Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund How do you feed a hotter, drier, more inequitable world? A new generation of American farmers are coming up with answers that rarely resemble the cornstalks and cattle pens of mainstream agriculture. Today’s American farmers are less white. They’re also increasingly experimental. Even as our biggest farms get […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Elections have consequences, and therefore a new administration can change the priorities of a federal agency such as the Department of Energy as they want, right? Wrong. The Department of Energy (DOE) was not created to allow the executive branch to do whatever it wants, or even to […]
Published by the World Wildlife Fund Changzhou, China A single T-shirt takes 700 gallons of water to produce; a pair of jeans, 1,200 gallons. According to the World Bank, the textile and dyeing industry contributes to 20% of the world’s water pollution. China produces a large share of the world’s textiles, both benefitting economically and bearing […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Are you interested in what the Environmental Protection Agency is doing about air and water contamination and the pollution that causes climate change? Here’s an easy way to know what’s up: (1) name an issue; and (2) if the prior administration did something to curb these threats, you […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Herd of African elephants Johan Sjolander/iStock Until it was amended in 2015, California’s state ivory ban had a loophole that cost many lives. Its primary victims were those same beleaguered African elephants the law was written to protect. The loophole allowed the continued sale of ivory imported into […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The nine states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) would gain $3.2 billion extra in clean energy funding—nearly a quarter-billion dollars more annually—by choosing the most ambitious power plant pollution cuts currently under consideration for the next phase of their pioneering climate program, according to a new […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund [embedded content] The following is a transcript of the video. Audrey Peterman, president and cofounder, Earthwise Productions: One of my favorite national monuments in the system is the African Burial Ground National Monument, just off Wall Street in Manhattan. It was designated in 2006 by President George W. […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy This summer, we asked all of you to submit your best photos to our 2017 Marine Wildlife and Seascape Photo Contest. We had a record breaking number of entries this year, and we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to everyone who submitted and voted—you helped make this photo contest […]
Published by the World Wildlife Fund In the outermost hills of the Himalayas in Nepal, WWF recently concluded a project that worked closely with local communities to reduce land degradation, forest loss, and climate change vulnerability. Empowered by the Global Environment Facility—a partnership that brings together more than 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations, and […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Late Thursday evening, in response to public pressure, the Canadian federal government quietly released a draft “Action Plan for the Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), Boreal Population, in Canada.” This “Action Plan” draft provides an outline for research, protection, and reporting that should have been established five years […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge is home to a small population of endangered ocelots Tom Smylie, USFWS For the past two years, President Trump’s idea for a wall on the U.S.–Mexico border has existed as little more than a psychosocial blueprint. At his rallies and other public events, […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Anticipation is building in advance of the release of a study ordered by Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry to examine “critical issues central to protecting the long-term reliability of the electric grid.” It is more likely to end with a fizzle than a bang, however, because […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The rollback of the Clean Water Rule has officially begun, a wildlife refuge is at risk from Trump’s border wall. iStock Back on June 21 at a political rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, President Trump promised that, under his watch, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would focus on […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund After almost 7 years of design and construction work, and over $7 billion spent, the much-publicized Kemper County coal gasification power plant will now run on natural gas without capturing any carbon. Does this mean carbon capture and storage (CCS) for power plants is not ready for prime […]
Published by the World Wildlife Fund It’s a stunning image—a tiger stares out from its lush forest habitat in the wilds of Bhutan. Finding this tiger was no easy task. Filmmaker and photojournalist Emmanuel Rondeau spent four weeks in the wildlife corridors of this mountainous country with a camera trap poised to capture an image of the […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The new deputy secretary of the Interior Department has spent most of his life attacking land, water, and wildlife on behalf of dirty energy companies. AP Photo/Molly Riley For an insider’s look at how industry games our system of government for corporate gain, it would be hard to […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund 40% of food in America goes uneaten—it’s an almost unbelievable fact. Here in New York City, around 20% of our waste stream is food waste. For decades, this food waste has been sent to landfills where it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas and large contributor to global […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Guest author: Anika Agarwal, Marine Mammal Protection Project Summer Intern Eight North Atlantic right whales have been found dead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this month. With an estimated population size of 524 individuals, and only five calves born this year, the loss of these whales is […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Cape Hattaras National Sea Shore Credit: National Park Service Just last week the State of North Carolina joined the tidal wave of national opposition to expanded offshore drilling that has continued to mount in the wake of the Trump administration’s attempts to scrap the just-finalized offshore leasing plan, […]
Published by the World Wildlife Fund Singye Wangmo exudes a natural passion for wildlife. One of the few female forestry officers working on the ground in Bhutan, she spends her days protecting the tigers of Royal Manas National Park from poachers. Leading a team of 30 rangers, Singye works across the national park to set up […]