Kaziranga National Park, Assam
Bird of the Day: Oriental Pied-Hornbill
Kaziranga National Park, Assam
New Technology For Anti-Poaching
Seized ivory tusks before being destroyed at a waste management center in Port Dickson, Malaysia, in 2019. Mohd Rasfan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Poaching has a puzzling array of culprits as well as victims, and many possible solutions. I have thought over the years that the Tiger Trail approach was replicable for this purpose. But genetic technology might scale more effectively. And with climate change overshadowing other crises, you might think this topic is past its prime, so read the comments section at the end of this article. Thanks to Catherine M. Allchin (how did we miss her prior work?) for this story, and please click through to read it in the New York Times:
It Helped Catch Serial Killers. Can It Stop Elephant and Wildlife Poachers, Too?
Scientists used a genetic investigation technique with the aim of helping turn the tide against illicit hauls of ivory and other animal parts.
Cambodian law enforcement officials received a tip from investigators in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Red-lored Parrots
Costa Rica
Organic Cotton, India & Veracity
Harvested organic cotton at a bioRe facility in Kasrawad, India. India is the single largest producer of the world’s organic cotton, responsible for half of the supply. Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times
When I see a headline like That Organic Cotton T-Shirt May Not Be as Organic as You Think my first reaction is a reflexive wince.
I will read the article for sure, as I did in this case, but even before reading it I feel defensive.
I am deeply committed to organic certification and seven years living in India makes this subheading into a red flag in terms of my sharing it with others:
The organic cotton movement in India appears to be booming, but much of this growth is fake, say those who source, process and grow the cotton.
Not because it is hard to believe. Exactly the opposite. I had work experiences that this story echoed in a different context. But when I share articles I value each day, usually on an environmental topic, a large percentage of those who click and read are from India. That is likely because we started this platform 10+ years ago while based in India. I do not enjoy, even if I am confident of its veracity, sharing news that I know will make those visitors, not to mention my many friends in India, uncomfortable.
Farmers set up their load of cotton at the Khargone mandi, a large auction market. Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times
But I got over it. Each of the journalists who authored this story put something on the line to get these important facts about two topics I care about. So, please read on and visit the source so the authors and photographer are properly credited for their excellent work:
Michael Kors retails its organic cotton and recycled polyester women’s zip-up hoodies for $25 more than its conventional cotton hoodies. Urban Outfitters sells organic sweatpants that are priced $46 more than an equivalent pair of conventional cotton sweatpants. And Tommy Hilfiger’s men’s organic cotton slim-fit T-shirt is $3 more than its conventional counterpart. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Cape Turtle Dove
Etosha National Park, Namibia
Invasivorism & Reasonable Questions
Grey squirrels have driven the local extinction of the native red across much of England and Wales. Photograph: Paul Broadbent/Alamy
If you do not eat animal protein, this concept may not appeal to you. But if you allow that others who eat meat may be able to do so ethically, then read on.
If you do eat any kind of meat, then it is a reasonable question whether invasive species are fair game: Rack of squirrel, anyone? The chefs putting invasive species on the menu
Roast rack of squirrel, fondant jersey royal potatoes, carrot and wild garlic served at Paul Wedgwood’s restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photograph: Wedgwood
‘Invasivorism’ is a growing ethical dining trend but is ‘eat them to beat them’ really the answer?
From oral contraceptives to proposals to edit their DNA, efforts to control the UK’s invasive grey squirrel population have become increasingly elaborate. But a growing number of chefs and conservationists have a far simpler idea, which they see as part of the trend in ethical dining: eat them. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Crested Owl
Sacha Reserve, Ecuador
Big Companies, Big Noise
(Original Caption) A man sitting atop a girder over the city is shown taking photos of the unfinished municipal building.
Bill Mckibben’s newsletter is one of the most efficient ways to stay informed on issues of interest to us in our daily posts on this platform. This week’s edition, titled Needs Improvement, is as good as any other recent edition. Consider subscription options that suit your budget by clicking the button, if you appreciate what you read below:
The Economic Giants Must Do Better than Meh
No one expects small businesses to be the leaders on climate change, though of course a noble handful are. It’s the giants—who have enormous brands to protect, and large margins to cover the cost of changing—that need to be out front. The ones with big ad campaigns with lots of windmills and penguins and cheerful shots of the smiling future. The ones who have made a lot of noise about ‘net zero.’ And how are they doing? Meh. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Bay-headed Tanager
Magdalena, Colombia
More On, And From, Kim Stanley Robinson
“The Ministry for the Future” displays Robinson’s anti-anti-utopianism: its prognosis is both heartening and harrowing. Illustration by Deena So’Oteh
Thirteen months ago I first became aware of this author and this book. Four months ago Robinson showed up on my radar again. I still had not made time for his book. And two weeks ago, another reminder of how my time has and has not been employed, this time posed as a question: Can Science Fiction Wake Us Up to Our Climate Reality? I already feel quite awake to that reality, but the question is still of considerable interest.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s novels envision the dire problems of the future—but also their solutions.
