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

Your couch may be killing you

Read the full story in Fast Company. Flame retardants can add dangerous chemicals to your home. And a new study proves that couches are full
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Characterisation and Environmental Value Proposition of Reuse Models for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods: Reusable Packaging and Products.

Muranko Ż, Tassell C, Zeeuw van der Laan A, Aurisicchio M. (2021). “Characterisation and Environmental Value Proposition of Reuse Models for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods: Reusable
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Kemin Launches Dry Cellulase ZyloCell™ to Support Biofuels Industries’ Low-carbon Initiatives

Read the press release. Kemin Biofuels, part of Kemin Industries, a global ingredient manufacturer that strives to sustainably transform the quality of life every day for
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Study Finds Plants Would Grow Well in Solar Cell Greenhouses

Read the full story from North Carolina State University. A recent study shows that lettuce can be grown in greenhouses that filter out wavelengths of
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Realistic ways you can combat climate change, today

No matter how much time and money you have, you can help stave off the effects of climate change. This online tool from the Milken
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Study reveals plunge in lithium-ion battery costs

Read the full story from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The cost of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used for phones, laptops, and cars has fallen
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Disposing of E-Cigarette Waste: FAQ for Schools and Others

Download the document. This publication provides a brief summary of considerations for schools, airports, courts, and other institutions subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery
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Will Upcycling Become As Popular As Plant-Based Food?

One way organizations are trying to help reduce food waste is by upcycling food. This means using ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to
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DHS Releases New COVID-19 Variant Trackers

Today, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) released a new data table on our variant webpage that shows SARS-CoV-2 variant proportions by Health Care Emergency Readiness Coalition (HERC) region . The variants page now also includes information on two additional variant strains of SARS-CoV-2: variants B.1.427 and B.1.429. DHS first identified these variants...
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Continued warming to put one-third of Antarctic ice shelves at risk of collapse

If global temperatures reach 4 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, more than a third of Antarctic’s ice shelves will be at risk of collapse, according to new models detailed in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
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Let the dog in: how institutions and colleagues can help scientists who require support animals

Read the full story in Nature. University policies often present barriers to bringing assistance dogs into the lab or on campus.
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Last dam standing: Traverse City fish restoration project on the ropes

Read the full story at Bridge Michigan. It was supposed to be a milestone in the decades-long journey to restore the Boardman River, a celebrated
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Towards the Anchovy Biorefinery: Biogas Production from Anchovy Processing Waste after Fish Oil Extraction with Biobased Limonene

Paone E, Fazzino F, Pizzone DM, Scurria A, Pagliaro M, Ciriminna R, Calabrò PS. (2021). “Towards the Anchovy Biorefinery: Biogas Production from Anchovy Processing Waste
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Mapping project illuminates links between poor environment, historical racism

Read the full story at Coast Reporter. A new tool that measures the environmental quality of any urban street in Canada — and maps it
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Don’t Diss Degrowth, It May Be the Key to Decarbonization

Read the full story at Treehugger. It is fashionable to dismiss degrowth in North America, but a lot of people are taking it seriously.
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LIFT America Act’s infrastructure proposals list landfill gas among renewable energy sources

Read the full story at Waste Dive. The federal Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America (LIFT America) Act, introduced March 11, calls for a wide array of infrastructure
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Mussel Sensors Pave the Way for New Environmental Monitoring Tools

Read the full story from North Carolina State University. Researchers at North Carolina State University have designed and demonstrated a new system that allows them
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This startup aims to take the trash out of takeout

Read the full story at CNN Business. Like many New Yorkers, Adam Farbiarz eats a lot of takeout. But every time he finished a meal,
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Biden clean electricity standard faces high hurdles

Read the full story at The Hill. President Biden is doubling down on a campaign promise to achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2035 with his
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Court throws out rule delaying implementation of EPA landfill emissions regulation

Read the full story from Waste Dive. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a rule on Monday meant to delay
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Canadian Green New Deal up for debate at Liberal, NDP conventions

The 2021 Liberal National Convention runs April 8 to 10, while the NDP’s Convention 2021 runs April 9 to 11. Both events are being held virtually.
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Report: Lake Michigan is ‘running a fever.’ More storms, less fish possible.

