Leaders make bold climate pledges, but is it ‘all just smoke and mirrors?’: Critics
Forty nations — producers of 80% of annual carbon emissions — made pledges of heightened climate ambition this week at U.S. President Joe Biden’s Leaders…
Nature & Environment
Poor unfortunate soils
We know everything about CO2. We know so much it looks almost tangible. Carbon dioxide is so often paired with global warming and climate change…
Are life-cycle assessments worth the (recycled) paper they’re printed on?
Developed to provide a blueprint for environmental action, LCAs often sow seeds of discord. What can be done to fix that? Single-use items — which…
Ambitious return to carbon markets to conserve Africa’s forests
Growth of voluntary carbon market and new investor interest in natural climate solutions in Africa prompts The Nature Conservancy to launch effort to help local…
How to rebuild California forests, with climate in mind
Ula Chrobak After the catastrophic fires of the past decade, land managers may need to reseed vast acreages. Can they buffer against climate change in…
The open burning of waste poses grave health risks to millions
We’re generating more waste than at any other time in history what with a greatly increased global population, rampant consumerism and the wanton use of…
Life-saving drinking water disinfectants have a “dark side”
Disinfecting drinking water against spathogen is necessary, but by-products from the process are a ubiquitous — and likely growing — problem across the U.S. Solutions…
Why solar geoengineering should be part of the climate crisis solution
Betsy Mason Q&A — Climate scientist David Keith The controversial technology of reflecting sunlight away from the planet could help blunt the worst impacts of…
New research: nitrous oxide emissions 300 times more powerful than CO₂ are jeopardising Earth’s future
Nitrous oxide from agriculture and other sources is accumulating in the atmosphere so quickly it puts Earth on track for a dangerous 3℃ warming this…
Thousands of tonnes of banned pesticides shipped to poorer countries from British and European factories
Year long investigation reveals full scale of Europe’s ‘abhorrent’ trade in pesticides banned from its own farms – and the UK’s leading role The United…
Permit for Controversial $9 Billion Plastics Plant in “Chemical Alley” to Be Put on Hold
Proposed emissions from the plant would triple the levels of cancer-causing chemicals in one of the most toxic areas of the U.S., but the Army…
Of hemp’s many uses, one of the most promising could be in construction
“Hempcrete,” made from the woody core of hemp, is showing promise as an environmentally friendly building material. October 6, 2020 — It has become almost…
The plastic myth and the misunderstood triangle
Of all the plastic we’ve ever produced, only 9% has been recycled. So what happened to all that plastic you’ve put in the recycling bin…