Peatlands make up 3 percent of the earth’s landscape, yet absorb large amounts of carbon and harbor surprising biodiversity. Although peat bogs and fens are under increasing environmental threat, efforts to protect and restore these ecosystems are gathering momentum.
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Interview
They Knew: How the U.S. Government Helped Cause the Climate Crisis
James Gustave Speth has been calling for action on climate since serving in the White House in the 1970s. In an e360 interview, he talks about his new book, which chronicles how U.S. administrations repeatedly failed to act in response to scientists’ increasingly dire warnings.
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Environmental Justice
Turning Hog Waste into Biogas: Green Solution or Greenwashing?
North Carolina’s industrial-scale hog farms have long been a major source of pollution. Smithfield Foods now plans to turn some hog waste into biogas, but critics say the project does nothing about the larger problem of waste being stored in lagoons and sprayed on fields.
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Food & Agriculture
How Adding Rock Dust to Soil Can Help Get Carbon into the Ground
Researchers are finding that when pulverized rock is applied to agricultural fields, the soil pulls far more carbon from the air and crop yields increase. More studies are underway, but some scientists say this method shows significant benefits for farmers and the climate.
Biodiversity
Beyond Extinction: A New Emphasis on Species Recovery
Scientists have long drawn up a Red List to alert officials about wildlife and plant species threatened with extinction. Now some say it’s time to flip the script and create a “green status” category that identifies how to bring these species back to sustainable levels.
E360 Digest
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New Coal Plants Dwindle Amid Wave of Cancelled Projects
Some 1,175 gigawatts of new coal projects have been cancelled since 2015, an amount greater than the current coal capacity of China, according to a new report from climate think tank E3G. More about New Coal Plants Dwindle Amid Wave of Cancelled Projects →
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Young People Are Experiencing Widespread Anxiety About Climate Inaction, Study Finds
Young people around the globe are profoundly worried about climate change, according to a new study, which found that those who feel governments are doing too little to address the crisis are most prone to climate anxiety. More about Young People Are Experiencing Widespread Anxiety About Climate Inaction, Study Finds →
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More Than 200 Environmental Activists Murdered in 2020, the Most Ever
Some 227 land and environmental activists were killed in 2020, the highest number ever recorded, according to a new report from Global Witness, an international human rights organization. More about More Than 200 Environmental Activists Murdered in 2020, the Most Ever →
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Climate
The Dream of Carbon Air Capture Edges Toward Reality
Next month, an industrial facility in Iceland will join a growing number of projects to remove CO2 from the air and put it underground. But major hurdles, including high costs, remain before this technology can be widely deployed and play a key role in tackling climate change.
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E360 Video Contest Winner
In Northeast India, Cement Plants Disrupt Forest and a Way of Life
“The Story of Lumshnong” — the winner of the 2021 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest — examines how government officials allowed cement companies to pour into a forest in northeast India, polluting the air and water and destroying an ecosystem on which local villagers depend.
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Policy
As Disasters Mount, Central Banks Gird Against Threat of Climate Change
From the Bank of England to the People’s Bank of China, monetary authorities of the world’s largest economies are gauging how climate change could rock the financial system. Though long committed to being “market neutral,” some are even starting to push greener investments.
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E360 Video Contest
On South African Shores, Women Carry On a Harvest Once Denied
In apartheid South Africa, the Sokhulu practice of gathering mussels was outlawed. “Ulwandle Lushile: Meeting the Tides,” the second-place winner in the 2021 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest, shows how Sokhulu women persevered and are again harvesting mussels sustainably.
