CITTÀ AMICA DELL’AMBIENTE
Come deve essere la città del futuro? Ecologica e sostenibile. Secondo il progetto di Federico che possiamo vedere a destra, per esempio, la città ideale sfrutta i metodi contadini di raccolta dell’acqua piovana nei barili. L’acqua verrà poi distribuita alle piantagioni verticali che rivestono i palazzi. RIUNIONE DI REDAZIONE Cari Focus Junior reporter, continuate a scrivere gli articoli sugli argomenti che più vi stanno a cuore, come per esempio la città in cui vivete o un’esperienza che ha lasciato il segno nella vostra vita. Ricordatevi che la realtà ha sempre più facce, una migliore e una peggiore. Non abbiate paura a scrivere tutto. E anzi, continuate così! Potete scriverci dal sito oppure via e-mail a: focusjunior@focusjunior.it RICORDATEVI DI METTERE IL VOSTRO NOME E LA VOSTRA E-MAIL!…
Dalla terra per la Terra
Per definizione, biologico è il vino prodotto senza l’uso di pesticidi e fertilizzanti chimici, seguendo tecniche agricole naturali e pratiche sostenibili, come la rotazione delle colture e l’uso di trattamenti naturali per la difesa della pianta. In pratica, biologica sarebbe una viticoltura il più possibile rispettosa di quella tradizione manuale e “artigianale” che riguarda la produzione del vino, attentissima a rispettare la propria terra, grazie alla quale la vite cresce e produce. L’uva, beneficiando di un ambiente “sano” e di un trattamento “umano”, permette ai vini di acquistare tutte le caratteristiche organolettiche. Di conseguenza, biologica sarebbe una viticoltura il più possibile rispettosa dell’ambiente, una pratica vitivinicola a basso impatto. I vini per essere biologici, infatti, devono essere certificati da organismi ufficiali che garantiscono il rispetto di normative specifiche stabilite a…
Evviva la plastica che si “scioglie” nell’acqua!
La plastica, si sa, è un materiale creato dall’uomo che ha effetti davvero devastanti sull’ambiente: ogni anno, circa 11 milioni di tonnellate di plastica finiscono negli oceani di tutto il mondo, contaminando specie e habitat. ll più conosciuto accumulo di rifiuti plastici è il Great Pacific Garbage Patch: un’enorme “isola” di spazzatura galleggiante, composta principalmente da plastica, che si trova più o meno al centro dell’Oceano Pacifico. Ma anche luoghi remoti e inospitali del pianeta, come la Fossa delle Marianne (profonda più di 11.000 m), non sono al riparo dall’accumulo di spazzatura: la Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (Jamstec) ha trovato frammenti di rifiuti plastici anche lì! SPERO DI NON ESSERE PIÙ INVASA DA RIFIUTI GALLEGGIANTI! Per cercare di mettere un freno all’utilizzo e alla produzione di plastica,…
DA DOVE ARRIVA LA PLASTICA IN MARE?
Le plastiche finite negli oceani stanno causando gravi danni agli ecosistemi marini di tutto il mondo. Ma chi è che produce gli oggetti che più spesso si rinvengono in mare? Lo ha verificato Win Cowger, ecologo della Università della California, analizzando i dati di un database contenente l’identificazione di 1,87 milioni di pezzi di plastica rinvenuti negli oceani fra il 2018 e il 2022: «Di questi, circa un milione non erano stati identificati, trattandosi in gran parte di pezzi di reti e di scatole di polistirolo usate dai pescherecci», ha spiegato Cowger su Science Advances. «Ma oltre la metà dei rifiuti identificati deriva dai prodotti di sole 56 aziende, mentre per il 24% da quelli di appena cinque multinazionali, e cioè: Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Nestlè, Danone e Altria Group (che produce…
Undermining Science
Remember “Sharpiegate”? Back in September 2019, then-President Trump appeared to alter the path of Hurricane Dorian—at least on paper, with a marker. Craig McLean, who had been at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for nearly 40 years, was the acting chief scientist and head of NOAA Research. Objecting to the controversy contributed to his demotion. He explains what he anticipates for Trump’s second term. DORIAN WAS A nasty hurricane. It took lives in the Caribbean and the Bahamas and was making a move toward the Florida Panhandle. Days out, there was a small chance of tropical storm–force winds in Alabama. The National Weather Service forecasted, correctly, that the storm was going to make a hard right turn and certainly not impact the people of Alabama. But Trump tweets something…
Arctic permafrost is now a net emitter of major greenhouse gases
