18 Great New Books About Climate Change, Sustainability and Pioneering Women Environmentalists
Aziz Acharki / Unsplash
By John R. Platt
What do Rachel Carson, sea otters, toxic toads and the Gold King Mine disaster have in common? Easy: They're all among the subjects of this month's new environmentally themed books.
The full list—an amazing 18 titles—includes books for just about everyone, from dedicated environmentalists to foodies to nature-friendly kids. You can check them all out below (links are to publishers' or authors' websites). Then get ready for some long evenings of reading as the cool nights of winter give way to a hopefully not-so-silent spring.
Environmental History:
Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment by Rachel Carson
The book that sparked the modern environmental movement gets an archival collection from the Library of America, edited by acclaimed ecologist Sandra Steingraber.
Visionary Women: How Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall and Alice Waters Changed Our World by Andrea Barnet
How these four influential women helped shape the modern progressive movement and our understanding of nature and the environment.
This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent by Daegan Miller
A history of 19th century "radical thinkers, settlers, and artists who grounded their ideas of freedom, justice, and progress" (and who remain relevant today).
Cane Toad Wars by Rick Shine
The true tale of the ecological nightmare caused by the introduction of this toxic species to Australia.
Small Town, Big Oil: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the Richest Man in the World—and Won by David W. Moore
How Nancy Sandberg, Dudley Dudley and Phyllis Bennett stood up to Aristotle Onassis and his planned mega-scale oil refinery.
Wildlife and Endangered Species:
Return of the Sea Otter: The Story of the Animal That Evaded Extinction on the Pacific Coast by Todd McLeish
The true story of how otters almost disappeared and eventually came back to woo us all with their almost-unbearable cuteness.
The Monarchs are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery by Rebecca E. Hirsch
A book offering grade schoolers insight into why monarch butterflies are in trouble and what they can do to help.
Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife by Sarah Grace Tuttle
Poetic glimpses of life in the concrete places.
Far From Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds by Michael Brooke
Tales of albatrosses, frigatebirds, cormorants and other seabirds from every corner of the planet.
Food and Sustainability:
Eat for the Planet: Saving the World One Bite at a Time by Nil Zacharias and Gene Stone
An indemnification of the industrialized food system.
Food Is the Solution: What to Eat to Save the World by Matthew Prescott
More than 80 plant-based recipes "for a greener planet and a healthier you."
Sustainable Nation: Urban Design Patterns for the Future by Douglas Farr
How sustainable design of cities and buildings can help solve the humanitarian, population and climate crises.
Going Wild: Helping Nature Thrive in Cities by Michelle Mulder
A book to encourage kids to embrace rewilding our urban centers.
Climate Change:
The Tantrum That Saved the World by Megan Herbert and Michael E. Mann
A book to help kids (and their parents) learn how to turn their environmental frustration into positive action. Read our interview with the authors.
The City Where We Once Lived by Eric Barnes
A science-fiction novel about people trying to live in an abandoned city ravaged by climate change.
Tales From an Uncertain World: What Other Assorted Disasters Can Teach Us About Climate Change by L. S. Gardiner
Looking to past environmental crises and disruptions to better understand how individuals can deal with climate change.
Pollution and Environmental Disasters:
Global Warming and the Sweetness of Life: A Tar Sands Tale by Matt Hern and Am Johal
A horror-filled road trip through the polluted tar sands of northern Alberta. Features art and additional material by journalist/cartoonist Joe Sacco.
River of Lost Souls: The Science, Politics, and Greed Behind the Gold King Mine Disaster by Jonathan P. Thompson
How 150 years of mining, energy development and fracking led to the infamous 2015 disaster, and how the people who live nearby are working to make amends for the past.
Every Parent Concerned About Their Kids’ Health Should Read This Book https://t.co/Fxdkvbj8TX @nytimeshealth @Healthy_Child @naturallysavvy— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1517885105.0
Reposted with permission from our media associate The Revelator.
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Since April 2020, farmer support for Trump has fallen from 89 percent to 71 percent, according to an August 2020 survey by DTN/The Progressive Farmer. Steve Smith / Getty Imagess
By Leanna First-Arai
In a push to capture the rural vote, 62 percent of which went to Trump in 2016, both the Trump and Biden campaigns are ramping up efforts to appeal to farmers and ranchers.
