What Does An Ecological Civilization Look Like?
A society based on natural ecology might seem like a far-off utopia— yet communities everywhere are already creating it.
Includes: 6 Rules for Humans Rejoining the Natural World.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/ecological-civilization/2021/02/16/what-does-ecological-civilization-look-like/
Giant Cos., Rodale Institute Team on Regenerative Organic Agriculture
https://progressivegrocer.com/giant-cos-rodale-institute-team-regenerative-organic-agriculture
The First U.S. Funeral Home That Turns Bodies Into Compost Is Now Open
Recompose, located outside of Seattle, has turned its first customers into soil after years of development.
Getting ahead of climate change
https://www.spie.org/news/getting-ahead-of-climate-change
Comparing Organic, Agroecological and Regenerative Farming part 3 – Regenerative
Pesticide Threatens Future for Key Pollinator: U of G Study
https://news.uoguelph.ca/2021/02/pesticide-threatens-future-for-key-pollinator-u-of-g-study/
The template for climate mitigation is soil conservation, says farm-enviro alliance
Composed of farm, environmental, and food retail groups, FACA was an early advocate of using voluntary and incentive-based programs to mitigate climate change.
Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance:
USDA far more open now to sustainability practices
https://vtdigger.org/2021/02/23/michael-shank-usda-far-more-open-now-to-sustainability-practices/
How Bay Area farms could give Biden a blueprint for fighting climate change
Corporate concentration in the US food system makes food more expensive and less accessible for many Americans
https://theconversation.com/corporate-concentration-in-the-us-food-system-makes-food-more-expensive-and-less-accessible-for-many-americans-151193
Swede dreams: can Malmö’s green points system help rewild London?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/05/malmo-sweden-success-rewild-london-aoe\
Essential Farmworkers Deserve Protections From Pesticide Exposure.
https://truthout.org/articles/essential-farmworkers-deserve-protections-from-pesticide-exposure/
Research news – “Stark warning”: Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_845118_en.html
“Insect populations suffering death by 1,000 cuts, say scientists”
The 12 new studies are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Nature is under siege [and] most biologists agree that the world has entered its sixth mass extinction event,” concludes the lead analysis in the package.
“Insects are suffering from ‘death by a thousand cuts’[and] severe insect declines can potentially have global ecological and economic consequences.”
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2/18/2008436/–Insect-populations-suffering-death-by-1-000-cuts-say-scientists
Pollen season grows 20 days in 30 years as climate crisis hits hay fever sufferers
Pollen released by plants is also more intense than in 1990 in bad news for those with allergies, research in US and Canada finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/08/pollen-season-grows-20-days-climate-crisis-hay-fever
Nine Years After Filing a Lawsuit, Climate Scientist Michael Mann Wants a Court to Affirm the Truth of His Science.
The case raises difficult issues about free speech in an era
of online misinformation and disinformation.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07022021/michael-mann-defamation-lawsuit-competitive-enterprise-institute-national-review/
A Different Kind of Land Management: Let the Cows Stomp.
Regenerative grazing can store more carbon in soils in the form of roots and other plant tissues. But how much can it really help the fight against climate change?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/climate/regenerative-grazing-cattle-climate.html
Nature: how do you put a price on something that has infinite worth?
Biden, Climate Change, and China.
A New Cold War = A Scalding Planet.
https://tomdispatch.com/biden-climate-change-and-china/
Windmills: The New Scapegoat
The real scapegoat here is the Green New Deal, proposed legislation—not actual law — that begins re-envisioning who we are as a nation and what our relationship is to the future.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/02/26/windmills-new-scapegoat
Texas freeze led to release of tons of air pollutants as refineries shut.
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2AL0AA
Arctic Conditions Deliver Frigid Blow To Texas Agriculture.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts say the full extent of the damage won’t be realized for weeks.
https://today.tamu.edu/2021/02/19/arctic-conditions-deliver-frigid-blow-to-texas-agriculture/
A Green New Deal Would Solve Texas Energy Deregulation,
Says Naomi Klein.
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/2/22/naomi_klein_texas_green_new_deal#transcript
Raising The Sustainability Bar With Generation R: The Re: Generation.
Mexico is sticking to a plan to stop importing genetically modified corn and a ban on a widely used herbicide.
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N2KO0FZ
Madagascar: Young farmers adopt new methods to help lemurs, forests and themselves.
THE 2021 EGGSPOSÉ
Exposing the companies that profit from packed cages and empty promises.
Hold corporations to their cage-free commitments.
https://thehumaneleague.org/cage-free-eggspose
NEW DEAL FOR NATURE AND PEOPLE
WE MUST SAFEGUARD OUR FUTURE: WE NEED A NEW DEAL FOR NATURE AND PEOPLE
https://explore.panda.org/newdeal
Published ahead of a crucial United Nations biodiversity summit scheduled for May 2021, The World’s Forgotten Fishes details the “dazzling diversity” of freshwater fishes; their importance to food security, jobs, and ecosystems;
threats posed by current human behavior; and how scientists suggest tackling the extinction crisis.
https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/world_s_forgotten_fishes__report_final__1.pdf
Capitalism, the Doomsday Machine (or, How to Repurpose Growth Capital)
A healthy society recognizes that unrestrained growth is suicidal.