AREAS of permanently frozen ground in northern regions are now emitting more carbon into the atmosphere than they absorb, causing the planet to heat even further, according to the first Arctic-wide estimate of all three major greenhouse gases. Frozen ground, or permafrost, which underlies 15 per cent of the northern hemisphere and contains twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, has shrunk in area by an estimated 7 per cent in 50 years as it thaws. Recent research suggests the thaw will slow but not stop if we can limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Yet scientists haven’t been sure whether the permafrost region has become a net emitter of greenhouse gases. Even as the thaw releases more carbon compounds from the once-frozen biological matter in the ground,…
Paper Straws Alone Won’t Save the Planet
EVERYONE FACES CHOICES EVERY DAY THAT CARRY a climate cost. Do we turn the lights on in the morning, or is the light of daybreak sufficient for finding matching socks? Do we feast on bacon and eggs for breakfast, or will a bowl of oatmeal suffice? There is a lot of talk these days about the need to lead lower-carbon lifestyles. There is also a lot of finger-pointing going on and, some argue, virtue signaling. But who is truly walking the climate walk? The carnivore who doesn’t fly? The vegan who travels to see family abroad? If nobody is without carbon sin, who gets to cast the first lump of coal? If all climate advocates were expected to live off the grid, eating only what they could grow themselves and…
EDIT YOUR HOME BY MAKING IT Greener
A GUIDE TO MAKING SIMPLE STEPS TO A GREENER LIFESTYLE WHERE TO START? RECYCLING This is a great way to start your journey of making your home a “greener” one. Separate your waste into the following seperation bins - tin/cans, glass, paper and plastic. Postwink offer fantastic solutions for you to start this vitally important part of living a greener lifestyle. Another solution for non-recyclable products is by making your own “eco-brick” that can be given to schools or companies like Waste Ed, who create functional areas and living spaces. Take a look at www.waste-ed.co.za for how to make your eco-brick and see the work they do. LIGHTBULBS Switch your lightbulbs to energy efficient varieties. By changing a single bulb you are already taking one step towards making more eco-conscious…
Study flags up climate change as a serious threat to birds’ breeding strategies
RESEARCH A NEW STUDY into how climate change could affect the evolutionary strategies of birds has highlighted how both short-lived and long-lived species may struggle to adapt. Birds make strategic decisions about how they live based on their environmental conditions. Some live fast, die young and leave as many chicks as possible, whereas others live for longer and prosper by not breeding as much. The recent study of non-migratory birds has focussed on how climate change may affect the longstanding evolutionary strategies of different species. This research was published in the journal Ecology Letters and was led by Michigan State University (MSU) postdoctoral fellows of the MSU Institute for Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution, and Macrosystems (IBEEM). The group analysed data from nearly 7,500 bird species to understand the link between the…
Saving our Planet ONE STEP AT A TIME
Understanding Earth’s fragility The Earth is a delicate balance of land, water, air and living creatures. But human activities can upset this balance. For example, every minute, thousands of plastic bottles are thrown away, and many end up in the ocean, harming marine animals. Forests, which produce the oxygen we breathe, are being cut down at an alarming rate. These problems might sound big, but we can make a difference by learning about the environment and taking steps to protect it. The more we understand how everything on Earth is connected, the more we can help ensure a bright future for the planet. The importance of environmental education Environmental Education Day is all about helping people understand how their actions impact the world around them. It’s a day to learn…
Creating a global package to solve the problem of plastics
According to the United Nations, plastic production skyrocketed from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to about 400 million in 2024. This number is expected to triple by 2060. Only ten percent of this plastic is currently being recycled and reused. The rest will remain in our environment for centuries, polluting the planet, from oceans to mountains, contaminating food chains and human bodies, where it risks damage to our organs and brains. In 2025, we will start putting an end to plastic pollution. Since 2022, policymakers in the United Nations, representing over 170 countries, have been negotiating a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty addressing the full lifecycle of plastics, from design to production to disposal. This treaty shares many of the mechanisms present in the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which eventually led…