<p>On <a href="https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article245908610.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">September 22</a>, the Biden campaign launched a new radio ad blitz in eight battleground states, in which Biden appeals to older voters whose families have lived in rural areas for generations. "No longer are we going to be faced with children or grandchildren believing that the only way they can make it is to leave home and go somewhere else to get that good job," Biden's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGcsHyT0Xyw&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=JoeBiden" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">voice assures</a>. "There's no reason why it can't happen here."</p><p>In a contrasting approach, at a <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/37377/mountain-strength-trump-plays-to-base-with-visit-to-mills-river-nonprofit/" target="_blank">rally</a> in North Carolina, just a few hours ahead of the opening of the Republican National Convention in August, Trump claimed that, under his administration, "The American farmer has done very well. I never hear any complaints from the American farmer." Remarks later that week during the convention followed suit. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/08/24/us/rnc-fact-check#the-economy-is-coming-up-very-rapidly-our-farmers-are-doing-well-because-i-got-china-to-give-them-28-billion-because-they-were-t" target="_blank">"The economy is coming up very rapidly, our farmers are doing well because I got China to give them $28 billion because they were targeted by China,"</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/08/24/us/rnc-fact-check" target="_blank">Trump said</a> on the first night of the convention.</p><p>But that assessment doesn't square with the hardship many U.S. farmers are facing — particularly small farmers. U.S. farm bankruptcies increased <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/04/14/where-are-farm-bankruptcies-happening/" target="_blank">20 percent</a> in 2019, reaching an eight-year high, on account of factors like the trade war, increasing costs of production and crop loss related to the climate crisis.</p><p><span></span>Since April 2020, farmer support for the incumbent president <a href="https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/livestock/article/2020/08/19/agriculture-confidence-index" target="_blank">has fallen</a> from 89 percent to 71 percent, according to an August 2020 survey by DTN/The Progressive Farmer. A recent <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/708942.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> by the Government Accountability Office revealed that under the Trump administration, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Market Facilitation Program payments to farmers harmed by the trade war went disproportionately to large-scale cotton and soybean farmers, ignoring the needs of small farmers who grow food. On account of Trump administration changes in payment maximums for the USDA's Market Facilitation Program, the top <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/708942.pdf" target="_blank">1.3 percent</a> of payment recipients received an additional <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/708942.pdf" target="_blank">$519 million</a>, while the average individual farmer in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania got $11,829 and $8,661, respectively. The finding is in line with earlier analyses revealing Trump's <a href="https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2019/11/trump-s-hollow-promise-trade-war-relief-small-farms" target="_blank">disproportionate financial support</a> for the largest capitalist farmers.</p>
<p>According to the USDA, <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=58426" target="_blank">more than half</a> of the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/farming-and-farm-income/" target="_blank">2 million farms</a> in the United States are "very small farms," grossing less than $10,000 annually. When asked what political capital this group could hold, Wingate University Assistant Professor of Political Science Chelsea Kaufman told <em>Truthout </em>that the increased pressure small farmers face from forces like the overlapping COVID-19 pandemic and climate crisis could make them a "relatively unique" political force, as has been the case with farmers experiencing economic shocks during past election cycles.</p><p>In 1932, incumbent President Herbert Hoover <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3742831?casa_token=EH6FRgNDmyYAAAAA%3AWssxfIPB8xWfWNz2BCYonkaRYauNsUtajPGpuCJNNj-iz9yibMfSTuy0r9Zq6hytcZtHrcnNZut5CXzFLTeRYYU9oOJCyVywpxHyYQZyOEp9JxuKAg&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" target="_blank">lost votes</a> from normally Republican-voting northern farmers, and the same happened for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. Academics <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3742831?casa_token=EH6FRgNDmyYAAAAA%3AWssxfIPB8xWfWNz2BCYonkaRYauNsUtajPGpuCJNNj-iz9yibMfSTuy0r9Zq6hytcZtHrcnNZut5CXzFLTeRYYU9oOJCyVywpxHyYQZyOEp9JxuKAg&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attribute this</a> to low crop prices during election years. According to the <a href="https://cookpolitical.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cook Political Report</a>, many of what are expected to be key battleground states in 2020, like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, are also <a href="https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17844" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">top agricultural producers</a>.