A bridge over the Delaware river connects New Hope, Pennsylvania with Lambertville, New Jersey. Richard T. Nowitz / Getty Images
In a historic move, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted Thursday to ban hydraulic fracking in the region. The ban was supported by all four basin states — New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York — putting a permanent end to hydraulic fracking for natural gas along the 13,539-square-mile basin, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
<p>The vote affirms a 2010 moratorium by the DRBC, an agency that manages the water. Pressured by environmental groups, commissioners used their authority to safeguard public and environmental health and limit future pollution, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.</p><p>"Today's decision is a historic watershed moment and one that will significantly contribute to a clean energy future," Patrick Grenter, associate director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2021/02/fracking-outlawed-delaware-river-basin-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in a statement</a>. "Fracking threatens the health of our people, water, climate, and communities and we're relieved to see it outlawed in the Delaware River Basin."</p><p>Fracking for natural gas involves blasting high volumes of pressurized water and chemicals into rock formations. This has led to contaminated water wells, while wastewater spills have transmitted radioactive materials into surface and groundwater, <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2021/02/25/delaware-river-basin-commission-votes-to-ban-fracking-in-the-watershed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">StateImpact Pennsylvania reported</a>. These pollutants and chemicals are linked to cancers and other health issues in humans and wildlife, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/marisa-guerrero/fracking-banned-delaware-river-basin" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NRDC reported</a>. </p><p>If fracking were to be allowed in the Delaware River Basin, these same impacts could affect the 17 million people that rely on the basin for drinking water, putting 45,000 people who live within a mile of the planned fracking well locations at high risk for those health problems, the NRDC added. The basin is also a critical habitat for one of the most important fisheries in the country, home to diverse species such as native trout, American eels and bald eagles.</p>
<p>The debate on fracking in the region began over a decade ago. During Pennsylvania's natural gas boom, commissioners expressed concern over the high quantity of basin water required to support it, StateImpact Pennsylvania found.</p>
<p>In response, the DRBC imposed a fracking moratorium in 2010, but never finalized drilling regulations, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Supporters of basin drilling argued that the commission did not have the authority to regulate drilling, StateImpact Pennsylvania noted. </p><p>Despite yesterday's vote, the ban still faces opposition. </p><p>Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Gene Barr said that the votes by New York, New Jersey and Delaware did not have Pennsylvania's "best interests in mind," StateImpact Pennsylvania reported. </p>
<p>"There is no support to any claim that drilling results in widespread impacts to drinking water, rivers or groundwater," <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fracking-ban-vote-delaware-river-16dbb425b97cff0fb6f10186b0a2bae8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Barr told AP</a>. "This was a political decision uninformed by science."</p>
<p>Last month, State Sens. Gene Yaw (R., Lycoming) and Lisa Baker (R., Luzerne) and the Pennsylvania Republican Caucus said the moratorium, now a ban, "amounts to an illegal taking of property from Pennsylvania owners of mineral rights and from taxing authorities," The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.</p>
<p>While Thursday's fracking ban could be seen as a promising sign for reducing fossil fuel reliance, the Biden team will face challenges addressing the climate crisis without also slashing jobs in an industry that accounts for a significant amount of U.S. employment. </p>
<p>For the time being, environmental groups are celebrating a rare climate victory. </p><p>"Banning fracking in the Delaware River Basin is an historic event," the NRDC added, crediting years of hard-fought advocacy by environmental groups and activists alike. "It marks a commitment to protecting human and environmental health — not just for those who depend on the Delaware River, but for an entire planet threatened by climate change."</p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Could a 'Digital Twin of Earth’ Help Scientists Predict the Future of Climate Change?
25 February
Science
A "digital twin of Earth." European Space Agency
As the weather grows more severe, and its damages more expensive and fatal, current weather predictions fall short in providing reliable information on Earth's rapidly changing systems.
<p>That's why a team of European scientists and ETH Zurich computer scientists are putting their heads together to "marry" the earth sciences and computer sciences to create a "<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-00986-y?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nclimate%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+Climate+Change+-+Issue%29" target="_blank">digital twin of Earth</a>." The simulation will provide an information system for scientists and policymakers to test scenarios with different sustainable development options, <a href="https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2021/02/a-highly-accurate-digital-twin-of-our-planet.html" target="_blank">ETH Zurich reported</a>.</p><p>"If you are planning a two-metre high dike in The Netherlands, for example, I can run through the data in my digital twin and check whether the dike will in all likelihood still protect against expected extreme events in 2050," Peter Bauer, deputy director for Research at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and co-initiator of the project Destination Earth, told ETH Zurich.</p>
<p>Over the past 20 years, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">extreme weather</a> events have been on the rise, according to a <a href="https://www.undrr.org/news/drrday-un-report-charts-huge-rise-climate-disasters" target="_blank">report by the United Nations</a>. From 2000 to 2019, 1.23 million people were killed by 7,348 major natural disasters. Twenty years before that, in comparison, there were 4,212 natural disasters, killing 1.19 million. This increase comes with a heavy price tag. Extreme natural weather cost $2.97 trillion in global economic losses in the past two decades, compared to the $1.63 trillion, two decades prior.</p><p>These numbers are expected to grow, urging researchers to design large-scale policy solutions across nations.</p><p>As part of their plans to become climate neutral by 2050, the European Union launched the Destination Earth initiative to track and plan for the future of extreme weather, monitor the health of the planet and support and inform EU environmental policy, according to a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/destination-earth-destine" target="_blank">EU policy report</a>.</p>
<p>In an effort to advance the "digital revolution of earth-system sciences" a team of scientists and researchers, including Bauer looked at the steady advancement of weather models since the 1940s, <a href="https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2021/02/a-highly-accurate-digital-twin-of-our-planet.html" target="_blank">ETH Zurich reported</a>. Their <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43588-021-00023-0" target="_blank">paper</a> was published Monday in <em>Nature Computational Science.</em></p><p>The climate problem is a complex one, requiring weather predictors to cover more than just local regions, but encompass the "complex processes of the entire Earth system," ETH Zurich reported. Yet, while their findings are not meant to "invalidate the steady progress achieved in weather prediction over the past decades," the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43588-021-00023-0" target="_blank">authors stress</a> the urgent need to develop a "high resolution" and "more realistic representation" of Earth's changing atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, land surfaces and biosphere.</p>
<p>"We are willfully destructive," Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction <a href="https://www.undrr.org/news/drrday-un-report-charts-huge-rise-climate-disasters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in a statement</a> about the UN report on natural disasters. "Disaster risk is becoming systemic with one event overlapping and influencing another in ways that are testing our resilience to the limit. The odds are being stacked against us when we fail to act on science and early warnings to invest in prevention, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction."</p><p>While the "digital twin of Earth" model is a bold step forward, it is necessary to ensure nations are prepared to handle the future of extreme weather, the authors wrote.</p><p>"The apparent effects of climate change on our environment — in particular on the frequency of occurrence and the intensity of environmental extremes — require urgent political response and much faster progress in delivering skillful predictions of future change," the authors wrote.</p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" data-width="710" data-height="959" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" data-width="800" data-height="800" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation safely returned 10 rescued orangutans to the wild on Borneo Island, Indonesia. Afriadi Hikmal / Getty Images
With lockdowns in place and budgets slashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many environmental protections vanished this past year, leaving some of the world's most vulnerable species and habitats at risk. But conservationists at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation were faced with an entirely different threat.
