In a South Pacific nation ravaged by logging, several tribes joined together to sell “high integrity” carbon credits on international markets. The project not only preserves their highly biodiverse rainforest, but it funnels life-changing income to Indigenous landowners.
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INTERVIEW
Marina Silva on Brazil’s Fight to Turn the Tide on Deforestation
Reprising her role as Brazil's environment minister, Marina Silva is determined to reverse the rampant destruction of the Amazon. In an e360 interview, she talks about her efforts to crack down on illegal mining and logging and to bolster protections for the nation’s forests.
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RIVERS
Jared Kushner Has Big Plans for Delta of Europe’s Last Wild River
Albania’s Vjosë River is known as Europe’s last wild river, and its pristine delta is a haven for migratory birds. As plans for luxury developments there — spearheaded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — move ahead, conservationists are sounding the alarm.
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Energy
A Nuclear Power Revival Is Sparking a Surge in Uranium Mining
A push for nuclear power is fueling demand for uranium, spurring the opening of new mines. The industry says new technologies will eliminate pollution from uranium mining, but its toxic legacy, particularly in the U.S. Southwest, leaves many wary of an incipient mining boom.
OPINION
Despite Official Vote, the Evidence of the Anthropocene Is Clear
When a governing body of the International Union of Geological Sciences voted down a proposal to name a new epoch in Earth’s history, it ignored conclusive evidence that for the first time, a single species — humans — has fundamentally altered the planet.
E360 Digest
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Greece to Expand Protected Waters, End Bottom Trawling
Greece plans to create two large marine parks and end bottom trawling, it announced Tuesday. It also aims to cut the volume of plastic waste flowing into Greek waters in half. More about Greece to Expand Protected Waters, End Bottom Trawling →
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Where the Xerces Blue Butterfly Was Lost, Its Closest Relative Is Now Filling In
More than 80 years after the iconic Xerces Blue butterfly vanished from San Francisco, researchers have analyzed century-old specimens to track down its closest living relative, the Silvery Blue. Last week, they released a handful of Silvery Blues on the western edge of the city, where Xerces Blues once thrived. More about Where the Xerces Blue Butterfly Was Lost, Its Closest Relative Is Now Filling In →
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Study Reveals Vast Networks of 'Ghost Roads' in Asian Rainforests
An extensive analysis of satellite imagery has uncovered thousands of miles of unmapped roads slicing through Asia's tropical rainforests. More about Study Reveals Vast Networks of 'Ghost Roads' in Asian Rainforests →
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Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
A Spanish company is aiming to factory farm octopuses for their meat, contending that it would help conserve the creatures in the wild. But critics argue that caging these highly sensitive mollusks, whose intelligence science is still revealing, would be cruel and inhumane.
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INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
Sonam Wangchuk has long worked to help people in India’s Ladakh region adapt to climate change. In an e360 interview, he explains why he fasted for 21 days to pressure the government to grant legal protections to the region’s fragile ecosystem and its life-giving glaciers.
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Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
Because of lax rules, national inventories reported to the United Nations grossly underestimate many countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The result, analysts say, is that the world can not verify compliance with agreed emissions targets, jeopardizing global climate agreements.
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Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
Aided by tax breaks and carbon credits, scores of plants are being developed or are now operating that remove CO2 from the air. Such facilities are considered necessary to limit global warming, but critics have questions about the high costs and where the captured carbon will go.
