Yale e360

Nations around the world are pledging to plant billions of trees to grow new forests. But a new study shows that the potential for natural forest regrowth to absorb carbon from the atmosphere and fight climate change is far greater than has previously been…

Ecuador’s Constitutional Court has ruled that communities have the right to vote on whether to allow large and medium-sized mining projects in their areas, the industry news site Mining.com reported. The legal decision will apply only to new projects, not…

Scientists have found that new faux-leather textiles made from fungi look, feel, and are as durable as leather made from cows or synthetic fabrics, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Sustainability. The research supports claims made by…

Scientists and birdwatchers are reporting a mass die-off of migratory birds across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, several news outlets reported. From flycatchers to swallows to warblers, researchers estimate hundreds of thousands to…

From Siberia to Australia to the western U.S., massive fires have consumed millions of acres this year and spawned fire-generated tornados and other phenomena rarely seen before. Scientists say the world has entered a perilous new era that will demand better…

The Arctic is transitioning from a frozen region to an entirely different climate, one dominated not by ice and snow, but by warming temperatures, open water, and rain, scientists warned in a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.…

As suitable sites become scarce, commercial beekeepers are increasingly moving their hives to U.S. public lands. But scientists warn that the millions of introduced honey bees pose a risk to native species, outcompeting them for pollen and altering fragile…

In recent decades, ocean species from whales to corals have begun to shift poleward in search of cooler waters. But new research finds that many sedentary marine species — including snails, worms, and mussels — are actually being transported in the wrong…

As the Amazon undergoes another wave of deforestation, a blueprint for halting the runaway exploitation can be found in Southeast Asia, where pressure campaigns on companies and improved government monitoring are finally slowing the devastation caused by the…

As air conditioning sales in Africa soar, many of the units imported there are old and inefficient, driving up electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. But some countries are taking action, banning the import of used air conditioners and adopting…

Young activists from Portugal have filed the first climate change case at the European court of human rights in Strasbourg, demanding 33 countries make more ambitious emissions cuts to safeguard their future physical and mental wellbeing.Read more on E360 →

Winter sea ice in the Bering Sea hit its lowest levels in thousands of years in 2018 and 2019, scientists reported in a new study. While much attention has been given to the rapid loss of summer ice in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas, the new research…

Gwich’in elder Sarah James has long fought efforts to drill in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In an e360 interview, she talks about the Trump administration’s move to open these lands to development and why the fate of the refuge and of her…

Just one in 10 energy suppliers globally are prioritizing renewable energy over fossil fuel development, according to a new study of 3,000 power companies published in the journal Nature Energy. And just a handful have cut their oil, gas, and coal capacity…

Bioplastics are being touted by industry marketers as the solution to plastics pollution. But the idea that bottles and packaging made of plant-based material can simply be discarded and then break down and disappear is false – recycling and reuse are the…

Large-scale infrastructure investments in Latin American countries threaten efforts to protect tropical forests and mitigate climate change, according to a new analysis published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The analysis…

More than 385,000 residents in Texas and 200,000 in Louisiana have been told to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Laura, which strengthened to a Category 4 storm with “unsurvivable storm surge” before landfall, according to the National Hurricane Center. To the…

Photographer Sean Gallagher traveled to Cambodia to document the devastation of that nation’s forests. In an e360 photo essay, he shows how timber and agribusiness companies are ravaging lands that are supposedly protected and how Indigenous people are…

The resilience of North America’s plant biomes is declining — indicating that today’s landscapes are “primed to herald a major extinction event” not seen since the retreat of glaciers and arrival of humans 13,000 years ago, scientists reported in a…

Salmon returning to Alaskan rivers have become significantly smaller over the past 60 years, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. The research found that due to climate change and competition from hatchery fish, wild salmon…

Once known for its filth, the Delaware River in Philadelphia is now enjoyed by boaters who flock to its improved waters. Now, environmentalists there and across the country are pushing to ramp up the gains made and to complete the cleanup of America’s urban…

As temperatures climb, demand for home air conditioning in the United States is expected to increase 59 percent over the next 30 years, increasing emissions, straining power grids, and financially burdening millions of middle- and low-income American families…

After exhausting areas close to home, China’s vast fishing fleet has moved into the waters of other nations, depleting fish stocks. More than seafood is at stake, as China looks to assert itself on the seas and further its geo-political ambitions, from East…

The Cameroon government has announced it is canceling a plan to log nearly 170,000 acres of the Ebo Forest following sharp criticism from indigenous communities, conservation groups, and scientists. The ecosystem is one of the last intact forests in central…

A federal judge in New York has struck down the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back protections for migratory birds, writing that its reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) is “contrary to law,” several news outlets…

Enough unused roof space exists on commercial buildings in the United States to install 145 gigawatts of new solar capacity — nearly double the country’s current total solar capacity, according to a new report by the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie.…

Native bees are at risk across the United States. “Buzz Kill” — winner of the 2020 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest — depicts the beauty and key ecological role played by these bees and shows how industrialized agriculture and its use of honeybee…

Canada’s last fully intact ice shelf in the Arctic has collapsed, shrinking by about 80 square kilometers, or 40 percent of its area, over just two days at the end of July, according to scientists at the Canadian Ice Service. The breakup of the ice was…

More than 500 dams are planned or already under construction within protected areas around the world, according to a new study published in the journal Conservation Letters. The study is the first of its kind to quantify the global extent of dams constructed…

In “This Is Our Land” — the second-place winner in the Yale Environment 360 Video Contest — a Filipino filmmaker chronicles how after years of worsening air and water pollution, Indigenous communities near the mammoth Didipio gold and copper mine…