Environmental, Health and Safety News | Volunteer EHS News Network Dedicated to Protecting People & Our Planet

Growing Case Activity and Circulation of Delta Variant Prompt Updated CDC and DHS Guidance

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s recommendations that were issued on July 27, 2021. The new recommendations, which are based on the most up-to-date information about the Delta variant of COVID-19, will be reflected in all DHS guidance. The Delta variant is highly infectious...
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AI CoE Webinar: Challenges in the Regulation of AI Software as a Medical Device

The post AI CoE Webinar: Challenges in the Regulation of AI Software as a Medical Device appeared first on Pistoia Alliance.
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Circular economics and the $57B e-waste opportunity

Read the full story at GreenBiz. There is a huge market in being able to divert these materials from landfills, and in being able to extend the asset life of products or the individual components within. Read more →
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Sharks that hunted near Antarctica millions of years ago recorded Earth’s climate history in their teeth

This story is part of Oceans 21The Conversation’s series on the global ocean opened with five in depth profiles. Look out for new articles on the state of oceans in the lead up to the UN’s next climate conference, COP26. The series is brought to you by The Conversation’s international network. by Sora Kim...
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Los Reales Landfill to become a zero waste ‘sustainability campus’

Read the full story in the Arizona Daily Star. Tucson plans to change Los Reales’ landscape while diverting as much waste as possible away from the landfill, which currently takes in about 2,300 tons of solid waste a day. Read more →
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A microgrid powered only by solar and batteries points the way to bigger all-renewable grids

Read the full story at Canary Media. Australia’s Horizon Power and partner PXiSE showed they could power a town without generators. The implications for expanding renewable energy are massive. Read more →
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Male dragonflies get less flashy in hotter climates

Read the full post at Treehugger. When temperatures rise, male dragonflies have come up with a decidedly drab but clever way to stay cool. They lose some of the showy pigmentation on their wings, a new study finds. Shedding the dark patches helps regulate their body temperature, but it could make it harder to attract mates...
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Returned merchandise stockpiles as waste: One company’s solution

Read the full story at Waste360. Each year about five billion pounds of returned merchandise ends up landfilled, according to goTRG’s data. The Miami, Fla-based organization is among businesses working to keep these materials in circulation. It recovers and manages returns, distressed inventory, and overstock. And it processes these materials to prepare them for resale...
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E-waste recycling boost ‘needed to enable transition to net-zero’

Read the full story at edie. The UK alone is losing at least £13.6m worth of critical raw materials for the net-zero transition, such as lithium, to the linear economy each year, due to a lack of capacity for recycling used electricals and electronics. Read more →
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Watchdog: Lack of DOD action may have caused ‘preventable’ risks from ‘forever chemicals’

Read the full story at The Hill. A report from an internal watchdog says that a lack of action from the Defense Department may have led to people being exposed to “preventable” risks from toxic chemicals. The department’s inspector general (IG) said in a report issued last week that in 2011, Defense officials issued an alert...
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JetBlue signs new sustainable aviation fuel partnership for LAX Flights

Read the full story at ESG Today. JetBlue announced today an expansion of its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) program, with the launch of a new partnership with World Energy and World Fuel Services. The new agreement will enable JetBlue to begin using SAF on flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), starting this month....
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A Proof-of-Concept Case Study Integrating Publicly Available Information to Screen Candidates for Chemical Prioritization under TSCA

Download the document. Regulatory agencies world-wide are looking to efficiently integrate information on chemical substances in order to inform priorities for decisions and data requests. This document updates the long-term strategy described in the Working Approach and presents the Public Information Curation and Synthesis (PICS) approach that integrates publicly-available hazard, exposure, persistence, and bioaccumulation...
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Wolf wars: As Michigan packs grow, a battle brews over killing the predators

Read the full story at Bridge Michigan. While the governor-appointed Michigan Natural Resources Council prepares to decide whether to allow wolf hunting in Michigan, advocates and foes of the iconic and deeply divisive canid are locked in a struggle for influence over the next era of Michigan’s wolf management program. Read more →
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EPA researchers evaluate electrostatic sprayers for disinfectant application

Read the full story from U.S. EPA. While the latest research shows that COVID-19 is primarily caused by airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, there is still some risk that people may be exposed to the virus from contact with contaminated surfaces. Therefore, CDC still recommends routine cleaning and disinfection of potentially contaminated surfaces....
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DOE working to develop building materials from carbon ore

