Sierra Club
Today Sierra magazine released its seventh annual ranking of the nation’s “Coolest Schools,” a salute to U.S. colleges that are helping to solve climate problems and making significant efforts to operate sustainably.
Sierra examined the academic institutions making a difference for the planet, seeking out campuses that are creating tangible change in all categories of greenness—from what’s served in dining halls to what’s taught in lecture halls to what’s powering the dorms. Whether it’s Cornell’s minor in climate change or American University’s new campus-wide composting program, schools across America are taking dramatic steps to help protect the planet and its resources.
“For the past seven years, Sierra magazine has ranked colleges and universities on their commitment to fighting climate disruption and making sure the future their students will inhabit has safe water, clean air and beautiful landscapes,” said Bob Sipchen, Sierra magazine’s editor-in-chief. “By showing such strong leadership on so many fronts—from energy use and transportation to the courses they offer—the best of these schools are pointing the way for other institutions.”
Sierra magazine’s top 10 schools of 2013 are:
- University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT)
- Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA)
- University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
- University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
- Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
- Green Mountain College (Poultney, VT)
- Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
- Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
- American University (Washington, DC)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
The University of Connecticut, Sierra’s number-one school, stands out for offering more than 600 sustainability-related classes; for having reduced its water use by 15 percent since 2005; and for, over the past two years, having retrofitted 13 buildings to prevent emitting 2,640 annual tons of carbon dioxide. In addition, more than one-quarter of the food served in dining halls is processed within 100 miles, with many ingredients harvested right on campus. UConn’s first appearance on Sierra magazine’s “Coolest Schools” list was in 2010, at number 49.
In addition to featuring Sierra’s data-based rankings, the magazine’s September/October issue includes an array of stories that examine whether colleges’ sustainability efforts really make a difference when students graduate. Such pieces include Aha Moments, which profiles three people whose lives were forever changed for the greener because of a moment (or a person) in college and The Measure of an Education, by Pulitzer winner Edward Humes, in which readers learn how schools are starting to gauge whether steeping students in environmentalism truly does create a more sustainable world.
Exclusively online is a video made by the Sierra Club’s “Best Interns,” sent on assignment to document the behind-the-scenes goings on of the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, a biannual contest during which students build futuristic solar-powered houses. Also available online is a list of the most coveted eco-scholarships, plus Sierra’s annual “20 Days of Giveaways” sweepstakes.
Visit EcoWatch’s CLIMATE CHANGE pages for more related news on this topic.
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Commuters make their way through a flooded street after heavy monsoon rains in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 21, 2020. Munir Uz Zaman / Getty Images
By Ajit Niranjan
World leaders and businesses are not putting enough money into adapting to dangerous changes in the climate and must "urgently step up action," according to a report published Thursday by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
<p>Last year was the joint-hottest year on record and disasters struck every continent. Smoke-belching wildfires burned through communities from Australia to the Arctic. <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-storms-cyclones-hurricanes-typhoons-explained/a-55521226" target="_blank">Extreme storms</a> battered coastal cities from the Philippines to Nicaragua, while floods put a third of Bangladesh underwater and covered entire villages in Nigeria.</p><p>Extreme weather and climate-related disasters have killed more than 410,000 people in the past 10 years, almost all of them in poorer countries, according to the <a href="https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20201116_WorldDisasters_Full.pdf" target="_blank">International Federation of the Red Cross and Crescent.</a></p><p>"The hard truth is that climate change is upon us," said UNEP Executive Director <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-we-are-close-to-the-point-of-no-return/a-56122609" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inger Andersen</a>, in the foreword to the report. "Its impacts will intensify, even if we limit global warming. We cannot afford to lose the race to adaptation."</p>
Adaptation Has a Long Way to Go