<p>Their beloved orangutans share a strikingly similar DNA to humans, making them susceptible to respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-orangutans/ten-rescued-orangutans-returned-to-the-wild-in-indonesia-idUSKBN2AN0R7" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. So when it came time to reintroduce a group of rescued orangutans back into the wild, conservationists had to rethink their usual transportation methods to prevent potentially spreading the virus.</p><p>The solution? Reintroduce the critically endangered species via helicopter.</p><p>Last week, ten orangutans returned to the wild by taking a flight to the Indonesian portion of Borneo Island, Reuters reported.</p><p>"For an entire year, we have not been able to release orangutans due to the global pandemic, but we are still strongly committed to the orangutan conservation effort," Jamartin Sihite, CEO of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, said in a <a href="https://orangutan.or.id/press-release-bos-foundation-conducts-back-to-back-orangutan-releases-in-central-and-east-kalimantan/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>Prior to their release, the orangutans were held in rehabilitation centers, according to Reuters. They included five males, a mother and two babies and two other females.</p><p>"Using a helicopter is the best way to transport orangutans during the pandemic," Denny Kurniawan, BOSF program manager, told Reuters. Normally it would take three days to drive the orangutans to their drop-off area, adding to the risk of further exposure between humans and orangutans, Reuters noted. However, air travel reduced travel time and kept veterinarians and orangutans at a safer distance.</p><p>"Efforts to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus have hampered many conservation-related activities," Handi Nasoka, acting head of Central Kalimantan's conservation agency, told Reuters.</p><p>Orangutans are critically endangered, according to the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/orangutan" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a>, with about 104,700 Bornean orangutans remaining. While the decline in populations is partially due to the expansion of palm oil and other agricultural plantations, causing habitat loss, orangutans also fall prey to illegal hunting and trading. The latter has been on the rise since the pandemic started.</p>
<p><br>In Africa, for example, international travel restrictions caused the continent's $39 billion tourism industry to decline, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/science/coronavirus-poaching-rhinos.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times reported</a>. Highly visited areas have become empty, making it difficult for conservation groups to keep track of illegal activity across Africa's vast lands, The New York Times reported.<br></p><p>"These animals are not just protected by rangers, they're also protected by tourist presence," Tim Davenport, who directs Africa's species conservation programs at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told The New York Times. Since the March lockdown, South Africa had experienced a rapid increase in rhino poachings. Now poachers are taking advantage of unpatrolled lands, illustrating "the risks of relying too heavily on tourism to support conservation," Davenport added.</p><p>While the pandemic highlights the unique threat that economic struggle poses to endangered species, it also emphasizes the necessary role conservationists play in protecting them.</p><p>"We cannot afford to stop our work under any circumstance," Sunandar Trigunajasa, head of the East Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency, which helped with the orangutan release, <a href="https://orangutan.or.id/press-release-bos-foundation-conducts-back-to-back-orangutan-releases-in-central-and-east-kalimantan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in a statement</a>. "What we must do is keep on innovating and adapting to the dynamic conditions and moving forward."</p>
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Trending
Volunteers Form Human Chain in Tireless Effort to Save Beached Whales in New Zealand
23 February
Animals
In a tireless, two-day effort, volunteers in New Zealand joined together to successfully refloat a pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded on the beach.