</p><p>The majority of the smaller farmers <em>Truthout </em>spoke with for this story want to see a federal government that tackles climate change head-on and restructures agriculture to be a solution by encouraging diversified farming that stores (rather than releases) carbon. Industrial agriculture is a <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25012019/climate-change-agriculture-farming-consolidation-corn-soybeans-meat-crop-subsidies#:~:text=Hot%20Topics%3A-,Industrial%20Agriculture%2C%20an%20Extraction%20Industry%20Like%20Fossil%20Fuels%2C%20a%20Growing,damage%20as%20the%20planet%20warms.&text=change%20in%20mind.-,%22I%20can%20see%20the%20impact%20of,changing%20climate%2C%22%20he%20s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">major contributor</a> to climate change, through its reliance on chemical fertilizers, the manufacturing of which releases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, and depletes the soil of nutrients. It's a system that farmers are "stuck in," says Tom Rosenfeld, who grows apples, blueberries, strawberries and peaches on 120 acres of farmland in southwest Michigan. Rosenfeld purchased a conventional orchard in 2005 and has been converting it to organic ever since, which he says has been a challenge in a system that prioritizes conventional practices. Dealing with climate change has made it even more difficult, a sentiment that reflects a wider experience among farmers. In 2018, <a href="https://filesforprogress.org/memos/regenerative-farming-and-the-green-new-deal.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">75 percent</a> of Farm Aid hotline calls were related to extreme weather and weather-related crises like wildfires.</p>
<p>Rosenfeld says more frequent late freezes due to climate change have been all but impossible to bounce back from. After temperatures dropped to 25 degrees Fahrenheit in May 2020, he lost 65 percent of his strawberries, 40 percent of his blueberries and all of his Red Delicious, Gala, Empire and McIntosh apples. On top of that, the changing climate has brought new pests to the region, like the apple flea weevil, which destroyed a full season's worth of crops when it first appeared in 2010. "Every year I keep thinking, is this it?" he tells <em>Truthout. </em>"I can't afford this financially; I can't afford the time and energy and it doesn't seem to be getting to any kind of manageable place."</p><p>In 2018, when President Trump signed the latest Farm Bill, he reauthorized the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which provides financial and technical assistance to farmers who implement certain <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/technical/cp/ncps/?cid=nrcs143_026849" target="_blank">conservation practices</a> like mulching to protect soil, or "<a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=nrcs143_026249&ext=pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">karst sinkhole treatment</a>" to protect runoff from reaching groundwater supply.</p><p>But Rosenfeld, who is in the midst of transitioning all 110 acres from conventional to organic, says the program doesn't offer the kind of assistance he needs. When government representatives paid his farm a visit to assess what kind of EQIP program they might support, Rosenfeld says they proposed he build a retention wall near where he fills his sprayer, to help catch runoff. "But what good does that do?" he said, referring to his ultimate goal of moving away from using any kind of hazardous material on his land. "They're not offering the types of programs that are relevant to me as an organic grower."</p>
<p>Rosenfeld says he wants to shift away from using diesel and gas-fueled tractors and to have on-site renewable energy to power his farm. But no existing government programs make that financially feasible. When he considered investing in solar panels a few years ago, he found one program that would have cost him around $30,000, but with the kind of crop loss he has experienced, he couldn't afford it.</p><p>Two hours north of Rosenfeld's farm, in White Cloud, Michigan, Luke Eising is a farmer who uses silvopasture techniques, letting cows, pigs and chickens graze together amid integrated forest and plant landscapes. Rotating the animals to different pastures encourages plants to develop more robust root systems, which returns carbon to the soil and improves soil quality. In addition to producing food for his community, Eising says, being able to help sequester carbon and rebuild degraded soil is a major reason he chose to be a farmer. According to the 2018 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank">report</a>, sequestering carbon in the soil is the most cost-effective option for economic activity generating "negative emissions." "I very much see it as a solution for food systems," Eising told <em>Truthout</em>.</p><p>Eising would like to see subsidies for corn and soy cut, because he thinks regenerative practices like his would become competitive. "We're fighting an uphill battle when I can see chicken breasts or pork chops in the store for less than I pay to process [my product]," he says, referring to animals raised in confinement and fed monoculture corn and soy feed the federal government subsidizes. Another issue the current administration hasn't helped with, Eising says, is a major meat processing backlog. Whereas Eising can usually get a date within six to eight weeks at a meat processing plant, given meat plant shutdowns amid COVID-19, leading to short supply of meat processing facilities, it's been hard to find a date any time before 2022. "This is not okay. I have animals outside that are ready to process, I have customers lining up because they're hungry and I have a freezer that's empty," he says. Existing laws prohibit small, local butchers from processing meat headed for market.</p>