Read the full story at Bridge Michigan. In a first-of-its kind study, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
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Wisconsin Auto Dealership Installs Microgrid-Based EV Charging Units

Read the full story at Environment + Energy Leader. Bergstrom Automotive in Neenah, Wisconsin, has installed clean-energy, microgrid-based EV charging units that can each generate
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Solar geoengineering is worth studying but not a substitute for cutting emissions, study finds

by James W. Hurrell (Colorado State University) Ambuj D Sagar (The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi), and Marion Hourdequin (Colorado College) A new report from
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Can smart buildings be more equitable buildings?

Read the full story at GreenBiz. There are ample regulatory drivers and utility incentives for reducing a building’s carbon footprint and embracing energy-efficient technology, but
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Sustainability has its rewards—tangible and intangible

Read the full story at Food Engineering. Suppliers and food processors work together to create projects that save energy and money—and show they’re responsible corporate
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Here’s How to Spot a Faked Wildlife Photo—and When to Be Skeptical

Read the full story from Audubon. The phony-image debunker behind a popular Twitter account shares tips for telling when the perfect shot is too good
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New platform aims to reveal dam and climate impacts on the Mekong

Read the full story at Eco-Business. Researchers hope the tool, which provides satellite imagery, maps and data, will show effects of dam building and climate
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Lush urban forests can help communities face climate change

Read the full story from the University of California. Urban trees are much more than lovely greenery and stately landscape features. Scientists believe trees are
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Analysis: UK is now halfway to meeting its ‘net-zero emissions’ target

Read the full story at Climate Brief. The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 were 51% below 1990 levels, according to new Carbon Brief analysis.
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How well does the media cover the climate movement?

Read the full story in the Columbia Journalism Review. For some journalists, covering activism presents an uncomfortable dilemma. Too much coverage might come across as
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Why Covering Canals With Solar Panels Is a Power Move

Read the full story in Wired. Covering waterways would, in a sense, make solar panels water-cooled, boosting their efficiency.
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Two French architects who ‘never demolish’ buildings just won the Pritzker Prize

Read the full story in Fast Company. Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal focus on adaptive reuse, finding creative ways to reconfigure materials and avoid waste.
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Young Climate Activist Fights to Save Indiana Wetlands

Read the full story at Treehugger. Early this year, youth activist Leo Berry was at the Indiana State House with his mom and a couple
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EPA chief highlights water improvement provisions in infrastructure bill

Read the full story at The Hill. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan on Monday discussed water infrastructure-related provisions in the White House’s
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Do you obey public-access mandates? Google Scholar is watching

Read the full story in Nature. Search-engine co-founder Anurag Acharya explains why it now tells authors when their papers should be made free to read.
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IBM to Build a Solution to Support Solar Developers and Climate Entrepreneurs

Read the full story at Environment + Energy Leader. IBM and Raise Green, an impact investment marketplace for clean energy projects, announced their collaboration to empower any
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Is COVID-19 slowing progress toward the SDGs? Yes, say experts.

Read the full story in GreenBiz. Sustainability practitioners report poor progress toward each of the 17 goals, as well as on sustainable development overall.
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These drones look for trash in waterways—and then send sailing drones to clean it up

Read the full story at Fast Company. Together, flying drones and sailing drones are helping to clear rivers of plastic waste and oil spills.
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Erasing Women from Science? There’s a Name for That

Read the full story at JSTOR. Countless women scientists have have been shunted to the footnotes, with credit for their work going to male colleagues.
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Tiny scoops of water are unlocking worlds of information about Oregon watersheds

Read the full story from Oregon Public Radio. Environmental DNA, or eDNA, can help identify who’s in a river, stream or creek. Now, it’s helping
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Retracting publications doesn’t stop them from influencing science

Read the full story at Massive Science. “Zombie papers” keep on getting cited, with huge ripple effects.
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Major investors find electric utilities are not on track to meet decarbonization goals

Read the full story from the Energy and Policy Institute. Electric utilities are failing to align their businesses with the Paris climate agreement goals and
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Beyond Peak Delivery: Sustainable Shipping Alternatives

Download the document The e-commerce market is fast approaching “peak delivery,” and strategic retailers and direct-to-consumer brands are looking for last-mile alternatives that can help
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20 Hotspots to Start Fixing Nitrogen Pollution in Agriculture