<p>On Monday, the pod of 49 long-finned pilot whales was found stranded on Farewell Spit, a remote beach on the South Island, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/40-beached-whales-refloated-new-zealand-07def068f617a588500c64d5dfcbe2be" target="_blank">AP reported</a>. In response, rangers from New Zealand's Department of Conservation, volunteers from Project Jonah, a whale rescue group and local residents joined efforts to keep the whales alive and in deep waters, AP reported.</p><p>When first sighted, nine whales were already dead, but volunteers drenched the animals still alive with buckets of water and ensured the animals kept the pressure off of their fins throughout the day, Louisa Hawkes, a spokesperson for Project Jonah said, according to AP.</p>
<p>By late Monday, when the tide had risen, 150 people, most of them volunteers, formed a human chain and guided the whales back into deeper waters, <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/124318871/reports-of-up-to-50-whales-stranded-at-farewell-spit" target="_blank">Stuff reported</a>.</p><p>Darren Foxwell, the Department of Conservation whale stranding operations manager, said the purpose of the human chain was so the whales could "re-orientate" and so the volunteers could "keep them together, otherwise there's a risk of re-stranding if they take off on their own," according to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/124318871/reports-of-up-to-50-whales-stranded-at-farewell-spit" target="_blank">Stuff</a>.</p>
<p>Once the whales were in deep enough water, boats moved back and forth to prevent the whales from swimming back to shore, AP reported. Yet despite these efforts, the whales still had not swum deep enough into the ocean for safety by the end of the day.</p><p>"It's always fantastic to see whales out in deeper water where they should be," Hawkes told AP. But the volunteers worried their efforts may not save the pod. "Everyone is very hopeful but also very realistic," Hawkes added.</p>
<p>On Tuesday morning, the pod of whales was found stranded once again, <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124326615/pilot-whales-refloated-for-a-second-time-at-farewell-spit" target="_blank">Stuff reported</a>. This time, only about 28 whales were alive and their chances at survival looked slim.</p><p>By that point the whales had become languid and were making little effort to swim away, a local Department of Conservation ranger, Andrew Lamason, told <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/436955/whales-strand-again-at-farewell-spit" target="_blank">RNZ</a>. With another dry tide on the horizon, volunteers were rocking the whales and attempting to direct them into the deep water.</p><p>By early Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Conservation reported that the pod had successfully swum offshore, following the formation of another human chain that pushed the animals deeper into the water, <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124326615/relief-as-stranded-pilot-whales-refloated-for-a-second-time-head-out-to-sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stuff reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Volunteers have been pulled out of the water now, because the whales are swimming below the low tide zone and heading out to sea," Lamason told Stuff. "That's really good news; such good news that I'm going home."</p><p>This is not the first time New Zealand's Farewell Spit has experienced whale strandings. Each year, about 300 whales and dolphins are stranded at the top of New Zealand's South Island, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38953557" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BBC reported</a>. In 2017, more than 400 pilot whales were stranded on the beach's three-mile-long stretch.</p><p>This is partly due to the region's unique geographical shape, creating a "natural trap" for long-finned pilot whales, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38953557" target="_blank">BBC noted</a>. Shaped like a hook, the spit's geography causes a whale's echolocation signal to bounce back, disorienting the animal into shallower and unsafe waters.</p>
<p>While scientists do not have a definite answer as to why whales and other animals consistently find themselves stranded on these shores, they do suspect it may also have something to do with changes in feeding patterns and altered <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">ocean</a> temperatures, especially in January and February, BBC reported.</p><p>The whale pod is now swimming offshore – their success credited to the efforts of volunteers and whale advocates alike, now relieved and heading home.</p><p>"I'm just doing what I can, it's not something I've done before and it's not how I hoped to see whales. I just hope we can help them live and survive," one volunteer at Farewell Spit said, according to <a href="http://stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff</a>. "But as sad as it is, this kind of thing also brings people together," another commented.</p>
<div id="029bc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="973d152bb86646a00e2a20317ac08a0c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1363934301033693185" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">If you are able to support our rescue efforts with a one off donation, we'd really appreciate it. As a really small… https://t.co/zrcQVmO1lM</div> — Project Jonah (@Project Jonah)<a href="https://twitter.com/ProjectJonah/statuses/1363934301033693185">1614022252.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Could a Tax on International Travel Fund a Country’s Response to Climate Change?
20 February
Business
Pexels
Countries most vulnerable to climate change are often the ones with the least financial resources to respond, and rich countries, which are accountable for the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions, are failing to support them.
<p>In response, six climate finance experts on Thursday called for radical reform to the ways in which international climate finance is organized, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/18/call-to-tax-international-flights-to-raise-climate-funds-for-poor-countries" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. In their <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-00990-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article published in <em>Nature Climate Change</em></a>, the experts suggest innovative finance options like taxing international transportation to create steady flows of finance to countries that need it most, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/18/call-to-tax-international-flights-to-raise-climate-funds-for-poor-countries" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. </p>
<p>Despite a pledge made in the Copenhagen Accord of 2009, rich countries are failing to provide US$100 billion a year by 2020 to support poor countries dealing with climate change. This is partly due to undefined rules on what kind of climate finance counts, the experts wrote. </p>
<p>"The original pledge stated that "this funding will come from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance", but specified no rules on what could be counted in those categories," the experts wrote. Over a decade later, the experts warn that accounting climate finance remains "deeply flawed," The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>A small number of countries contribute to the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions, <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/02/greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-country-sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The World Resources Center reported</a>. While China is the world's biggest emitter, it is followed by the U.S., emitting 13 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet countries with the smallest carbon footprints are still at risk for extreme weather and poverty, exacerbating global inequality.</p>
<p>A lack of action by developed countries could, for example, force 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/africa-can-play-a-leading-role-in-the-fight-against-climate-change/#:~:text=GDP%20exposure%20in%20African%20nations,half%20of%20the%20continent's%20GDP." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Brooking Institute reported</a>. In response, participating countries of COP 16, in 2010, created the Green Climate Fund, an entity meant to decide on climate finance policies and priorities, <a href="https://unfccc.int/topics/climate-finance/the-big-picture/introduction-to-climate-finance" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UNFCCC reported</a>. </p>
<p>Yet this program, including the UN Environment and Development Programmes and the Global Environment Facility, remain underfunded, the experts added, and dysfunctional climate finance systems continue to stand in the way of global efforts to support the countries most at risk of climate change. </p>
<p>"There is not a clear accounting system. The definitions of what constitutes climate finance are vague, and there are many flaws and discrepancies," Romain Weikmans, a co-author of the article told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/18/call-to-tax-international-flights-to-raise-climate-funds-for-poor-countries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. "It is impossible for now to say whether the $100bn pledge has been met or not. The parameters are so vague that it is impossible to give a definitive answer."</p>
<p>The authors call for countries to first determine their climate pledge's based on a vulnerable country's needs and then create tangible plans to reach these funding goals. For example, charging a tax on international flights could create steady flows of climate finance to help poor countries, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/18/call-to-tax-international-flights-to-raise-climate-funds-for-poor-countries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian reported</a>.</p>
<p>Based on a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep01458?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2011 study</a>, published by the International Institute for Environment and Development, a small charge to travelers taking flights could help raise US$10 billion each year. Taxing bunker fuels, high-carbon fuels used by ships, could also supply steady income streams, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/18/call-to-tax-international-flights-to-raise-climate-funds-for-poor-countries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a> suggests. </p>
<p>Implementing innovative solutions to help countries transition off of fossil fuels and adapt to climate change could be led by the new U.S. administration. For example, John Kerry, President Biden's new climate envoy, told global leaders last month at the Climate Adaptation Summit that "We intend to make good on our climate finance pledge," <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-summit-netherlands-idUSKBN29U1N8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters reported</a>. </p>
<p>This promise is followed by President Biden's recent executive order, "<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad</a>," requiring his team to develop a climate finance plan. </p>
<p>"Developed countries continue to avoid fundamental accountability issues by taking advantage of ambiguous technicalities in reporting standards," the authors wrote. As the United States <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-agreement-biden-us-rejoin-2650622946.html" target="_self">steps back</a> into the Paris agreement, an organized climate finance system could help the world's second-largest emitter lead the way in supporting countries most at risk for climate change. "Now is the time to begin that effort with ambition and accountability to build enduring trust and resilience," <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-00990-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the authors added</a>.</p>
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TAZO Tree Corps
At the beginning of quarantine, the nine-time Grammy nominee, SZA, was releasing new songs because she was "bored" and "losing my mind," she told BAZAAR.com. But new music wasn't the only endeavor the singer-songwriter had underway.
