"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined." -Henry David Thoreau
Protecting pollinators is critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems and human food supply. Bees, for example, pollinate 70 out of the top 100 crops globally. And roughly 1 in 3 bites of food we eat is derived from plants pollinated by bees. Unfortunately, modern pesticides are killing bees. In 1947 there were 6 million honeybee hives …
Biodiversity is a word thrown around by a lot of environmental groups as something really important. What is it, exactly? It’s short for biological diversity, and it refers to the entire variety of life on earth that comprise of all the ecosystems and elements that make the planet “work.” From mushrooms to minke whales, corals …
In my last post I mentioned palm oil. What’s that? It’s an industrial agriculture commodity. Uhh…what? A commodity is typically a raw material or product that is bought and sold. Industrial agriculture refers to large-scale farming. The rationale behind massive monoculture like palm oil is that it’s efficient and can keep pace with the rapidly …
Did you know that some plants and animals can be traded legally? Their trade is regulated by an international convention that most countries are a party to, called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). However, many species are traded illegally, and that threatens many endangered animals, from elephants and pangolins to sharks …
Last year, a study produced by the UN announced that one million species were at risk of extinction under current climate change trajectories and given humans' impact. One year later, an updated study out of the US’s National Academy of Sciences found that initial estimates on mass extinction were conservative. We have only 10-15 years …
One in four living things on the planet are endangered. A significant cause of species becoming endangered is habitat destruction, which is typically at the hands of humans for development of agricultural land, infrastructure, and business or home. In the US, the Endangered Species Act, signed in 1973, was the first law of its kind …
May 17 marks International Endangered Species Day and is an opportunity to celebrate and support all life on the planet. News out of the UN’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released in early May painted a stark picture of life on our planet: human activities have put one million species at risk …
Continue reading "On Endangered Species Day—and Every Day—Here’s How to Save the Animals"
Today is World Oceans Day! Our oceans cover two-thirds of the planet, produce most of the oxygen we breathe (did you know that?!), feed millions of people, and are a source of livelihoods, recreation, and inspiration. What do you do when you're on or near the ocean? By keeping these wild places healthy, we can …
Did you know the United States uses 500 million plastic straws every day? And like most garbage, many straws end up in our oceans, floating aimlessly, never to biodegrade. It's estimated that by 2050, there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Is that the kind of world we want to live in? …