Read the full story at Environment + Energy Leader. The US Department of Energy is working to develop and commercialize a new class of building materials made from carbon ore. The materials could be used in both the precast and cast-in-place construction markets as a cementitious substitute for Portland cement, the world’s predominant building material. The DOE...
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Large-scale CO2 conversion to bioplastic: Dutch Photanol factory in Delfzijl takes first step

Read the full story at Innovation Origins. For the first time, the Photanol Factory in Groningen is working with special bacteria that convert CO2 into raw materials for bioplastics. Read more →
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Ting Lu jointly presented with 1 million euro Future Insight Prize for converting waste into food

Read the full story from the University of Illinois. Ting Lu, a professor of bioengineering at The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign received the 2021 Future Insight Prize. Established by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, the Future Insight Prize aims to stimulate innovative solutions to...
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UK grocery chain slashes energy consumption by 35% with data monitoring, optimization

Read the full story at Energy + Environment Leader. Asda, one of the UK’s largest grocery store chains, has slashed energy costs at its refrigeration plants by reducing energy use by five GWh over the past five years; the chain has also reduced CO2 emissions by 1,100 metric tons over the same period, by...
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Pistoia Alliance Bridges the Gap Between User Experience and Digital Transformation with New Set of Heuristics

The post Pistoia Alliance Bridges the Gap Between User Experience and Digital Transformation with New Set of Heuristics appeared first on Pistoia Alliance.
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Recycling Infrastructure Plan Released and Webinar

Washington, D.C. – The Recycling Is Infrastructure Too Campaign released its first Recycling Infrastructure Plan today. There are a total of 50 initiatives and requests for funding of $3.3 billion in physical infrastructure, and $3.3 billion for Infrastructure Support Policies and Programs for the first year. Over a three year period, the Plan recommends...
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Biden administration to curb toxic wastewater from coal plants with new rule

Read the full story in the Washington Post. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it will set stricter requirements for how coal-fired power plants dispose of wastewater full of arsenic, lead and mercury — a major source of toxic water pollution for rivers and streams near electric generators across the country, from Wyoming to...
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Opinion: Research ‘should benefit society, not shareholders’

Read the full story at Research Information. Publishers’ power in the research ecosystem must be tackled on a sector-wide basis, writes Silke Machold Read more →
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Europe unveils plan to shift from fossil fuels, setting up potential trade spats

Read the full story in the New York Times. The proposal would impose tariffs on some imports from countries with looser environmental rules. It would also mean the end of sales in the European Union of new gas- and diesel-powered cars in just 14 years. Read more →
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EPA proposes recordkeeping requirements for PFAS, seeks comment

Read the full story from the American Coatings Association. On June 28, the U.S. Environmental Protection agency posted its proposed Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA will use submitted information to inform assessments of new and existing chemicals, drinking water restrictions and other regulatory...
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What does it take to make a car truly circular?

Read the full story at GreenBiz. Creating a platform for all the players in the automotive supply chain that relies on field knowledge, partnerships, funding and creativity to develop the technologies and business models of the car of the future, as well as eliminate emissions from its use and production. This is the central...
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‘Sustainability is a must-have rather than a differentiator’: Kerry points to rising wave of sustainably-minded consumers

Read the full story at Food Navigator. Taste and nutrition company Kerry has conducted new research into consumer expectations around sustainability in the food and beverage sector. The ‘really surprising results’ are in: Consumers ‘positioned sustainability as a must-have rather than a differentiator’. Read more →
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Waste not? Some states are sending less food to landfills

Read the full story at Stateline. At least eight states, all in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic except California, have laws requiring some reprocessing of food waste, to keep it out of landfills and cut down on greenhouse gases, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Read more →
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Too few companies advocate for climate-friendly policies despite lofty goals: report

Read the full story at Smart Cities Dive. Of the United States’ top 100 companies, only 40% lobby lawmakers at the state and federal level for climate-friendly legislation despite setting lofty sustainability goals, according to a new report. Seventy-six percent of companies have said publicly they believe in climate science and 92% have said they...
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Boulder County launches innovative pilot to reduce packaging pollution

Read the news release at Waste360. With support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Boulder County has launched a pilot program to decrease environmental impacts associated with food and beverage packaging. The Boulder County Food & Beverage Pollution-Reduced Packaging Pilot will support manufacturers as they transition to pollution-reduced and sustainable packaging formats. Read...
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Biden has a plan to remove some freeways. Will it make cities more healthy?

Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times. Mandela Parkway, a four-lane boulevard enhanced by a median with trees and a curving footpath, stretches along a 24-block section of West Oakland. It’s the fruit of a grassroots neighborhood campaign to block reconstruction of an elevated freeway leveled by the Loma Prieta earthquake in...
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Amazon expands products sold under sustainable labeling program

Read the full story at Grocery Dive. Amazon has added four certifications from health, organic and animal welfare organizations to its sustainable product labeling initiative, the retailer announced on Tuesday. With the new certifications — EWG Verified, Regenerative Organic Certified, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safer Choice and Animal Welfare Approved — Amazon is expanding its...
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Plastic the Trojan Horse

Read the full story from the University of Portsmouth. A new study has found plastic accumulation in foods may be underestimated. There is also concern these microplastics will carry potentially harmful bacteria such as E. coli, which are commonly found in coastal waters, up the food chain. Read more →
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Opinion: My dad’s prepping for the end times. Climate change makes me think I should, too

I’ve never been a prepper, not even of workweek meals portioned into Tupperware or for the written part of my driver’s exam. I didn’t inherit my dad’s apocalyptic preoccupation.
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Mathematical model predicts the movement of microplastics in the ocean

Read the full story from the University of Newcastle. A new model tracking the vertical movement of algae-covered microplastic particles offers hope in the fight against plastic waste in our oceans. Read more →
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Design is helping new age chewing gum stand out from its plastic predecessors

Read the full story at Design Week. As chewers wise up to the plastic content in conventional gums, we speak to the designers in charge of defining a new visual language for the sector. Read more →
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Balloon releases have deadly consequences – we’re helping citizen scientists map them

by Lara O’Brien and Shannon Brines (University of Michigan) Balloons are often seen as fun, harmless decorations. But they become deadly litter as soon as they are released into the air and forgotten. Plastic pollution is one of today’s biggest environmental challenges. Microplastics have been found in our drinking water, food and even the...
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Christine Lagarde: Climate change and central banks – analysing, advising and acting

Read the full speech at BIS. Both climate change and the transition to a carbon neutral economy pose substantial challenges for the economy and the financial system, with the potential to affect growth and inflation in the short term, but also over much longer horizons. Physical risks, stranded assets and greater firm default risk...
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The Green Central Banking Scorecard

Download the document. This report reviews the full range of policies and initiatives that an ideal green central bank would adopt across four categories: Research and Advocacy, Monetary Policy, Financial Policy, and Leading by Example. Based on this literature review, expert consultation, and bilateraliinteractions with central bankers and supervisors, we develop a system to...
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The MSCI Net-Zero Tracker

The MSCI Net-Zero Tracker indicates the collective progress of publicly listed companies in the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index (IMI) (which covers 9,300 listed companies, representing 99% of the global equity universe) in keeping global warming well below 2°C. It also highlights the largest listed companies with improved climate disclosures, as well as those that...
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First Draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Download the document. Biodiversity, and the benefits it provides, is fundamental to human well-being and a healthy planet.Despite ongoing efforts, biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide and this decline is projected to continue or worsen under business-as-usual scenarios. The post-2020 global biodiversity framework builds on the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and sets out an ambitious...
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Climate change: The conservationists ‘tucking in’ glaciers for the summer

Read the full story from the BBC. A group of conservationists are ‘tucking in’ glaciers with special blankets to protect them from melting. Read more →
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A stronger electricity grid is crucial to cutting carbon. Does that make it green?

A proposal to lay cables beneath the Columbia River is met with skepticism from an Indigenous activist and the river’s advocates.
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Webinar: PFAS Technical Support and Scientific Advancements

Aug 18, 2021 2-3 pm CDTRegister here. The versatility of the family of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for use in manyindustrial and manufacturing applications as well as consumer products has led to thousands of PFAScompounds being used for decades. These substances are highly persistent, difficult to break down, and bioaccumulate in living organisms...
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Governor Evers, DHS Urge COVID-19 Vaccination Ahead of 2021-2022 School Year

Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) encourage anyone attending school in the upcoming 2021-2022 school year to get their COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. This includes children ages 12 and up as well as anyone planning to attend in-person classes at a college or university. “Getting vaccinated now...
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All you need to know about Tokyo 2020 sustainability

