It emphasized that relatives of the 224 wild crops native to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have become staples in diets and clothing production across the globe, and that more than one-third of the wild species analyzed were at risk of extinction, mostly due to agriculture and pesticide use, The Guardian reported.
The Global Crop Diversity Trust collects crop wild relatives in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Global Crop Diversity Trust
Vanilla has the highest risk of extinction, the study found. All eight wild species of vanilla found in Mexico and Central America are listed as endangered or critically endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) red list of threatened plants and animals. Wild cotton is a close second, with 92 percent of species in the region at risk of extinction. More than half of avocado species and almost one-quarter of wild potato species are also at risk of disappearing.
These wild plants are ancestors of some of the oldest cultivated crops in the world, which were first domesticated by the Aztecs, Mayans and other civilizations between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago, according to The Guardian.
The wild relatives are "veritable treasure troves of genetic information," said Jane Smart, director of the IUCN Biodiversity Group, according to FERN. Plant breeders use wild plants to develop varieties of popular crops that are more resilient to heat, drought and pests, which are all accelerated by climate change, said FERN. They're also used to produce higher-yielding crops, which will be crucial as the world's human population inches towards 10 billion.
At least 16 of the wild species studied are currently used to develop cultivated crops that are more resilient to the impacts of climate change, said The Guardian. Madagascar is a stark example of what could happen if not enough action on climate change is taken. The country is facing its worst drought in four decades and is on the verge of the world's first climate-fueled famine.
"The salinity of the soil is changing, and these plants don't have the capacity to adapt. Temperatures are rising. Because of climate change, pests and diseases will also alter and this can have a massive impact on cultivated plants. We could have shortages of these foods," Dr. Bárbara Goettsch, lead author of the research, told The Guardian.
Wild relatives of banana, apple, prunes and ginger are listed as threatened on IUCN's red list, said The Guardian.
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Smoke from the fires reaching the North Pole "is continental scale by definition," University of Maryland atmospheric scientist Santiago Gassó told Reuters.
According to the European Union's Copernicus satellite monitoring service, wildfires burning in the Siberian republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, have already emitted 505 megatons of carbon dioxide. Although the northern part of the region experiences some of the coldest temperatures on Earth, this winter brought record high temperatures.
The summer fires are being fueled by abnormally hot weather and a record 150-year drought, The Moscow Times reported. The United Nations report published Monday highlighted the past six years as the hottest on record worldwide.
Smoke fills the sky for roughly 2,000 miles from east to west and 2,500 miles north to south, stretching from the North Pole to Mongolia, and could also be seen over Nunavut, Canada and western Greenland, the NASA report revealed.
A satellite image shows fire hot spots and smoke stretching from Russia to the North Pole on Aug. 2, 2021. NASA Worldview
The wildfires in Siberia are a very uncommon occurrence, NPR said, and the region houses part of taiga forest, which is often covered in permafrost, according to National Geographic.
"The Republic of Sakha, Russia's largest territory, used to be known as the Kingdom of Permafrost, (now) is turning into the Capital of Wildfires," an Aug. 2 piece on the local impact of wildfire smoke published in the Siberian Times said. At the time, an estimated two million hectares of the Republic had burned this year.
This year's wildfires have burned more than 14 million hectares across Russia so far, making 2021 the second-worst fire season in the past two decades, The Guardian reported.
A lethal combination of extreme drought and heat has made this a record-breaking wildfire year across the planet, especially in Europe and North America, said The Guardian. California's Dixie Fire is the largest single fire in the state's history, USA TODAY reported, and nearly 5,800 sq km of forest in British Columbia has burned since the spring, with months still left in the fire season, The Guardian said.
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Best Solar Flood Lights: Our Recommendations
- Best Overall: AmeriTop Motion-Sensor Lights
- Best Light Bar: TBI Pro Super-Bright Outdoor Solar Lights
- Best Compact Lights: Kolpop Solar Security Lights
- Best Street-Style Light: RuoKid Solar Street Lights
Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. Learn more about our review methodology here. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn a commission.
