Photo credit: Ralf Falbe
By Maeve McClenaghan
The murder of an environmental lawyer in the Philippines has provoked outrage in a country where environmental activists are increasingly targeted.
Mia Manuelita Cumba Masacariñas-Green was shot dead on Feb. 15 after her car was ambushed by two men on motorbikes in the Filipino capital Bohol. Masacariñas-Green, 49, was driving her three young children home when she was shot in the head and body. Her children, who witnessed the killing, were unhurt.
'The dam builders could not stop my mother'—so they killed her: https://t.co/4NIJLtIS2D— Greenpeace USA (@Greenpeace USA)1468775521.0
Activists Targeted
Nearly 100 environmental activists defenders have been killed in the Philippines since 2010. A third of those happened in 2015 alone. Violence is increasingly common in the Philippines where President Rodrigo Duterte's so-called "war on drugs" has led to state sanctioned murders of more that 7,000 people in the last seven months, according to Amnesty International.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive nor found the gunmen responsible for Masacariñas-Green's murder. But activists on the ground fear the lawyer was targeted because of her work.
Late last year, campaigners working to stop illegal fishing reported receiving death threats.
Global Witness has described the Philippines as "one of the most dangerous places in the world to be an environmental or land defender."
Yeb Saño, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, condemned the killing:
"Those who cause environmental destruction are resorting to savage measures and deplorable acts to stop communities and people who are standing up to protect our imperiled environment and the very ecosystems that support the lives and livelihoods of our people.
"Let our grief and our outrage at such horrifying acts be heard. Let our actions and people's movements spur our society towards a green and peaceful future."
Red Knots are among the shorebirds that a scientific study is tracking. BrianEKushner / Getty Images
By Julián García Walther
One morning in January, I found myself 30 feet up a tall metal pole, carrying 66 pounds of aluminum antennas and thick weatherproofed cabling. From this vantage point, I could clearly see the entire Punta Banda Estuary in northwestern Mexico. As I looked through my binoculars, I observed the estuary's sandy bar and extensive mudflats packed with thousands of migratory shorebirds frenetically pecking the mud for food.
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<p>In winter, more than 1 million shorebirds that breed in the Arctic will visit and <a href="https://whsrn.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/biodiversitas.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">move throughout the coastline of northwest Mexico</a>. It's possible they are tracking rare <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5781542#page/91/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">superabundant seasonal resources</a> like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sp_k_gXdxM&t=43s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fish spawning events</a>. Or maybe they are scouting for sites with better habitat to spend their nonbreeding season. The truth is, researchers don't actually know. It has been incredibly hard to elucidate how birds use the region and what drives their movements in this vast network of coastal wetlands spanning 3,100 miles of coastline.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTM3My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzQ4MTg0OH0.4TNYrfeeD0kO9x3UThVzlu5Yx10QQVJlsCSE6Prq63g/img.png?width=980" id="9c9b3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce7d893a0b47b8777bbc2cd4eb5f2efa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="1034" />
There are currently few Motus stations in Mexico, leading to a large information gap. Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<p>Tracking birds has always been a challenge. To make it easier, scientists have built a massive network of radio antenna devices called <a href="https://motus.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Motus stations</a> across the U.S. and Canada that can automatically track the movements of tagged birds. However, Motus stations – Motus means movement in Latin – are still <a href="https://motus.org/data/receiversMap?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">missing in much of Latin America</a>. This has resulted in large gaps in biologists' understanding of where migratory shorebirds go during their nonbreeding season.</p><p>A biology <a href="http://www.sennerlab.com/people.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">doctoral student</a> studying bird migration, I am collaborating with the nonprofit <a href="https://www.pronatura-noroeste.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pronatura Noroeste</a>. We have one goal: to expand the Motus network in northwest Mexico and unravel the mystery of where shorebirds are going during the winter.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTM3Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTg3MjQ4OH0.nJE-fVVA-nNKTRMBIJn6ZNq0VCXzXDB-pMgQyfw0oMU/img.png?width=980" id="0d2b0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d196471e7ac4abbc8a4c27c37699e63" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="416" />