Read the full story from the International Olympic Committee. From the hydrogen-powered cauldron to medals made from recycled mobile phones, from gender balance to the first official Pride House, the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 are blazing a trail for the future. Here’s everything you need to know about how Tokyo 2020 is...
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Instead of braving the river, these endangered salmon take the highway

Read the full story at Phys.org. Billions of dollars have been spent over the last four decades to save Snake River salmon by restoring streams, relocating sea lions and other predators, building hatcheries and helping fish get past dams. But those efforts increasingly look futile. As heat waves become more common and river temperatures...
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Test Your Well Water Act introduced

Read the full story in Water Quality Products. The tool aims to promote transparency and modernize access to EPA resources in an effort to educate Americans about their drinking water. Read more →
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What’s in wildfire smoke? A toxicologist explains the health risks and which masks can help

by Luke Montrose (Boise State University) Fire and health officials began issuing warnings about wildfire smoke several weeks earlier than normal this year. With almost the entire U.S. West in drought, signs already pointed to a long, dangerous fire season ahead. Smoke is now turning the sky hazy across a large swath of the...
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ISTC program yields big savings for Illinois wastewater treatment plants

by Lisa Sheppard, Prairie Research Institute Illinois municipalities hoping to save money on energy costs for wastewater treatment turn to the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) for advice. The Wastewater Treatment Plant Energy Assistance Program started in 2018 with funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Partnering with the University...
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Webinar: Systems‐level strategies for development and integration of novel CO2 capture and utilization technologies

Sep 16, 2021 noon-1 pm CDTRegister here. Carbon dioxide capture and utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) comprises both the large‐scale capture of CO2 (via direct capture from air, ocean, or point sources), functional utilization of concentrated CO2 for the production of value‐added products, and long term sequestration. A wide range of products ranging from low...
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Podcast: ‘Stubborn optimism’ for elephants fuels Indigenous conservation effort

Today we’re looking at indigenous-led projects and the latest research informing conservation of elephants, the largest land animal in existence and one of the world’s most widely recognized and...
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Hartree Partners to channel $2.8 billion toward new carbon credits

Global energy and commodities trading house Hartree Partners has pledged to channel more than $2.8 billion of private sector investments toward creating new carbon credits. Under the threat of climate...
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Indonesia reimposes ban on destructive seine and trawl nets in its waters

JAKARTA — Indonesia has once again enforced a full ban on the use of a group of seine and trawl nets that threaten the sustainability of the country’s fish...
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For species in the red, IUCN’s new Green Status signals conservation wins

The California condor has been teetering on the brink of extinction for decades. When the species was first assessed in 1994 for the IUCN Red List, the global authority...
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Trafficking for traditional medicine threatens the Philippine porcupine

In the rapidly shrinking lowland forests of Palawan Island, the Philippine porcupine (Hystrix pumila) can be found under tree buttresses, foraging for fallen root crops and fruits. Endemic to Palawan...
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New index measuring rainforest vulnerability to sound alarm on tipping points

A new “vulnerability index” for the world’s tropical rainforests will use satellite data to assess the impact of growing threats such as land clearance and rising temperatures on forests,...
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There’s still room to save Asia’s hoolock gibbons, study says, but only just

Swinging lithely from branch to branch high up in the forest canopy, a family of hoolock gibbons hoots vigorously to guard its territory against intruders. A type of small...
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Camera trap cameo for Buru Island babirusa last seen 26 years ago

GORONTALO, Indonesia — Camera traps have confirmed the presence of babirusa on Indonesia’s Buru Island for the first time in 26 years, the country’s environment ministry announced earlier this...
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For an Indigenous group in Sumatra, a forest regained is being lost once more

PANDUMAAN-SIPITUHUTA, Indonesia — For years, Ganjang, a member of the Pandumaan-Sipituhuta Indigenous community in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, has been uneasy about extracting frankincense from trees in a nearby...
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Canadian miner looms large as Nauru expedites key deep-sea mining rules

A Canadian company may become the first to receive a license to mine the deep Pacific after the island nation of Nauru triggered a last-resort procedure to expedite the...
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Eight of the 10 nations most at risk from climate and toxic pollution in Africa: study

With wildfires raging in the western U.S. and floods sweeping parts of Europe, it’s easy to forget that these regions are some of the most well-prepared to tackle climate...
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Huge wildlife corridor in Belize sees progress, boosting hope for jaguars and more (commentary)