<p>On Wednesday, SZA along with the nonprofit organization <a href="https://www.americanforests.org/" target="_blank">American Forests</a> and the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLZZO5LJQ76/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">TAZO</a> tea company announced their partnership to fight for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/environmental-justice">climate justice</a>, according to <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tazo-joins-the-fight-for-climate-justice-in-partnership-with-sza-and-american-forests-301229914.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a press release</a>. Together they are launching the TAZO Tree Corps, a paid workforce that will plant trees in disadvantaged neighborhoods and underprivileged communities of color, BAZAAR.com reported.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f4207a606fe3200844cdd2acd0968dc7"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YUeOq4RKJZk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>"I can't tell you how many children I've met in the urban community, from all different colors of Black and Brown, that really just are not comfortable being in nature," the 30-year-old told BAZAAR.com, "I think the biggest takeaway from this is that quality of life and racism are so directly connected."</p>
<p>The TAZO Tree Corps will hire 25 fellows who will be trained in climate justice, tree planting and maintenance. The fellows will be locally hired from communities in Richmond, Virginia; Minneapolis; the Bronx; San Francisco and Detroit, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sza-tazo-climate-justice_n_602c44c8c5b62767c0aa9dbc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">HuffPost reported</a>, specifically "where historical discriminating zoning practices have left many low-income communities and communities of color with less green space," according to <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tazo-joins-the-fight-for-climate-justice-in-partnership-with-sza-and-american-forests-301229914.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a statement</a>. </p>
<p>But the tree planting initiative recognizes more than just the value green spaces add to urban communities. It also recognizes "that environmental racism and classic racism are directly connected, and it's probably one of the worst aspects of inequality," SZA told BAZAAR.com. </p>
<p>While trees in the U.S. absorb 17.4 million tons of air pollution, improving air and water quality, communities most impacted by pollution carry a disproportionate burden from the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> because they are situated near chemical treatment plants, highways or heavy polluters, according to <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tazo-joins-the-fight-for-climate-justice-in-partnership-with-sza-and-american-forests-301229914.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a statement</a>. </p><p>"Trees do more than beautify a neighborhood – they're life-and-death infrastructure for health equity and climate justice," Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests said in a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tazo-joins-the-fight-for-climate-justice-in-partnership-with-sza-and-american-forests-301229914.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>. </p>
<p>The climate problem is increasingly being recognized as a racial justice problem. For example, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/13/6001" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a study</a> published in 2019 found that on average, Black and Hispanic communities were burdened by a disproportionate amount of air pollution than whites. Planting trees can alleviate some of the burdens. But SZA and her partners are not the first ones to introduce tree-planting initiatives in marginalized communities.</p>
<p>In 2014 a local environmental non-profit organization, The Greening of Detroit, partnered with the city to plant 1,000 to 5,000 new trees each year, working in neighborhoods in Detroit with painful memories of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/environmental-racism">environmental racism</a>. When the city and organization sought support from these neighborhoods, they "met stiff resistance: Roughly a quarter of the 7,500 residents they approached declined offers to have new trees planted in front of their homes," <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-11/why-detroiters-didn-t-trust-city-tree-planting-efforts" target="_blank">Bloomberg CityLab reported</a>.</p><p>To better understand why some residents resisted the trees even if they knew the benefits they could have in their neighborhoods, researchers reached out to residents. Following the 1967 race rebellion, some residents remembered the city of Detriot cutting down elm trees in their neighborhoods and using helicopters to spray the toxic DDT from above to better "surveil their neighborhoods," Bloomberg CityLab reported. These memories left them wary of plans to plant the trees back.</p><p>"It's not that they didn't trust the trees; they didn't trust the city," Bloomberg CityLab reported. Some of this mistrust also came from the fact that these tree-planting groups were organized by outsiders of their neighborhoods, coming from other parts of Detroit, the University of Vermont wrote in a <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/gund/news/why-people-reject-city-trees" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>Lessons learned from the 2014 project, may be informing the TAZO Tree Corps, which plans to hire locals that are directly and disproportionately affected by environmental racism.</p><p>"There's something about them creating job opportunity in the disproportionately affected communities that makes me very attracted to the whole situation," SZA told BAZAAR.com. By locally employing people to plant trees "you're actually insourcing, rather than outsourcing, from the direct community, then creating value," she added.</p><p><em>Apply to be a part of the TAZO Tree Corps <a href="https://www.tazo.com/us/en/treecorps.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</em></p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGZmlsZXMlMkYyMDIxJTJGMDIlMkZtNDlvdmk0Ni0xOTIwLTE2MTM1NzgzMTQtY29tcHJlc3NlZC5qcGcmaG89aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzdGF0aWMuYmlsbGJvYXJkLmNvbSZzPTQ5NCZoPWIwOGYyMDJkMTBhZjU4ZTlmNGNjOTBlM2JlNWVkODkxYzZmMjk1Nzc0NjdkNzY3NTcxNDE5NTJlMzYzNmVjMzAmc2l6ZT05ODB4JmM9OTM5NzAzMDE0IiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTU2MTQ1NH0.N6P37oVugiDd4XmkboFzgJhcIPVOkGcNnFqVTEGwtp8/img.jpg" id="54620" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6827e837742871a3f211ca5b4da23144" />
Billboard caught up with SZA to discuss her role with TAZO Tree Corps, maintaining her creative balance, positive affirmations, and the making of "Good Days."