<p>The Adaptation Gap Report, now in its 5th year, finds "huge gaps" between what world leaders agreed to do under the 2015 <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/5-years-paris-climate-agreement/a-55901139" target="_blank">Paris Agreement</a> and what they need to do to keep their citizens safe from climate change.</p><p>A review by the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative of almost 1,700 examples of climate adaptation found that a third were in the early stages of implementation — and only 3% had reached the point of reducing risks.</p><p>Disasters like storms and droughts have grown stronger than they should be because people have warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels and chopping down rainforests. The world has heated by more than 1.1 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution and is on track to warm by about 3°C by the end of the century.</p><p>If world leaders <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-change-performance-index-how-far-have-we-come/a-55846406" target="_blank">deliver on recent pledges</a> to bring emissions to <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/joe-bidens-climate-pledges-are-they-realistic/a-56173821" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">net-zero</a> by the middle of the century, they could almost limit warming to 2°C. The target of the Paris Agreement, however, is to reach a target well below that — ideally 1.5°C. </p><p>There are two ways, scientists say, to lessen the pain that warming will bring: mitigating climate change by cutting carbon pollution and adapting to the hotter, less stable world it brings.</p>The Cost of Climate Adaptation
<p>About three-quarters of the world's countries have national plans to adapt to climate change, according to the report, but most lack the regulations, incentives and funding to make them work.</p><p>More than a decade ago, rich countries most responsible for climate change pledged to mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 in climate finance for poorer countries. UNEP says it is "impossible to answer" whether that goal has been met, while an OECD study published in November found that between 2013 and 2018, the target sum had not once been achieved. Even in 2018, which recorded the highest level of contributions, rich countries were still $20 billion short.</p><p>The yearly adaptation costs for developing countries alone are estimated at $70 billion. This figure is expected to at least double by the end of the decade as temperatures rise, and will hit $280-500 billion by 2050, according to the report.</p><p>But failing to adapt is even more expensive.</p><p>When powerful storms like cyclones Fani and Bulbul struck South Asia, early-warning systems allowed governments to move millions of people out of danger at short notice. Storms of similar strength that have hit East Africa, like <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/zimbabwe-after-cyclone-idai-building-climate-friendly-practices/a-54251885" target="_blank">cyclones Idai</a> and Kenneth, have proved more deadly because fewer people were evacuated before disaster struck.</p><p>The Global Commission on Adaptation estimated in 2019 that a $1.8 trillion investment in early warning systems, buildings, agriculture, mangroves and water resources could reap $7.1 trillion in benefits from economic activity and avoided costs when disasters strike.</p>Exploring Nature-Based Solutions
<p>The report also highlights how restoring nature can protect people from climate change while benefiting local communities and ecology.</p><p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-fires-risk-climate-change-bushfires-australia-california-extreme-weather-firefighters/a-54817927" target="_blank">Wildfires</a>, for instance, could be made less punishing by restoring grasslands and regularly burning the land in controlled settings. Indigenous communities from Australia to Canada have done this for millennia in a way that encourages plant growth while reducing the risk of uncontrolled wildfires. Reforestation, meanwhile, can stop soil erosion and flooding during heavy rainfall while trapping carbon and protecting wildlife.</p><p>In countries like Brazil and Malaysia, governments could better protect coastal homes from floods and storms by restoring <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/mudflats-mangroves-and-marshes-the-great-coastal-protectors/a-50628747" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mangroves</a> — tangled trees that grow in tropical swamps. As well as anchoring sediments and absorbing the crash of waves, mangroves can store carbon, help fish populations grow and boost local economies through tourism. </p><p>While nature-based solutions are often cheaper than building hard infrastructure, their funding makes up a "tiny fraction" of adaptation finance, the report authors wrote. An analysis of four global climate funds that spent $94 billion on adaptation projects found that just $12 billion went to nature-based solutions and little of this was spent implementing projects on the ground.</p><p>But little is known about their long-term effectiveness. At higher temperatures, the effects of climate change may be so great that they overwhelm natural defenses like mangroves.</p><p>By 2050, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/rising-sea-levels-should-we-let-the-ocean-in-a-50704953/a-50704953" target="_blank">coastal floods</a> that used to hit once a century will strike many cities every year, according to a 2019 report on oceans by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the gold standard on climate science. This could force dense cities on low-lying coasts to build higher sea walls, like in Indonesia and South Korea, or evacuate entire communities from sinking islands, like in Fiji.</p><p>It's not a case of replacing infrastructure, said Matthias Garschagen, a geographer at Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany and IPCC author, who was not involved in the UNEP report. "The case for nature-based solutions is often misinterpreted as a battle... but they're part of a toolkit that we've ignored for too long."</p>From Your Site Articles
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A wolverine in Finland on June 19, 2019. yrjö jyske / CC BY 2.0
A Yellowstone National Park trail camera received a surprising visitor last month.
