• Forests

Invasive Pests Threaten 40% of U.S. Forests

U.S. forests are under threat, and not just from logging or drought but from invasive insects and fungi that could kill 40% of all domestic forests. As the Guardian explained, “About 450 overseas pests that damage or feed on trees have been introduced to US forests due to the growth in international trade and travel. […]

• Forests

One Cool Thing: Smokey Turns 75!

We think he doesn’t look a day over 65!  On Friday, the lead character in the longest-running public service campaign, Smokey The Bear, turned seventy-five.  His message has always been simple and highly effective — reminding Americans that “Only you can prevent wildfires,” When Smokey first took to the airwaves, the overwhelming majority of U.S. […]

• Forests

Wildfires in Siberia Force Government To Declare An Emergency

• Arctic
• climate change
• Russia
• Siberia
• state of emergency
• wildfire

Wildfires raging across Siberia this year have reached historic levels — It is estimated that the fires released 300 megatonnes of carbon dioxide in July, the most since satellite records began around two decades ago. In response, the government declared a state of emergency for five regions of Siberia — with the “acrid smoke” impacting both small settlements and “major cities in Western Siberia and the Altai region as well as the Urals such as Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg,” and even disrupting air travel. 

• Forests

Ethiopia’s Green Legacy – Hundreds of Millions of New Trees Planted

• carbon dioxide
• carbon sink
• Ethiopia
• reforestation
• sink
• trees

On Monday, Ethiopians around the nation planted trees — and not just a few — the citizens of the second-largest African nation planted 353 million trees in just 12 hours as part of the “Green Legacy” initiative led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

• Forests

We Need Trees to Stay Cool But We Keep Losing Them

• Forests
• trees
• urban forests

We wrote last week that trees and forests have an important role to play in fighting climate change and their importance was only underscored by the recent heatwave that much of the east coast experienced. Tree cover can cool cities by as much as 10°F but in the United States, we’ve been losing a significant […]

• Forests

The Power of Forests to Fight Climate Change

by Alexandra Patel A new study published in the journal Science reveals that restoration of forested land on a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change at an unprecedented rate. Why This Matters: Trees and forests play a crucial role in maintaining balance within our environment and atmosphere, as they absorb […]

• Forests

One Cool Thing: Free Beer for Life

• beer
• Busch
• corporate sustainability

If you’re a fan of Busch beer then this one’s for you: As Fast and Company reported, this Saturday Busch Beer will sponsor a secret pop-up shop (the “Busch Pop Up Schop”) that will last for one day—in a national forest somewhere in America. Attendees will receive free merchandise, with one winner getting free Busch […]

• Forests

As First Residents Return to Paradise, Study Shows Cali Forest Fires Have Increased 800%

• California
• climate change
• forest fires
• warming
• wildfire

A study just published in the Journal Earth’s Future found that as a result of California’s increasingly long and dry summers caused by climate change, the state overall has experienced in the last 50 years a 500% increase in the amount of land burned in fires.  While non-forest areas have not experienced a huge increase in fires in those areas, forested areas have seen an 800% increase in areas that have burned. 

• Forests

Alaska Burns Due to Vicious Heat Wave

• Alaska
• Arctic
• Fire
• heat wave
• wildfire

Extreme temperatures in Alaska are causing an outbreak of explosive wildfires throughout the state, with Fairbanks, Anchorage experiencing its warmest March to date, as reported recently by Our Daily Planet. Just in the week of July 3rd, more than 600,000 acres of lands burned – doubling the year-to-date burn total which now sits at 1.28 million acres. By the end of the year, it is estimated that 2 million to 3 million acres will have been engulfed in flames. Fires are not only getting more frequent, but increasingly bigger and harder to contain. In Anchorage, the Hess Creek fire is now the largest fire in the U.S. at over 149,000 acres. 

• Forests

Pine Forest Restoration in Missouri Pays Off Big

• Forests
• Missouri
• wildfire

Millions of acres of pine woodlands used to cover a large portion of the Midwest but as humans logged these trees and suppressed natural fires, dense forests with thick leaf litter and tree species that were less fire-resistant took their place–leading to more intense and unpredictable wildfires as well as the loss of native bird […]

• Forests

One Green Thing: Millennials the Indoor Gardening Generation

Millennials get accused of a lot of things but killing plants isn’t one of them. As Bloomberg reported, this generation is responsible for reviving the once-moribund market for houseplants. In the past three years, U.S. sales have surged almost 50 percent to $1.7 billion, according to the National Gardening Association. With many Millennials delaying parenthood, plants […]

• Forests

Plant Extinction is Happening 500x Faster Than Before the Industrial Revolution

• 30 by 30
• biodiversity
• biodiversity loss
• extinction

While we cover animal species extinctions a lot in ODP, but plants are also struggling to survive in a world that’s rapidly being altered by climate change. According to a new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, 600 plant extinctions have taken place of the past two and a half centuries. As […]