Red knots and many other shorebirds travel thousands of miles from breeding grounds in the Arctic (left) to nonbreeding grounds in Latin America (right). Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<h2>How to Track a Bird</h2><p>Much of my work is focused on <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red_Knot/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">red knots</a> – stubby sandpipers that feed on muddy flats that are uncovered during low tide in many estuaries.</p><p>In the past, to learn how red knots move among wetlands meant walking through knee-deep mud with a scope, trying to find birds with color-coded flags on their legs. I would then have to get close enough to read the writing on the flags to determine who had attached the flag and where in the continent the bird had been seen before. This is not easy work. It requires large numbers of flagged birds and many skilled ecologists trying to find them, so you get very limited data in return for a lot of time and effort.</p><p>Motus stations make this job much easier, and with a Motus network in Mexico, ecologists like me will get much more data on the movements of these animals. The project involves two parts: attaching tiny radio transmitters to birds and building a network of stations to track them.</p><p>Motus stations work similarly to a cellphone tower. Researchers attach tiny transmitters weighing just 0.45 grams to animals and these transmitters emit a radio pulse every five seconds. Each station has multiple antennas pointing toward a site used by birds – like the mudflats at Punta Banda – and is always listening for these radio signals.</p><p>Motus stations can pick up signals from tagged birds in a 12-mile radius, 24/7. A small computer built into the Motus station can then record and send information to researchers about when animals arrive to the site, how long they stay and in which direction they are headed when they leave.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTM4MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDQ5NzcyNX0.KKGRPzwBJX6SBPshdbAag2XhPlxVXh3l1iqUmtM4FLQ/img.png?width=980" id="60e95" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6babec5435d4e06af93654e346a5b864" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="546" />
Motus stations require a high vantage point that overlooks estuaries. Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<h2>Building a Network</h2><p>The station at Punta Banda is the first and, so far, the only tower my team and I have erected. But the ultimate goal of our project is to deploy two dozen Motus stations in 15 coastal wetlands spanning the whole northwest coast of Mexico. When we are done, we will use these stations to track the movements of birds among these sites, as well as the <a href="https://motus.org/data/numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 1,000 other sites with active stations</a> across the world.</p><p>The <a href="http://visitpuntabanda.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Punta Banda Estuary</a> is one of the key stopovers for red knots. To maximize our chances of detecting birds, we chose to build the station on top of an old 30-foot metal pole overlooking the whole estuary. After getting approval from the pole owner, my colleagues and I assembled the station components. Then I climbed the pole, hoisting multiple antennas with me, and pointed them in all directions over the estuary.</p><p>By the time red knots start arriving in the fall, after breeding in the Arctic, our team hopes to have built many more stations like this one across northwest Mexico, ready to detect passing birds.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMTQzMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDczNjQyM30.x-JIRqZ24R8JlhaAaG2-yTCuSGnVgcAOhnEvovTwpQo/img.jpg?width=980" id="f4581" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="659ff446d20bc396f0e5d73e76eaac47" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="800" />
Any bird with a transmitter will be picked up if it flies within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of a Motus station. Julián García Walther / CC BY-ND
<h2>Tagging Birds</h2><p>The stations alone can't detect these animals. The final step, which will happen in the coming months, is to catch birds and tag them. To do this, our team will set up a soft, spring-loaded net called a whoosh net in sandy areas where the red knots rest above the high-tide line. When birds walk past the net, the crew leader will release the trigger, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwMiA2iqVc0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">safely trapping the birds with the net</a>.</p>WhooshNetCapture.MTS
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6440038cdc58961906f5fa164b457688"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vwMiA2iqVc0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Once we've successfully caught a bird, we will attach a transmitter to its back. Transmitters are solar-powered and very light – less than 1% of the bird's weight – and they can thus provide many years of data <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12934" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">without harming the birds</a>. Because younger birds may move differently than adults across the region, our team hopes to tag 130 red knots of different ages at other estuaries in northwest Mexico. The larger Motus project has already tagged more than <a href="https://motus.org/data/numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">25,000 animals</a>, so any other birds that come to northwest Mexico will also get picked up by our stations.</p><h2>Filling Important Gaps in Knowledge</h2><p>Migratory shorebirds are among the most threatened bird groups. Their populations have <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw1313" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plummeted by 37% since 1970</a> owing to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/27/opinion/shorebirds-extinction-climate-change.html?mtrref=www.ecosia.org&gwh=6DD49ABEFC5BE097C8850B9AC1EE6161&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">habitat loss, human disturbance and climate change</a>. Without robust information on how birds use important sites like the ones we are working on in Mexico, it is hard to focus conservation actions when and where they are most needed. As our network of stations grows, the data they collect will help fill critical knowledge gaps.</p><p>For researchers like me, this data will allow us to understand how the movement of shorebirds might be disrupted as global threats such as sea level rise continue to affect the coastal wetlands they depend on. In turn, conservationists will be able to implement better and more effective on-the-ground actions to conserve species like red knots.</p>