Full Reviews of Our Top Picks
Best Overall: AmeriTop Motion-Sensor Lights
ameritopdeal.com
This high-quality motion-sensing solar flood light from AmeriTop boasts super-bright LEDs for top-notch security. Highly efficient solar panels and LEDs mean lighting whenever and wherever it’s needed, and a 26-foot motion-sensing radius ensures nothing can get close to your house without getting some serious time in the limelight.
Key Features:
- 800-lumen output
- 20% efficient poly solar panels
- 26-foot radius motion sensor
- Wide 270° lighting area
- Automatic on and off
- Adjustable light head and sensor
- IP65 waterproof rating
- Fixed solar panels
Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars with over 18,000 Amazon ratings
Standout Review: "It was exactly what I was looking for. They are easy to install, just the right size and project a lot of light. Love that it is solar.” — Joshua via Amazon
Why Buy: The AmeriTop triple-head outdoor flood light is a robust solution for exterior lighting needs, featuring high-intensity LED bulbs, a quick charge time, a wide flood angle and motion-sensing areas, and IP65 waterproofing. Short of the sun itself, there’s no better solar security floodlight for your home.
Best Light Bar: TBI Pro Super-Bright Outdoor Solar Lights
tbi-store.com
The TBI Pro ultra-bright solar motion sensor flood light can illuminate up to 1,600 square feet, making it perfect for walls, posts, paths and gardens. Each light fixture casts a searing 2,500-lumen ocean of light, adding security and comfort to any exterior. This model has three lighting modes, so if you don’t need to burn a hole in the dark, you can select a different mode to set a lighter ambiance. From outdoor security to entertaining, these are a great choice.
Key Features:
- 2,500-lumen output
- 1,600-square-foot lighting area
- Super-wide 280° lighting angle
- Motion-detection up to 40 feet
- 12-hour runtime with 4,400 mAh battery
- Three lighting modes
- Automatic on and off
- IP65 waterproof rating
- Fixed solar panels
- Two units per purchase
Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars with over 1,300 Amazon ratings
Standout Review: “Wow! These things are really bright! Much brighter than we had anticipated. The motion sensor device is neither too sensitive or not sensitive enough — it's just right.” — Light-Zone via Amazon
Why Buy: These high-power solar flood lights prove great things can come in small, affordable packages. You get two super-bright 2,500-lumen bar lights with three brightness settings, a wide lighting angle and superior motion sensitivity reach. And at under $65, they’re perhaps the best value you can buy.
Best Compact Lights: Kolpop Solar Security Lights
Kolpop
Small but tremendous, Kolpop’s Solar Security Lights package offers six 800-lumen solar-powered security lights, each capable of illuminating over 320 square feet. Three brightness settings give you the power to adjust lighting to fit the occasion, from a chill get-together to all-night security.
Key Features:
- 600-lumen output
- 120° motion detection area with 16-foot range
- 8- to 10-hour runtime
- 8- to 10-hour charge time in full sunlight
- 1,800 mAh battery
- Three lighting modes
- IP65 waterproof rating
- Fixed solar panel
Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars with over 4,000 Amazon ratings
Standout Review: “I love these lights and have bought two packages for our country home … I installed these four months ago and am totally satisfied so far. They don't last as long on overcast days, but that's to be expected.” — Donald via Amazon
Why Buy: Six feature-packed solar security flood lights at an amazing price. These suffer a bit on charge time, output and motion/lighting angles, but their affordability and modularity mean you can install them anywhere you so desire. They’re a great buy for folks who want compact solar security wall lights.
Best Street-Style Light: RuoKid Solar Street Lights
RuoKid
There are several reasons to abandon the traditional flood light style, and RuoKid’s street-style solar flood lights encompass them all. Exceptional brightness, a cool urban design, and an adjustable solar panel and light head make these perfect for brightening dark driveways, patios, front door entryways and more.