I was quite thrilled reading Jut Wynne’s commentary on the Maya Forest Corridor (MFC) published by Mongabay on May 24th of this year. Jut described the critical importance of...
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Nearly 1 million km2 of intact forests menaced by extractives, study finds

When Robert Frost memorialized forests as “lovely, dark and deep,” the U.S. poet was likely referring to wildlands that are rare, isolated wonders in today’s world. Looking at data...
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Record heat waves are a taste of what’s to come under a changing climate

In late June, Portland, Oregon, experienced its hottest day on record, reaching 42° Celsius (108° Fahrenheit). The last time it had been this hot was in 1981, when temperatures...
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Indonesia’s Gorontalo road runs into forest, swerves environmental checks

GORONTALO, Indonesia — A troubled road project bisecting forests and mountains in Indonesia’s northern Gorontalo province has not complied with environmental checks required by law, according to interviews with...
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‘Stampede’ of legislation threatens accelerated destruction of the Amazon

June 8, 2021 was a tense day for environmental organizations and citizens’ groups working to protect the Amazon and Indigenous Brazilians. Groups like Greenpeace and APIB (Brazilian Indigenous People’s...
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Illegal deforestation intensifies along Brazilian highway as agribusiness hopes swell

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — In a far-flung slice of the Brazilian Amazon, a potholed highway cuts hundreds of miles through the heart of the rainforest. In its most...
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Global restoration now has an online meeting point

With all of the environmental problems in the world, it can be easy to forget that there are also many solutions. Across the globe, people are working to restore...
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Lessons from the 2021 Amazon flood (commentary)

This text is updated from a Portuguese-language version published by Amazônia Real. The drama of the record flood in the Brazilian Amazon Basin reached on 30 June 2021 offers...
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Better logging regulations ‘last best hope’ for Solomon Islands, study says

Kolombangara Island forms a 30-kilometer (19-mile) circle of green in the Solomon Sea. One of more than 900 islands that make up the Solomon Islands, it is fringed by...
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Study puts 2050 deadline on tipping point for Mekong Delta salinity

A new study has identified 2050 as the tipping point by which stakeholders in the Mekong Delta will no longer be able to mitigate the issue of saltwater intrusion,...
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Warming climate means scientists may have overcounted bonobos, study says

There may be far fewer bonobos in the wild than recent surveys have predicted, a new study concludes. Population surveys of bonobos (Pan paniscus) rely not on counting individual...
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Amazon and Cerrado deforestation, warming spark record drought in urban Brazil

Central and southern Brazil are facing their worst drought in almost a century, with many of the country’s giant hydroelectric power plants already operating at a fraction of full...
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Indonesia to send more tuna vessels out into international waters

JAKARTA — Indonesia is expanding its longline fishing fleet in the high seas as part of its plan for a world-leading sustainable tuna fishery by 2025. The Indonesian fisheries...
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Planned Brazil-Peru highway threatens one of Earth’s most biodiverse places

Mongabay Latam and Folha, through the Stories Without Borders project, document what is happening on the border between Peru and Brazil. MÂNCIO LIMA, Acre — The Acre antshrike is...
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As soy frenzy grips Brazil, deforestation closes in on Indigenous lands

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The thick plumes of smoke stretched for miles across this slice of Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, blanketing the dense rainforest surrounding it. Soon, they...
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Next stop, the sea: Sri Lanka’s old buses are a new home for marine life

GALLE, Sri Lanka — Buses are the most common mode of public transport in Sri Lanka. But after thousands of trips, facilitating millions of commuter rides over their operating...
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Great Barrier Reef in danger: Don’t fight the diagnosis, fight the threats (commentary)

I’m a native of North Queensland. I love Rugby League, an arvo in my tinny angling for coral trout (translation: an afternoon in a fishing boat) and The Reef....
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Protected areas keep adjacent lands safe, but face losing their own protection

Slowing the pace of mass extinctions and the climate crisis requires that nature be protected. But when it comes to protected areas, some have argued that safeguarding one area...
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Turning Kenya’s problematic invasive plants into useful bioenergy

DUNGA BEACH, Kisumu, Kenya — It’s early morning and fish mongers prepare for the day a short distance from Lake Victoria. Inside a stall, they descale, cut, and clean fresh...
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Philippines banks on new fisheries management system, but rollout is rocky

