Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 208 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • University of Arizona researchers unveil new model for desert farming in warming world

    In an experimental garden in Arizona, scientists are seeing how to produce sustainable and local food in a desert environment. They’re growing plants under a photovoltaic “canopy” of solar panels that provide necessary shade for the crops and, at the same time, generate cheap, renewable energy for irrigation systems and farm equipment. So far, they’ve been able to grow basil, Anasazi red beans, and a special bell pepper. While not all crops will work in this system and scaling the garden has its challenges, learning how to grow food in the desert is necessary to adapt to a future with climate change.

    Read More

  • How Efforts To Save Hawaii's Forests Are Preventing A 'Freshwater Crisis'

    Landowners, state employees, environmental groups, and local hunters are working together to protect Hawaii’s forests and drinking water by eradicating invasive plants from the state’s protected forests. By allowing native plants to flourish, these forests could help combat climate change by sequestering carbon and allowing freshwater quivers to recharge with rainfall. Since 2013, the state has built 132 miles of fence to keep grazers away from forests to prevent the spread of seeds of invasive plants. However, this method can be expensive; a 1,400-acre fence cost over a million dollars.

    Read More

  • Hawaii Marines Now Guarding The Nests Of Endangered Species Audio icon

    Members of the Marine Corps in Hawaii often pull double duty: military training and endangered species protection. For example, in June, the Marines roped off 13 green sea turtle nests on a local beach. Part of their job is to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of where they perform their training exercises. Sometimes there are military members or residents who might not understand why they have to preserve and manage the land, but education outreach has led to a ramp up in conservation efforts for turtles, birds, and other creatures.

    Read More

  • Lawmakers want to revive FDR's Depression-era "tree army" to help boost rural economies

    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal program to build outdoor recreation facilities, creating thousands of jobs during the Great Depression and building iconic state parks. Delaware programs, like the Senior Corps that enlists the help of people over 55, encourage civic engagement modeled after the CCC. Pennsylvania's Outdoor Corps hires young people to restore public lands over the summer. Congress introduced bills to revive CCC-like initiatives that could support rural economies hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but environmental funding is not a priority of the current administration.

    Read More

  • Hold the Salt: The Promise of Little Fresh Fishes

    In Myanmar, aquaculture production from medium-sized freshwater farms is growing and could be an important and sustainable supplier of food for the world’s growing population. Aquaculture businesses are thriving in Southeast Asia despite the decline of wild fisheries — the acreage of cultivated fishponds in some regions has expanded by more than 250 percent. While some environmentalists argue that it damages ecosystems, research suggests that freshwater aquaculture have a much lower environmental impact than marine fish farming.

    Read More

  • ‘It's like paradise for us': the Cree Nation's fight to save the Broadback Forest

    Canopy works to preserve the untouched Broadback Forest, which stores twice as much carbon as the Amazon and is central to the Cree Nation. The nonprofit works with 750 corporations, including fashion brands, commercial printers, and publishers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and eliminate sourcing from biodiverse, ancient, and endangered forests. They help source waste from grain and other food harvests for packaging, paper, and fabric production and enlist companies’ support of conservation initiatives. They also partner with other groups to lobby the government to protect the Broadback forest.

    Read More

  • Solar Power Is Booming. But It's Putting Desert Wilderness At Risk.

    Solar development can reduce or significantly alter local biodiversity, and this should be considered when planning sustainability projects in the desert, argues a new study. Scientists measured the impact of a solar plant built in California and found that while some grasses and native shrubs grew back, cacti and yucca didn’t fare well. They recommend building solar projects on places that have already been developed or have low environmental impact. Groups like the Nature Conservancy are using that advice to pilot a project demonstrating that old mine sites in Nevada can be used for clean energy.

    Read More

  • Is the way cattle are grazed the key to saving America's threatened prairies?

    An unlikely partnership between ranchers and conservationists is working together to protect grassland biodiversity on the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve in Oregon. The Nature Conservancy has cultivated relationships with landowners in the area to promote sustainable grazing practices. While some ranchers are skeptical about the organization’s intentions in the area, one rancher says they are “a good neighbor” and because of his alliance with the nonprofit, his pastures have consistently achieved good ratings over the years.

    Read More

  • A secret hidden in centuries-old mud reveals a new way to save polluted rivers

    Scientists have transformed a stream in Pennsylvania into a marshy waterway because of a restoration project that removed 22,000 tons of legacy sediment built up by colonial-era farming and logging. After removing meters of mud from the banks of Big Spring Run, native vegetation returned, which resulted in the storage of organic carbon tripling in the restored area and the amount of key pollutants in the stream sharply dropping. Similar restoration projects are being tried in other mid-Atlantic states.

    Read More

  • How the World's Largest Garbage Dump Evolved Into a Green Oasis

    The former Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island is turning into a public park that will accept visitors in 2021. By capping the trash site with plastic, covering it with soil, and planting native grasses, city officials are restoring the area’s former tidal wetlands and scrublands; nearly 314 plant and animal species have already been sighted. While the successful closing of the dump nearly 20 years ago means that the trash is being sent to other neighborhoods in the United States where people dealing with economic hardship live, the project could be a model for sustainability and urban renewal.

    Read More