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Winter Storm Leaves Texans in the Cold and Dark, Sparking Political Debate on Renewable Energy
17 February
Politics
Some conservatives are blaming wind turbines for Texas' power grid failure following a severe winter storm. Orjan F. Ellingvag / Corbis / Getty Images
While Texans suffer from freezing temperatures and extensive power outages, frozen wind turbines are being used as a ploy to spread skepticism on the reliability of renewable energy.
<p>This week, a relentless <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/?s=extreme+weather" target="_blank">winter storm</a> pummeled through parts of the southern and central U.S., causing people to crank their electric heating systems. In Texas, the energy demand became too high for its electric grid, forcing the state to begin rolling blackouts on Monday, leaving more than four million Texans in the cold and dark, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/climate/texas-power-grid-failures.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>So far, analysts say the grid system failed due to high electricity demand, pushing grid operators into worst-case scenarios, The New York Times reported. Other causes for the failed grid included fuel shortages as gas-fired power plants went offline while demand increased, and frozen wind turbines.</p><p>Yet while some experts used the dire conditions to urge the state to adopt more climate-resilient energy systems, a few conservative commentators used the example of frozen wind turbines to encourage distrust of renewable energy systems in a state largely dependent on natural <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas" target="_blank">gas</a>. </p><p>"Texas is frozen solid as folks are left w/ no power to stay safe & warm," Steve Daines, a Republican U.S. Senator from Montana, <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveDaines/status/1361711788493074432" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tweeted Tuesday</a>. "This is a perfect example of the need for reliable energy sources like natural gas & coal." </p>
<div id="9b820" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cdbcb237d30bb9f384ddd01ee0f0c9e0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1361711788493074432" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Texas is frozen solid as folks are left w/ no power to stay safe & warm. This is a perfect example of the need fo… https://t.co/Tktn0F89t4</div> — Steve Daines (@Steve Daines)<a href="https://twitter.com/SteveDaines/statuses/1361711788493074432">1613492364.0</a></blockquote></div><p>According to The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which represents 90 percent of the state's electric load, wind turbine outages were responsible for less than 13 percent of Texas' lost generation. The majority of the power outages can instead be attributed to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_blank">coal</a> and gas, a local news outlet <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/are-frozen-wind-turbines-to-blame-for-texas-power-outages/" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p><p>The Montana senator's tweet included a viral image of a helicopter spraying liquid to defrost a frozen wind turbine. According to the image's caption, fossil fuels powered the helicopter while the liquid it sprayed contained them. "Keep that in mind when thinking how 'green' windmills are," <a href="https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1361664647661780992" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rep. Lauren Boebert</a> from Colorado tweeted, gaining thousands of retweets, <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/viral-image-claiming-to-show-a-helicopter-de-icing-texa-1846279287" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earther reported</a>. This same image has been <a href="https://twitter.com/lukelegate/status/1361149723072208896" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shared</a> by Luke Legate, a prominent oil and gas consultant, Earther added, although it is misleading. </p><p>While helicopters are used to defrost wind turbines, the image is from Sweden in 2014, not present-day Texas, said Brian Kahn, managing editor of Earther. The photo is originally from a Swedish study on de-icing wind turbines using hot water. Now the image is being used "to argue against clean energy in the U.S," Kahn wrote. "It's a rather silly claim."</p><p>Wind turbines in Texas did indeed fail during the frigid winter temperatures, losing about 4.5 gigawatts of capacity according to The New York Times. But as of Monday afternoon, 26 of the 34 gigawatts of ERCOT's grid that went offline were from thermal sources such as gas and coal, <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/161386/conservatives-wind-turbines-killing-people-texas-blackouts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New Republic reported</a>. </p>
<p>Cold temperatures are becoming less common due to<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_blank"> climate change.</a> But research suggests that as the Arctic warms, the jet stream will weaken, sending cold temperatures farther south, The New York Times reported. As a result, Texans are asking how their energy system can be more resilient to a changing climate.</p><p>Solutions include heaters that can help turbines operate in winter storms, on-site oil storage for gas plants and backup power plants for emergencies. These strategies could make Texas' electric grid more resilient to severe weather caused by climate change, The New York Times reported. But baseless skepticism toward renewable energy will not make the transition any easier. </p><p>"That type of work and serious conversations about how to end our grids' reliance on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_blank">fossil fuels </a>— which, just to be clear, are severely underperforming during the Texas blackout — are vital moving forward," Kahn wrote in Earther. "Misinformation and whataboutism to score lazy political points as a humanitarian emergency unfolds are not."</p>
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Freeway traffic around Los Angeles, California. A new study warns drivers of exposure to dangerous chemicals inside their cars. Ron and Patty Thomas / E+ / Getty Images
Californians with long commutes may be inhaling chemicals that put them at risk for cancer and birth defects, a new study has found.
