environment

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Scientists: We Are on the Brink of Irreversible Disaster

'We are stepping into a critical, unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis,' climate experts say

(Newser) - An international coalition of scientists has delivered a report on the Earth that is the equivalent of a doctor telling a patient to sit down for a very serious talk. The climate experts say they assessed 35 of the planet's "vital signs," and 25 were worse than...

National Park Slams This Lone Piece of Litter
Carlsbad Caverns Blasts
'World Changing' Cheetos Bag
in case you missed it
Sep 14, 2024 12:50 PM CDT

Carlsbad Caverns Blasts 'World Changing' Cheetos Bag

Park rangers say litter left in New Mexico park 'may seem trivial, but ... can be world changing'

(Newser) - "At the scale of human perspective, a spilled snack bag may seem trivial, but to the life of the cave it can be world changing." That's the message rangers from Carlsbad Caverns National Park offered last week, along with a photo of an abandoned Cheetos bag, in...

Climate Group 'Awestruck' by Mystery $10M Donation

The money went to Giving Green, a philanthropic organization that gives money to nonprofits

(Newser) - On a Friday morning in April, Dan Stein, the founder of Giving Green, a climate philanthropy organization, found some big news in a surprising email. An anonymous donor had given his fund $10 million. "I didn't quite process the number of zeros," Stein said, adding he was...

Eye on Plastic Waste, Starbucks Rolls Out New Cups

New cold drink cups have 20% less plastic

(Newser) - Booming sales of cold drinks at Starbucks have created growing amounts of plastic waste from the single-use cups that Frappuccinos, Refreshers, cold brews, and other iced drinks are served in. The coffee giant said Thursday it plans to alleviate some of that waste with new disposable cups that contain up...

One Simple New Year's Resolution 'Changed My Life'

Change starts small, Kristin Hostetter reminds us, as she offers tips for sustainable living

(Newser) - On Jan. 1, 2018, Kristin Hostetter made a New Year's resolution that not only stuck but "changed my life." She decided to swear off single-use plastic bottles, and, as she writes at Outside , "my lips have not touched one since." She simply added a reusable...

Cashmere Is Cheap These Days, but There's a Cost to That

Increased demand has taken an environmental toll on the lands where goats are raised

(Newser) - Buying a cashmere scarf or sweater was once a pricy purchase, but the cost of the luxe fabric has gone down in recent years. And according to NPR , the reasons why aren't so great. They caught up with landscape ecologist Ginger Allington, whose research has tracked something of a...

Key Figure in the 'Plant Trees' Movement Has New Message

Ecologist Thomas Crowther says it's better to maintain existing forests than to plant new ones

(Newser) - At this month's environment COP28 summit, renowned ecologist Thomas Crowther addressed environmental officials from around the world and asked them to stop planting so many trees. Which is noteworthy given that Crowther himself is "at least partly" responsible for the worldwide push on that front in recent years,...

Another Scourge in Our Seas: Blast Fishing

The practice of dropping explosives to kill fish quickly is prevalent globally, despite being illegal

(Newser) - Despite being illegal virtually everywhere, blast fishing has continued to harm local fishing industries and marine ecosystems across the globe. The Guardian details how the practice—which uses explosives like dynamite to kill a mass number of fish for quick returns—is "thriving" in Sri Lanka while simultaneously wreaking...

Tennis Has a Recycling Problem
Tennis Has a
Recycling Problem
Sep 10, 2023 8:30 AM CDT

Tennis Has a Recycling Problem

Tennis balls can't be recycled, and experts are grappling with how to manage that waste

(Newser) - Tennis has a fuzzy yellow problem most players don't think about when they open can after can of fresh balls, or when umpires at US Open matches make their frequent requests for "new balls please." Because tennis balls are extremely hard to recycle and the industry has...

Young Montanans Score Huge Win in Climate Trial

Judge sides with activists who said state violated their right to a clean environment

(Newser) - Young environmental activists have scored a huge victory in Montana, where a judge has agreed that the state violated their constitutional right to "a clean and healthful environment." In the first-of-its-kind Held v Montana case, District Judge Kathy Seeley ruled that it was unconstitutional for the coal and...

