Statistic of the decade: The massive deforestation of the Amazon
https://theconversation.com/statistic-of-the-decade-the-massive-deforestation-of-the-amazon-128307
Greta Thunberg named Time magazine’s person of the year
Teen activist lauded by magazine for starting an environmental campaign which became a global movement
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/dec/11/greta-thunberg-time-magazine-person-of-the-year-2019
Brazil’s president calls Greta Thunberg a ‘brat’
https://thehill.com/policy/international/473892-brazils-president-calls-teen-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-a-brat
Politicians not markets slow new energy dawn.
It is politicians, not economists, who stand in the way of wider adoption of cheap renewable energies across the world.
https://climatenewsnetwork.net/politicians-not-markets-slow-new-energy-dawn/
I didn’t buy any food for a year – and I’m healthier than I’ve ever been
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/19/i-didnt-buy-any-food-for-a-year-and-im-healthier-than-ive-ever-been
Farm State Voters See Soil as a Solution to Agriculture’s Woes – Union of Concerned Scientists
https://blog.ucsusa.org/karen-perry-stillerman/farm-state-voters-see-soil-as-a-solution-to-agricultures-woes
People Have A Fundamental Right To Be Protected From Climate Change, A Landmark Court Ruling Says
The Dutch Supreme Court’s decision could have huge repercussions for how other countries tackle rising emissions.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lesterfeder/urgenda-climate-crisis-netherlands-supreme-court
These were your favorite New Food Economy stories this year—plus the ones we loved best
https://newfoodeconomy.org/best-food-news-2019/
This New Food Label Will Mainstream Whole Foods’ Biggest Trend For 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2019/12/20/this-new-food-label-will-mainstream-whole-foods-biggest-trend-for-2020/
Electric trucks may be the future, but waste and recycling market still charging up
Looking to move away from diesel and meet climate
goals, a growing number of service providers are in the process of
testing out models from coast to coast.
https://www.wastedive.com/news/electric-trucks-may-be-the-future-but-waste-and-recycling-market-still-cha/567651/
If aircraft can copy the way geese fly, they will save fuel
One plane rides on another’s wake
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/12/07/if-aircraft-can-copy-the-way-geese-fly-they-will-save-fuel
Does capitalism need a radical redesign to become more inclusive?
Designer Nina Montgomery offers up three innovation challenges for leaders who say they want to broaden the purpose of business.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90448178/does-capitalism-need-a-radical-redesign-to-become-more-inclusive
How our thinking changed in 2019: recycling and plastics
https://www.treehugger.com/plastic/how-our-thinking-changed-2019-recycling-and-plastics.html
We must take a stand now for ending the structural violence associated with our climate catastrophe.
Joan Halifax at a rally on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on December 20, 2019
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/12/22/wake-now-rise-together
The ocean plastic we see is ‘the tip of the iceberg’.
Where’s the other 99%?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/31/ocean-plastic-we-cant-see
Food at risk as third of plants face extinction
https://climatenewsnetwork.net/food-at-risk-as-third-of-plants-face-extinction/
The climate crisis poses a threat unlike any in human history. It’s a catastrophe of our own creation—but it doesn’t have to end this way.
We can change course. (4:16 minutes)
Andrew Romanoff campaign pitch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eyJevf-Blg&feature=youtu.be
Helping the next generation of farmers emerge
https://www.postbulletin.com/agrinews/news/minnesota/helping-the-next-generation-of-farmers-emerge/article_da775ab6-1d2f-11ea-9c71-034de1e0d452.html
Looking Forward: Top Food and Agriculture Stories for 2020
https://foodprint.org/blog/top-food-and-agriculture-stories-for-2020/
Sustainable agroecosystems: Regenerative grazing and cropping
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/regenerative-grazing-and-cropping/79622/
Mitigating climate change through organic agriculture
http://www.kuenselonline.com/mitigating-climate-change-through-organic-agriculture/
5 simple steps for soil-friendly eating
https://www.treehugger.com/green-food/simple-steps-soil-friendly-eating.html
Why You Need to Know About Regenerative Agriculture
Why companies as diverse as Patagonia and General Mills are suddenly focused on getting dirty
https://www.outsideonline.com/2407410/what-is-regenerative-agriculture
Fossil Fuel Giants Claim To Support Climate Science, Yet Still Fund Denial – Fourteen oil and gas companies are funding a website that attacks scientists and undermines their work.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/climate-denial-energy-in-depth_n_5df7eff6e4b0ae01a1e59371
Denmark Strikes Deal to Slash CO2 Emissions by 70% in a Decade
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-07/denmark-strikes-deal-to-slash-co2-emissions-by-70-in-a-decade
France bans two US pesticides, citing risk to bees
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-france-pesticides-citing-bees.html
COP25 reaction: ‘We got two weeks of blocking from big polluters’ Negotiator says divide between those inside and outside the talks has never been so large
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/cop25-reaction-we-got-two-weeks-of-blocking-from-big-polluters-1.4116039
Pollution and Health Metrics
https://gahp.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/PollutionandHealthMetrics-final-12_18_2019.pdf
Our Final Exam in Madrid (COP25)
“Why are we hauling giant container shiploads of Christmas decorations from Vietnam to England? Don’t the English know how to make decorations?”