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/julian-garcia-walther-1202190" target="_blank">Julián García Walther</a> is a </em><em>PhD Student in Ornithology, University of South Carolina.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em><em>Julian Garcia-Walther is a PhD Student at the University of South Carolina and consults for Pronatura Noroeste, A.C. He receives funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Sonoran Joint Venture and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.</em></em>
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<em><em></em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientist-at-work-tracking-the-epic-journeys-of-migratory-birds-in-northwest-mexico-154156" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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The Great Barrier Reef at Whitsunday Island, Australia. Daniel Osterkamp / Getty Images
The world's oceans and coastal ecosystems can store remarkable amounts of carbon dioxide. But if they're damaged, they can also release massive amounts of emissions back into the atmosphere.
<p>Highlighting their need for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a>, the UNESCO published a <a href="https://ioc.unesco.org/news/unesco-marine-world-heritage-custodians-globes-blue-carbon-assets" target="_blank">report</a> assessing these ecosystems' critical role in mitigating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>.</p><p>The report was the first of its kind to quantify blue carbon -- carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere from ocean ecosystems -- across the 50 UNESCO Marine World Heritage sites. The report found six marine World Heritage Sites in Australia hold 40 percent of the estimated five billion tons of carbon dioxide stored in mangrove, seagrass and tidal marsh ecosystems within these sites, Edith Cowan University wrote in a <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/features/postgraduate/unesco-reveals-largest-carbon-stores-found-in-australian-world-heritage-sites" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>"We know Australia contains some of the world's largest stores of blue carbon due to the enormous size and diversity of our marine ecosystems," the report author and ECU research fellow Dr. Oscar Serrano said, according to ECU. Included in these six marine World Heritage sites are Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay World Heritage areas, which together contain a majority of Australia's blue carbon habitats. "However, here in Australia and around the world, these ecosystems are under threat from human development and climate change," Serrano added.</p><p>These threats include pollution, like plastic litter, and climate change, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2258" target="_blank">UNESCO reported</a>. This is an increasing problem not just in Australia, but among marine World Heritage sites globally, including ecosystems like the Sundarbans mangroves in India and Bangladesh, Everglades National Park in the U.S., the Wadden Sea in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/new-research-demonstrates-crucial-role-world-heritage-marine-sites-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UNESCO noted</a>.</p>
<p>Although blue carbon ecosystems represent less than one percent of the global ocean area, they store about half of the carbon dioxide via the world's oceans, absorbing carbon 30 times faster than rainforests, ECU wrote in a statement. But if these blue carbon ecosystems are not conserved, they could increase global carbon emissions.</p><p>"While they're healthy, blue carbon ecosystems are excellent stores of carbon dioxide, but if they are damaged, they can release huge amounts of carbon dioxide stored over millennia back into the atmosphere," Serrano added, according to ECU.</p><p>In 2011, for example, nine million tons of stored carbon dioxide were released following a marine heatwave that killed about one-third of the area's seagrass in the Shark Bay, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/03/blue-carbon-how-three-australian-marine-sites-lock-away-2bn-tonnes-of-co2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian reported</a>.</p>
<p>To avoid similar events, the report's authors call for conservation efforts like blue carbon strategies, where countries could earn carbon credits for restoring damaged ecosystems that store carbon, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/new-research-demonstrates-crucial-role-world-heritage-marine-sites-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank">UNESCO reported</a>.</p><p>"By quantifying the carbon value of these sites and recommending specific blue carbon strategies to conserve them, UNESCO's research findings point the way for countries, regions, and local communities seeking to conserve these areas and pursue blue carbon strategies," UNESCO wrote in a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2258" target="_blank">press release</a>. This could mean including assets, like investing in the restoration and conservation of blue carbon ecosystems, into Nationally Determined Contributions, each country's pledged actions in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>Currently, the Australian government is leading by example, developing a system to create carbon credits for restoration projects on increasing blue carbon stocks in marine ecosystems, The Guardian reported.</p><p>"There are significant opportunities for both the Great Barrier Reef and Shark Bay to be protected and restored to ensure they survive and thrive in the future," Serrano added, according to ECU. </p>
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For World Wildlife Day, seven "Champions of Nature" shared their picks for books that motivate them. Sam Edwards / Getty Images
By Kimberly Nicole Pope
During this year's Davos Agenda Week, leaders from the private and public sectors highlighted the urgent need to halt and reverse nature loss. Deliberate action on the interlinked climate and ecological crises to achieve a net-zero, nature-positive economy is paramount. At the same time, these leaders also presented a message of hope: that investing in nature holds the key to ensuring economic and social prosperity and resilience.
