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

Turn off that camera during virtual meetings, environmental study says

Read the full story from Purdue University. It’s not just to hide clutter anymore – add “saving the planet” to the reasons you leave the
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Webinar: SciStarter, Citizen Science, and How You Can Help!

Jan 27, 2021, 2-3 pm CSTRegister here. Learn about how you can make a difference in the world of scientific research. Citizen science is an
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Webinar: Citizen Science Month in Your Library or Community-Based Organization

Jan 22, 2021, 1-2 pm CSTRegister here. Citizen Science Month (April 2021) is a great time to bring citizen science — public engagement in real
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Gov. Evers Announces DHS Assisted Living Facilities Will Begin Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program to Receive COVID-19 Vaccines

Gov. Tony Evers today announced the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has officially activated Part B of the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program , which provides COVID-19 vaccinations to Wisconsin assisted living facilities. Assisted living facilities will be hearing directly from pharmacies to plan their vaccination efforts in the coming days. Pharmacies...
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Consumer electronics have changed a lot in 20 years – systems for managing e-waste aren’t keeping up

by Callie Babbitt (Rochester Institute of Technology) and Shahana Althaf, (Yale University) It’s hard to imagine navigating modern life without a mobile phone in hand.
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Slow Down: The Case for Technology Neutral Transportation Policy

Download the document. This report reviews existing scientific research of the various options available for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector and
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Automakers urge U.S. support for EV charging, R&D, incentives

Read the full story from Reuters. A major automotive trade association on Tuesday urged U.S. policymakers to back sweeping support for electric vehicles (EV), including
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FEWtures

Local renewable energy resources could provide expansive economic opportunities for farmers and rural communities. To address Food, Energy, and Water futures, FEWtures will evaluate coordination
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Clean Products Standard: A New Approach to Industrial Decarbonization

Download the document. In this report, we propose a novel market-based standard for manufacturing, a clean products standard (CPS), which could reduce emissions from the
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Sustainability Prerequisites and Practices in Textile and Apparel Supply Chains

Warasthe R, Schulz F, Enneking R, Brandenburg M. “Sustainability Prerequisites and Practices in Textile and Apparel Supply Chains.” Sustainability 12(23), 9960. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239960 Abstract: The proposed study
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Error Correction Means California’s Future Wetter Winters May Never Come

Read the full story from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. California and other areas of the U.S. Southwest may see less future winter precipitation than
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Opinion: Utilities should be required to disclose their climate-related financial risks

Read the full story at Utility Dive. In a move that could blaze a trail to meaningful climate action nationwide, New York’s Public Service Commission,
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Embion ties-up with Asahi to up-cycle brewing by-products: ‘Our super-extracts offer a glimpse into the future’

Read the full story at Food Navigator. Embion Technologies, a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, has entered into a joint
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Boston Mayor Walsh shares a vision of national climate action

Read the full story at Utility Dive. Marty Walsh spoke with Smart Cities Dive about balancing his new role as Climate Mayors chair while addressing
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Invasion of the hippos: Colombia is running out of time to tackle Pablo Escobar’s wildest legacy

Read the full story in the Washington Post. It was hard enough to find the hippo, a massive, ornery male with a reputation for harassing
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Massachusetts Gov. Baker vetoes climate legislation, citing unsupported mandates

Read the full story at Utility Dive. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, R, on Thursday vetoed the state’s recently-passed broad climate legislation. Baker said in a
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Webinar: Finding, Fixing and Monitoring Compressed Air Leaks

January 21, 2021, 1:00 pm CSTRegister here. Join Keynote Speaker, Ron Marshall, Chief Auditor, Compressed Air Consulting, to discuss one of the first things you
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Nine Former Michigan Officials, Including Ex-Gov. Rick Snyder, Charged in Flint Water Crisis

Read the full story from PBS. It was a moment many in Flint, Michigan, feared would never come. More than six years after residents learned
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DHS Announces Weekly Newsletter to Keep Public Informed of COVID-19 Response and Vaccine Progress

The Department of Health Services (DHS) announced today a newsletter the public can sign up for to get direct information about the COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout. Every Friday, a COVID-19 update newsletter will be sent via email to people who sign up to receive it. Registration is now open, and archived copies of...
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DHS Unveils Enhancements to COVID-19 Vaccine Data Page