50 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE WEATHER
We like to be able to control everything, but weather – those changes in the Earth’s atmosphere that spell out rain, snow, wind, heat, cold and more – is one of those things that is just beyond our power. Maybe that’s why a cloudless sunny day or a spectacular display of lightning both have the ability to delight us. Meteorologists have come a long way in their capability to predict weather patterns, track changes and forecast what we can expect to see when we leave our homes each day. But they’re not always right. It’s not their fault; we still don’t completely understand all of the processes that contribute to changes in the weather. Here’s what we do know: all weather starts with contrasts in air temperature and moisture in…
DIY System to Save Rainwater
Lisa and I own 21.5 forested acres in western Washington state. As retirees, we maintain a small hobby farm, grow vegetables in raised beds, and care for our 20,000-square-foot garden specifically designed for the benefit of native pollinators. And although our 65-foot well taps into a shared aquifer with ample storage, collecting rainwater for non-potable use made sense for long-term sustainability. Rainwater-collection kits sold by vendors for the do-it-yourself homeowner were too small or impractical for our needs, so we decided to start from scratch with our own design. A year after our initial installation, and with a few adjustments along the way, our system works wonderfully. The only required maintenance is cleaning debris from the gutters and draining the underground pipes and pump in fall. Running the Numbers To…
HOW TO LOOK AT THE EARTH’S CORE
In fact, even drilling to the Earth’s outermost layer, the crust, to study it turned out to be inefficient. The average thickness of the continental crust is about 40 km(1), and the oceanic crust is about 6–7 km(2)—but it lies beneath several kilometers of water. Thus, the deepest boreholes are continental. For instance, the Kola Superdeep Borehole SG-3 reached a depth of 12,262 meters(3), while the German KTB borehole, abandoned in 2001 due to excessively high temperatures, stopped at 9101 meters(4). But if we can’t drill through to our planet’s mantle, how do we know anything about the structure of the Earth’s core? 1 24.9 miles 2 3.7-4.3 miles 3 40,230 feet 4 29,859 feet 5 0-21.7 miles 6 410 miles 7 1800 miles 8 3170 miles 9 29,029 feet…
DAL PIANETA IMMAGINATO AL MONDO REALE
La mappa qui sopra mostra il mondo come fu raffigurato nel 1492 sul suo globo terrestre dal cosmografo tedesco Martin Behaim, ispirato dal lavoro dell’astronomo e cosmografo italiano Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, di cui Colombo conosceva l’opera; la vera distribuzione delle masse terrestri sul pianeta è indicata in azzurro. Utilizzando varie fonti e adattando le cifre ai suoi scopi, Colombo aveva calcolato che la circonferenza equatoriale della Terra era di 20.400 miglia, ovvero 30mila chilometri, cioè 10mila chilometri in meno della circonferenza reale, facendo sembrare fattibile il progetto di raggiungere l’Asia navigando verso ovest (i portoghesi, più realisticamente, speravano di raggiungere l’Asia doppiando l’Africa). La presunta geografia asiatica doveva molto al racconto di Marco Polo, il famoso viaggiatore veneziano del XIII secolo: navigando verso ovest, si sarebbero trovati Cipango (il…
I fiori che amano l’oceano
L’Atlantico, oceano enorme e tempestoso, arriva sulle coste europee stemperato dalla Corrente del Golfo: una potente corrente oceanica calda dell’emisfero boreale, simile a un enorme e lunghissimo fiume che percorre le acque sconfinate. Nasce nel golfo del Messico, e trasporta acqua tiepida, scaldata dal sole tropicale, verso l’Atlantico settentrionale. Quando poi questa si raffredda in prossimità del circolo polare artico, si inabissa, dopodiché il ciclo ricomincia: la corrente torna verso il Messico dove si ricarica di calore. Questo straordinario fenomeno geofisico è di vitale importanza per la mitigazione del clima dei paesi europei che si affacciano sull’oceano Atlantico: Portogallo, Spagna, Francia, Irlanda, Gran Bretagna e Islanda, ma la sua influenza si estende fino alla Scandinavia e oltre. Grazie alla corrente del Golfo che mitiga il clima, qui vivono bene piante…
La lava dei vulcani può essere blu?
