With a growing number of studies demonstrating the importance of large mammals to healthy ecosystems, scientists are proposing concrete plans to reintroduce these animals to the wild. The return of just 20 species to native habitats, they say, could be a boon to biodiversity.
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Biodiversity
Will a Nile Canal Project Dry Up Africa’s Largest Wetland?
South Sudan is moving ahead with plans for a 240-mile canal to divert water from the White Nile and send it to Egypt. But critics warn the megaproject would desiccate the world’s second largest wetland, impacting its rich wildlife and the rains on which the region depends.
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Cities
The Living City: Weaving Nature Back Into the Urban Fabric
Urban ecologist Eric Sanderson focuses on the natural history of cities. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he explains why recovering and restoring streams, salt marshes, and woodlands should be a vital part of how cities adapt to climate change in the 21st century.
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Energy
Bitcoin’s Intensive Energy Demands Are Sparking a Crypto Backlash
The enormous energy demands of Bitcoin mining are prompting some U.S. municipalities to impose moratoriums or outright bans on cryptocurrency facilities. Bitcoin mining activity, critics warn, is leading to electricity price hikes and a revival of dirtier sources of power.
Energy
How Russia’s War Is Putting Green Tech Progress in Jeopardy
The European Union relies heavily on Russia to supply nickel and other metals for electric vehicle batteries and other renewable technologies. War-related price increases and shortages of these metals could hinder Europe’s drive to sharply cut emissions by 2030 and beyond.
E360 Digest
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Alaska Is on Track for a Record Fire Season
Alaska is on pace for a historic fire season, spurred on by warm temperatures, a diminished snowpack, and an apparent uptick in lightning strikes. Fires have ripped through 2 million acres so far this year, roughly 10 times the total area burned in all of 2021. More about Alaska Is on Track for a Record Fire Season →
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U.S. Supreme Court Limits EPA's Authority to Combat Climate Change
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday to severely restrict the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit carbon emissions. More about U.S. Supreme Court Limits EPA's Authority to Combat Climate Change →
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In World First, Netherlands Caps Flights at Major Airport to Cut Pollution
The Dutch government is capping the number of flights from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport at 440,000, a 12 percent cut from pre-pandemic levels. The new policy, set to take effect at the end of 2023, is the world's first to limit flights for environmental reasons. More about In World First, Netherlands Caps Flights at Major Airport to Cut Pollution →
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OPINION
Wrong Turn: America’s Car Culture and the Road Not Taken
With its highways and suburbs, modern America was built around the automobile and powered by fossil fuels. The oil crises of the 1970s provided an opportunity to change course and move to renewable energy, but any momentum achieved then proved to be very short-lived.
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Food & Agriculture
Pollen and Heat: A Looming Challenge for Global Agriculture
Farmers and scientists are increasingly observing that unusually high springtime temperatures can kill pollen and interfere with the fertilization of crops. Researchers are now searching for ways to help pollen beat the heat, including developing more heat-tolerant varieties.
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Climate
Solution or Band-Aid? Carbon Capture Projects Are Moving Ahead
Long discussed but rarely used, carbon capture and storage projects — which bury waste CO2 underground — are on the rise globally. Some scientists see the technology as a necessary tool in reducing emissions, but others say it simply perpetuates the burning of fossil fuels.
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WATER
The Vanishing Rio Grande: Warming Takes a Toll on a Legendary River
The Rio Grande, which flows out of the Rockies and later forms the U.S.-Mexico border, has long been impacted by withdrawals for agriculture and other uses. Now, rising temperatures and an unprecedented drought pose a grave and growing peril to the river and its ecosystems.
