Factory farms tend to move in and out of the public consciousness. People become briefly alarmed at news of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or epidemics. But they continue to purchase inexpensive meat at the grocery store as headlines change to other topics. CAFOs, the official term for industrial-scale meat-growing facilities, have serious implications for animal rights, environmental pollution, and even environmental justice. […]
Stories and the way the press reports them shape our perception of the world and the climate crisis. While most major media companies have started to pay close attention to climate issues in recent years, often setting up their first environmental or climate desks, these beats are still understaffed to address the complex environmental narrative. Mickey Huff, director of Project […]
In 2015, a sea turtle with a straw stuck in its nose took over the internet. It launched a movement to eliminate plastic straws and raised awareness of plastic pollution in the ocean. Did any of it make a difference, or was it just another viral moment of shared but shallow outrage? Let’s see how the sea turtles are doing […]
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol sets the standard for greenhouse gas accounting. It divides the scope of a company’s emissions into three categories. Scope 1 and scope 2 are easy for most people to understand and relatively easy to measure. But scope 3 emissions can be more confusing. They are a challenge for the companies trying to inventory their own impacts […]
Most people love animals, and environmentalists in particular care about wildlife. Many of us even design our home landscapes to work as backyard wildlife habitats. But not all wild animals are equally welcome in our backyards, and some of them can even be dangerous. As urban areas expand (or in the case of Japan, contract), homeowners are increasingly coming into conflict […]
Climate science is complicated, and it only gets worse when you start trying to measure emissions and their impacts. But understanding the vocabulary can go a long way towards making sense of a confusing subject. As you move deeper into your studies of climate impacts, you’re likely to see the term “scope” used to classify greenhouse gas emissions from commercial […]
Agism is discrimination based on age. It is usually directed against the elderly, and results from a culture that values youth above wisdom and experience. Despite being a flawed philosophy, it’s easy to understand how the fear of mortality would create the urge to “fight aging.” But if you think extending agist thinking to trees is ridiculous – well, you’d […]
Sometimes it seems like the only environmental news is bad news, and we never actually make any progress. Governments tend to favor short-term industrial interests over environmental legislation. Getting nations to agree to the type of global treaties necessary for real environmental progress is a Herculean task. It also doesn’t help that the United States is notorious for refusing to […]
PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals that are seemingly inescapable as they’re found in many common items– from non-stick pans to clothing, food packaging, and personal care products. Known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment, PFAS pollute our soil, air, and water, posing a threat to the health of humans and natural ecosystems. […]
There are a lot of good reasons to limit kids’ screen time, but the digital world isn’t all bad. The number of educational apps that kids enjoy exploring is growing quickly. Some of them even encourage offline activities. One of those is Earth Rangers, a kids’ app designed to empower environmental leadership. Previously only available in Canada, the app has […]