LARGE FOOD COMPANIES ARE LOOKING TO LOCK CARBON IN SOIL
AS A WAY TO MEET AMBITIOUS EMISSIONS GOALS
Regenerative agriculture practices can sequester carbon in soil,
but for companies with complex supply chains, the logistics
of moving to such practices can be complicated.
https://ensia.com/features/regenerative-agriculture-carbon-sequester-soil-emissions-farm-food-dairy/
Federal Recycling bills to return. So will the fight over plastics.
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063724069
“As humans we have the power to affect the lives of entire species of animals.”
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2/11/2009759/–As-humans-we-have-the-power-to-affect-the-lives-of-entire-species-of-animals
Why Drilling the Arctic Refuge Will Release a Double Dose of Carbon
https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-drilling-the-arctic-refuge-will-release-a-double-dose-of-carbon
Smithfield Claims To Be ‘Sustainable’ While Making Its Heavy Pollution Extra Profitable
Smithfield is pushing a massive greenwashing campaign to dupe consumers into thinking its products are environmentally friendly. It is actually one of the U.S.’ biggest polluters, and is now partnering with the gas industry instead of cleaning up its act.
Meet Elizabeth Ann, the first endangered species in the United States to be successfully cloned.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2/19/2016542/-Meet-Elizabeth-Ann-the-first-endangered-species-in-the-United-States-to-be-cloned
US Farmers and Food Justice Groups Declare ‘Solidarity’ With Indian Farmer Protests
“We stand with India’s farmers! Now let’s connect the dots between the forces of neoliberalism that stifle farmers, from India to the U.S.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/19/us-farmers-and-food-justice-groups-declare-solidarity-indian-farmer-protests
Agroforestry and land reform give Brazil cacao farmers sweet taste of success
The Water Cycle
https://www.mysteinbach.ca/blogs/10511/the-water-cycle/
The Fire Next Time.
Climate Change, the Bomb, or the Flame of Hope?
https://tomdispatch.com/the-fire-next-time/
Texas Freeze Illustrates a Failed Economic System
We need to begin changing our fundamental ethic, from “I’m getting mine. Screw you,” to “We’re all in this together.” Because we are.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/02/20/texas-freeze-illustrates-failed-economic-system
Journalists and the Looming Superstorm of Climate Disinformation
As the saying goes, though, a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets its shoes on.
All The Ways The Power Grid Failed In Texas
How a Texas-first energy policy turned into a Texas-only energy failure.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-power-grid-failure-why_n_602e9682c5b6cc8bbf3a0268\
Texas is a disaster capitalism paradise, with a system that guarantees disasters.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2/19/2016968/-Texas-is-a-disaster-capitalism-paradise-with-a-system-that-guarantees-disasters
Interview: Supporting the Soil Carbon Sponge
Microbiologist, climate scientist and founder of Healthy Soils Australia Walter Jehne discusses climate and soil health.
https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/supporting-the-soil-carbon-sponge/
Agroforestry-grown coffee gives Amazon farmers a sustainable alternative
California’s rainfall is at historic lows. That spells trouble for wildfires and farms.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/11/california-dry-weather-drought-wildfire-agriculture
How SF Bay Area farms could give Biden a blueprint for fighting climate change
Plastic recycling results in rare metals being found in children’s toys and food packaging
Wasting away: Sea urchins suffer deformities from plastic chemicals
LED lights found to kill coronavirus: Global first in fight against COVID-19
Scientists Develop Blood Test to Predict Environmental Harms to Children
Global initiative launched to boost circular economy
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2021-02/23/c_139761725.htm
New initiative launched to promote place of mono PET flexible packaging in circular economy
https://packagingeurope.com/new-initiative-launched-to-promote-place-of-mono-pet-flexibles/
Unesda says beverage packaging can be circular by 2030
Brussels-based soft drink association foresees boost in PET recyclability.
https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/unesda-pet-plastic-beverage-bottle-recycling-europe/
Soft drinks industry aims for 100% recycled or renewable plastic by 2030
Nestlé and Microsoft on financing circular innovations
If you’re going to use more recycled content, you’re going to use alternative materials for packaging, you have to be ready to make the capital investment needed in your infrastructure in your factories.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/nestle-and-microsoft-financing-circular-innovations
New funding to create innovative products and expand markets for recycled materials
https://www.miragenews.com/new-funding-to-create-innovative-products-and-517254/
We’re killing those tropical trees we’re counting on to absorb carbon dioxide
Electricity needed to mine bitcoin is more than used by ‘entire countries’
Bitcoin mining – the process in which a bitcoin is awarded to a computer that solves a complex series of algorithm – is a deeply energy intensive process