<p>2021 will be a critical year to ensure a net zero, nature-positive future as world leaders come together for several key events and negotiations related to climate and nature. Ensuring a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is also essential to ensure a prosperous and resilient future for humankind.</p><p>In honor of <a href="https://www.wildlifeday.org/" target="_blank">UN World Wildlife Day on March 3</a> and to provide inspiration for the important year ahead, seven members of the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fwww.weforum.org-252Fcommunities-252Fchampions-2Dfor-2Dnature-26data-3D04-257C01-257Cjcross-2540conservation.org-257Ca9e440256cd6422991e908d8c926c949-257Cc4de61a999b44c6a962ebd856602e8be-257C0-257C0-257C637480515718737070-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3DTW7TLt8sN5vv36XXezVjhZ7-252BqUcKRUHguvXUIWE2tGw-253D-26reserved-3D0&d=DwMF-g&c=VWART3hH1Kkv_uOe9JqhCg&r=JmSs9cEsZ5A4yov1dr2p01nUNPeNC9-pkC-xjek7kc8&m=Hd3Tq0yfeLju6QEmeIggjI-gAQfKWdWoajvb3Y_pTvw&s=NEsSYT5kF2dNllJljDi3erV5I8WuUjHb9kTEO0Io-vo&e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Champions for Nature</a> community – which is leading the way towards a nature positive future by 2030 – have shared what they are reading that is giving them motivation to build a better world for people and planet.</p><h3><em>Small Ideas to Change the World</em> – Cyril Dion</h3><p><strong>Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica</strong></p><p>Cyril Dion invites us to "change stories to change history." The challenge of climate change for what it is, to change the history of humanity, where each person counts and each action, big or small, counts. As it should be in an interconnected world, we dream of more solidarity.</p>
<h3><em>A Stone Sat Still</em> – Brendan Wenzel</h3><p><strong>M Sanjayan, Chief Executive Officer, Conservation International</strong></p><p>Our 19-month-old daughter would have it no other way. Brendan Wenzel's <em>A Stone Sat Still</em> has been read 600 times in our home during lockdown. Even so we still turn the pages with unhurried pleasure. We linger on its dreamy, dusky illustrations and its spring-water clear prose.</p><p>Each time we read it we fall in love with a new way of seeing nature; when viewed in different lights and at different heights, nature becomes the source of endless possibilities. For a grinding and tragic pandemic, a reminder of the value of nature and the importance of place is the perfect antidote.</p><h3><em>The Essentials of Theory 'U'</em> – Otto Scharmer</h3><p><strong>Cherie Nursalim, Vice-Chairman, Giti Group</strong></p><p>"U" is a movement. "U" is a philosophy of "seeing" and "sensing" our system. "U" is a way of letting go and letting a new "U" emerge. "U" enables "ego" to "eco system shift." Otto lays out and synthesizes the core essences of his decades of practice with corporates, civil society and governments around the world in integrating science arts and consciousness. This is to me a must-read book and offers a pathway to happiness by bridging social, ecological and spiritual divides (Tri Hita Karana ways to Happiness in Balinese) aligned with UN SDGs.</p>
<h3><em>Stones of Silence</em> – George Schaller</h3><p><strong>Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Federal Minister of Climate Change and Adviser to the Prime Minister, Pakistan</strong></p><p>The Himalayan travelogue by one of the world's leading conservationists searching for an encounter with one of the most elusive creatures on the planet – the mystical snow leopard – is what I am currently reading. The book is both a celebration of nature, as it beautifully penetrates and unravels the myth around the "mountain ghost," and an avid description of the spirituality residing in the vast emptiness of the mighty Himalayan landscapes.