<p>Led by UC Riverside, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202100026X?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">study published in<em> Environment International</em></a> found that up to 90 percent of the population with 30-minute commutes in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Santa Clara and Alameda counties have at least a 10 percent exceeded risk of cancer due to inhaling unhealthy levels of chemicals stitched into the fabric of their cars.</p><p>Long periods spent in cars expose commuters to unsustainable levels of two carcinogens known as benzene and formaldehyde, the study found. "These chemicals are very volatile, moving easily from plastics and textiles to the air that you breathe," David Volz, a UCR professor of environmental toxicology, <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2021/02/15/commuters-are-inhaling-unacceptably-high-levels-carcinogens" target="_blank">told UCR.</a></p>
<p>While benzene and formaldehyde are listed under California's <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/about-proposition-65#:~:text=Proposition%2065%20requires%20businesses%20to,defects%20or%20other%20reproductive%20harm.&text=Proposition%2065%20requires%20California%20to,defects%20or%20other%20reproductive%20harm." target="_blank">Proposition 65</a>, which requires workplaces to post warnings of exposure to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" target="_self">chemicals</a> that could cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm, how they infiltrate private spaces, like the inside of someone's car, is less recognized and therefore less regulated, UCR reported.</p><p>The average commute time for Californians is 30 minutes, <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/databases/article238667598.html" target="_blank">The Sacramento Bee reported</a>. This time spent is expected to grow as cities become more crowded and expensive.</p>
<p>"Of course, there is a range of exposure that depends on how long you're in the car, and how much of the compounds your car is emitting," Aalekhya Reddam, a graduate student and lead author of the study, told UCR. Keeping windows down during a long commute could allow "some air flow," diluting "the concentration of these chemicals inside your car," Reddam added.</p><p>But chemicals inside their cars are not the only toxins harming Californians. Heavy pollution, caused by on-road sources, on average disproportionately harm African American and Latino Californians compared to white Californians, <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/inequitable-exposure-air-pollution-vehicles-california-2019" target="_blank">according to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists</a>. This exposure comes with a heavy cost, causing lung and heart ailments, asthma and premature death.</p>
<p>In response, plans to reduce emissions and pollution from passenger vehicles are underway. In September, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order, requiring the end of sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035, <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/#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%20%E2%80%93%20Governor%20Gavin%20Newsom%20today,passenger%20vehicles%20to%20be%20zero%2D" target="_blank">according to a statement</a>.</p><p>Yet while California is often celebrated for its climate policy, its high emissions from cars persist. "Passenger vehicles alone produce nearly a third of California's emissions, more than all of the electric plants, livestock, and oil refineries in the state put together," <a href="https://grist.org/article/whats-driving-californias-emissions-you-guessed-it-cars/" target="_blank">Grist reported</a>.</p><p>But increases in emissions, from car tailpipes, for example, have less to do with the lack of environmental policies and more to do with urban-planning decisions. In Los Angeles, the city's layout creates sprawling neighborhoods, causing longer commutes, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-california-insight/a-climate-problem-even-california-cant-fix-tailpipe-pollution-idUSKCN1PQ4MJ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>Long commutes are also a problem for Californians living in the Bay Area. "There's simply not enough housing to live in the Bay Area, and even housing units are very expensive," transportation researcher Giovanni Circella <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/abc10-originals/the-future-of-super-commuters/103-e1017771-6910-49cf-a56b-a40e005c4c3a" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told ABC10</a>. "So, a lot of lower-income workers cannot afford to live in San Francisco and they need to commute long distances."</p><p>As the state becomes more crowded and more expensive, highlighting how the transportation sector in California harms its citizens could inform policymakers and auto manufacturers to safeguard commuters from the risks coming from both inside and outside of their cars.</p><p>"There should be alternatives to these chemicals to achieve the same goals during vehicle manufacturing," Volz told UCR. "If so, these should be used."</p>
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Trump signs House Joint Resolution 41, removing some Dodd-Frank regulations on oil and gas companies, on Feb. 14, 2017. SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
A new report by a commission of health experts found 22,000 deaths in 2019 were caused by Trump's failed environmental policies alone.
<p>The <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32545-9/fulltext" target="_blank">report</a> was published this week by <em>The Lancet</em>, an esteemed medical journal whose "wade into the politics behind health policy is highly unusual," <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-11/trump-s-environment-policies-killed-thousands-scientists-say" target="_blank">Bloomberg Green reported</a>. But while the journal's editor Richard Horton has faced <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01839-y" target="_blank">controversy</a> before, the study was co-authored by 33 scientists, signaling "a changing time," Gretchen Goldman, a research director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-11/trump-s-environment-policies-killed-thousands-scientists-say" target="_blank">told Bloomberg Green</a>.</p><p>"If you told me four years ago that scientific journals would be speaking out against Trump, I wouldn't have believed you," Goldman told Bloomberg Green. "But since then, there has been quite a shift, reflecting both the severity of what Trump did as well as the changing willingness of the scientific community to engage in policy conversations."</p>
<p>During his administration, Trump rolled back 84 environmental regulations, the report notes as of July 2020 – rollbacks that ultimately "hastened global warming, and despoiled national monuments and lands sacred to Native people," <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32545-9/fulltext" target="_blank">the scientists wrote</a>.</p><p>Loosened restrictions on fine particulate matter <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">air pollution</a> was probably the main cause of the thousands of deaths, <a href="http://www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/LancetTrumpCommission.pdf" target="_blank">according to the report</a>, harming communities in midwestern and southern states, where coal mining, oil drilling and natural gas extraction are prevalent. Many of these same communities have also overwhelmingly supported Trump.</p><p>Trump's exploitation of these communities gripped white, low-income and middle-income people's anger over "their deteriorating life prospects," banking on racism and xenophobia to gather support for his policies, <a href="http://www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/LancetTrumpCommission.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the report said</a>. But the "disturbing truth" is that many of Trump's policies were not radically new trends in the country's economic, health and social-political history, <a href="http://www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/LancetTrumpCommission.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the report finds</a>.</p>
<p>The Trump administration's policies rather accelerated a "decades-long trend of lagging life expectancy," particularly among Black and Indigenous people, impacted by lax restrictions on air pollution which are linked to health issues like asthma and pneumonia among children, heart disease and lung cancer, the scientists wrote.</p><p>In addition to outlining Trump's environmental policy, the report includes lengthy sections on the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration and racial disparities in health care. "I really think one of the accomplishments of the report is its historical truth-telling," said Dr. Mary T Bassett, a commission member and director of Harvard University's FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/10/us-coronavirus-response-donald-trump-health-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The scientists in <em>The Lancet</em> report also recommend various policies the Biden administration could consider. They call for anti-racist frameworks that directly compensate communities who have long been disregarded in the country, and they call for the new administration to introduce measures that address the social and environmental inequalities that "exacerbate" health inequities.</p><p>So how quickly can we expect a new tide of equitable environmental policy in a new administration?</p><p>Americans should brace themselves because it may take a while, Kevin Minoli, who served as a lawyer at the U.S Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump administrations, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/climate/biden-environment.html" target="_blank">told The New York Times</a>.</p><p>"It's very possible, more possible than not, that some of the Trump rules will still be in effect for a couple of years," he added.</p>
<p>With an entirely new administration, environmental policies could be designed to protect the communities it has long disadvantaged. Early decisions by the Biden administration to cancel the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and plans to restore protections over national monuments, like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, are promising steps forward.</p><p>But reversing much of what has been done over the past four years is a big job. Going forward, the U.S. must do so with "humility, and ambition," said John Kerry, the new White House climate envoy, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/climate/biden-environment.html" target="_blank">according to The New York Times</a>. "We really don't have a minute to waste."</p>
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Reticulated giraffes in Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Kenya. James Warwick / The Image Bank / Getty Images
A giraffe's life is a hard one, crowded by humans, stressed by habitat fragmentation and threatened by poaching. But for females, friends could make it better and longer, a recent study finds.