The Department of Health Services (DHS) has released two new data features on the COVID-19 vaccine data page . The first is a new visualization that shows the number of Wisconsinites who have successfully completed their COVID-19 vaccine series. The second new feature allows users to filter the COVID-19 vaccines administered per day graph...
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Webinar: Understanding Food Waste Regulations and Compliance

January 22, 2021, 11 am CSTRegister here. Food waste in America has skyrocketed in recent years. With 40.7 million tons (81.4 billion pounds) of food waste generated
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A California water fight pits pistachio growers against the U.S. Navy

Read the full story from FERN’s Ag Insider. A legal dispute over water rights in California’s Mojave desert has growers for The Wonderful Co. on
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Toyota’s Solid-State Battery Prototype Could Be an EV Game Changer

Read the full story at Motortrend. Imagine an electric car battery that provides more than 300 miles of range, charges in approximately ten minutes, requires no bulky
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Climate Transition Finance Handbook

Download the document and FAQ. The concept of climate transition focuses principally on the credibility of an issuer’s climate change-related commitments and practices. In order
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Ahold Delhaize Secures New Credit Line Linked to Sustainability Goals

Read the full story at Winsight Grocery Business. Ahold Delhaize said it has secured a new revolving credit facility linked to its sustainability goals, including
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Cleaning Product Enforcement Challenge Highlights Reach of EPA’s Antimicrobial Regulatory Authority

Read the full story at JD Supra. For years, EPA has asserted broad authority to regulate products that are labeled or marketed with express or
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Iowa DNR celebrates 30 years of Pollution Prevention Services Program

Iowa DNR celebrated the 30th anniversary of its pollution prevention program and 20th anniversary of its P2 intern program with a publication that showcases their
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Boeing Is Now Upcycling Old Plane Parts as Furniture

Read the full story at Interesting Engineering. Boeing is now selling furniture made out of retired plane parts. It calls its store the “luxury aviation” store and
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Beiersdorf To Use Renewable Plastics in Cosmetics Packaging

Read the full story at Happi. Beiersdorf is making good on its promise to convert to refillable, reuseable or recycled packaging. The maker of Nivea
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‘Good news for businesses, shoppers and environment’: Meat industry welcomes new rules on sell-by dates

Read the full story at food Navigator. Updated guidance on fresh meat sell-by dates in the UK which abolish the arbitrary 10-day rule is good
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Technical Limits in Circularity for Plastic Packages

Brouwer MT, Thoden van Velzen EU, Ragaert K, ten Klooster R. (2020). “Technical Limits in Circularity for Plastic Packages.” Sustainability 12(23),10021. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310021 Abstract: The current
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Coronavirus linked to largest drop in greenhouse gas emissions since World War II: research

Read the full story at The Hill. U.S. greenhouse gas emissions experienced a more than 10 percent drop amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the
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Gov. Evers and DHS Announce $86 Million in Funding for Local and Tribal Health Departments

Governor Tony Evers joined the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) in announcing an additional $86 million in funding for local and tribal health departments today. The funds, designed to help alleviate the immense strain the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on public health departments across the state, will be dedicated to off-setting COVID-19 related...
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DHS and Laboratory Partners Identify Variant Strain B.1.1.7 of SARS-CoV-2 in Wisconsin

On January 12, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and laboratory partners identified a variant strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in Wisconsin. The particular variant, referred to as B.1.1.7, was first discovered circulating widely in England during November and December of 2020. Based on epidemiologic and modeling studies, researchers believe that...
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Wisconsin FoodShare Recipients Benefit from Temporary Increase, Additional Online Shopping Option

Wisconsin households that receive FoodShare will now receive added benefits to help them access food during the COVID-19 pandemic. This temporary increase will begin this month and last until June 2021. It was part of the federal COVID-19 stimulus package signed into law in December 2020. FoodShare households will be able to use these...
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Distant Cousins Of Food Crops Deserve Respect And Protection

Read the full story from NPR. Hundreds of native North American plants, often dismissed as weeds, deserve a lot more respect, according to a new study.
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PFAS chemicals are ubiquitous. A Pitt scientist is working to protect you from thousands of types at once.