Key Features:
- 1,500-lumen output
- Illuminates 970 square feet
- Aluminum alloy housing and mounting hardware
- 4 to 6 hours in full sunlight for full charge
- 8-hour runtime
- 5-year warranty
- IP67 waterproof rating
- Remote controlled
- Adjustable solar panel
Customer Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars with over 1,100 Amazon ratings
Standout Review: “This light stays on from dusk until dawn with full sun the day before. I installed it as a security light. I live in a rural area with no street lights, and it works perfectly compared to other lights I have purchased..” — Yardman11236 via Amazon
Why Buy: RuoKid designs its products for use on the street, so they’re made to withstand years of heavy-duty service. This awesome 1,500-lumen street-style solar flood light combines power, capacity, durability and function into an attractive, modern design.
How to Choose the Best Solar-Powered Flood Lights
A single doorway doesn’t need 2,500 lumens, nor is a single solar-powered flood light sufficient for lighting up a driveway. Before choosing the best solar-powered flood light, consider the following factors:
- Brightness: In general, brighter is better, but if you only need to light a small area, you might not have to fork over the extra cash for a higher-output unit. If you want to cover a large area with a single bright light, go for at least 1,600 lumens. Or, install multiple lights with a smaller output.
- Features: Today’s solar-powered flood lights are ripe with features. Most have multiple brightness settings and weatherproofing as standard features, but consider other important elements such as remote controls, adjustable/modular solar panels, tilt and pan adjustments for lights and sensors, and metal constructions. As always, the more features, the higher the price, but the investment will be worth it.
- Durability: All of our picks are waterproof, but you may want a light that’s truly built to last. The RuoKid Solar Street Light has an all-metal design and is made to take a beating. Look for weatherproof lights that will hold up through multiple seasons.
- Ease of installation: Compared to their wired counterparts, solar-powered flood lights are a breeze to install. Some require more assembly and mounting than others, so if you’re not on friendly terms with your toolbox, pick a solar flood light that requires little more than a screw to install.
Frequently Asked Questions: Solar Flood Lights
Do solar flood lights really work?
As long as they have consistent daylight for at least a few hours, solar flood lights work exceptionally well. They utilize the same sensor technology as their wired counterparts but require no wiring and have an overall simpler installation thanks to their built-in solar panels.
What is the brightest solar LED flood light?
TBI Pro Super-Bright Outdoor Solar Lights have an impressive 2,500-lumen output. These are some of the best solar flood lights if brightness is your top priority.
How long do solar-powered flood lights last?
As far as runtime, most solar flood lights provide uninterrupted lighting for 8 to 12 hours. Assuming a solar light has no defects and is installed and used as intended, a solar flood light battery will last 3 to 4 years before needing replacement. Other components of a solar flood light can last up to a decade or more.
What is the most powerful solar security light?
TBI Pro Super-Bright Outdoor Solar Lights are the most powerful solar LED security lights on our list.
Christian Yonkers is a writer, photographer, filmmaker, and outdoor junkie obsessed with the intersectionality between people and planet. He partners with brands and organizations with social and environmental impact at their core, assisting them in telling stories that change the world.
It was the first time the ranger had intercepted illegally harvested white sage, but it wouldn't be a unique experience.
"I cannot explain how difficult it is to march this stuff out. The bags can weigh 70 to 100 pounds. It's rocky terrain and there's no shade, we have rattlesnakes. And yet they still do it," said Goodman, a retired San Bernardino County ranger.
Poaching white sage for commercial sale, mostly bundled in smudge sticks or distilled into essential oils, has threatened the plant's survival in recent years. Police estimate the plant sells for around $30 per pound wholesale — and the industry is booming. But wild white sage has been disappearing in California for decades. Climate change, invasive species, unprecedented fires and sprawling development has chipped away at coastal sage scrub in Southern California, as well as the delicate web flora that grow alongside it, many of them rare, threatened or endangered. Salvia apiana itself is unlisted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which keeps a database of threatened and endangered species.
The average processing time for the threatened and endangered species is 12 years, and plants usually take longer than animals. Despite official data regarding how much remains in the wild, the Indigenous people who have used white sage for centuries as well as the ecologists and rangers who work in the area understand that it's disappearing.
