The Brazilian government has unveiled the fifth phase of an Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (PPCDAm) — Earth’s largest tropical rainforest — by 2030. First launched in 2004, the new phase of the PPCDAm will combat environmental crimes with bolstered law enforcement, among other strategies, reported Reuters. In […]
A mountain of unused fast fashion clothing items in the Atacama Desert in Chile has grown so large that satellites have captured clear images of it. SkyFi, a satellite imagery app company, asked members of its Discord channel to help identify the coordinates of the the massive piles of garments. With this information, the company […]
The Big Apple is sinking under its own weight, posing a worsening flood risk to the city, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Already faced with intensifying extreme weather and an increasing threat of flooding due to sea level rise, New York City is […]
Since 1970, the “chasing arrows” symbol has been an iconic marker of recyclability. But now, President Joe Biden’s administration is considering if the symbol has become misleading. The symbol was first designed by Gary Anderson, who was studying at University of Southern California and submitted the logo for the International Design Conference in 1970. It […]
In the UK, experts have expressed concern that some foragers for wild mushrooms and garlic have been taking too many ingredients from protected sites, putting wildlife at risk, reported The Guardian. The National Trust is concerned that people have been gathering foraged foods to sell them, damaging delicately-balanced ecosystems. “Foraging brings us closer to nature […]
While the amount of global plastic pollution is staggering, the United Nations Environment Programme has found that it is still possible to reduce plastic pollution as much as 80% by 2040. It would require major changes, but these efforts would still be convenient and even affordable to take on. The UNEP shared the possibility for […]
Faced with a wall of egg cartons at the grocery store, all plastered with different labels and phrases, it’s hard to know what to choose. Which is better: cage-free, free range or pasture-raised? What does “farm-fresh” mean? What lies behind the USDA Organic label? Are vegetarian-fed hens healthier and happier? Without uniform regulation of these […]
New research from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) shows half the number of farms that exist now will be gone by the end of the century, while the average farm size will double, a trend that could pose major risks for global food systems. The study is the first to follow the size […]
There’s a new banana in town, and it’s been genetically modified (GM). Scientists at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have developed the first GM banana in the world, a variety of Cavendish banana known as QCAV-4, designed to help save the species. The GM version of the tropical fruit was engineered to withstand a […]