concerned about climate change came together in 2019 and launched an organization called Architects Declare. But now, two big-name members, Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), have both withdrawn from the group. The issue? Airports. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos ZHA and Foster + Partners were among the original co-signers of a May 2019 letter spelling out the […]

Fiction writing students learn about the handful of archetypal plots, including man versus nature. Usually that means something like 127 Hours, where a hiker in Utah gets stuck in a slot canyon, or Life of Pi, where a man and a tiger try to survive being shipwrecked together. But a plot about humans who set out to ruin the water, air, soil and planet that sustained […]

May we have the envelope, please? Let’s see who this year’s top plastic polluters are. In third place, with 8,633 pieces of plastic waste found in 37 countries, is Nestle. Second place goes to PepsiCo, with 5,155 pieces of waste in 43 countries. And this year’s top polluter title goes to… CocaCola! The company contributed a whopping 13,834 pieces of plastic waste recorded in 51 countries. Continue reading […]

When people think of agriculture, they often picture rows of crops on flat lands stretching out to the horizon. But according to agtech start up Plenty, we should be thinking vertical for best yield. Stranger still, Plenty’s agricultural vision is indoors and populated by robots. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “The reality is, there are five places in the world where you can grow fresh […]

Our pets constantly give to us, from a morning lick on the forehead to a bedtime purr. They bring out our best, most loving selves, and inspire us to get exercise in all types of weather. Even when they’re naughty — climbing the Christmas tree, zooming around the house when you’re trying to sleep, begging for a taste of your food — they’re so dang cute. They deserve […]

For the first time, lab-grown meat has won approval for public consumption — but only in Singapore. San Francisco-based Eat Just has developed what it calls “cultured chicken.” The startup company describes its product as “real, high-quality meat created directly from animal cells for safe human consumption.” Singapore’s Food Agency has given the okay for the sale of this new type of chicken product. Continue reading […]

New Zealand has joined 32 other nations in formally acknowledging a climate emergency. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described climate change as “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and pledged that New Zealand would have a carbon-neutral government by 2025. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos But not all New Zealand governmental officials agreed. The Green Party and the Māori Party supported the motion, which […]

Hungary’s ministerial commissioner of animal protection, Péter Óvári, announced this week that farming mink, foxes, ferrets and coypu will not be allowed in the country. These animals are not currently farmed there. But now that millions of mink have been slaughtered in other European countries due to COVID-19 concerns, Hungarian officials worried that fur farmers might try to move their operations to Hungary. Continue reading below […]