"It doesn't even grow around Los Angeles anymore," said Goodman. "The plants are really suffering from the drought this year and because poaching has been going on for years, the plants haven't been allowed to reach their full size. That's in addition to what we've lost to development."
Human Development and Climate Change
The natural territory of coastal sage scrub spans from Santa Barbara to El Rosario in northwestern Baja California, occasionally popping up in patches along the central California coast. In Southern California, the shrubland exists almost entirely in the wildland-urban interface, where housing developments carve into swaths of wild vegetation. Development has transformed the complex network of grasslands, thickets of dwarf evergreen shrubs and riparian corridors that once ruled the landscape. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that due to human land conversion, only about 15 percent of the California Coastal Sage and Chaparral ecoregion remains intact.
Nothing in an ecosystem exists in a vacuum. White sage is mycorrhizal, meaning its roots form vital relationships with beneficial fungi in soil. So when the plant disappears from its native community, the absence throws the ecosystem out of balance. This paves the way for invasive grasses like Bromus rubens and Avena barbata. "These grasses create a flash fuel problem that allows fires to very easily spread through the area," said Arlee Montalvo, a retired senior plant restoration ecologist for the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District.
Nine of the 10 largest wildfires in California history have happened in the last nine years. All plants, including those in coastal sage scrub habitats, have adapted to regular bouts of fire. Some seeds even need the smoke to germinate. But flora today are faced with wildfires that burn at a temperature and with a frequency they haven't evolved to withstand.
"In 2003, the human-caused Grand Prix burned with such intensity that the sage never came back," said Goodman.
A Trend That's Fueling Poaching
Like dietary supplements and medicinal herbs, the white sage market is almost completely unregulated. Consumers have no way of knowing what labels that dub products sustainably or ethically wildcrafted actually mean — and some argue harvesting sage for commercial use isn't ethical at all.
Under California State law, no one is allowed to harvest white sage growing on public land for commercial sale. Harvesting on private land is legal with written permission from the land owner, though Goodman said that is a rare occurrence.
"A lot of vendors say their product is sustainably sourced from the hills of California. Unless they can say exactly where it's grown, we can be pretty sure it's stolen," said Rose Ramirez, an ethnobotanist who lives in San Diego County and who is of Chumash and Yaqui descent.
In 2018, the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department made their largest bust to date. Four people had stuffed 400 pounds of poached white sage into backpacks they'd plan to hike out of a valley in the North Etiwanda Preserve.
The following year, the department arrested 24 people for poaching white sage, police records show. According to Goodman, deputies have used helicopters, infrared cameras and a bloodhound to surveil the area in the past, but a dwindling budget means just a few rangers are charged with patrolling the 1,200-acre area.
Susan Leopold, director of United Plant Savers, a non-profit dedicated to protecting native medicinal plants in the U.S. and Canada, calls the North Etiwanda Preserve the "mecca of the white sage mafia."
"The North Etiwanda Preserve is very unique, ecologically speaking, and white sage grows in big, lush clusters that don't appear anywhere else in California. It's easy to pick a lot quickly in the preserve," said Leopold. (Under state law, white sage in this specific area is protected under the California Endangered Species Act.)
Goodman and a group of 12 core volunteers at the Cucamonga Foothills Preservation Alliance patrol the foothills of the preserve, educating their neighbors on what to look out for and reporting suspected poachers to local law enforcement. The alliance has aided in the confiscation of 200 pounds of sage seeds and thousands of pounds of harvested white sage.
"When we encounter the poachers, they act on it. Three years ago, they weren't," said Goodman. "But law enforcement is now behind getting white sage more protection. They now understand the cultural and ecological significance."