https://peaksurfer.blogspot.com/2019/12/our-final-exam-inmadrid.html
Savoring What Remains in an Age of Climate PTSD
Vast numbers of climate scientists are now grieving for the planet
and humanity’s future, with some even describing their symptoms as a climate-change version of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176638/tomgram%3A_dahr_jamail%2C_dealing_with_climate_ptsd/
GENERATION Z RANKS CLIMATE CHANGE HIGHEST AS VITAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME IN AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SURVEY
https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/generation-z-ranks-climate-change-highest-as-vital-issue-of-our-time-in-amnesty-international-survey/
Arctic sea ice cover falls to ‘alarming’ low as temperatures rise
Change affects more than 70 indigenous communities around the Bering Sea
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/10/arctic-sea-ice-cover-falls-to-alarming-low-as-temperatures-rise
“Market Solutions” Won’t Bring Climate Justice. Eco-Feminism Is the Alternative.
https://truthout.org/articles/market-solutions-wont-bring-climate-justice-eco-feminism-is-the-alternative/
Is Growth Passé? by Joseph E. Stiglitz – Project Syndicate
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/climate-change-demands-transition-to-green-growth-by-joseph-e-stiglitz-2019-12
Climate policy should reflect the resilience of northern Indigenous communities
https://theconversation.com/climate-policy-should-reflect-the-resilience-of-northern-indigenous-communities-122235
COP25: No deal on UN carbon markets as a number of countries reject loopholes
https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2019/12/15/cop25-no-deal-on-un-carbon-markets-as-a-number-of-countries-reject-loopholes/
Carbon farming is a step in the right direction
https://www.tommiemedia.com/featured-news/opinion-carbon-farming-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction/
Community-Led Efforts to Ban Glyphosate in Public Spaces Pick up Speed
Buoyed by scientific and public concern, hundreds of communities around the country are banning the herbicide’s use and working toward organic lawn management.
https://civileats.com/2019/12/17/community-led-efforts-to-ban-glyphosate-in-public-spaces-pick-up-speeat
From disappearing kelp to mosquito-murdering fungi, a 2020 look at emerging biodiversity and conservation issues
https://ensia.com/notable/biodiversity-conservation-2020/
If aircraft can copy the way geese fly, they will save fuel
One plane rides on another’s wake
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/12/07/if-aircraft-can-copy-the-way-geese-fly-they-will-save-fuel
A scientist draws parallels between racism and the way coyotes are treated in the U.S.
Seeing himself in the science ecologist Christopher Schell believes that tapping into who he is as a person makes his research better.
https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/ecologist-christopher-schell-sees-himself-in-the-science/
South Africa calls for robust multilateral response to climate change
https://www.environewsnigeria.com/south-africa-calls-for-robust-multilateral-response-to-climate-change/
At UN Climate Conference U.S. Growers Defend Large-Scale Farming
https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/
Environment minister outlines Canada’s climate change priorities
Commits to come forward with legislation that commits Canada to a net-zero goal
https://www.solidwastemag.com/blog/environment-minister-outlines-canadas-climate-change-priorities/
Beyond organic: Carbon farming is a pathway to climate stabilization and resilient soils
https://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/beyond-organic-carbon-farming-pathway-climate-stabilization-and-resilient-soils.html
Scientific Breakthrough Could Upend Lithium Market
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Scientific-Breakthrough-Could-Upend-Lithium-Market.html
Food Ethics: The Rise of the Circular Economy
https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/12/10/future-food-systems-must-capitalise-on-circular-thinking/
‘The Bold Approach We Need’: New Booker Ag Bill Includes First-Ever National Factory Farm Moratorium
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/16/bold-approach-we-need-new-booker-ag-bill-includes-first-ever-national-factory-farm
The Double Burden of Malnutrition
This four paper Series explores how this coexistence is affecting
low-income and middle-income countries. Malnutrition in its many forms has previously been understood and approached as a separate public health issue, but the new emergent reality is that undernutrition and overnutrition are interconnected and, therefore, double-duty actions that simultaneously address more than one dimension must be implemented
for policy solutions to be effective. In addition to policy
recommendations, the Series includes a focus on both historical and biological contexts, and new economic analysis.
https://www.thelancet.com/doi/story/10.1016/series.2019.12.11.108179
Australia weather: records forecast to be broken as heatwave temperatures surge past 40C
Oodnadatta and Port Augusta forecast to reach 48C and Sydney’s western suburbs to hit 45C
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/17/australian-heatwave-records-forecast-to-be-broken-as-temperatures-surge-past-40c
Rainwater in parts of US contain high levels of PFAS chemical, says study
Levels high enough to potentially impact human health and trigger regulatory action, which only targets two of 4,700 variants
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/17/rainwater-pfas-us-potentially-toxic-levels-study
The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) monitors precipitation chemistry.
