By Edward Carver Lemurs in Madagascar have been under pressure from deforestation, poaching, drought and other challenges for years. Now, in the much-visited Berenty Reserve near the island’s southern tip, one species faces a mysterious new threat. In the last month and a half, at least 31 Verreaux’s sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi) have died in the […]
A palm oil supplier to Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever is destroying rainforests in Papua, Indonesia, a new investigation by Greenpeace International has revealed. Satellite analysis suggests that around 4,000 hectare of rainforest were cleared in PT Megakarya Jaya Raya concession between May 2015 and April 2017—an area almost half the size of Paris. Photos […]
By Daisy Dunn The average hottest day of the year in Europe, North America and Asia has been made significantly more intense as a result of deforestation since the start of the industrial revolution, a study finds. The research considers the dual impact that deforestation has on the climate: first, that clearing forests releases CO2 […]
In last year’s virtual reality (VR) film Melting Ice, viewers traveled with former Vice President and An Inconvenient Truth star Al Gore on a trip to Greenland to “see” and “experience” ice sheets diminishing, glaciers collapsing and melting ice becoming raging rivers. Now, and just in time for Earth Day 2018, directors Danfung Dennis and […]
The UK supermarket Iceland has announced it will remove palm oil from all its own brand products by the end of the year due to the belief there is no such thing as “sustainable” palm oil. Increasing demand for palm oil is still having devastating effects on wildlife, habitats and people where it is grown, […]
By Tom Murray As the Trump administration rolls back environmental protections that could harm human health for decades, it’s increasingly up to businesses to lead the way, charting the course to a future that includes both a thriving economy and a thriving planet. Leading the way requires first setting ambitious, public targets like the more […]
By Jeremy Deaton President Trump‘s proposed 2019 budget would slash funding for NASA’s Earth Science Division, and while his budget hasn’t gained traction in Congress, it is an important statement of the administration’s priorities. In a nod to his allies in the fossil fuel industry, Trump is calling for the elimination of vital programs that […]
By Mikaela Weisse and Katie Fletcher This edition of Places to Watch examines forest clearing detected between Nov. 9, 2017, and Jan. 31, 2018 in Indonesian Papua, Cameroon and Brazil. Due to occasional cloud cover that can obscure satellite recognition, some loss may have occurred earlier. Oil Palm Plantation Encroaching on Primary Forest in Indonesian […]
On Saturday, March 24 at 8:30 p.m. local time, skylines around the world will go dark as millions celebrate WWF’s Earth Hour to spark global awareness and action on nature and the environment. From the Eiffel Tower to the Empire State Building, and the Bird’s Nest stadium to Burj Khalifa, thousands of landmarks will switch […]