Robinson at home in Davis, California. Much of his sci-fi could seem like nature writing, with the Sierra Nevadas—his “heart’s home”—recast as Mercury or Mars. Photograph by Jim McAuley for The New Yorker
Last summer, the science-fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson went on a backpacking trip with some friends. They headed into the High Sierra, hiking toward Deadman Canyon—a fifty-mile walk through challenging terrain. Now sixty-nine, Robinson has been hiking and camping in the Sierras for half a century. At home, in Davis, California, he tracks his explorations on a wall-mounted map, its topography thick with ink. He is a devotee of the “ultralight” approach to backpacking and prefers to travel without water, instead gathering it along the way, from lakes and streams. Arriving at the canyon, with its broad, verdant floor cradled in smooth slopes of granite, he planned to fill his bottles with meltwater from the seven glaciers buried in its headwall. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Ochre-breasted Antpitta
Wild Sumaco, Ecuador
Fashion’s Fatal Flaw
Cattle grazed on land burned by farmers in Brazil in August 2020. Andre Penner/Associated Press
In 10+ years we have occasionally mentioned the bags we use to tote things or to package things. We occasionally notice that fashion branded handbags have not received their fair share of attention (maybe because we do not use them).
Anyway, we aim to correct that, as we point to climate and other environmental issues and potential solutions. Thanks to Whitney Bauck for this article titled Did Your Handbag Help Destroy the Rainforest? It gives us good reason to pay more attention to fashion’s footprint:
A recent report examines the links between fashion brands and Amazon deforestation.
The rainforest and the runway may seem worlds apart, but deforestation in the Amazon is partly fueled by something that’s on display in every fashion capital this month: leather. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Great Barbet
Sattal, Uttarakhand
Nuclear Fusion’s Heat Feat
The interior of the JET, where an experiment generated 59 megajoules of heat, beating the 1997 record of 21.7 megajoules. Photograph: UKAEA
We have no expertise in this specific energy-related subject, but we know that new sources of energy are an important potential contributor to the reduction of global warming. So, we read this news about a new heat record from nuclear fusion as a qualified source of hope:
Nuclear fusion heat record a ‘huge step’ in quest for new energy source
Oxfordshire scientists’ feat raises hopes of using reactions that power sun for low-carbon energy
The prospect of harnessing the power of the stars has moved a step closer to reality after scientists set a new record for the amount of energy released in a sustained fusion reaction. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Little Pied Flycatcher
Manadala, Arunachal Pradesh
Container Ships Versus Whales & Whale-watchers
Whale-watching tourism is lucrative for Sri Lanka but even the small boats are at risk from the huge tankers and container ships that use the route. Photograph: IFAW/Christian Loader
It seems a minor request, asking the companies whose ships pass through Sri Lanka’s waters to be considerate of the whales who live in those waters:
‘Giant obstacle course’: call to reroute major shipping lanes to protect blue whales
Unique colony of blue whales increasingly at risk from tankers and container ships, say marine campaigners
Scientists and conservation groups are calling for one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes to be rerouted in an effort to protect the world’s largest animal. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: White Wagtail
Desert National Park, Rajasthan
Dogs Doing Nature No Favors
Overfertilisation reduces biodiversity by allowing a few thriving plants to drive out others and the wildlife that depends on them. Photograph: John Walton/PA
Who knew? Now you do. Yes, one more thing to think about to take better care of your environment:
Deluge of dog pee and poo harming nature reserves, study suggests
Urine and faeces creating nitrogen and phosphorus levels that would be illegal on farms, scientists calculate
Dog faeces and urine are being deposited in nature reserves in such quantities that it is likely to be damaging wildlife, according to a new study. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Fork-tailed Woodnymph
Wild Sumaco, Ecuador
Chile Has New Hands On Deck
The receding Santa Ines glacier in Seno Ballena fjord in Punta Arenas, southern Chile. Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty
Bringing experts into government does not sound like a news story, until you consider Chile. A country governed for decades by Chicago school economics–a strong invisible hand of market forces combined with a strong visible hand of military rule to keep leftists at bay–Chile’s most recent election led to some new hands in the governance picture.
With the climate crisis, Chile has an opportunity to set a new example for the world. The failure of markets until now to address a human-induced environmental catastrophe will be met with the combined force of expert scientific knowledge and public sector governance:
‘We need politicians and experts’: how Chile is putting the climate crisis first
President Gabriel Boric has brought renowned named climate scientist Maisa Rojas into government to help ensure a greener future
‘We need politicians and experts’: how Chile is putting the climate crisis first
President Gabriel Boric has brought renowned named climate scientist Maisa Rojas into government to help ensure a greener futureHidden behind the Andes in a quiet corner of South America, a formidable generation of former student leaders are putting together one of the world’s most exciting progressive movements.
On 11 March, Gabriel Boric, 35, a tattooed leftist with a steely resolve to reform Chile from the bottom up, will become the country’s youngest ever president – and his green agenda is echoing across the world as time ticks away on an impending climate catastrophe.
“It is so exciting to see what these young people have done,” says Maisa Rojas, 49, a renowned Chilean climate scientist who has been named environment minister in a cabinet including several of Boric’s student protest generation. Continue reading
Organikos 