<p>Over the past three decades, giraffe populations have declined by 30 percent, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/how-to-tackle-a-giraffe/606787/" target="_blank">The Atlantic reported</a>. Today, only 111,000 individuals remain. Forming close relationships with fellow giraffes, however, could increase a female's chances at survival, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2020.2770" target="_blank">researchers found</a>.</p><p>Led by Monica Bond at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, a team of researchers <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2020.2770" target="_blank">asked</a>, "Do differences in the socio-ecological environment experienced by individuals influence their survival?" After studying giraffes in Tanzania for five years, their findings were published Wednesday.</p>
<p>So far, few studies have combined information on a giraffe's social life, non-social components and demographic data to better understand their chances of survival, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2020.2770" target="_blank">authors wrote</a>. Their study, however, incorporates influences from a giraffe's natural environment and stressors from humans to better understand the benefits of social bonds.</p><p>"Grouping with more females, called gregariousness, is correlated with better survival of female giraffes, even as group membership is frequently changing," <a href="https://www.media.uzh.ch/en/Press-Releases/2021/Giraffes.html" target="_blank">Bond told</a> the University of Zurich.</p>
<p>Female giraffes form similar social bonds as humans do, proving to be beneficial for their ability to feed and rear their young, the University of Zurich reported.</p><p>"It seems to be beneficial for female giraffes to connect with a greater number of others and develop a sense of larger community, but without a strong sense of exclusive subgroup affiliation," Bond <a href="https://www.media.uzh.ch/en/Press-Releases/2021/Giraffes.html" target="_blank">added</a>, according to the University of Zurich. Giraffes that live more isolated lives, however, miss out on opportunities to learn about plentiful food sources and nearby predators, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2020.2770" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the authors wrote</a>.</p>
<p>But female giraffes seek companions for more than just insight on the best food spots and local knowledge. The researchers <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2020.2770" target="_blank">found</a> that when female giraffes formed close bonds with other females, they were able to manage their stress levels, often raised by harassment from male giraffes.</p><p>While poaching does indeed decline giraffe populations, growing human disturbance and habitat fragmentation are the biggest threats, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/how-to-tackle-a-giraffe/606787/" target="_blank">The Atlantic reported</a>.</p>
<p>"When the land is not open, it reduces the animals' ability to be flexible to change," Julian Fennessy, co-director and co-founder of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, said. "And change is certainly upon them," The Atlantic reported.</p><p>Combined stressors, like shorter rainy seasons and longer droughts brought on by <a href="shttps://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>, as well as competition from nearby pastoralists for the same natural resources, impact giraffe survival, especially their reproductive success, The Atlantic reported.</p><p>But that's not it. Giraffes also suffer from a lesser-known risk.</p>
<p>In what Fennessy calls a "silent extinction," giraffes have long been overlooked by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> groups, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/06/150625-giraffes-animals-science-conservation-africa-endangered/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Geographic reported</a>, mainly because there are other <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> in Africa, like elephants, rhinoceroses and chimpanzees that often get more attention from conservation groups. "Giraffes have suffered from surprising scientific neglect," the Atlantic reported, despite the adoration people have for the creature. "Few researchers have studied them in the wild, so even basic aspects of their lives remain mysterious."</p>
<p>Insight into a giraffe's ideal social life could help scientists and conservationists alike understand more about one of the planet's most distinct creatures, and help protect them before they have no friends left.</p><p>"This aspect of giraffe sociability is even more important than attributes of their non-social environment such as vegetation and nearness to human settlements," <a href="https://www.media.uzh.ch/en/Press-Releases/2021/Giraffes.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bond told the University of Zurich</a>.</p>
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Construction continues along the U.S.-Mexico border wall on January 12, 2021 in Sasabe, Arizona, with negative consequences for local wildlife. Micah Garen / Getty Images
As parts of the world become drier and hotter, wildlife adapt by moving to more suitable habitats. But human-made borders could stand in the way, researchers warn.
<p>A first-time study published by the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA </em>examined how human-made barriers could restrict wildlife movement as their habitats become uninhabitable due to<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_blank"> climate change</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-08/hard-borders-hurt-animals-attempting-to-flee-climate-change" target="_blank">Bloomberg Green reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Species all over the planet are on the move as they respond to a changing climate," Professor Stephen Willis of Durham University's Department of Biosciences and the joint-study lead, told Durham University, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-02-man-made-borders-threaten-wildlife-climate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to Phys.org</a>. "Borders that are fortified with walls and fences pose a serious threat to any species that can't get across them."</p>
<p>Researchers at Durham University in the UK studied about 80 percent of climate niches for land mammals and birds, and which temperature and precipitation pattern best suits their preferences, Bloomberg Green reported. Researchers then predicted where these niches would be if <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greenhouse-gases" target="_blank">greenhouse gas emissions</a> continued to rise, showing how they will dramatically shift over the coming decades. </p>
<p>By 2070, under a high-emissions scenario, 35 percent of mammals and 29 percent of birds are expected to have half of their climate niches in countries they are not currently found in, study authors wrote.</p>
<p>Researchers examined aspects that could restrict wildlife from moving to more suitable areas. Human-made physical borders, such as walls and fences, could be an "overlooked obstacle to climate adaptation," they noted.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/news/newsitem/?itemno=43803" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Durham University reported</a> that borders between the U.S. and Mexico, China and Russia and India and Myanmar pose the biggest ecological threats. </p>
<p>While past research has identified ecological damage caused by the U.S.-Mexico border wall, researchers said their findings show this damage could be worse than previously expected and that this border could be "one of the worst international borders on the planet along which to build such a wall."</p>Researchers predict that the U.S.-Mexico border wall could prevent 122 species from finding a new climate niche. These barriers could also "destroy habitats, fragment populations, [and] prevent dispersal and migration," the authors wrote.
