Southeast Asia’s Mineral Boom for Renewable Energy Sparks Social Unrest
Global Witness warns that mining for green energy is fuelling conflict and human rights abuses in Asia and elsewhere, urging tougher standards and protections Mining…
Nature & Environment
‘Like a Phoenix,’ A New Forest Emerges From the Destruction in Ukraine
Russia’s bombing of Kakhovka Dam in 2023 killed hundreds of people and tens of thousands of animals, but it’s also provided a potential ecological reset….
In War-torn Syria, Efforts To Save a River Refuse to Die
Campaigns to revive the Barada River face an upstream battle Editor’s note: This story is part of a collaboration between Ensia and Egab exploring environmental efforts by…
Calls for Caution as Enhanced Rock Weathering Shows Carbon Capture Promise
It sounds like a simple solution: spread some crushed silicate rock atop the world’s vast agricultural lands to absorb atmospheric carbon and thereby tackle climate…
Seagrass Gardening
From tiny seeds come big results: replanting seagrass meadows that help fish, protect coastlines, and absorb climate-heating carbon dioxide. Chris Patrick is optimistic about seagrass…
Virginia Once Drained and Dried Peatlands, but Now Eyes Them as Carbon Sinks
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter…
Warm Seawater Encroaches on Major Antarctic Ice Shelf
In unprecedented detail, new research illuminates the seasonal flow of warm water toward the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans The vast…
Saving Living Jewels: One Woman’s Mission to Shine a Light on the Ornamental Fish Trade
Marine biologist Monica Biondo has spent more than a decade studying the multibillion-dollar market for these colorful fish, which pulls thousands of species from the…
Tree Islands ‘Restore Biodiversity’ in Oil Palm Farms
Environmentalists have long worried about the negative impacts of oil palm cultivation, especially on biodiversity when forests are burned and turned into plantations. Now researchers…
The Gaza War is an Environmental Catastrophe
Toxic waste, water-borne diseases, vast carbon emissions: Dr. Mariam Abd El Hay describes the myriad harms of Israel’s assault to the region’s ecosystems. “Ever-worsening shortages…
Lithium: The White Gold of a Controversial Transition
Imagine a metal so light that it floats on water yet so powerful that it could fuel our society’s future. Once a relatively obscure element,…
Six Lessons From the World’s Deadliest Environmental Disaster
The world’s deadliest environmental disaster got its start in 1958. Its effects are still being felt today, more than six decades later. It wasn’t an…
The Rights of Nature Prevail Again in Ecuador
Jose Martín Ovando suddenly halts in his tracks and crouches down along the steep forest path shrouded in mist, pulling out a magnifying glass from…