</p><p>George Schaller, the author of <em>Stones of Silence</em> (1980), is the person who, in the early 70's, inspired the creation of Pakistan's iconic Khunjerab National Park, which today conserves one of the world's largest populations of the snow leopard, Markhors, Himalayan Ibex and Marco Polo Sheep and who, a few months back, during COVID-19 quarantine supported the start of Pakistan's Protected Areas Initiative. As the world looks for a nature-positive recovery, the book is a must-read for all who yearn to taste a bit of nature – Himalayan magic mixed with the mystery of the snow leopard.</p><p>I quote from the book: "Wisps of clouds swirled around, transforming her into a ghost creature, part myth and part reality… Balanced precariously on a ledge and bitterly cold, I too stayed, unwilling to disrupt the moment… Then the snow fell more thickly, and dreamlike, the cat slipped away as if she had never been."</p>
<h3><em>The Untold Story of the World's Leading Environmental Institution</em> – Maria Ivanova</h3><p><strong>Inger Andersen, United Nations Under Secretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme</strong></p><p>I highly recommend <em>The Untold Story of the World's Leading Environmental Institution</em> by Maria Ivanova. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the genesis and evolution of global environmental governance. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Program in 2022, this book provides valuable insights into how UNEP – and, indeed, environmental multilateralism – must rise to the challenges of a planet in crisis and lead us towards sustainable development.</p><h3><em>Reality Bubble</em> – Ziya Tong</h3><p><span></span><em><strong>Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF International</strong></em></p><p><em><span></span>The Reality Bubble</em> by Ziya Tong is a provocative book about humanity's main blind spots: what we didn't evolve to see, and what we should but don't see. The blindness, often convenient, of modern society. A reminder of our limitations, and the dangers of ignoring the impact we are having on the health and balance of the planet we should call home. A particularly important reminder in a year when only humanity's full awareness of our role in the natural world can trigger the deep cultural revolution in our minds and systemic change in our economy to avert disaster.</p>
<h3><em>Losing Earth</em> – Nathaniel Rich</h3><p><strong>Svein Tore Holsether, President & CEO, Yara International</strong></p><p>The essence of this book is that we knew but didn't act. Nathaniel Rich tells the history of fighting climate change, and how the Charney report already in 1979 predicted the devastating effects of global warming. Based on this, I have used every opportunity to tell people that we have been sitting on the fence for four decades and have less than a decade to fix it. We don't have the time anymore to work in isolation, only collaboration can save us. The book was an eye-opener about how we have failed, how we can't afford to fail now, and how we must have a science- and fact-based way of working.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/world-wildlife-day-7-champions-for-nature-must-read-books/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Protesters are seen during a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington, DC on June 1, 2017. Paul J. Richards / AFP / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
While some mainstream environmental organizations welcomed Tuesday's introduction of the CLEAN Future Act in the House of Representatives, progressive green groups warned that the bill falls far short of what's needed to meaningfully tackle the climate crisis—an existential threat they say calls for bolder action like the Green New Deal.