<p>Eising tends to vote for conservative or libertarian candidates in local and national elections. In 2016, he voted for libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. But Eising says he'll likely vote for Biden if polling remains close in Michigan. "Nobody else is at all interested in what regenerative farming could do for this country," he says. Biden has recently <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2009/17/se.01.html" target="_blank">talked about</a> paying farmers for "planting certain crops that in fact absorb carbon from the air," but his <a href="https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/" target="_blank">climate plan</a> makes no mention of organic, diversified or regenerative farming. According to a <a href="https://filesforprogress.org/memos/regenerative-farming-and-the-green-new-deal.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> by Data For Progress, conventional farming practices that rely on pesticides and monoculture practices are linked to $44 billion in annual damage related to soil erosion in the United States, which is perhaps felt most acutely in areas where soil can no longer retain moisture in the advent of a heavy rain, leading to catastrophic flooding.</p><p>Ecologically minded farmers in swing states outside of Michigan similarly reflect a desire for leadership that addresses climate through agricultural reform. Kemper Burt began farming 40 years ago in California. He now lives in Arizona, where he grows lettuce and other produce on a 40-acre farm powered by solar energy. Burt points out that tackling climate change will entail decolonizing the way we produce food, in direct contrast with the "feed the world" mentality behind the so-called "<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/green-revolution-norman-borlaug-race-to-fight-global-hunger/" target="_blank">Green Revolution</a>" of the 1970s, which led to the fertilizer and pesticide-heavy monoculture farming he and other small-scale farmers want to break away from. "Let's just try feeding our community, then let's just try feeding our state, and then let's just try feeding other states," Burt says. Burt is registered as an independent, though he wouldn't say exactly how he'll vote in November. "I look to what people are doing to help protect nature, which then in turn protects you and I," he said.</p><p>Many small farmers say they've yet to see a presidential candidate or down-ballot candidate fully address their needs in this election cycle. President Trump's reelection campaign has not yet put out a climate plan. And Biden's climate plan does not yet spell out what small-scale farmers say they want, like a return to the New Deal-era concept of "parity," a supply-management strategy designed to prevent the kind of wasteful over-production of soybeans and corn that wipes the land of biodiversity and results in unstable prices. Rosenfeld wants to see a shift away from crop insurance, which comprised <a href="https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/12889-farm-income-forecast-rises-on-trade-aid-crops#:~:text=Rural%20Trade%20WEST-,USDA%3A%20Nearly%20one%2Dthird%20of%202019%20farm,earnings%20due%20to%20subsidies%2C%20insurance&text=Some%2031%25%20of%20that%20income,said%20ERS%20economist%20Carrie%20Litkowski." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one-third</a> of farmers' income in 2019, toward income insurance, which would provide financial support for people growing food, rather than cash crops.</p>
<p>As long as agriculture is considered a solution to the climate crisis, whether in a Green New Deal or as part of another climate plan, says Maine farmer Craig Hickman, he'd consider it a step forward, noting that he thinks his neighbors in Maine, many of whom are libertarians, would agree. "Investing in food infrastructure is as important as roads and bridges," he told <em>Truthout</em>.</p><p>In 2019, Maine, a "purple" state, passed the <a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/labor-union-support-maine-green-new-deal-bc048eea1c91/" target="_blank">first</a> state-level Green New Deal backed by labor unions. Facing increased pressure from forces like climate change, the potential "farm vote" could build swing power, "although it is not clear whether that would happen in 2020 or a later election year," Kaufman said. "We can look to the lessons of history: Farmers had quite unique behavior at points in time where they faced economic instability, which led them to support candidates and parties that addressed these issues."</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <u><em><a href="https://truthout.org/" target="_blank">Truthout</a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2647787588#/" target="_self"></a> </em></u><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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An electric car at an eVgo charging station in a parking lot in Dublin, California on June 20, 2018. Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday that would ban the sale of new cars in California that run only on gasoline by the year 2035. The bid to reduce emissions and combat the climate crisis would make California the first state to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines, according to POLITICO.