<p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/gray-wolf-biden-administration-2649459700.html" target="_blank">Mexican gray wolf </a>is among the most threatened, <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/endangered-species-are-casualties-trump-s-border-wall" target="_blank">Sierra reported</a>.</p>
<p>As of early last year, the U.S. contained about 131 Mexican grey wolves, while the Mexican population numbered around 20 to 30, Maggie Howell of the Wolf Conservation Center told Sierra. Although these numbers were at a population high since the wolves were reintroduced in the 1990s, Trump's border wall hampered their ability to grow, Sierra reported. </p>
<p>"The fact that something everybody in the recovery of Mexican gray wolves is working toward is now literally being blocked off... I'm feeling the devastation to this subspecies," Howell told Sierra last year. "We are blocking off a chance for these animals to one day be a self-sustaining, healthy, recovered population."</p>
<p>However, the Biden administration plans to terminate additional <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/joe-biden-day-one-climate-actions-2650056267.html" target="_blank">border wall construction</a>, which could further help rebuild the Mexican gray wolf population. It could also boost the endangered Sonoran pronghorn population that lives near the border. </p>
<p>But as climate change becomes more severe, ending border wall construction may not be enough to conserve some wildlife species. That's why the authors also call for "cooperation across national boundaries to minimize biodiversity loss in the face of global change."</p>
<p>Developing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_blank">conservation</a> initiatives and habitat corridors that transcend national borders is necessary for the future of their survival, Durham University reported. </p>
<p>"Our findings show how important it is that species can move across national boundaries through connected habitats in order to cope with this change," Willis told Durham University, according to Phys.org. "If we're serious about protecting nature, expanding transboundary conservation initiatives and reducing the impacts of border barriers on species will be really important — although there's no substitute for tackling the greenhouse gas emissions at the root of the issue." </p>
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Scientists Discover Why Coral Reefs Are Turning White, Informing Restoration Possibilities
09 February
Science
A diver looks at the coral reefs of the Society Islands in French Polynesia on May 9, 2019 in Moorea, French Polynesia. Alexis Rosenfeld / Getty Images
Coral reef ecosystems are threatened, researchers have warned. Warming oceans, pollution and overfishing are a few reasons why.
<p>But scientists at the University of Hawaii and Michigan State University are looking for answers beyond just "why." They are seeking solutions that could help <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-reefs">coral reefs</a> endure these threats now and into the future.</p><p>Between 2014 to 2017, a global ocean heatwave <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-bleaching">bleached</a> coral reefs around the world. During this period, about 75 percent of the planet's tropical coral reefs experienced this bleaching, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200408-the-middle-eastern-corals-that-could-survive-climate-change" target="_blank">BBC reported</a>. Places like Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii were also hit especially hard, bleaching nearly half of its corals, <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/uncovering-how-corals-resist-bleaching" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Michigan State University reported</a>.</p>
<p>"It was kind of horrifying," Crawford Drury, a coral biologist who researches at the UH Manoa's Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology, or HIMB, <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/uncovering-how-corals-resist-bleaching" target="_blank">according to MSU</a>. "It's disheartening to watch, but I try to think of it as an opportunity," Drury added.</p><p>Coral reefs thrive in a symbiotic relationship with algae, <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html" target="_blank">according to NOAA</a>. While the algae grow inside the corals, using the coral tissue as shelter, the algae also provide the corals with food, turning them into their familiar, vibrant colors. But when corals become stressed from high temperatures, they will often discard their algae, turning them white, <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to NOAA</a>. While bleaching does not necessarily kill the corals, it does make them vulnerable to disease and death, according to MSU.</p>
<p>But, among the damaged corals in Kaneohe Bay, following the heatwave, some still bore their "healthy golden hue," <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/uncovering-how-corals-resist-bleaching" target="_blank">according to MSU</a>.</p><p>Looking to answer why some corals were vulnerable to a warmer ocean while others were not, the team of scientists analyzed the biochemicals of corals. Their <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01388-7" target="_blank">findings</a>, published Monday in the journal <em>Nature Ecology & Evolution</em>, could help inform future coral reef restoration.</p>
<p>The scientists found that two different communities of algae lived within the corals. Inside the algae cells were compounds known as lipids. Corals with saturated lipids resisted bleaching, while corals with unsaturated lipids were more vulnerable, <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/uncovering-how-corals-resist-bleaching" target="_blank">MSU reported</a>.</p><p>"This is not unlike the difference between oil and margarine, the latter having more saturated fat, making it solid at room temperature," Robert Quinn, an assistant professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/uncovering-how-corals-resist-bleaching" target="_blank">told MSU</a>.</p>
<p>Coral reefs are important for more than just marine life and ocean biodiversity. <a href="https://coast.noaa.gov/states/fast-facts/coral-reefs.html#:~:text=Worldwide%2C%20more%20than%20500%20million,%2C%20coastal%20protection%2C%20and%20more.&text=It's%20estimated%20that%20coral%20reefs,in%20flood%20damages%20every%20year." target="_blank">According to NOAA's Office for Coastal Management</a>, 500 million people worldwide depend on reefs for food and livelihoods. Reefs also protect against flood damage, saving communities nearly $94 million each year.</p><p>"Coral reefs are <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a> reservoirs and significant sources of food, income, and pharmaceuticals. We have a small window of opportunity remaining to apply science to rescue the world's degrading reefs," Karine Kleinhaus, a professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200408-the-middle-eastern-corals-that-could-survive-climate-change" target="_blank">told BBC in April</a>.</p><p>In one rare and unique case, coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea have resisted bleaching, despite warmer ocean temperatures, BBC reported.</p>
<p>"Unless we uncover what exactly happens biologically in the corals of the Gulf of Aqaba that allows them to withstand warming temperatures, we don't know how or if this knowledge can be applied elsewhere," <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200408-the-middle-eastern-corals-that-could-survive-climate-change" target="_blank">Kleinhaus added</a>.</p><p>Now with more answers regarding their biological processes, the University of Hawaii and Michigan State University scientists' findings could help inform future projects to protect coral reefs.</p><p>"This work provides insight into the biochemical mechanisms of coral bleaching and presents a valuable new tool for resilience-based reef restoration," the authors of the study <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01388-7" target="_blank">wrote</a>.</p><p>Their research can also help conservationists choose more climate-resilient species to seed when restoring reefs, MSU reported. "We can use natural resilience to better understand, support and manage coral reefs under <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>," Drury told MSU. "Hopefully, we're just getting started."</p>
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