<p>An elusive wolverine triggered a camera near the Mammoth Hot Springs area, the park announced on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/YellowstoneNPS/posts/4279714232043898" target="_blank">Facebook Wednesday</a>.</p><p>"This is the first video footage of a wolverine since remote cameras have been deployed in the park," the park wrote.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="acfc8f3b6664d5f6d7d34ec82ca970a8"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/YellowstoneNPS/videos/399150214715661/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p>Yellowstone National Park first began installing cameras to track the movement of cougars in 2014. In the seven years since, the cameras have also proved useful for detecting and studying a variety of species. But never before have those species included wolverines.</p><p>Wolverines (<em>Gulo gulo) </em>are mid-sized carnivores in the weasel family who thrive in snowy environments. Worldwide, they are found in Scandinavia, Russia, China, Canada and the U.S., according to <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9561/45198537" target="_blank">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN). In the U.S., the southernmost part of their range extends into the lower 48 states, particularly the North Cascades in Washington and the Northern Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Wyoming, according to the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/wolverine.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> (FWS). This includes the greater Yellowstone area, where they prefer mountainous areas with forest or tundra habitats, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/wolverine.htm?fbclid=IwAR2zmzVYPN-dgY9Opq4HDnOy_99_WCNLBN8lICxMUAK_IMfec6D5L_l_XM8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">park explained</a>. Between 2006 and 2009, seven wolverines (two females and five males) were documented in the eastern Yellowstone area and nearby national forests.</p>
<p>In the Facebook post, the park wrote that they lived in "low densities" in the park itself and were "rarely detected."</p><p>The elusive mammals are hard to document because they tend to live in remote areas and can move quickly over a short period, FWS explained.</p><p>"Wolverines are so rarely seen and inhabit such remote terrain at low densities that assessing population trends is difficult and sudden declines could go unnoticed for years," Yellowstone National Park warned.</p>
<p>And they may become even more elusive because of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>. By 2050, the only places in the lower 48 states that will have enough spring snow pack for the animals will be greater Yellowstone, the southern Rocky Mountains and California's Sierra Nevada, but there are no wolverine populations currently in the latter two locations.</p><p>Despite this, the FWS refused Endangered Species Act protections to wolverines in October of 2020, as <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/endangered-species-wolverines-denied-endangered-species-protections" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">High Country News reported</a>. The department argued that enough snow would last in the lower 48 states to allow the animals to remain living there.</p><p>Conservationists disagreed, and <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/American_wolverine/pdfs/20-12-14-Wolvernine-Complaint-for-Declaratory-and-Injunctive-Relief.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sued</a> the department to reverse the ruling in December of 2020.</p><p>"For years scientists have been sounding the alarm on how wolverines are severely affected by climate change," said Andrea Zaccardi, a senior attorney at the <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, said in a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/conservation-groups-sue-feds-over-failure-protect-wolverines-2020-12-14/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a> announcing the lawsuit. "The future of the wolverine in the lower 48 now stands on a knife edge thanks to the Fish and Wildlife Service refusing to do its job. We hope this lawsuit finally puts the species on the road to recovery."</p>
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An offshore oil platform in West Africa. Cavan Images / Getty Images
For the first time, researchers have identified 100 transnational corporations that take home the majority of profits from the ocean's economy.
<p>Referred to as the "Ocean 100," the corporations accounted for 60 percent of $1.9 trillion generated from core industries in the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">ocean</a> economy in 2018 alone, according to an <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">article by the Duke Nicholas Institute</a>. The <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/3/eabc8041" target="_blank">research</a> was published Wednesday in the journal <em>Science Advances</em> by researchers at Duke University and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.</p><p>If the group were a country, it would be the 16th-largest economy in the world, <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">researchers found</a>. Out of the eight industries examined, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/offshore-oil-drilling">offshore drilling</a> generated the most revenue.</p>