Read the full story at Civil Eats. Surplus nitrogen from farm fertilizer contaminates drinking water, creates dead zones, and contributes to climate change. A new
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UK business group unveils offshore wind database

Read the full story at renews.biz. UK energy business development organisation NOF has launched an offshore wind projects database. The NOF Offshore Wind Projects Database
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Court tosses Trump rule limiting emissions regulations

Read the full story at The Hill. A panel of federal appeals judges Washington, D.C., on Monday nixed a Trump administration rule that would have
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Groups petition EPA to remove ethane and methane from list of compounds exempt from emissions limits

Read the full story in The Hill. Hundreds of environmental groups on Tuesday submitted a petition calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action to
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Webinar: Advances in Understanding PFAS Ecological Risks

Apr 8, 2021, 11am CDTRegister here. This SERDP and ESTCP webinar focuses on DoD-funded research to improve understanding of the ecological risks of per- and
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Everyone Age 16 and Older Now Eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announces a major milestone in Wisconsin’s COVID-19 vaccination program in that everyone ages 16 and older are now eligible for the vaccine. After consistently ranking tops in the nation for vaccine administration and with a steady increase in vaccine supply, Wisconsin opens eligibility nearly a month earlier...
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An Amazonian arapaima washed up in a Florida river. It didn’t swim there

It’s been called a “river monster,” and for good reason. The arapaima (Arapaima gigas) is a freshwater fish that can grow longer than a horse and weigh up to...
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European tuna boats dump fishing debris in Seychelles waters ‘with impunity’

In 2019, when Jeremy Raguain turned up for a cleanup campaign on Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, he bagged a marine monstrosity like no other: a beached...
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Red flag: Predatory European ships help push Indian Ocean tuna to the brink

Until Jan 9, 2014, the Playa de Anzoras, a 2,200-ton tuna fishing vessel named for a beach in Spain, built in Spain and owned by Spaniards, sailed under the Spanish flag....
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Podcast: Though humanity exceeds key ‘planetary boundaries’ there are many solutions

Today we discuss Planetary Boundaries, nine environmental systems identified by scientists as essential to Earth’s ability to sustain life and the limits to how far out of equilibrium we...
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Captive lions kept in ‘stressful conditions’ create perfect recipe for disease, experts say

In 2019, animal welfare inspectors visited Pienika Farm, a captive-lion facility in the North West province of South Africa. They found sick lion after sick lion living in conditions...
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Civil society’s push to advance conservation in China: Q&A with Jinfeng Zhou

Efforts to advance biodiversity conservation in China is generally not well understood in the West. But with China set to host the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the...
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Reveling in complexity: Remembering a man who ‘truly lived’ conservation (commentary)

Earlier this year, the world lost a conservationist who lived and breathed sustainability and conservation, Michael “Elmo” Drilling. Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Mr. Drilling worked for the...
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Mongabay’s most popular articles in March 2021

During the month of March, Mongabay published more than 400 stories, which attracted nearly 11 million pageviews, across its bureaus. Here’s a look at the ten most visited on...
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Government inaction prompts voluntary REDD+ carbon credit boom in Brazil

Lábrea, in southern Amazonas state, is one of the Brazilian Amazon’s most deforested municipalities, with almost all of its large swath of privately held rural properties having been denuded...
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‘Opening the lid’ on toilet innovation: Q&A with author Chelsea Wald

Toilets: They’re not any easy subject to discuss. Even though eliminating waste from our bodies is an essential function we all must do, talking about how we deal with...
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Beef giant JBS vows to go deforestation-free — 14 years from now

JBS, the largest animal protein producer on Earth, made headlines last week with a commitment to achieve zero deforestation across its global supply chain by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse...
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“Activism gives you hope”: Q&A with Wallace Global Fund’s Ellen Dorsey

A decade ago, the idea of using the financial resources of university endowments, religious institutions and philanthropic foundations as a mechanism to advance action on climate change was still...
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Spiny new chameleon species described from Bale Mountains of Ethiopia

Researchers have described a new chameleon species from the Bale Mountains of south-central Ethiopia, and say the biodiversity hotspot may harbor even more. Named Wolfgang Böhme’s Ethiopian chameleon (Trioceros...
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Australia’s pivot to plantations may be too late for nearly extinct parrots