<p>"This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change," said Newsom in a <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/23/governor-newsom-announces-california-will-phase-out-gasoline-powered-cars-drastically-reduce-demand-for-fossil-fuel-in-californias-fight-against-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a> that accompanied the signing of the executive order. "For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. Californians shouldn't have to worry if our cars are giving our kids asthma. Our cars shouldn't make wildfires worse – and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn't melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines."</p>
<p>The threats posed by the climate crisis are playing out in dramatic fashion in California. This summer, the state has seen record-setting wildfires, heat waves and drought. Those mounting climate crisis-related challenges have spurred the move away from the state's leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/23/california-electric-cars/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p><p>"We can't continue down this path," Newsom said at a briefing, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/23/california-cars-electric-vehicles-gavin-newsom-climate-change" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. "If you care about your kids and your grandkids, if you care about disadvantaged communities, if you care about seniors, if you care about rural communities, if you care about inner city communities that have been underserved by our fossil fuel economy, then you care about the core construct that we are advancing here in this executive order."</p><p>Newsom added that the order will create "green collar jobs" that Californians are well-positioned to capitalize on since 34 <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric car</a> manufacturers are already in the state.</p>
<p>"Our second largest export in the state of California are electric vehicles," he said, according to The Guardian. "Those 34 manufacturers, those public trading manufacturers, represent close to half a trillion dollars of market capitalization, some $500bn … this is an economic opportunity."</p><p>For the order to be successful, the technology, scalability, and affordability of electric cars would have to improve dramatically in the next decade. Also, the state will need to make sure charging stations are readily available. California currently has the largest market for electric and hybrid vehicles, with roughly 257,000 new registrations for electric vehicles in 2018, according to The Washington Post. Yet, that number was not even 10 percent of the state's new car market.</p><p>While the order is sure to meet legal challenges, it may set the trend that carmakers need to increase their investment in fossil-fuel-free vehicles.</p>
<p>"The automotive industry was already on the road toward electrification as a long term goal, but many automakers have been guilty of setting short term targets for their electrification strategy that never came to fruition," said Jessica Caldwell, director of insights at Edmunds, an online resource for car data, in an emailed comment to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/cars/california-zero-emissions-passenger-vehicles/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNN</a>. "This rule, if implemented, establishes a specific timeline that they'll collectively need to adhere to. California is a major market that automakers desperately need to maintain sales within to ensure their own viability."</p><p>The announcement also earned the praise of environmental groups.</p><p>"The Governor's Executive Order is a meaningful step in addressing the climate crisis and protecting the health of Californians," said Coalition for Clean Air in an email to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916209659/california-governor-signs-order-banning-sales-of-new-gasoline-cars-by-2035" target="_blank">NPR</a>. "Electrifying transportation will also create jobs and help California move forward in its economic recovery."</p>
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A "trash tsunami" has washed ashore on the beaches of Honduras, endangering both wildlife and the local economy.