Vegan Diets Seen as Way Better for the Environment
Vegan Diets Seen as Way
Better for the Environment
New Study
Jul 27, 2023 9:22 AM CDT

Vegan Diets Seen as Way Better for the Environment

Getting meat-eaters to cut down is like taking millions of cars off the road, say Oxford researchers

(Newser) - For anyone keeping score, this might be meat-eaters 0, vegans 1. A study spotlighted by the BBC found that following a vegan diet—eating only plant-based foods and excluding animal-derived products—can lead to considerable reduction in damage to the environment. In the UK anyway, getting carnivores to cut down...

Crow and Magpie Nests Show the 'Birds Are Outsmarting Us'

Study finds they have made nests using anti-bird spikes

(Newser) - Crows in particular have long demonstrated spooky levels of intelligence, but a new Dutch study shows they, along with magpies, have an ability to adapt to their urban environments that isn't just clever but ironic as well. The Guardian reports that researchers with Rotterdam's Natural History Museum and...

France Makes Carbon-Neutral Move, Bans Short Flights

If there's an option to go by rail from Paris to Lyon, travelers will need to use it

(Newser) - In a move to cut carbon emissions, France has officially banned domestic short-haul flights when train alternatives are available. The law was published in a formal government decree, ending the airline industry's hopes of soaring above it, the BBC reports. The ban mostly grounds air trips between Paris...

World's Lakes Have Lost Water Equivalent to 17 Lake Meads

53% of major lakes and reservoirs have seen major drops since 1990s

(Newser) - More than half of the world's largest lakes and reservoirs have lost substantial amounts of water—the equivalent of 17 Lake Meads—in recent decades, according to a large-scale study that largely blames climate change and human behavior. While climate change is bringing warmer temperatures that increase evaporation, per...

Americans Air Their Biggest Problems of 2022

Government, inflation emerge as top concerns in 2 polls

(Newser) - The biggest problem facing Americans is nothing new, according to Gallup. An average 19% of respondents chose government as the top problem facing the country in 11 monthly Gallup polls, the company announced Tuesday . That's the seventh time in the past decade that government has come out on top,...

This Is the Greenest City in America

San Diego takes the top spot in WalletHub's ranking of environmentally conscious metropolises

(Newser) - With what seems like a never-ending series of headlines tied to the effects of global warming on Earth, many of us may be thinking ahead on what we can do next to help save our planet. Where we choose to live could also prove meaningful, with some cities around the...

Organization Counts Toll in Fight Over Environment

An activist has been killed every 2 days over the past decade, Global Witness says

(Newser) - An international organization has counted the number of people who have been slain over the past 10 years while trying to keep mining, drilling for oil, or logging from taking place on their lands: 1,700. That's an average of one activist killed every two days, Global Witness says....

Today Marks a Troubling Day for the Planet

Earth Overshoot Day is here, a day earlier than last year

(Newser) - Environmental groups say today is "Earth Overshoot Day"—the day when all the resources the planet can regenerate in a year have been used up—and the rest of the year's consumption will be what amounts to deficit spending. The date went back to August 22 due...

Creator of Gaia Theory Dies on 103rd Birthday
Creator of Gaia Theory
Dies on 103rd Birthday
OBITUARY
Jul 27, 2022 2:26 PM CDT

Creator of Gaia Theory Dies on 103rd Birthday

James Lovelock was 'half scientist and half inventor'

(Newser) - James Lovelock, the British environmental scientist whose influential Gaia theory sees the Earth as a living organism gravely imperiled by human activity, has died on his 103rd birthday. Lovelock’s family said Wednesday that he died the previous evening at his home in southwest England "surrounded by his family,...

Australia's Environment Is in Grim Condition

19 ecosystems are on the brink of collapse

(Newser) - Shocking, grim, dire, depressing … that’s what readers are saying about all 2,000 pages of Australia’s latest State of the Environment survey. Things weren’t great five years ago—the last time they conducted the survey—but conditions have deteriorated rapidly. Per the BBC, Environment Minister Tanya...

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