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Yale Environment 360
Thinking Long-Term: Why We Should Bring Back Redwood Forests
Lyndon Johnson signed the bill that established the Redwood National Park in California 55 years ago. It was a long time coming, with proposals blocked in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s by an industry that was beavering through the most valuable timberlands on the planet. When the National Park Service recommended a park again in 1964, bipartisan support in the Senate, a nod from President Johnson and, I believe, the trees’ own power to inspire eventually got a deal through Congress.
How Ancient Amazonians Locked Away Thousands of Tons of Carbon in “Dark Earth”
A new study reveals how, by cultivating fertile soil for farming, ancient Amazonians locked away thousands of tons of carbon that have stayed in the ground for centuries. While the Amazon rainforest is rich in plant life, its soils are poorly suited to growing crops. In a few places, however, archaeologists have uncovered patches of black, fertile soil where ancient humans settled. Until now, it was unclear what role humans played in cultivating this “dark earth.”
Road Hazard: Evidence Mounts on Toxic Pollution from Tires
For two decades, researchers worked to solve a mystery in West Coast streams. Why, when it rained, were large numbers of spawning coho salmon dying? As part of an effort to find out, scientists placed fish in water that contained particles of new and old tires. The salmon died, and the researchers then began testing the hundreds of chemicals that had leached into the water.
Germany to Surpass 50 Percent Renewable Power This Year, Official Says
Germany is on track to generate more than half of its electricity from renewables this year, an official said Monday. Speaking at a conference organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, economy minister Robert Habeck said that Germany has seen a boom in renewable power, Reuters reported. In the first half...
A Sign of Things to Come? After Last Ice Age, Europe Cooled as the Planet Warmed
More than 8,000 years ago, as the planet thawed following the end of the last ice age, Northern Europe abruptly cooled. New research reveals that Arctic ice melt weakened a critical ocean current, leaving Europe in the cold, a finding with important implications for future climate change. For a roughly...
A Summer Light Show Dims: Why Are Fireflies Disappearing?
For millions of people around the globe, fireflies have been a big part of the magic of spring and early summer nights. They certainly were in our family. When my children were young, our field in central Massachusetts blazed with fireflies. Before our firefly expeditions in the 1980s I’d recite...
Close to 2,000 Environmental Activists Killed Over Last Decade
Between 2012 and 2022, at least 1,910 people advocating for environmental protection were killed worldwide, a new report finds. In 2022 alone, 177 environmental activists were murdered, or roughly one every other day, according to Global Witness, a U.K.-based watchdog group. “Violence, intimidation, and harassment are also being inflicted to silence defenders around the world,” Shruti Suresh, of Global Witness, said in a statement.
From Carbon Sink to Source: The Stark Changes in Arctic Lakes
A family of muskox rumbles along craggy hilltops overlooking the small parade of humans crossing the West Greenland tundra. Ecologist Václava Hazuková, in the lead, sets a brisk pace as we bushwhack through knee-high willow and birch. Leaning forward under an equipment-filled pack nearly half her size, she high-steps over “pillows and mattresses” — hummocks of plants interspersed with troughs of rain-soaked permafrost. The twin blades of a kayak paddle protrude from Hazuková’s pack, pointing to our destination: Lake SS85, a small, clover-shaped lake some two hours away.
Biden’s Push to Block Drilling in Alaska a Boon to Wildlife, Conservationists Say
The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it would cancel all remaining oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which the Trump administration opened to development in 2021. Conservationists say the move is a boon to wildlife in one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. The Interior Department...
Indonesia Weighs ‘Green’ Label for New Coal Projects
Indonesian officials signaled that they could label loans to some new coal plants as “green” investments. Last year Indonesia unveiled a labeling system for business ventures, reserving a green label for those that benefit the environment, a yellow label for those that are neither harmful nor helpful, and a red label for those that pose a clear threat. The aim was to guide private money to ventures that best protect the environment. Currently, coal projects are labeled either yellow or red.
As the Mississippi Swerves, Can We Let Nature Regain Control?
Like most people during the pandemic, Alex Kolker found himself with extra time on his hands. A coastal geologist at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Kolker studies the Mississippi River Delta, and his work often involves surveying the watershed’s ever-changing wetlands and bays through the window of a small airplane. In 2021, with such research trips out of the question, Kolker did the next best thing — he conducted a flyover of the Delta on his computer screen, via satellite imagery. That was when he saw something peculiar.
Judge Finds Trump-Era Rule Allowing Old-Growth Logging Violates Federal Law
A Trump-era rule that allows for the logging of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest violates federal law, a judge found Thursday. For decades, the Forest Service had banned the logging of trees larger than 21 inches in diameter in the forests of eastern Oregon and southeast Washington state. But in 2021, in the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency, the agency amended its policy to allow for the logging of old-growth woodlands in six national forests. The Forest Service determined that, by removing trees, logging would make forests “more resistant and resilient to disturbances like wildfire.”
Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reached $7 Trillion in 2022, an All-Time High
Global subsidies for fossil fuels reached $7 trillion in 2022, an all-time high, according to the International Monetary Fund. An analysis of policies in 170 countries found that explicit subsidies, such as price caps on fuel, accounted for 18 percent of the total subsidy. With Russia’s war on Ukraine roiling energy markets, many governments have placed limits on the price of fossil fuels, giving money back to consumers when prices exceeded those limits.
Germany’s Wild Boars Made Radioactive by Cold War Nuclear Weapons Tests, Study Finds
Cold War nuclear weapons tests scattered radioactive waste across the globe. That waste can still be found in trace amounts in the sea, the soil, and — according to a new study — the flesh of wild boars roaming the forests of southern Germany. Experts have long known...
In New Scramble for Africa, an Arab Sheikh Is Taking the Lead
A prominent sheikh in the oil-rich Gulf state hosting this year’s UN climate negotiations, COP28, is heading a new rush to capture and sell carbon credits by managing tens of millions of acres of forests across Africa. Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, a member of the royal family of Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), wants to sell those credits to rich governments in the Gulf and elsewhere, so they can offset their carbon emissions to help them meet their carbon pledges under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
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Yale Environment 360 is an online magazine offering opinion, analysis, reporting, and debate on global environmental issues.
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