Read the full story at PublicSource. Two of the ‘forever chemicals’ have been studied widely and show a wide range of harmful effects. A Pitt
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Utility interest in hydrogen ‘beyond staggering’: GE

Read the full story at Utility Dive. Utility interest in hydrogen is “beyond staggering” and may soon begin showing up in long-term integrated resource plans,
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Answering the Call: EnviroAtlas Team Supports Teachers and Educators during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Read the full story from U.S. EPA. EPA’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic has been broad—ranging from developing an approach for monitoring the virus in
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The curse of ‘white oil’: electric vehicles’ dirty secret

Read the full story in The Guardian. The race is on to find a steady source of lithium, a key component in rechargeable electric car
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In Boost for Renewables, Grid-Scale Battery Storage Is on the Rise

Read the full story from e360. Driven by technological advances, facilities are being built with storage systems that can hold enough renewable energy to power
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Gut Microbiome Snapshot Could Reveal Chemical Exposures in Children

Read the full story from Duke University. Researchers at Duke University have completed the most comprehensive study to date on how a class of persistent
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Wildfire smoke to blame for up to half of soot pollution in parts of western US: research

Read the full story at The Hill. Wildfire smoke has resulted in as much as half of the soot pollution in parts of the western U.S.,
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DOE Announces Approximately $123.6 Million to Bolster Domestic Manufacturing through Innovation

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced approximately $123.6 million in funding, as well as $44.7 million
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Funding available for environmental and installation energy demonstrations

The ESTCP FY 2022 Solicitation was released January 7, 2021. Researchers from Federal organizations, universities, and private industry can apply for ESTCP funding. All proposals
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Design for and from Recycling: A Circular Ecodesign Approach to Improve the Circular Economy

Martínez Leal, J.; Pompidou, S.; Charbuillet, C.; Perry, N. (2020). “Design for and from Recycling: A Circular Ecodesign Approach to Improve the Circular Economy.” Sustainability 12, 9861. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239861 Abstract: In the
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Nestlé explores alternative packaging technologies with startup investment

Read the full story at Food Dive. Nestlé Waters North America is investing in Timeplast, a startup investigating technology that minimizes the impact of improperly
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Webinar: One Size Does Not Fit All: Lessons Learned from Financing Large and Small Energy Retrofits

Tue, Jan 19, 2021 2-3 pm CSTRegister here. Explore the successful implementation of two energy efficiency projects — one small (less than $150,000) and one
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Don’t erase undergrad researchers and technicians from author lists

Read the full story in Science. “While I recognise that she thinks she had a major contribution to the project it will be difficult to
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ArcelorMittal USA: Power Of 1 contest increases employee engagement and generates low- and no-cost project ideas

Read the full case study from the U.S. DOE Better Buildings Program. ArcelorMittal is a multinational steel manufacturing company that owns and operates 25 facilities
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Indigenous Cacataibo of Peru threatened by land grabbing and drug trade

Mario’s nervousness is evident on the other end of the phone as he speaks about how three men tried to stab him in November 2020. This wasn’t the first time...
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New orchid species from Guiana Highlands named by Indigenous group

The cliffs of Acopán-tepuí in Venezuela where the new orchid species, Epidendrum katarun-yariku, grows. Photo courtesy of Mateusz Wrazidlo. On an expedition in the tepuis, or “house of...
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Humanity’s ‘ecological Ponzi scheme’ sets up bleak future, scientists warn

Earth’s future looks decidedly bleak, according to a group of 17 prominent international scientists. But understanding the magnitude of the world’s problems is not an easy feat, even for...
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Rare beaked whale sighting could be a world first for the species

On a calm, cloudy morning in May 2019, a lookout on a research vessel lowered his binoculars and shouted, “Beaked whales! Beaked whales!” As lead scientist Massimiliano Rosso recalls...
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‘There is no vaccine for climate change,’ U.N. environment chief says

The world is not prepared for climate change, a new U.N. report warns, highlighting how far behind countries have fallen in implementing adaptation measures. “The hard truth is that...
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Deforestation spurred by road project creeps closer to Sumatra wildlife haven

JAKARTA — An upgrade to a road that cuts through one of Southeast Asia’s last great swaths of intact rainforest is driving deeper encroachment by humans into blocks of...
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Sumatran rhino conservation inspires a thriving creative economy

EAST LAMPUNG, Indonesia — It’s early December and Sujiono is busy trimming the branches of a ficus tree in his village in Sumatra’s Lampung province. It’s not your typical...
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Podcast: What are the tropical forest storylines to watch in 2021?