NATURA Sì, è un fenomeno che si manifesta sul vulcano di Kawah Ijen, nell’isola di Giava in Indonesia. Nell’oscurità della notte è facile distinguere una lava blu fluorescente che sgorga dal vulcano, ma in realtà si tratta di fiamme, e non di lava vera e propria. Il fenomeno, infatti, è dovuto agli abbondanti gas solforici all’interno del cratere, che eruttano dalle numerose fumarole. Questi gas hanno pressioni e temperature altissime, fino a 600 °C, e quando raggiungono la superficie bruciano a contatto con l’aria ricca di ossigeno. Si verifica quindi uno stato di eccitazione elettronica, per cui l’intenso calore della combustione eccita gli elettroni all’interno degli atomi di zolfo. Radiazione. Si tratta di una condizione del tutto instabile, quindi gli elettroni ritornano rapidamente al loro stato di quiete, rilasciando l’energia…
RITRATTI IN FONDO AL MARE
I pesci rasoio eseguono movimenti sincronizzati, mantenendo la stessa angolazione l’uno rispetto all’altro Il dugongo nuota in acque basse e smuove il sedimento per cercare il cibo sfruttando le pinne laterali e il labbro carnoso Questo elegante pesce pipistrello da adulto avrà colori diversi: da giovane, per difendersi, imita le livree di animali tossici Quando la sula colpisce l’acqua per immergersi, può raggiungere la velocità di 100 km/h UN MARE DI COLORI Underwater Photography Guide ha annunciato i vincitori del concorso di fotografia subacquea Ocean Art. A questa edizione, la tredicesima, hanno partecipato migliaia di fotografi provenienti da oltre 90 Paesi, che attraverso ravvicinati scatti macro o spettacolari scene grandangolari di ambienti sommersi hanno evidenziato la bellezza, la fragilità e la diversità degli ecosistemi sottomarini, ispirando al contempo gli sforzi…
Melting Moments
“The more melt, the more stakes you have to collect. I don’t think I could have carried any more stakes. Nearly a third. That’s the amount of ice lost from New Zealand’s glaciers since 2000. Almost 300. That’s the number of individual glaciers that have vanished forever since we started monitoring them regularly about half a century ago. According to a recent global assessment, New Zealand ranks third after the European Alps and the Caucasus, in Eastern Europe, in the proportion of glacial ice lost to rising temperatures. And the glaciers that remain are now melting at an accelerating pace. In early March, I witnessed the changing icescapes of the Southern Alps first hand when I joined glaciologists on their annual snowline survey. Each year, the team flies across the…
HOW I’M RAISING ECO-FRIENDLY KIDS ON MY TERMS
BEFORE I HAD KIDS, I HAD BIG PLANS. BREAST-feeding, of course. Cloth diapers, absolutely. Only stainless-steel or glass bottles, sippy cups and plates. Cleaning supplies made from white vinegar, lemon and essential oils. The list goes on and on. Here’s the real confession: I didn’t just plan on doing these things myself. As an environmental-health journalist, I’d spent years writing articles about why other parents should do this stuff too. Let me repeat: I wrote them before I had kids and, frankly, had no idea how hard it would be to clean spit-up stains with baking soda or pack zero-waste lunch boxes with only organic homemade meals. The reality check set in fast. When I got pregnant, my husband talked me out of cloth diapers in my first trimester. And…
WASTE NOT: AN A-TO-Z GUIDE
A Antiperspirant Some newer premium brands offer customizable deodorant in refillable containers. If that’s a bit much for you, Tom’s of Maine has a free TerraCycle recycling program for its products. B Balloons Never release helium balloons into the air, and if you have a water balloon fight, pick up and dispose of all the pieces. Broken balloons are among the most dangerous types of debris for seabirds and other animals. Better yet, opt for paper lanterns or another more earth-friendly decor. C Contacts Choose two-week or one-month disposable contacts instead of dailies, and recycle the packaging. (Dispose of lenses in the garbage, never the sink or toilet.) Bausch + Lomb is currently the only lens company with a TerraCycle program. Wearing glasses more often is an option—as is, potentially,…
Antarctic research provides climate change insights
A MEDIA storm blew up in mid-March 2025 when a researcher at South Africa’s isolated Sanae IV base in Antarctica accused one of its nine team members of becoming violent. Geomorphologist David William Hedding, who has previously carried out research from the frozen continent, about the work researchers do in Antarctica, what conditions are like and why it matters. Currently, the main focus of research in the Antarctic revolves around climate change because the White Continent is a good barometer for changes in global cycles. It has a unique and fragile environment. It’s an extreme climate which makes it highly sensitive to any changes in global climate and atmospheric conditions. Importantly, the Antarctic remains relatively untouched by humans, so we are able to study processes and responses of natural…
Can we stop climate change?
