Biodiversity is the ultimate fountain of life. It funds our economy and our future, securing the foundations of all of Creation. Investing in a healthy and resilient environment is not optional. Treating the natural world with respect is the only way to improve human existence, and insure social and economic progress. In short, investing in …
Fall is a great time to explore and celebrate the great outdoors. And this week, protecting, preserving, exploring and celebrating public lands just got a little more exciting. Committing $250,000, The North Face has launched a new campaign in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior, in support of the 21st Century Conservation Service …
Explore and Celebrate Public Lands with The North Face Read More »
Western Values Project released a new report, Recreation Spending & BLM Sagebrush Lands, highlighting the important economic effects associated with local recreation-related spending. Visits to BLM-managed lands in 11 western states resulted in an economic output of over $1 billion in 2013 alone. The report by Eugene, Oregon firm ECONorthwest, was prepared for Pew Charitable Trusts’ …
Big Local Gains for States with Wildlife Refuge Recreation Read More »
The world’s oceans are vast, floating dumps for plastic pollution. Without a serious plan for cleaning up the world’s oceans, this situation is dire and becoming worse every day. With a goal of retrieving and recycling 400,000 flip flops a year from the coast of Kenya, one small start-up in Nairobi is making a big …
Recycling Flip Flops From the Ocean Shores of Kenya Read More »
Solving our water woes in the face of extreme drought, an aging infrastructure, increasingly pressured water supplies, and a growing population, will require more than just asking people to cut back on their water consumption or to install water-efficient appliances. It might also require big changes in who pays for it, in the way we …
Ecologists from Florence, Italy established a special day for animals on October 4, 1931. Now an internationally recognized event, World Animal Day celebrates animal life in a wide variety of ways. Coincidentally, October 4 is also the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the catholic patron saint of animals. World Animal Day is a …
Art Of Endangered Animals Sparkles On World Animal Day Read More »
Little is known about the mechanisms through which ecosystem conservation programs affect poverty, but scholars are now accumulating evidence about the effects of environmental programs on social outcomes. A recent article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights the progress being made by researchers in Costa Rica to answer the question of …
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international convention for protecting the diversity of life on Earth. As opposed to treaties focusing on individual species or biomes, this international treaty encompasses biodiversity on a global scale. It focuses on establishing a global network of protected natural areas, for the purpose of protecting natural capital at …
The first World Forum on Natural Capital was held in Edinburgh, Scotland last November. This comes at a time when there is increasing interest in the idea that we need to place a value on the services that nature provides us with for free if we are to prevent further environmental degradation. The conference attracted …
A scorecard grading the palm oil sourcing commitments of 30 top companies in the packaged food, fast food and personal care sectors shows 24 of these household brands have inadequate commitments or lack commitments altogether. Palm oil is used in thousands of products that Americans eat and use daily, like deodorants, ice cream and face …
Iconic American Household Brands Contribute to Deforestation Read More »
Israel’s central Arava desert, where saline soils and dry climates are the norm, a thriving community creates up to 60% of Israel’s exported agricultural products. Recently, I visited the Arava valley to see the miracle of agriculture in the desert up close and personal. According to our tour host Michal Marmary: “By any standard, farming …
Agriculture where plants can’t grow: Israel’s Arava valley Read More »
At the Bloomberg Fuel Choices Summit in Tel Aviv, we learned about Israel’s aggressive alternative transportation goals–reducing oil use by 60% by 2025–and how they plan to achieve it. A talk by Eyal Rosner of the Prime Minister’s office elucidated some of the insights the country has learned from its various clean tech programs over …
Israel’s Aggressive Oil Reduction Goals: Is 60% In 12 Years Achievable? Read More »
Planning for the future of the planet should be just as much a part of a company’s strategy as their plans for the immediate future, and if more businesses adopted the method that one vineyard uses, our future could be much more leafy and green. Thanks to Trinity Oaks’ One Bottle One Tree® program in …
Often, it seems the news is full of companies doing bad things. Other times, it seems that their CSR efforts are largely just greenwashing (the act of advertising themselves as doing something good, when in reality, the big picture is still really pretty bad). But there are companies we love out there, and this series …