<p>"Now that we know who some of the biggest beneficiaries from the ocean economy are, this can help improve transparency relating to sustainability and ocean stewardship," the lead author John Virdin, director of the Ocean and Coastal Policy Program at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, said in an <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">article by the Duke Nicholas Institute</a>. Some of the identified corporations included Saudi Aramco and Brazil's Petrobras, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-environment-oceans/ocean-100-profits-from-worlds-seas-dominated-by-100-companies-idUSKBN29I2XF" target="_blank">Reuters reported.</a></p><p>More than three billion people depend on the ocean for their livelihoods, <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/sustainable-ocean-for-all_6bcb3e94-en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to a report by the OECD</a>. Yet across eight industries studied, including offshore drilling, seafood production and processing and cruise tourism, researchers found that just 10 companies in each of the industries generated 45 percent of the industry's revenue.</p>
<p>"The fact that these companies are headquartered in a small number of countries also illustrates that concerted actions by some governments,could rapidly change how the private sector interacts with the ocean," co-author Henrik Österblom, science director at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">said</a> in the article by the Duke Nicholas Institute.</p><p>Due to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing">overfishing</a>, pollution and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>, the ocean is becoming increasingly threatened, <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/sustainable-ocean-for-all_6bcb3e94-en" target="_blank">the OECD reported</a>. This has degraded the ocean's fish stocks, habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity.</p><p>In response, the international community adopted the <a href="https://unctad.org/webflyer/advancing-sustainable-development-goal-14#:~:text=In%202015%2C%20the%20international%20community,marine%20resources%20for%20sustainable%20development." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015</a>, which for the first time sought to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development."</p>
<p>But such agreements overlook the ocean's potential to mitigate climate change, Janis Searles Jones, the Ocean's Conservancy CEO wrote <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02832-w#:~:text=The%20ocean's%20potential%20to%20mitigate,higher%20than%20terrestrial%20forests%20can" target="_blank">in a Nature article</a>. "We need greater ambition to give the ocean a fighting chance," she added.</p><p>The researchers' identification could help environmental groups like the Ocean Conservancy pressure corporations into adopting sustainability goals that include climate mitigation strategies.</p><p>"Senior executives of these few, but large companies, are in a unique position to exercise global leadership in sustainability," <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">Virdin added</a>.</p>
<p>In 2015, Österblom and his colleagues <a href="https://stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2015-05-27-keystone-actors-shape-marine-ecosystems.html" target="_blank">published a paper</a> that analogized transnational corporations to keystone species, according to the article by the Duke Nicholas Institute. They noted both have a major impact on how ecosystems function and disproportionate power to determine how other species in the ecosystem operate.</p><p>"Just knowing who they are is the first step in getting them involved in what needs to be done," <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-environment-oceans/ocean-100-profits-from-worlds-seas-dominated-by-100-companies-idUSKBN29I2XF" target="_blank">Österblom noted</a> in Reuters.</p><p>But depending on corporations to adopt sustainable practices may not be enough to reach international sustainability goals.</p>
<p>"In 2018, Chevron announced it would invest $100 million that year in lowering emissions through its new Future Energy Fund," Michael O'Leary and Warren Valdmanis <a href="https://www.vox.com/21509913/climate-change-bp-microsoft-investors-shareholders-accountability" target="_blank">wrote on Vox</a> on holding companies accountable to their climate commitments. That same year, Chevron invested $20 billion in oil and gas.</p><p>"For those who put their faith in corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a panacea for our ailing society, we have the unfortunate reality: This kind of allocation of efforts is not uncommon. Superficial public commitments on issues like sustainability and diversity are much easier for companies than substantive action," they <a href="https://www.vox.com/21509913/climate-change-bp-microsoft-investors-shareholders-accountability" target="_blank">added</a>.</p><p>Oceans will play an increasingly critical role in the global economy, the researchers <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">note</a>. Whether pressuring the ocean's major actors to adopt sustainable practices will translate into tangible corporate responsibility will reveal itself sooner or later.</p>
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A coalition of climate, Indigenous and racial justice groups gathered at Columbus Circle to kick off Climate Week with the Climate Justice Through Racial Justice march on Sept. 20, 2020. Erik McGregor / LightRocket via Getty Images
Environmental groups and the foundations that fund them made incremental, if mixed, progress toward diversifying their staff and leadership in 2020 but remain overwhelmingly white, according to a report issued by Green 2.0 Wednesday.