Since the 1750s – the start of a period called the Industrial Revolution – human activity has had a serious impact on the planet. Much of this activity, such as burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and cutting down forests, has filled the atmosphere with harmful gases, causing Earth to warm up. Can we repair the damage or should we simply adapt to deal with the changing climate? Weather vs climate Climate is not the same as weather. Weather describes the conditions at one moment in time in a certain place; climate is the average weather over time. It may vary from season to season but it is broadly the same from year to year. By averaging the climate of many places on Earth you can work out the…
We will continue to live in age of incredible waste
Let me start with the following principle: “Energy is the only universal currency: One of its many forms must be transformed to get anything done.” Economies are just intricate systems set up to do those transformations, and all economically significant energy conversions have (often highly undesirable) environmental impacts. Consequently, as far as the biosphere is concerned, the best anthropogenic energy conversions are those that never take place: no emissions of gasses (be they greenhouse or acidifying), no generation of solid or liquid wastes, no destruction of ecosystems. The best way to do this has been to convert energies with higher efficiencies: without their widespread adoption (be it in large diesel- and jet-engines, combined-cycle gas turbines, lightemitting diodes, smelting of steel, or synthesis of ammonia) we would need to convert significantly…
The climate-driven diaspora is here
Many places on Earth are becoming unlivable, and around a quarter of humanity is already dealing with drought, and associated food insecurity. By 2070, one-fifth of the planet could become too hot for normal human life, causing up to 3.5 billion people to move. Sea level rise alone could displace 410 million people globally by 2100. We are poised to see the largest and fastest movement of people in human history. New policy frameworks will be needed. In 2025, we will begin to shift from reactive to proactive, and start to embrace the imperative of climate-driven relocation. Unsurprisingly, climate-driven relocation will hit poor communities and communities of color hardest. Those with the fewest resources to adapt, who did the least to cause the climate crisis, will bear the brunt. Think…
SUPER VOLCANOES
Inside a supervolcano Many people will remember the airport chaos of spring 2010 when Eyjafjallajökull, one of Iceland’s largest volcanoes, erupted after almost two centuries of peaceful slumber. But though it might be hard to believe, considering the mammoth amount of disruption that it caused, the Icelandic eruption was tiny compared to a super-eruption’s devastating power. The Eyjafjallajökull event measured a mere 4 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), which rates the power of eruptions on an eight-point scale. A massive VEI 8 blast, on the other hand, would threaten human civilisation. Such a super-eruption would spew out more than 1,000 cubic kilometres (240 cubic miles) of ejecta – ash, gas and pumice – within days, destroying food crops, and changing the world climate for years. A super-eruption hasn’t happened…
SCOPERTO UN NUOVO GIOVANE PIANETA
Un nuovo pianeta è stato scoperto dagli scienziati americani dell’Università della Carolina del Nord. Si trova a circa 522 anni luce di distanza dalla Terra e ruota intorno alla stella Iras 04125+2902: è stato battezzato Iras 04125+2902 b, ha un raggio 10,7 volte più grande della Terra e circa il 30% della massa di Giove. Sia il pianeta sia la sua stella sono relativamente giovani, si ritiene abbiano solo 3 milioni di anni, per questo sono utili per studiare le prime fasi della loro formazione come corpi celesti. La scoperta, resa possibile grazie al Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite della Nasa, è stata pubblicata sulla rivista Nature.…
SOGNANDO L’OCEANO
MARINELAND d’Antibes, in Francia, era il più grande parco marino d’Europa. Il numero dei visitatori in calo da anni e le conseguenti difficoltà economiche non hanno lasciato scampo ai proprietari, che hanno annunciato il piano di chiusura definitiva a partire dal 5 gennaio 2025. Ma è stata la legge del 2021 che vieta gli spettacoli di cetacei - e che entrerà in vigore nel 2026 - a dare il colpo di grazia al parco della Costa Azzurra. Inaugurato nel 1970 e ispirato ai grandi acquari e delfinari americani, tra gli anni ’80 e ’90 il parco attirava fino a 1,2 milioni di visitatori all’anno. Negli ultimi anni, i numeri erano però crollati fino a 400mila presenze. Troppo poco per mandare avanti la baracca. La crescente consapevolezza dei consumatori sul tema…
A che temperatura si forma la neve nelle nuvole?