<p>The latest version of the CLEAN Future Act—which aims to achieve U.S. carbon neutrality by the year 2050 —was introduced by Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone (N.J.), Bobby Rush (Ill.), and Paul Tonko (N.Y.). The bill sets an interim target of reducing pollution by 50% from 2005 levels no later than 2030.</p><p>In a <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ec-leaders-introduce-the-clean-future-act-comprehensive-legislation-to" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>, Pallone, who is chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that "the climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, but it also presents one of the greatest opportunities to empower American workers with new, good paying jobs and return our economy to a position of strength after a long, dark year of historic job losses and pain." </p><p>"Today's introduction of the CLEAN Future Act promises that we will not stand idly by as the rest of the world transitions to clean economies and our workers get left behind," added Pallone, "and that we will not watch from the sidelines as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on Americans' health and homes." </p><p>But while numerous people hailed the bill—with Earthjustice offering "applause" and NRDC calling it "urgently needed"—more critical voices from groups like Friends of the Earth and Food & Water Watch said the legislation is fundamentally and dangerously lacking.</p>
<div id="25965" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6116a1c2b1b913ad51c3ea576f2e196c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366827205427425289" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: Rep @FrankPallone just released his CLEAN Future Act — which he claims to be an ambitious bill to combat… https://t.co/M7nR0es196</div> — Friends of the Earth (Action) (@Friends of the Earth (Action))<a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/statuses/1366827205427425289">1614711974.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Lukas Ross, program manager at Friends of the Earth, called the bill's introduction "a monumental failure of climate leadership."</p><p>"Chairman Pallone had over a year to remove fossil fuels from the CLEAN Future Act and didn't bother to reconsider," Ross said in a <a href="https://foe.org/news/pallones-clean-future-still-a-fracking-mess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>, referring to the bill's <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ec-leaders-release-draft-clean-future-act-legislative-text-to-achieve-a-100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous iteration</a>. "A clean energy standard that qualifies fracked gas is a joke. We need real solutions like solar and storage, not a dirty lifeline for gas, nukes, and biomass."</p><p>Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/541228-house-democrats-reintroduce-roadmap-to-carbon-neutrality-by-2050" target="_blank">told</a> <em>The Hill</em> that while the new bill "improves on last year's abysmal proposal," the nation must "slash emissions 70% in 10 years, and we need firm cuts in greenhouse gases right now, not just gimmicky incentives, or future generations will suffer from our inaction today."</p>
<div id="189f0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aa31bacec80d88b49730e8591de5d26d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366863402912657416" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The CLEAN Future Act "fails to grasp the fundamental truth of fighting climate change: We must stop extracting and… https://t.co/yREn6Qx9tn</div> — Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch)<a href="https://twitter.com/foodandwater/statuses/1366863402912657416">1614720605.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Mitch Jones, policy director at Food & Water Watch, said in a <a href="https://foodandwaterwatch.org/news/dems-climate-bill-falls-short" target="_blank">statement</a> that "Democrats should be making a big, bold push on climate—and the CLEAN Future Act is simply not strong enough." Jones continued:</p><blockquote>The bill's clean energy standard includes provisions that essentially greenwash dirty energy sources—including rebranding fracked gas as 'clean' by pairing it with unproven, non-existent carbon capture methods. It also relies on a dubious emissions trading scheme to achieve its goals, which serves fossil fuel industry interests while pretending to curb climate pollution. The bill also promotes factory farm biogas as a clean energy source.<br></blockquote><p>"While this bill has been marginally improved, it fails to grasp the fundamental truth of fighting climate change: We must stop extracting and burning fossil fuels as soon as possible," stressed Jones. "We should not waste time creating credit schemes and offsets markets, or prop up fossil fuels with carbon capture fantasies."</p><p>"A bold climate plan must call for a ban on fracking and all new fossil fuel infrastructure," he added, "and a swift and just transition to 100% clean, renewable energy across all sectors of the economy. The CLEAN Future Act may have been revised since last year, but it's still a Green New Dud."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/02/green-new-dud-progressives-warn-house-climate-bill-fails-grasp-fundamental-truth" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A hiker looking up at a Redwood tree in Redwoods State Park. Rich Wheater / Getty Images
By Douglas Broom
- Redwoods are the world's tallest trees.
- Now scientists have discovered they are even bigger than we thought.
- Using laser technology they map the 80-meter giants.
- Trees are a key plank in the fight against climate change.
They are among the largest trees in the world, descendants of forests where dinosaurs roamed.