<p>The results are based on self-reported data from 37 of the country's top 40 environmental NGOs and just 11 of the top 40 foundations and grant providers. Since Green 2.0's first report in 2017, on average, the groups have increased their people of color on staff from 56 to 62 in 2020; on senior staffs increased from four people of color to five; and on boards, averaged four people of color, up from three.</p>
<p>Green2.0's executive director, Andrés Jimenez, commended the improvements, but said the changes were far from adequate in the context of the movement's history. The historic and present effects of redlining and other systems of (environmental) racism disproportionately burden communities of color with pollution. </p>
<p>The environmental movement remains predominantly white, however, especially in its leadership and funding — an inequity that has caused the movement to fail to account for and react to the harms caused by systemic racism. </p><p>"The survival of the environmental movement is going to be dependent on the community participation and leadership of communities of color and young people," said Rep. Raúl Grijalva, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. "It can't be cloistered and it can't be selective anymore." </p><p>Jimenez also chastised the failure of so many foundations and grant providers to provide data for the survey even though some of them made public statements in the wake of the nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd this past summer.</p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/numbers-don-t-lie-green-movement-remains-overwhelmingly-white-report-n1253972?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=106540840&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--vnu7e70huofRhkD5SqqC1zZXsM_Gqe4_lxOiNbi0998WihJMmXHfm4KU0fDl9ef8gaywGga25hF_phlpczlubyu2kVw&utm_content=106540840&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">NBC News</a>:</p><blockquote>President-elect Joe Biden has made issues of climate change and diversity a pillar of his incoming administration. Environmental groups said he signaled the importance of inclusion with the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-selects-michael-regan-north-carolina-environmental-chief-head-epa-n1251598" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">selection of Michael Regan</a>, who is Black, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/native-americans-rep-haaland-s-nomination-interior-secretary-signals-new-n1251727" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deb Haaland</a>, a Native American member of Congress from New Mexico, as his interior secretary.</blockquote>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong><br/></p><p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/numbers-don-t-lie-green-movement-remains-overwhelmingly-white-report-n1253972?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=106540840&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--vnu7e70huofRhkD5SqqC1zZXsM_Gqe4_lxOiNbi0998WihJMmXHfm4KU0fDl9ef8gaywGga25hF_phlpczlubyu2kVw&utm_content=106540840&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NBC</a>, <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/534097-the-results-are-in-how-diverse-is-the-mainstream?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=106540840&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--rG_mkQDKsNzxlbB2w24DxzhC_nj42zTZ6upg7snIJt_G_E6QmJlpLZ98rxsBTV80agXFRhT07crK14Ul7qsR99xY8Xg&utm_content=106540840&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Hill</a>, <a href="https://login.politicopro.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fsubscriber.politicopro.com%2Farticle%2F2021%2F01%2Fgreen-groups-diversity-push-stalled-in-2020-3986324%3Futm_campaign%3DHot%2520News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=106540840&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8HJbELIbjwQQgPY0-rFXWqnF5SfDm_XjBOUax4berNbeOzsAXUsxOcrPCjd8X1WoyfFMEAzVUhnMnWWHq-sYUB752Xfw&utm_content=106540840&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Politico Pro</a>, <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/01/environmental-organizations-remain-overwhelmingly-white/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=106540840&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8j2MvTp8OOCpljo9lBRbdf3EGYShP_DJcpiGENxaWAPOk7U0AJuv014iml4rLncK0Nhfec_k7tbliIg3PjjaI5ZTVlVA&utm_content=106540840&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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Joan Ransley / Moment / Getty Images
By Jill Joyce
Maybe you're trying to eat healthier these days, aiming to get enough of the good stuff and limit the less-good stuff. You're paying attention to things like fiber and fat and vitamins … and anti-nutrients?
<p>
What the heck are anti-nutrients and are they something you need to be concerned about in your diet?
</p><p>
Let me, as a public health nutrition researcher, reassure you that anti-nutrients aren't the evil nemesis of all the nutritious foods you eat. As long as you're consuming a balanced and varied diet, anti-nutrients are not a concern. In fact, scientists are realizing they actually have many health benefits.
</p>
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What Are Anti-Nutrients?