<p>The trash is mostly <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic" target="_self">plastic</a> waste, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/episode/trash-tsunami-blights-honduras-beach-4427746" target="_blank">Voice of America reported</a> Tuesday, and it is polluting the typically pristine tropical beaches of Omoa in the country's north. Honduran officials said Saturday that the refuse was coming from the mouth of the Motagua River in neighboring Guatemala. It poses a problem for the local economy because it depends on the tourism the beaches attract.</p><p>"This wave of trash which came from the Motagua River really surprised us, and even though it caused problems, it has not stopped our activities," Honduran environment official Lilian Rivera said, as <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/trash-tsunami-blights-honduras-beach-111435040.html" target="_blank">Yahoo News reported</a>. "We are committed to cleaning our beaches and keeping them clean, but today we are demanding that authorities in Tegucigalpa take strong actions, actions to find a permanent solution to this problem."</p><p>Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras.</p><p>The Hondoran government, meanwhile, has demanded action from Guatemala to stem the tide of plastic, according to Voice of America.</p>
<p>But the plastic flowing from Guatemala's Motagua River is an ongoing problem for the region, as <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/10/27/plastic-pollution-guatemala/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Intercept reported in 2019</a>. The plastic tide is fed by the fact that Guatemala has few managed landfills or wastewater treatment plants. The plastic then washes out in the Caribbean Sea, home to the biodiverse Mesoamerican reef.</p><p>In 2017, the Guatemalan government installed a "bio-fence" in the river to catch some of the waste after the Honduran government threatened a lawsuit over the pollution that reached its beaches. The fence is made of plastic bottles tied together with plastic netting.</p><p>"When it's full, you can practically walk on it," trash removal worker Marco Dubón told The Intercept.</p>
<p>Worldwide, rivers are a major source of ocean plastic pollution: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10155392528501479" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">90 percent of it</a> comes from just 10 rivers, scientists found in 2017. The problem is only growing. A study <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/ocean-plastic-2040-2646793992.html" target="_self">published in July</a> found that around 11 million metric tons of plastic enter marine environments every year, and that number will increase to 29 million metric tons a year by 2040 if no action is taken. Plastic is then a major problem for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a>. Seabirds, turtles and marine mammals can become entangled in plastic or eat it by mistake, <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/09/24/plastic-pollution-affects-sea-life-throughout-the-ocean#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20United%20Nations,of%20that%20litter%20is%20plastic.&text=Fish%2C%20seabirds%2C%20sea%20turtles%2C,suffocation%2C%20starvation%2C%20and%20drowning." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PEW pointed out</a>. This can lead to strangulation, suffocation or death. It is estimated that plastic kills one million seabirds every year and that half of all sea turtles have swallowed plastic.</p>
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Long-finned pilot whales are seen during a 1998 stranding in Marion Bay in Tasmania, Australia. Auscape / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
More long-finned pilot whales were found stranded today on beaches in Tasmania, Australia. About 500 whales have become stranded, including at least 380 that have died, the AP reported. It is the largest mass stranding in Australia's recorded history.
<p>The stranding started on Monday when the whales became stuck on sandbars in Macquarie Harbor on Tasmania's west coast. Rescue efforts started on Tuesday morning and successfully helped 50 whales back into the water. On Wednesday afternoon, rescuers were trying to save the remaining 30 survivors, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/23/more-than-450-whales-now-stranded-in-tasmania-after-rescuers-discover-pod-of-200-dead" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"While they're still alive and in water, there's still hope for them — but as time goes on they do become more fatigued," Nic Deka, regional manager for Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service, told the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54260278" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p><p>The Tasmanian government officials said that rescue efforts would continue as long as there were survivors. At the same time, The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service will address removing the carcasses dotting Macquarie Harbor, the BBC reported.</p>
<p>"We have a couple of options that we are considering, but we need to consider all aspects before we settle on a decision," Deka said in a <a href="https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/Documents/Media%20Release%20Whale%20Stranding%20Strahan%2023%20September%2012%20pm.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tasmanian government press release.</a> "We can't leave the whales in the harbor as they will present a range of issues. We are committed to retrieving and disposing but our key priority is to remain focused on the rescue effort."</p><p>The first pod, containing about 270 stranded whales, were spotted Monday near the small town of Strahan. Aerial surveillance found another pod Wednesday morning with about 200 whales further south. Experts believe the two groups represent one mass stranding event, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/australia/tasmania-whale-stranding-new-pod-intl-hnk-scli/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>"From the air most of the additional whales detected appear to be dead, but a boat has headed over there this morning to do an assessment from the water," Deka said in the press release.</p>
<p>He explained that the whales were difficult to detect partly because of the dark water. "In that part of the harbor the water is a very dark tannin color so we think potentially they stranded, washed back into the water and then have been washed back into the bay, so that made it more difficult for them to be detected earlier in the piece."</p><p>Tasmania experiences more than 80 percent of Australia's whale stranding events, the BBC reported, although the last mass stranding with more than 50 whales occurred in 2009.</p><p>There's no clear reason why stranding occurs, but several theories exist, including the notion that whales become confused if they get too close to the shoreline. Since whales are social creatures, it might take only one confused whale to lead an entire pod ashore, BBC reported.</p>
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A protest in solidarity with the Wetʼsuwetʼen's anti-pipeline struggle, at Canada House in Trafalgar Square on March 1, 2020 in London, England. More than 200 environmental groups had their Facebook accounts suspended days before an online solidarity protest. Ollie Millington / Getty Images
Facebook suspended more than 200 accounts belonging to environmental and Indigenous groups Saturday, casting doubt on the company's stated commitments to addressing the climate crisis.