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>Now laser technology reveals the true scale of the giant Redwoods of North America — and it's bigger than we imagined.</p>
<p>As well as being <a href="https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/largest-trees-in-world.htm#:~:text=The%20General%20Sherman%20Tree%20is,neighboring%20trees%20are%20so%20large" target="_blank">the grandest,</a> California's Sequoias are among the oldest trees on the planet, living for up to 2,000 years. Measuring their size is much more than a matter of cultural curiosity since their bulk determines how much carbon dioxide they've sequestered over the centuries — a factor that's rising up the agenda in the fight against climate change.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwNzQ2OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzkzMjM1MX0.17ufHfW8fBH40g5UqC-l8ogt9QsY15-bWNeKYg0lEC8/img.png?width=980" id="7d8da" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6b48ceb6e0f93fbc097b588c1414406e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="990" data-height="656" />
Pixabay / Simi Luft
<p><span>Until recently, measuring these trees meant scaling their 80 meter high trunks with a tape measure. Now, a team of scientists from University College London and the University of Maryland uses advanced laser scanning, to create 3D maps and calculate the total mass.</span></p><p>The results are striking: suggesting the trees <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">may be as much as 30% larger than earlier measurements suggested.</a> Part of that could be due to the additional trunks the Redwoods can grow as they age, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a process known as reiteration</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwNzQ3Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODU0Mzc5Nn0.-G6C4DtknHyZaWf485WzgiJEZ23Z7mNN0_pRyGHxI4A/img.png?width=980" id="49683" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f4611c9584d36e406ba4873db378fab5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1040" data-height="1370" />
New 3D measurements of large redwood trees for biomass and structure. Nature / UCL
<p>Measuring the trees more accurately is important because carbon capture will probably play a key role in the battle against climate change. Forest <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/09/carbon-sequestration-natural-forest-regrowth" target="_blank">growth could absorb billions of tons</a> of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.</p><p>"The importance of big trees is widely-recognised in terms of carbon storage, demographics and impact on their surrounding ecosystems," the authors wrote<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank"> in the journal Nature</a>. "Unfortunately the importance of big trees is in direct proportion to the difficulty of measuring them."</p><p>Redwoods are so long lived because of their ability to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cope with climate change, resist disease and even survive fire damage</a>, the scientists say. Almost a fifth of their volume may be bark, which helps protect them.</p>Carbon Capture Champions
<p><span>Earlier research by scientists at Humboldt University and the University of Washington found that </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716302584" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Redwood forests store almost 2,600 tonnes of carbon per hectare</a><span>, their bark alone containing more carbon than any other neighboring species.</span></p><p>While the importance of trees in fighting climate change is widely accepted, not all species enjoy the same protection as California's coastal Redwoods. In 2019 the world lost the equivalent of <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">30 soccer fields of forest cover every minute</a>, due to agricultural expansion, logging and fires, according to The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwNzQ4Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjA0NzIzM30.PDWbo3FqXO_GYcl6WaCThOyKfzKd-yj8AwUw9X2GJ0M/img.png?width=980" id="7b4d6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="90a4055ea97300380384f0eaaed1a054" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="996" data-height="604" />
Pixabay
<p>Although <a href="https://c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/publications/1420/files/original/Deforestation_fronts_-_drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world_-_full_report_%281%29.pdf?1610810475" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the rate of loss is reported to have slowed in recent years</a>, reforesting the world to help stem climate change is a massive task.</p><p><span>That's why the World Economic Forum launched the Trillion Trees Challenge (</span><a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1t.org</a><span>) and is engaging organizations and individuals across the globe through its </span><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-issue/a002o00000vOf09AAC/trillion-trees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Uplink innovation crowdsourcing platform</a><span> to support the project.</span></p><p>That's backed up by research led by ETH Zurich/Crowther Lab showing there's potential to restore tree coverage across 2.2 billion acres of degraded land.</p><p>"Forests are critical to the health of the planet," according to <a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1t.org</a>. "They sequester carbon, regulate global temperatures and freshwater flows, recharge groundwater, anchor fertile soil and act as flood barriers."</p><p><em data-redactor-tag="em" data-verified="redactor">Reposted with permission from the </em><span><em data-redactor-tag="em" data-verified="redactor"><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/redwoods-store-more-co2-and-are-more-enormous-than-we-thought/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></span></p>From Your Site Articles
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