NATURA Normalmente l’acqua congela alla temperatura di 0 °C: all’interno delle nubi a medie altitudini (tra 3.000 e 6.000 metri), però, i fiocchi di neve si formano solo a temperature molto inferiori (dai -12 °C in giù). A 0° il vapore acqueo e le goccioline delle nubi rimangono infatti allo stato liquido (“sopraffusione”). Affinché si creino i cristalli di ghiaccio è necessaria la presenza di minute particelle (particolato atmosferico naturale o di origine antropica) che fungono da nuclei di condensazione e temperature sotto lo 0. Fiocchi. Se nell’aria è presente una quantità sufficiente di pulviscolo, il vapore acqueo si condensa, trasformandosi in ghiaccio, a circa -15 °C; ma se tali particelle sono assenti la temperatura di congelamento può scendere anche a -40 °C. Una volta generatisi i “germi di ghiaccio”…
Can science missions mitigate the effects of cabin fever?
South Africa has a tight regime for scientists wanting to “overwinter” in Antarctica. The 13-month assignment to an isolated research base on the top of a cliff edge is, as the environment ministry drily put it, “testing”. Average annual temperatures are -16C but drop much lower during the winter darkness. All applicants are subjected to psychometric analysis “to ensure they are able to cope with the isolation, and can work and live with others in the confined space of the bases”, said the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. “Only candidates who do not have any negative outcomes from all the background evaluations will be considered.” But can humans ever fully prepare for long-duration remote scientific experiments? The crisis currently facing the overwintering crew at the Sanae IV station,…
We’re Not Prepared
THE NUMBERS COMING OUT OF LOS ANGELES COUNty are staggering: more than 16,000 buildings destroyed, some 2,000 structures damaged, and over 150,000 people ordered to evacuate. Whole swaths of Pacific Palisades and Altadena have been wiped off the map. Obliterated along with them: basic shelter; countless families’ primary source of wealth; and the incalculable loss of memories, sensations, routines, possessions, and a sense of normalcy. Whenever something like this happens, the vultures of displacement and development start circling. Mike Davis put it succinctly during the Woolsey Fire of 2018 when he was asked what he expected to see after the flames died down: “Bigger mansions.… What tends to disappear is rental properties, trailer parks, people who don’t have adequate insurance.” In other words, the poor and working classes suffer first—and…
29 EASY WAYS TO BE A GREENER PARENT
WE GET IT. SOME DAYS YOU ACTUALLY feel like you’re Mother Earth and the weight of the world is on your shoulders. That’s why we came up with 29 small changes you can make that will lighten your load and your carbon footprint. From household hacks to moneysaving tips to what kids should (and shouldn’t) be bringing to school, we consulted many experts—and did plenty of product-testing and soul-searching ourselves—to present you with these (totally easy!) ways to be a little bit greener as a family. 1. Cut back on red meat. Consider swapping red meat for kid-friendly chicken or turkey recipes instead. 2. Ditch the plastic bags. Around 9 million metric tons of plastic waste fill the oceans every year, but it’s easy to do your part to reduce…
A GUIDE TO Recycling Plastic at Home
Plastic does not break down in landfills, and since it can be recycled to make many diverse products, effort should be made to recycle all plastic waste. To make best use of plastics, consumers should choose the types of plastics that lend themselves most to reuse and recycling options. Recycling centres vary in the types of plastic they accept. Check with your local recycling centre and take care to buy plastic goods that are recyclable. The key to a successful home recycling program is your storage bin setup. Once you learn which materials your local drop-off centre accepts set up a corresponding storage bin system. The garage or your kitchen is a good place to locate the bins; if storing your bins outside, the lids will need to be covered…
Climate change is a joke
It’s hard to laugh about Trump anymore. Electing a climate denier (again) to lead the most powerful nation on Earth at a time when the climate crisis is rapidly transitioning to its global catastrophe phase – well, it doesn’t feel very amusing. But in a moment when defeat is the pervasive mood in the climate movement, the front lines of climate action are starting to look a lot … funnier? Call it the John Oliver effect. The last few years have seen a surge in satirical web series with their targets set squarely on bad actors in government and the fossil fuel sector. Foremost among them is Climate Town, a YouTube channel run by comedian Rollie Williams, whose long-form takedowns of oil and gas disinformation are deeply researched and addictively…
AN ECOLOGICAL EQUILIBRIUM