PALAWAN, Philippines — As darkness creeps in, the coastal waters surrounding the off-grid island of Calibangbangan become aglow with blinding lights. For the fishermen who’ve lived in this sleepy...
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For monitoring mammals, eDNA boasts ‘killer feature’ over other methods

A European meadow viper (Vipera ursinii), one of the world’s most threatened snakes, glides undetected between blades of grass in an Alpine meadow. It slips into a rocky outcrop...
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For manta rays, parasitic hitchhikers can be a pain in the rear, study finds

Manta rays tend not to swim alone. Not only do they socialize with their own kind, but they’re also accompanied by a range of different species — from sharksuckers...
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Indonesia eyes less severe fire season, but COVID-19 could turn it deadly

JAKARTA — Favorable weather conditions point to a less severe forest fire season in Indonesia this year, but the burning could still compound what is now the worst coronavirus...
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Rising temperatures further threaten already endangered African wild dogs

With extreme heat, African wild dogs are dying at a higher rate, according to scientists. New research, published in Ecology and Evolution in June, found that humans are responsible...
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As humans close in on their habitat, crocodiles in the Philippines snap back

PALAWAN, Philippines — What do you do if you encounter a saltwater crocodile on your way home? For Roozie Quea Idlana, a resident of the town of Balabac in the...
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Brazil government faces heat over plan that could underreport forest fires

Amid soaring deforestation and growing criticism due to lack of transparency and persistent attempts to weaken environmental policies, the Brazilian government is now facing a new controversy regarding forest...
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Javan leopards, the dwindling ‘guardians’ of Java’s forests

Hariyo “Beebach” Wibisono studies Javan leopards, the last remaining apex predator on Indonesia’s island of Java, which, with a land area about the size of Alabama, is also home...
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‘What’s your real footprint on the animal world?’: Q&A with author Henry Mance

Many of us love animals. At least, we think we do. We may serve our cats gourmet food and let them sleep in our beds. We may buy our...
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Biogas from animal manure improves life in Brazil’s semi-arid northeast

“My husband would go to the neighbor’s barn two or three times a week to get pig manure. He’d throw it in the biodigester and we were able to...
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Indonesian former fisheries minister jailed for bribery in lobster exports

JAKARTA — An Indonesian court has sentenced disgraced former fisheries minister Edhy Prabowo to five years in jail in relation to a controversial policy to resume exports of lobster...
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Tallying the toll on marine life from the X-Press Pearl sinking (commentary)

The Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka has faced many maritime disasters over the years, but none as bad as the recent incident with the MV X-Press Pearl, a...
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Brazil prosecutors seek ban on all gold mining in hard-hit Amazonian region

Gold mining activities in a region of the Brazilian Amazon ravaged by illegal operations could be suspended after prosecutors filed a lawsuit this week. In its lawsuit, the Federal...
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FSC dumps palm oil giant Korindo amid rights, environmental issues in Papua

JAKARTA — Palm oil giant Korindo Group has had its membership in the Forest Stewardship Council terminated, a move that activists say sends a signal to other companies that...
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‘Laundering machine’: Furniture giant Ikea implicated in logging protected Siberian forests

Ikea has allegedly been sourcing timber for its products from Russian companies engaged in illegal logging of pine trees in Russia’s protected Siberian boreal forests, a new investigation has...
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Scientists turn to eDNA to curtail the freshwater extinction crisis

Drifting down the Dubo River through Sapo National Park in Liberia, Shadrach Kerwillain, a project manager for Fauna & Flora International (FFI), takes a sample of fresh river water....
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‘Mismanaged to death’: Mexico opens up sole vaquita habitat to fishing

The Mexican government will no longer protect the habitat of the critically endangered vaquita in the Upper Gulf of California, but has opened the area up to fishing, according...
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The only species of bear in South America: the spectacled bear | Candid Animal Cam

Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife. This week we’re meeting the only species of bear in...
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Chinese cities are among biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, study finds

The heat wave that swept parts of the U.S. and Canada this June provoked disbelief globally, with temperatures breaching 50° Celsius (122° Fahrenheit). Some see it as a preview of...
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Killings, invasions escalate in fight for land in Brazil’s Maranhão state

A recent spate of violence related to land conflicts in northeastern Brazil has targeted Indigenous people and small-scale farmers, raising concerns from activists about impunity in the region. On...
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