Pushing for Transparency
A man bundles white sage, which is burned as an incense in blessings and sacred ceremonies, at the annual traditional agave roast at the Malki Museum on the Morongo Indian Reservation near Banning, California, April 11, 2015. DAVID MCNEW / AFP / Getty Images
Burning white sage is cultural appropriation for anyone who is not part of a culture that traditionally uses the sacred plant in ceremony. American Indian/Alaska Native people were subject for nearly a century to Eurocentric laws that jailed or even killed them for practicing their religions, including burning white sage. For these reasons, Native communities have been calling on non-Native people who burn sage to stop. While some argue that cultural appropriation should be reason enough to stop masses of non-AIAN people from using white sage, others see the commercial sale of white sage as something that is here to stay.
Ramirez is part of a group that's trying to get white sage recognized as a culturally significant plant at the state level, which could pave the way for it to eventually be recognized as threatened or endangered. This could save some white sage habitat from development. She's also among those who see working to make the industry more sustainable as the most realistic option to protect wild white sage, which can be legally harvested by local tribes for personal use.
"We are way beyond this idea of not selling white sage. It's being sold all over the world, by places like Wal-Mart and Alibaba," Ramirez told EcoWatch, noting that some wholesale listings are specifically marketed towards yoga studios.
While Ramirez and fellow ethnobotanist Deborah Small don't encourage non-Native people to use white sage, they recognize that it's now deeply rooted in pop culture, largely thanks to social media. In that case, they want people to grow white sage if they can, especially if they live in places like Orange County and Riverside, California, where the wild population has been decimated by construction. "We want people to concentrate on rehabilitating white sage in areas where it used to grow," said Ramirez.
The second option, they say, is to only purchase products made from farmed plants, rather than those that claim to be wildcrafted or foraged. The team is currently working on creating a white sage verification system that would force the industry to be transparent about where they source their product.
"Foragers or wildcrafters think it's their right and they make it seem so innocent. It wouldn't be such a bad thing if we didn't also have the climate change, the over development; if we had massive amounts of this plant left," said Ramirez.
Kaitlin Sullivan covers the environment, science and health beats. Her work has appeared in NBC News, Popular Science, NPR, VICE and Inverse, among others. Before becoming a journalist, she worked on a farm in Western Colorado, at a hostel in Brazil and as an editor for the American Alpine Club.
Follow her on Twitter: @kaitsulliva
Castillo Mejía awaits sentencing on Aug. 2, which is expected to be between 24 and 30 years, said The Daily Beast.
Co-founder of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, Cáceres was a well-known grassroots activist and part of the Lenca Indigenous people of Honduras. She was shot dead in her home two days before her 45th birthday after spearheading a campaign that blocked DESA from building the 22-megawatt Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on Indigenous land. The project, which is still slated for the sacred Gualcarque River, did not comply with national and international environmental regulations nor community requirements, but was sanctioned anyway. Castillo Mejía was overseeing the project, which is still frozen, The Guardian reported.
A 2019 study published in Science Advances found that hydroelectric dams "demonstrably affected the stability and productivity of [tropical] estuaries." The study also highlighted how dams shrink fishery habitat and cause a loss of biodiversity. In undammed rivers, sediment also flows downstream until it's deposited along the coast, stabilizing the shoreline.
The high court in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, ruled that Cáceres was murdered for leading a campaign that fought the dam, a move that delayed the project and created financial losses for the construction company, according to The Guardian. The year before she was assassinated, Cáceres was awarded the Goldman prize for environmental defenders for her work, according to the BBC.
In December 2019, seven men were charged for their roles in Cáceres' murder, but Castillo Mejía allegedly "paid the hitmen, gave logistical support and provided resources to those already convicted according to prosecutors," NPR reported. The court presented documents that showed Castillo Mejía had communicated with Douglas Bustillo, former security chief at DESA, both before and after Cáceres' murder in March 2016 as well as surrounding a failed assassination attempt the previous month, according to The Guardian.
Castillo Mejía was originally charged with masterminding the killing, but was found guilty of being a co-conspirator. He denies involvement and his lawyers plan to appeal, said Reuters.
Members of the Military Police of Public Order escort David Castillo, president of Desarrollos Energeticos S.A (DESA) upon his arrival at a court to listen to his sentence, in Tegucigalpa on July 5, 2021. ORLANDO SIERRA / AFP via Getty Images
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