For our first episode of 2021, we’re taking the opportunity to look at some of the most important trends and issues that will be affecting rainforest conservation over the...
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Indigenous agroforestry revives profitable palm trees and the Atlantic Forest

Two or three strokes, and it’s gone: in less than five minutes, 10 years collapse. If it’s some other palm tree native to the rainforest such as açaí (Euterpe oleracea),...
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Whale shark stranding points to silting of Indonesia’s Kendari Bay

On the second day of 2021, a whale shark drifted into Kendari Bay, in eastern Indonesia, and became trapped when the tide quickly turned. After a 10-hour struggle in...
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Patches of Amazon untouched by humans still feel impact of climate change

Deep inside the Brazilian Amazon, in areas still inaccessible to the outside world, the wildlife follows its natural cycle. Their remoteness guarantees a certain degree of isolation from human...
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Deregulation law ‘raises corruption risk’ in Indonesia’s forestry sector

JAKARTA — A controversial new law that makes sweeping cuts to environmental regulations may also pave the way for greater corruption in Indonesia’s forestry sector, academics have warned. An...
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California-sized area of forest lost in just 14 years

An area of forest roughly the size of California was cleared across the tropics and subtropics between 2004 and 2017 largely for commercial agriculture, finds a new assessment published...
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How endangered are monk seals? Candid Animal Cam meets these underwater mammals

Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife. This week we’re meeting one of the most endangered seal...
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Fisheries need to make gender inclusion a norm, not just ‘reach’ women, says Pacific study

As a marine ecologist who has long worked at the intersection of gender equality, conservation and fisheries, Sangeeta Mangubhai knows the importance of getting the language right. She asks...
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Bringing color to conservation: a conversation with wildlife artist Morgan Richardson

Many of the visuals we’re used to seeing in conservation are ones of despair: forests being torn down for palm oil production, pangolins and rhinos being slaughtered for the...
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Monitoring tropical deforestation is now free and easy

Thanks to the rollout of free, high-resolution satellite imagery, the job of monitoring deforestation in tropical forests just got a lot easier. Last year Norway’s Ministry of Climate and...
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How to turn climate ambitions into reality: Q&A with Nigel Topping

2020 was supposed to be a landmark year for taking stock on climate and biodiversity commitments and determining how societies move forward to address the world’s most pressing problems....
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Seeking a sanctuary for Peru’s sea life: Q&A with Yuri Hooker

When Yuri Hooker was young, he lived on the coast of Huanchaco in northern Peru. He grew up fascinated by the creatures and objects he found by the sea,...
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First COVID-19 cases in zoo gorillas raise alarm about wild populations

Two gorillas at San Diego Zoo in California have tested positive for COVID-19, in the first reported cases of great apes contracting the novel coronavirus. Three of the primates...
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Six rangers killed in deadly militia attack in DRC’s Virunga National Park

Six rangers working at Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were killed in an ambush by a local militia group on Sunday, according to the...
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Paper giant APP failing its own sustainability goals, report alleges

JAKARTA — Activists have called on financiers and clients of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), one of the world’s biggest paper producers, to stop doing business with the company,...
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A good year for the Philippine eagle in 2020, but not for its supporters

MINDANAO, Philippines — Efforts to conserve the critically endangered Philippine eagle, one of the rarest raptors in the world, soared high even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the global...
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Colombian and Ecuadorian Indigenous communities live in fear as drug traffickers invade

The Siona are a binational people, their territory straddling two countries: Sucumbíos province in northeastern Ecuador and in the Putumayo department in southeastern Colombia. But the forest they depend...
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Lack of protection leaves Spain-size swath of Brazilian Amazon up for grabs

The Brazilian Amazon is home to public lands that span an area the size of Spain — undesignated forests that are at growing risk of land grabbing encouraged by...
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How can Southeast Asia benefit from the new U.S. policy on illegal fishing? (commentary)

In September 2020, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) released a new USCG IUUF Strategic Outlook. The USCG created such a comprehensive position and strategy in reiterating the U.S.’s...
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Cat fight: Jaguar ambushes ocelot in rare camera trap footage

An ocelot, a spotted and striped carnivore twice the size of a house cat, had just stopped at a water hole for a drink. But something was waiting for...
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Investing in African wildlife: An interview with David Bonderman

David Bonderman is one of the best known figures in private equity, having made his name and fortune by taking over undervalued companies and turning them around. Bonderman, the...
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Cocaine production driving deforestation into Colombian national park