HOBART, Australia — A dividing line of marking tape separates a clearcut area from intact native forest in the Denison Range of Tasmania, Australia’s southernmost state. An hour’s drive...
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Frustration over light penalties for coal mine that polluted Indonesian river

After a series of coal-slurry spills into the Malinau River in Indonesian Borneo, locals and environmental groups are calling for tougher sanctions, and for national banks to divest from...
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In Malaysia, the fate of a peat forest hinges on a powerful state official

Selangor, on the western coast of peninsular Malaysia is the country’s most populous and prosperous state as well as one of its most highly urbanized. Amid this sprawl, just...
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Empowering Indigenous peoples crucial to climate, biodiversity crises: Study

Indigenous communities in Latin America and the Caribbean have consistently asserted that they are the best guardians of their forests. Now, a recent U.N. report has mainstreamed this argument,...
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Exposing organized crime in the Amazon: Q&A with Robert Muggah of the Igarapé Institute

Mongabay caught up with Igarapé Institute co-founder Robert Muggah this week to discuss Ecocrime, a new data visualization platform that combines visual storytelling with access to raw data on environmental...
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Rare captive-bred crocodiles develop new, ‘odd’ habits in Philippine wild

SIARGAO, Philippines — The southern Philippines is home to the world’s rarest and most endangered crocodile species: the freshwater Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis). After decades of sliding toward extinction,...
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Drinking coffee in the U.S.? Worry about forests in Vietnam, study says

Consumption patterns, especially in wealthier countries, are eating away at forests in some of the world’s most biodiverse regions. In the U.S., the thirst for coffee drives forest loss...
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Coffee sustainability check: Q&A with Sjoerd Panhuysen of Coffee Barometer report

At the start of 2021, Mongabay connected with Sjoerd Panhuysen, lead author of the biennial Coffee Barometer report for Ethos Agriculture, to discuss the present and future of sustainable...
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Two new species of endangered screech owls identified from Brazil

Two new species of tiny screech owls from the Amazon and Atlantic rainforests in Brazil have been described by science. “They’re cute little owls, probably five or six inches...
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Cerrado’s maned wolves, squeezed by humans, may be picking up mange from dogs

It was 11:30 in the morning on Feb. 4 this year. A gray sky threatened heavy rains. Everything was calm as usual at the front gate of the Brejão...
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East Africa deploys huge volumes of ‘highly hazardous’ pesticides against locust plague

Swarms of locusts tens of kilometers wide have threatened to devastate crops in East Africa since late 2019, putting some 32 million people at risk of going hungry. The...
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Mixed fates for captive elephants sent back to villages amid Thai tourism collapse

In March 2020, a massive migration began when an international travel ban to curb COVID-19 brought Thailand’s tourism industry to a sudden halt. Elephant camps, which use more than...
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Mongabay’s What To Watch list for April 2021

March was a big month for Mongabay video, and we want to share some of the highlights from our latest global coverage. If you’re looking for what to watch...
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‘What other country would do this to its people?’ Cambodian land grab victims seek int’l justice

“It started when some people from the government came around the community telling us that we were illegally occupying the land,” Chhae Kimsrour said in June 2020. “I’ve lived...
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In Brazil, palm oil is being grown sustainably via agroforestry

A recent investigation by Mongabay demonstrated that oil palm plantations in the Amazon do not appear to be ‘green’ as the Brazilian government terms them, but rather are associated...
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Logging company moves into intact Gabon forest as village fights to save it

A forestry company in Gabon has built new roads to log a forest in the northeastern province of Ogooué-Ivindo. Villagers had applied to the government last August to reclassify...
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Madagascar: Businesses drive disappearance of a wetland ‘reed forest’

LAKE ALAOTRA, Madagascar — Madagascar’s environment minister, Baomiavotse Vahinala Raharinirina, celebrated World Wetlands Day last month by planting native reeds and sedges along the shore of sprawling Lake Alaotra...
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New map shows where the 80% of species we don’t know about may be hiding

In 2012, researchers described a teensy, aspirin-sized chameleon, Brookesia nana, from a thin slice of rainforest in northern Madagascar. The species, which experts believe is the smallest reptile in the world, grabbed...
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Study sounds latest warning of rainforest turning into savanna as climate warms

