In The News

Hot Water Blob and Seabird Deaths: EcoWatch

Sam Nickerson January 18, 2020
As the planet warms, oceans absorb far more heat than the air. Researchers report patches of warm water in the Pacific, from New Zealand to Alaska. The University of Washington reported on one that killed more than 1 million seabirds. One patch stretched for 1000 miles, increasing temperatures by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit and killing more than 1 million seabirds, report University of...

Massive Floods: Jakarta Post

Kharishar Kahfi January 3, 2020
Jakarta, home for more than 9 million people, is prone to flooding with two-fifths of the city under sea level. The city with 13 rivers is increasingly swampy and rapidly sinking. Extreme rainfall with the start of 2020 is described as the worst in a decade, causing severe flooding. Indonesia’s weather agency, BMKG, suggested more than 370 millimeters, or about 15 inches, of rain fell in a...

Young Urge Climate Action: Sydney Morning Herald

Alexandra Smith January 2, 2020
Fire conditions in Australia are horrific, and the rest of the world questions a strategy that relies on a largely volunteer firefighting force and poor examples of leadership, allowing a massive fireworks display to welcome the New Year. More than 12 million acres have burned. Tens of thousands have evacuated, hundreds of homes destroyed, and roads are closed with infrastructure under threat....

Indonesia, EU and Palm Oil: Jakarta Post

Made Anthony Iswara December 29, 2019
The European Union labeles some palm oil as unsustainable, responsible for high rates of deforestation. Indonesia has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over EU renewable energy policy. The European Union plans to phase out use of biofuels by 2030, and Indonesia officials express concern that EU policy could “tarnish the image of palm oil products in global trade.” The EU insists...

Satellites Help Solve the Climate Crisis: DW

Olivera Zivkovic December 26, 2019
Over the course of three decades, satellite images from space agencies like NASA and ESA demonstrate how Earth’s changing weather patterns affect land, water and communities. Satellites monitor the rising carbon dioxide levels, rising seas, flooding, global temperatures, tree loss and gains, and more. A mission under development known as the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program, or EnMap, “...

Vanishing Birds: LA Times

Joan Easton Lentz December 25, 2019
Birds are in decline, according to scientific and amateur surveys. Invasive species, logging, development, climate change and pollutants are among the culprits. A study released in September suggests North America has 3 billion fewer birds than 50 years ago. “The Anthropocene – our era of human domination – has filled local lagoons with condo developments, polluted rivers and drained salt marshes...

Questions for a New Era of Business: Fortune

James Manyika and Lareina Yee December 24, 2019
A new era of business, much like the industrial revolution or the internet boom, is underway. Companies that recognize the trends including aging populations, new technologies, growing economies, improved health and increased influence of developing economies will flourish. Challenges include inequality, stagnant incomes, populism, climate change, rivalries that disrupt trade and concentration of...