Don’t Let Your iPhone Become Toxic “E-Waste”
What happens to the electronics you throw out when they stop working or you’re ready for an upgrade? While some get recycled into new products, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 50 million metric tons of discarded electronics, known as “e-waste,” end up in landfills worldwide every year.…
Instituto Terra’s Atlantic Forest Restoration Efforts
Instituto Terra is a non-profit environmental NGO founded in April 1998 to promote the sustainable development of Southeast Brazil’s Doce River Valley. Once a former cattle ranch marked by deforestation, significant erosion, and iron ore exploitation, it now more closely resembles its natural subtropical rainforest state as the institute's nursery…
Put More Climate Change Stories on TV
New research from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Deloitte has found that climate change is hardly referenced on TV. The academy analyzed 128,719 non-news programs from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky between September 2017 and September 2018, and ‘climate change’ is lagging far…
Net Zero for the UK by 2050?
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) released a report that said the United Kingdom (UK) can be net zero by 2050. Net zero means that carbon emissions are balanced with carbon removal. If the UK adopts this target, it will be the most ambitious emissions reduction goal set by a…
Protecting Bobcats in New Jersey
When considering the natural fauna of present day New Jersey it is difficult to perceive any kind of predatory animal that would be abundant. That is because many predatory animals have for the most part been pushed out of the state. Being the most densely populated state, New Jersey has…
New York Bans Plastic Bags
On Sunday, March 31, it was announced that New York would implement a statewide ban on most single-use plastic bags provided by supermarkets and other stores. Exemptions to the ban include bags used to wrap meats, dry cleaning and plastic bags for fruits and vegetables at supermarkets. This ban was…
Living on Water: Our Future Neighborhoods
[caption id="attachment_2164" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Floating houses IJburg East AmsterdamSource: Marcel van der Burg and Arch Daily[/caption] The usually small and motorized dwelling known as a houseboat has become something a little bit larger: a floating home. Whether it’s because of spatial practicality or to create adventurous new neighborhoods, floating homes…
Warming Oceans Causing a Decline in Fish Populations
Fish populations have been declining for the past 80 years due to factors such as overfishing, pollution, and other anthropogenic activities. However, a recent study shows that ocean warming, an effect of climate change, also contributes to an overall population decline. Scientists examined at data on ocean temperatures, catch sizes,…
Fernandina Tortoise Thought to be Extinct Spotted in Galapagos
[caption id="attachment_2142" align="aligncenter" width="802"] From The Guardian, Photograph: Rodrigo Buendía/AFP/Getty Images[/caption] A tortoise that was last seen in 1906 has been spotted in the Galapagos Islands. A female on Fernandina island, which was thought to be extinct for 100 years, came meandering along as the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI)…
Migratory Birds are in Danger in Lebanon
Around 2.1 billion migratory birds move between Europe and Africa each year. Lebanon is a particularly special area as it has around 30 bottleneck regions, areas where migratory birds have to pass through. Poachers take advantage of this situation and set up illegal hunting materials, like nets, to capture small…