The program is a cooperative effort between many different groups,
including federal, state, tribal and local governmental agencies, educational
institutions, private companies, and non-governmental agencies.
http://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/
Finding our Common Ground (podcast, 53 minutes)
To transcend infighting in the food movement, finding our common ground is as important as targeting our common enemy. The food movement is amazingly diverse. From personal health and animal rights to protecting worker’s rights and precious ecosystems, our why’s for wanting to radically transform our food system widely differ. So do our tactics and our strategies. That diversity may just be the food movement’s greatest strength, yet it also risks being its biggest weakness.
Infighting is as invasive as it is destructive. The ‘circling fire squad’ – where people with common enemies choose to shoot one another instead – is deeply counterproductive.
https://www.forfoodssake.me/podcast/ffs-042-finding-our-common-ground
‘We Need Total System Change’ (Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Associtaion)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/12/16/we-need-total-system-change-letter-santiago-chile
Oregon Believes Drones, Blockchain Can Better Support Ag
An entrepreneur from Eugene, Ore., claims that drone imaging and blockchain technology can hold farmers accountable for sustainable farming. Currently, there is no government agency that oversees farm branding.
https://www.governing.com/news/headlines/Oregon-Believes-Drones-Blockchain-Can-Better-Support-Ag.html
Black Farmers Embrace Practices of Climate Resiliency
https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/12/18/climate-black-farmers/
Sustainable Business: Serving a Worthy Purpose
How and why companies are working towards sustainability
https://wholefoodsmagazine.com/front-page/sustainable-business-serving-a-worthy-purpose/
Focus on soil health helps transform ‘ranch from hell’
A South Dakota couple turned their ranch around by focusing on the land instead of the cattle.
https://www.beefmagazine.com/pasture/focus-soil-health-helps-transform-ranch-hell
Climate Finance 2020: Leaders and laggards in the race to net-zero
https://impactalpha.com/climate-finance-2020-leaders-and-laggards-in-the-race-to-net-zero/
Warming Ocean Currents Affect Weather and Environment
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/12/29/warming-ocean-currents-affect-weather-and-environment
Global patterns and dynamics of climate–groundwater interactions | Nature Climate Change
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0386-4#ref-CR2
The sustainable development index: Ecological Economics
Measuring the ecological efficiency of human development in the anthropocene
http://rogerannis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/The-Sustainable-Development-Index-by-Jason-Hickel-2019.pdf
Climate change risks of liquid natural gas
https://www.psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/LNG-WHITE-PAPER-11262019.pdf
Fossil Fuel Knocks the Wind Out of Renewable Energy Movement in Ohio
https://truthout.org/articles/fossil-fuel-knocks-the-wind-out-of-renewable-energy-movement-in-ohio/
‘The Bold Approach We Need’: New Booker Ag Bill Includes First-Ever National Factory Farm Moratorium
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/16/bold-approach-we-need-new-booker-ag-bill-includes-first-ever-national-factory-farm
Black Farmers Embrace Practices of Climate Resiliency
https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/12/18/climate-black-farmers/
Focus on soil health helps transform ‘ranch from hell’
A South Dakota couple turned their ranch around by focusing on the land instead of the cattle.
https://www.beefmagazine.com/pasture/focus-soil-health-helps-transform-ranch-hell
Climate Finance 2020: Leaders and laggards in the race to net-zero
https://impactalpha.com/climate-finance-2020-leaders-and-laggards-in-the-race-to-net-zero/
Waste incinerator plan at quarry ‘totally unnecessary’
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/mid-wales/welshpool/2019/12/21/waste-incinerator-totally-unnecessary/
Our addiction to stuff: How Walmart enables us to destroy the planet
http://theconversation.com/our-addiction-to-stuff-how-walmart-enables-us-to-destroy-the-planet-129066
UK Plastics Pact update reveals where future challenges lie
https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/uk-plastics-pact-update-reveals-where-future-challenges-lie/
Plastic supply chain calls for deposit mechanism
https://www.dailynews.lk/2019/12/16/finance/205745/plastic-supply-chain-calls-deposit-mechanism
Waste-To-Energy is NOT Zero-waste
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/275947/waste-to-energy-is-not-zero-waste
Australia bushfires: towns devastated and lives lost as blazes turn the sky red
Thousands shelter on beaches as fires rip through Victoria and New South Wales
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/31/australia-bushfires-towns-devastated-and-lives-lost-as-blazes-turn-the-sky-red
Trump’s EPA Goes to Bat for Bayer as Company Fights $25 Million Verdict in Roundup Cancer Case
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/23/trumps-epa-goes-bat-bayer-company-fights-25-million-verdict-roundup-cancer-case
The time is now
https://www.mtexpress.com/opinion/guest_opinions/the-time-is-now/article_ac145024-25af-11ea-bccf-5bb0c4e19b23.html
Decades of denial have to end:
we need radical climate leadership in 2020
http://priceofoil.org/2019/12/20/decades-of-denial-have-to-end-we-need-radical-climate-leadership-in-2020/
Greta Thunberg Offers Advice to Young People,
Dismisses Climate-Denying Politicians in BBC Radio Program
“Be an active democratic citizen…because democracy is not only on election day, it’s happening all the time.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/30/greta-thunberg-offers-advice-young-people-dismisses-climate-denying-politicians-bbc