As the planet warms, it isn’t just humans who are feeling the heat — trees are too. Rising temperatures are disrupting a primary engine of life on Earth: photosynthesis....
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Global forest loss increases in 2020, but pandemic’s impact unclear

No one was sure exactly what near-term impact the global pandemic would have the world’s forests in 2020. Some expected lockdowns and economic shocks to dampen deforestation rates; others...
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Deforestation surge threatens endangered species in Tanintharyi, Myanmar

Stretching along the narrow spit of land that connects the Malay peninsula to the rest of mainland Southeast Asia, Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region is home to a confluence of animals...
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The nine boundaries humanity must respect to keep the planet habitable

Advanced human societies emerged during an unprecedented period of stability on Earth. During the 12,000 years prior to the Industrial Revolution, our planet’s surface temperature varied by less than...
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African swine fever rips through parts of southern Indonesia

FarmAfrican swine fever is seeing a resurgence in Indonesia’s southern East Nusa Tenggara province, government officials say, undermining food security and fueling fears that the viral disease could jump...
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Battle at the bat box: Camera trap captures ocelot standoff in restored forest

Rare camera trap video from Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula captured a tense standoff: For several minutes, an ocelot stares, motionless, into the face of a coati. The coati, cornered...
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Bolsonaro govt wanted to ‘run the cattle’ through environmental protections. It was a stampede

The science journal Biological Conservation published a special issue this month with a series of reports on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on biodiversity. Among the articles selected is one...
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Brazil prosecutors cite Mongabay probe in new legal battle against palm oil firms

Federal prosecutors in Brazil have cited a recent Mongabay investigation into water contamination by a palm oil company in an Indigenous reserve as key evidence in their legal battle...
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New assessment shines a light on the state of North America’s fireflies

Iconic, romanticized, and celebrated, fireflies illuminate the evenings and twilight memories of people around the globe. For years, naturalists and conservationists have noted, anecdotally, that fireflies seem to be...
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Ocean protection scheme could yield ‘triple benefits’ study says

From the eye of a satellite, the ocean is streaked with smoky white lines that flow and twist like scribbled handwriting across the surface. But these lines aren’t naturally...
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Patagonia’s blue whales besieged by hundreds of boats, study finds

Researchers have for the first time been able to show visually the impacts that marine traffic is having on the world’s biggest animal off the north of Chile’s Patagonia...
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Chinese ‘fishing fleet’ anchored on Philippine reef raises tensions

MANILA — The Philippines is protesting the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels anchored at Whitsun Reef, a shallow coral region located 175 nautical miles (324 kilometers)...
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Can ‘Slow Food’ save Brazil’s fast-vanishing Cerrado savanna?

It’s November in southeast Brazil, and the tall, feathery babassu palms (Acrocomia aculeata) are beginning to drop ripe coconuts. By January, the ground is littered with them, as some...
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Nearly half the Amazon’s intact forest on Indigenous-held lands: Report

A new report reveals that investing in securing the land rights of Indigenous and tribal communities across Latin America and the Caribbean could cut carbon dioxide emissions at low...
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Palm oil firm Digoel Agri said to clear Papuan forest without Indigenous consent

JAKARTA — After halting forest-clearing operations in 2020, the Digoel Agri conglomerate has apparently restarted its activities in Indonesia’s Papua province, raising alarms among local Indigenous communities who say...
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CSB Public Business Meeting will be April 2 at 11 am EDT

Quarterly CSB Business Meeting
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Podcast: Palm oil plantations and their impacts have arrived in the Amazon

Today we discuss a new investigative report by Mongabay’s contributing editor for Brazil, Karla Mendes, that looks at the impacts of the palm oil industry’s growth in the Amazon....
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Guarani Indigenous men brutalized in Brazilian ‘expansion of violence’

On Tuesday, March 16, three Guarani Kaiowá indigenous men — Vander Martins, Vitorino Gomes and Ouilson Mendes — who live in the Guaiviry community in the Aral Moreira municipality,...
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Oil palm growers’ misdeeds allow an opportunity to save West Papua’s forests

JAKARTA — A government review has identified a massive area of forest in Indonesia’s West Papua province that has been earmarked for oil palm plantations but that can still...
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