The Catatumbo River originates in northeastern Colombia’s Norte de Santander Department and flows to Venezuelan Lake Maracaibo. For generations, it has provided passage for fishermen and small farmers; but...
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For Latin America’s environmental defenders, Escazú Agreement is a voice and a shield

Bogotá — As the world became fixated on the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the situation for environmental defenders across the globe has only become more precarious. In 2019, 212...
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Historical data point to ‘imminent extinction’ of Tapanuli orangutan

JAKARTA — Onrizal Onrizal remembers hearing stories of human-like creatures living in the forest when he was growing up in Sungai Dareh, a town in western Sumatra, Indonesia. Legend...
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Canopy beetles and flowering trees rely on each other in the Amazon, study

Held aloft by a canopy crane nearly 10 stories above the forest floor, Susan Kirmse observed and collected beetles in the rainforest canopy for an entire year. What did...
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‘Great concern’ as study finds microplastics in human placentas

Plastic is everywhere — literally everywhere. A growing body of research shows that plastic is not only filling the world’s oceans and wilderness regions, it’s also invading our bodies...
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Indonesia’s plantation program on collision course with wildlife, Indigenous groups

JAKARTA — The survival of critically endangered wildlife like Sumatran orangutans and tigers and the livelihoods of Indigenous communities might be in jeopardy as the Indonesian government plans to...
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We’re approaching critical climate tipping points: Q&A with Tim Lenton

Over the past twenty years the concept of “tipping points” has become more familiar to the public. Tipping points are critical thresholds at which small changes can lead to...
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For Sumatran elephant conservation, involvement of local people is key (commentary)

“Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken, these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime.”- Dr. Carlos Drews, Director of WWF’s Global Species Program In...
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A hi-tech eye in the sky lays bare Hawaiʻi’s living coral reefs

In a newly released map, the coastal waters of the eight main Hawaiian islands are alight with color. Blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange and red tinge the islands’ perimeters,...
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Study warns of ‘biotic annihilation’ driven by hunting, habitat destruction

Humans are driving species to extinction 1,000 times faster than what is considered natural. Now, new research underscores the extent of the planet’s impoverishment. Extinctions don’t just rob the planet of...
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How to transform systems: Q&A with WRI’s Andrew Steer

Between the pandemic, rising food insecurity and poverty, and catastrophic disasters like wildfires, storms and droughts, 2020 was a year of challenges that prompted widespread calls for systemic change...
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Mongabay’s most popular conservation news posts in December 2020

Mongabay’s site-wide traffic in December 2020 amounted to 12.3 million pageviews, a 55% increase over December 2019. Aggregate time on the site in December set a new all-time high,...
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Agribusiness giants ADM, Bunge trading in ‘conflict’ palm oil, report says

JAKARTA — U.S. agribusiness giants Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Bunge are buying palm oil from mills in Indonesia that have been publicly linked to land and human rights violations...
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Rainforests: 11 things to watch in 2021

2020 was a rough year for tropical rainforest conservation efforts, as explained in Mongabay’s year-end wrap-up on rainforests. So what’s in store for 2021? Here are 11 things to...
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Companies must account for quality, not just quantity, when it comes to forests (commentary)

The launch of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) in 2014, with the support of nearly 200 corporate, government, NGO and Indigenous peoples and local community endorsers, put...
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Mongabay’s environmental investigations in 2020

Over the course of 2020, Mongabay published more than 5,000 stories, which collectively had on-site readership of 140 million pageviews. The reach of this content was further amplified by...
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Industrial agriculture threatens a wetland oasis in Bolivia

It was August 26, 2020. Dirlene Mejía, a park ranger who works in the area around Concepción Lake, a protected area located in eastern Bolivia, had just left for...
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Colombia’s sustainable forestry drive boosts biodiversity and business

Flor Angela Martinez is a mother, campesino and entrepreneur. Based in the Colombian Amazon, her company has become renowned for its sustainable timber harvesting practices. But before she made...
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Analysis: Years in the making, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta policy takes the long view

This article is the first in a two-part series on the future of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Read the first installment here. Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is approximately the same size...
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Mongabay’s 10 most popular posts of 2020

As we reach the end of a tumultuous year, here’s a look back at Mongabay’s 2020. Overall, Mongabay published more than 5,000 posts in 2020 across our five bureaus:...
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