16-year-old climate activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is petitioning the 2016 U.S. presidential candidates to take a strong stance on ending climate change. In a Care2 petition and a corresponding video letter, Martinez is urging the candidates to pledge to end fossil fuel use in the U.S. by 2026. The petition attracted over 100,000 signatures in its first week online.
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The impact of climate change on Arctic communities is so great that it limits their ability to adapt, or at least that’s what has long been assumed. But according to a recent study in Nature Climate Change, it’s non-climatic factors that obstruct adaptation. For those communities who struggle with adapting, the hurdles they face are unrelated to climate change. Instead, outside pressures, such as outdated land management practices, bureaucratic regulatory processes, limited education and marginalization curb the ability of these communities to adapt to the effects of climate change.
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Republicans and Democrats on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee have struck a deal that would create the first nationwide standard for foods containing genetically modified organisms. Under the agreement, consumers may still have difficulty figuring out if the food they are buying is genetically modified because it wouldn’t mandate printing “GMO” on the exterior. Instead, the agreement would offer three options for disclosure: text on the packaging, a symbol, or an electronic link that would direct consumers to a website for more information.
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Gender matters now more than ever in sustainability — not just for the sake of individual women, but for the prospects of the global economy, the environment and society at large. In developing countries, the focus is on forging more paths to self-sufficiency and better safeguards for women who do find financial opportunity in ever-expanding global supply chains.
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One of the first companies to start making products out of carbon pollution is an automaker. For the last four years, Ford has been working with a manufacturer to develop a captured CO2-based foam, and soon a plastic, that can eventually replace parts made from petroleum.
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More than 800,000 people turned out Monday, July 11, 2016 in Uttar Pradesh, India to plant trees in hopes of breaking a world record. Officials distributed 50 million tree saplings across the state to help India increase its forest cover and to break the Guinness World record for the number of trees planted in 24 hours—which was set by Pakistan in 2013 with 847,275 trees.
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Environmentalists are demanding that one of the most prized fishes on the planet, Pacific bluefin tuna, be listed as an endangered species because the current global stock is down over 97 percent from pre-fishing levels.
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Fairphone is the world’s first socially responsible and sustainable company to design, manufacture and sell mobile phones. Like most companies, Fairphone aims to make a profit. But less common is that the company refuses to do so at the expense of its purpose.
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A study launched last week in the Lancet found that as many as 529,000 people may die as a result of changes in diet, weight, and health due to climate change impacts on food production. This study is a first and critical step forward in examining how those climate-induced impacts on food production will in turn affect nutrition and health.
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Chicago-based artist Vicki Rawlins constructs whimsical portraits of enigmatic women using flowers, greenery, sand and other organic objects. These unconventional works of art are captivating not only for their creativity but also for their ephemeral journey to creation and destruction.
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