“Bengaluru was called the garden city earlier…25 years back, we had 70 lakh people living here, now we have 1.4 crore. Last year, we saw 7,000 borewells drying up…now I’m trying to fix the water bodies, rejuvenate the water table. We’ll change the image of Bengaluru” - D.K. SHIVAKUMAR, Deputy Chief Minister, Karnataka Karnataka is home to 60 per cent of the Western Ghats but it is also the state with the second largest area of arid land in the country after Rajasthan. Thanks to this unique geography, it has always been susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change, the state’s minister for forests, environment and ecology Eshwar Khandre pointed out at the first India Today Environment Conclave held in Bengaluru on February 4. The conclave, spanning a wide…
We’ll count the true cost of generative AI
In 2025, AI and climate change, two of the biggest societal disruptors, will collide. The summer of 2024 broke the record for Earth’s hottest day since data collection began, sparking widespread media coverage and public debate. 2024 also happens to be the year that both Microsoft and Google, two of the leading Big Tech companies investing heavily in AI research and development, missed their climate targets. While this also made headlines and spurred indignation, AI’s environmental impacts are still far from being common knowledge. In reality, AI’s current “bigger is better” paradigm—epitomized by tech companies’ pursuit of ever bigger, more powerful large language models that are presented as the solution to every problem—comes with very significant costs to the environment. These range from generating colossal amounts of energy to power…
Land of Extremes
We so often find beauty in soft things: a pink sunset, a bouquet of flowers, a powdered sugar beach. Many of us write off the extremes of the spectrum as harsh places not worth considering, but this road trip leans into them. Start among the loud and glittering scene of the Las Vegas Strip, the brightest spot on the planet, before pointing your wheels westward. You’ll find Death Valley National Park, which is a land known for its extremes. Its elevation ranges from 282 feet below sea level (the lowest point in North America) to 11,049-foot Telescope Peak and the world’s hottest temperature of 134°F was recorded here in 1913. From Death Valley, head toward the towering Sierra Nevada. There grows the oldest living thing on Earth, the Methuselah Tree…
DIY Composters for Your Garden
When integrating compost into your garden, you’ll want to consider which composting process best fits your needs. There are countless reasons people take an interest in composting. A few of the most common motivations include a desire to lessen their environmental impact, improve their garden soil’s nutrient availability, and, of course, for fun! Fall is a great time to start preparing compost for spring garden beds. From Trash-Can to Treasure Plenty of people will already have the makings of this unique composter lying around at home. The original concept was presented in the September/October 1976 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS, and it differs from other compost bins that simply rest on top of the ground. This composter goes subterranean by sitting in a 15-inch-deep hole surrounded by soil. Holes drilled…
Listen to Your Mother! Earth-Month Audiobooks
Adult The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind Prospector, and a War Out West. By Amy Gamerman. Read by Anna Sale. 2025. Simon & Schuster Audio. When a rancher endeavors to gain passive income by allowing wind turbines on his land, he sets off a decade-long battle encompassing property rights, conservation, Indigenous peoples’ rights, and climate change. Sale is a popular podcaster and her narration hits all the right points. Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays. By Amanda Quaid. Performed by a full cast. 2025. L.A. Theatre Works. In 1865, years before the “official” discovery of carbon dioxide’s role in warming Earth, Eunice Foote—an amateur American scientist—had already proved it. This sound-rich play immerses the listener in Foote’s Seneca Falls home and laboratory during her time of investigation while…
Treading Lightly: Why protect Ningaloo?
FROM VLAMINGH HEAD Lighthouse one balmy evening I saw an ocean erupt with breaching whales. It brought home to me just how important it is to protect Ningaloo and Exmouth Gulf on Western Australia’s north-west coast. Perched on an isolated hill at the northern end of the Cape Range, the lighthouse stands 50m above the sea and 300m away from a foreshore, beside one of the world’s greatest humpback highways. Each evening you’ll find Ningaloo devotees standing near the lighthouse watching the sun sink into the Indian Ocean. Following this tradition, in September 2022 a small group of us went to the car park near the lighthouse to watch the sunset. We were in for a surprise. The Indian Ocean filled the horizon to the west. Waves breaking nearby marked…