<p><a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Anti-nutrients are substances</a> that naturally occur in plant and animal foods.</p><p>The name comes from how they function in your body once you eat them. They <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/antinutrients" target="_blank">block or interfere with how your body</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B0710640" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">absorbs other nutrients</a> out of your gut and into your bloodstream so you can then use them. Thus, anti-nutrients may decrease the amount of nutrients you actually get from your food. They most commonly interfere with the absorption of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc</a>.</p><p>Plants evolved these <a href="https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/070111p54.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">compounds as a defensive mechanism</a> against insects, parasites, bacteria and fungi. For example, some anti-nutrients can cause a food to taste bitter; animals won't want to eat it, leaving the seed, for instance, to provide nourishment for future seedlings. Some anti-nutrients block the digestion of seeds that are eaten. The seeds disperse when they come out the other end in the animal's fecal matter and can go on to grow new plants. Both of these survival tactics help the plant species grow and spread.</p><p><span></span>In terms of foods that people eat, you'll most commonly find anti-nutrients naturally occurring in whole grains and legumes.</p>Time for an Image Makeover as Health Enhancers
<p>Despite sounding scary, studies show that anti-nutrients are not of concern unless consumed in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2014.01.010" target="_blank">ultra, unrealistically high amounts</a> – and they have numerous health benefits.</p><p>Anti-nutrients are currently undergoing a change in image very similar to the one dietary fiber experienced. At one point, scientists thought dietary fiber was bad for people. Since fiber could bind to nutrients and pull them out of the digestive tract in poop, it seemed like something to avoid. To address this perceived issue, grain processing in the late 1800s removed fiber from foods.</p><p>But now scientists know that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2009.00189.x" target="_blank">dietary fiber is incredibly important</a> and encourage its consumption. Eating plenty of fiber lowers the risks of obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some gastrointestinal diseases.</p><p>In the same way, rather than something to avoid, many anti-nutrients are now considered health-promoting nutraceuticals and functional foods due to their numerous benefits. Here's an introduction to some of the most frequently eaten anti-nutrients that come with benefits:</p><ul><li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/109662004322984734" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Saponins, common in legumes</a>, can boost the immune system, reduce risk of cancer, lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar response to foods, result in fewer cavities, reduce risk of kidney stones and combat blood clotting seen in heart attacks and strokes.</li><li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2014.01.010" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lectins, found in cereal grains and legumes</a>, are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers and becoming overweight or obese.</li><li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10408699891274273" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tannins, commonly found in teas, coffees and processed meats and cheeses</a>, are antioxidants that can inhibit growth of bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeast and may decrease cholesterol levels and blood pressure.</li><li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B0710640" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Phytates, found in wheat, barley, rice and corn</a>, are associated with increased immune function and cancer cell death, as well as reduced cancer cell growth and spread. They also have antioxidant properties and can reduce inflammation.</li><li>Finally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1024/0300-9831.72.1.26" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">glucosinates, found in brassica vegetables</a> like cauliflower, inhibit tumor cell growth.</li></ul><p>Oxalates are one of the few anti-nutrients with mostly negative impacts on the body. They are <a href="https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/aa166321" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">found in lots of common foods</a>, including legumes, beets, berries, cranberries, oranges, chocolate, tofu, wheat bran, soda, coffee, tea, beer, dark green vegetables and sweet potatoes. The negative impacts of oxalates include binding to calcium in the digestive tract and removing it from the body in bowel movements. Oxalates can also <a href="https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/aa166321" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increase the risk of kidney stones</a> in some people.</p>Fitting Anti-Nutrients Into a Healthy Diet
<p>Overall, comparing the benefits to the drawbacks, anti-nutrient pros actually outweigh the cons. The healthy foods that contain them – mainly fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes – should be encouraged not avoided.</p><p>Anti-nutrients become a concern only if these foods are consumed in ultra-high amounts, <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=426312" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">which is very unlikely</a> for most adults and children in the U.S. Additionally, a large proportion of anti-nutrients are removed or lost from foods people eat <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">as they're processed and cooked</a>, especially if soaking, blanching, boiling or other high-heat processes are involved.</p><p>Vegetarians and vegans may be at higher risk of negative effects from anti-nutrients because their diet relies heavily on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. But these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plant-based diets are still among the healthiest</a> and are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and numerous types of cancers.</p><p>Vegetarians and vegans can take a few steps to help counteract anti-nutrients' effects on their absorption of particular nutrients:</p><ul><li>Pair high iron <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/130.5.1378S" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">and zinc</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.afnr.2014.11.003" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">foods with</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/59.5.1233S" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">foods high in vitamin C</a> (examples: meatballs with tomato sauce, tomato-based chili with beans).</li><li><a href="https://www.jblearning.com/catalog/productdetails/9780763779764?jblsearch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Soak legumes before cooking</a>.</li><li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/70.3.543s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Time dairy intake</a> such that it is not always paired with high oxalate foods.</li><li>Purchase dairy products that are fortified with calcium.</li><li>Consider a multivitamin-mineral supplement with about 100% of the daily recommended dose of nutrients (check the nutrition facts panel) as nutrition insurance if you are worried, but be sure to talk to your doctor first.<em></em></li></ul><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jill-joyce-1172925" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jill Joyce</a> is an assistant professor of Public Health Nutrition at Oklahoma State University.</em></p><p><em>Disclosure statement: Jill Joyce does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-nutrients-theyre-part-of-a-normal-diet-and-not-as-scary-as-they-sound-149229" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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