The free-flowing Baker River in Chile's Patagonia region. Permits for a major hydroelectric project on the waterway were revoked in 2014 amid protests.

Policy

Should Rivers Have Rights? A Growing Movement Says It’s About Time

Inspired by indigenous views of nature, a movement to grant a form of legal “personhood” to rivers is gaining some ground — a key step, advocates say, in reversing centuries of damage inflicted upon the world’s waterways.

By Jens Benöhr and Patrick J. Lynch

E360 VIDEO CONTEST WINNER - THIRD PLACE

Off the African Coast, a Struggle to Revive a Battered Fishery

The third-place winner of the 2018 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest looks at a campaign to enlist local fishermen to help reverse a sharp decline in the marine resources of the tiny island nation of Mauritius.
Oceans

Shark Mystery: Where Have South Africa’s Great Whites Gone?

The world’s most famous sharks are the great whites off Cape Town, featured in the popular “Air Jaws” series. But now these sharks have mostly gone missing, and some experts blame a fishery for depleting the smaller sharks that the great whites feed on.

By Adam Welz
Biodiversity

For Marine Life, New Threats from a Fast-Tracked Canadian Pipeline

A new Canadian government-backed pipeline that will triple the amount of thick Alberta tar sands oil flowing to a British Columbia port poses significant risks for a threatened population of killer whales and other coastal marine life.

By Jim Robbins

The 3,122-megawatt Civaux Nuclear Power Plant in France, which opened in 1997.

Opinion

Why Nuclear Power Must Be Part of the Energy Solution

Many environmentalists have opposed nuclear power, citing its dangers and the difficulty of disposing of its radioactive waste. But a Pulitzer Prize-winning author argues that nuclear is safer than most energy sources and is needed if the world hopes to radically decrease its carbon emissions.

By Richard Rhodes

E360 Digest

Digest Archive →

As Water Temperatures Rise, Freshwater Jellyfish Found in British Canal

Following weeks of scorching heat in the United Kingdom, a small transparent freshwater jellyfish that thrives in warm waters has been found in a British canal. Harmless to humans, the jellyfish, Craspedacusta sowerbii, is native to the Yangtze basin in China, but has spread to waterways worldwide over the last century. In recent decades, the species has become an increasingly common sight as global temperatures rise, particularly in late summer when waters exceed 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrrenheit.) More about As Water Temperatures Rise, Freshwater Jellyfish Found in British Canal →
Scientists Use “Super Sucker” Vacuum to Help Save Hawaii’s Coral Reefs

Researchers at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and the state’s Division of Aquatic Resources have come up with a new method to remove invasive algae that can smother coral reefs: using an underwater vacuum in conjunction with sea urchins. More about Scientists Use “Super Sucker” Vacuum to Help Save Hawaii’s Coral Reefs →
Cost of Coastal Flooding in Europe Could Reach $1 Trillion Annually by 2100

Without additional climate change adaptation measures, the annual cost of damage from coastal flooding in Europe could jump from $1.4 billion today to as much as $1 trillion by the end of the century due largely to rising sea levels, according to a new analysis published in the journal Nature Climate Change. These coastal floods could impact up to 3.65 million people in Europe annually by 2100, compared to 102,000 today. More about Cost of Coastal Flooding in Europe Could Reach $1 Trillion Annually by 2100 →

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interview

“It was very difficult to do the type of work that I wanted to do, which was trying to shine more light on climate risk assessment.”

Why This U.S. Climate Scientist Is Leaving Trump’s America for France

With the Trump administration spurning efforts to combat global warming, the French government has invited U.S. scientists to bring their climate research to France. In an interview with Yale e360, scientist Ben Sanderson talks about why he is taking France up on its offer.

By Diane Toomey

In the last decade, scientists have helped reestablish a migrating population of northern bald ibises in Europe.

Biodiversity

After a 400-Year Absence, A Rare Ibis Returns to European Skies

The northern bald ibis is critically endangered, with fewer than 1,000 existing in the wild. But a German group is reintroducing these birds in Europe, where they once thrived, and is using ultralight aircraft to lead them on migrations south toward the Mediterranean.

By Christian Schwägerl

Policy

Green Upgrade: How California Is Pioneering ‘Energy Justice’

California has the world’s fourth largest greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, which raises billions of dollars for the state. An innovative project is directing some of that revenue to bringing renewable power and energy efficiency to some of the state’s most disadvantaged communities.

By Patricia Leigh Brown
Interview

Big Cat Comeback: How India Is Restoring Its Tiger Population

Ullas Karanth has spent a half-century working to protect India’s endangered tigers. In an interview with Yale e360, he argues that with smart planning and the cooperation of its rural residents, the country could support five times the number of tigers it has now.

By Richard Conniff
Climate

Rivers in the Sky: How Deforestation Is Affecting Global Water Cycles

A growing body of evidence indicates that the continuing destruction of tropical forests is disrupting the movement of water in the atmosphere, causing major shifts in precipitation that could lead to drought in key agricultural areas in China, India, and the U.S. Midwest.

By Fred Pearce