<p>The suspensions came days after Facebook launched a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/climatescienceinfo/" target="_blank">Climate Science Information Center</a> to correct widely-shared posts that spread disinformation about climate change, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/22/facebook-climate-change-environment-groups-suspended?fbclid=IwAR0RFAFizQbp6B206VEU-mxSUQs0AD15d6qDEgK0LjzWr6dO_-NJlf2quhQ" target="_blank">The Guardian pointed out</a>. The same week, Facebook <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/google-facebook-climate-commitments-2647660142.html" target="_self">also pledged</a> to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. But the activist groups expressed doubt about Facebook's priorities, saying they were locked out of their accounts days before a planned protest against a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> company building a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" target="_self">pipeline</a> through Indigenous land.</p><p>"Actions speak louder than words and once again Facebook has taken actions that are in stark contrast to public statements from the company," senior corporate campaigner at <a href="https://secure.greenpeaceusa.org/fires-2020/?&utm_source=website&utm_medium=takeover&utm_campaign=fires_2020" target="_blank">Greenpeace USA</a> Elizabeth Jardim told The Guardian. "The recent bans targeting people fighting to save their communities from climate change and the continued exploitation of fossil fuel companies show us that when push comes to shove, Facebook will side with polluters at the cost of their users' trying to organize."</p>
<p>Greenpeace USA reported it <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/facebook-suspends-hundreds-of-accounts-associated-with-online-event-targeting-coastal-gaslink-pipeline/" target="_blank">was one</a> of the suspended groups, along with others including Rainforest Action Network, Presente.org and Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidimt'en Territory. The groups were all co-hosts of an event in May targeting the company KKR & Co. Inc., which is the new majority funder of the Coastal GasLink <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">natural gas</a> pipeline that the Wet'suwet'en community <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pipeline-blockade-british-columbia-2625969371.html" target="_self">is fighting</a> to keep off its unceded land in British Columbia. Another online protest against the company had been scheduled for Monday.</p><p>The accounts were told they were being suspended for three days for "copyright infringement," Greenpeace said.</p><p>"The timing was more than suspect," Delee Nikal, a Wet'suwet'en activist from the Gidimt'en clan, told <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/09/21/news/facebook-suspends-then-reinstates-hundreds-accounts-linked-anti-coastal-gaslink" target="_blank">Canada's National Observer</a>. "We would like to have transparency in this situation."</p>
<p>Facebook, meanwhile, claimed the accounts were suspended by accident and had since been reinstated.</p><p>"Our systems mistakenly removed these accounts and content," a company spokesperson told the National Observer.</p><p>The company did not provide any more information about how or why the mistake was made. Most of the accounts were able to post Monday night, but some are still locked out, Greenpeace's Valentina Stackl said.</p>
<p>The suspended activists also pointed out that the social media giant has allowed right-wing groups and posts to spread false information or encourage violence without suspending them. For example, the CO2 Coalition, a group that argues carbon dioxide is beneficial, was able to bypass a Facebook fact check this month by publishing its article as opinion, The Guardian pointed out. Facebook also refused to act on complaints when a militia group used the platform to urge armed people to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to the National Observer.</p><p>"We are not surprised by the actions that Facebook has taken," Nikal told Greenpeace. "This once again exposes the white supremacy inherent in the system. Videos of extreme violence, alt-right views and calls for violence by militias in Kenosha, Wisconsin, are allowed to persist on Facebook. Yet, we are banned and receive threats for permanent removal, for posting an online petition. Facebook is actively suppressing those who oppose fascism and the colonial capitalists."</p>
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