• Climate Change

Our Global War on Nature is Suicidal, Our Ocean Should Be Better Managed

• #30x30
• #CampaignforNature
• climate change
• management
• nature
• ocean
• sustainable
• World Meteorological Organization

World leaders spoke out yesterday on the state of the planet and the message was clear — we must stop taking the natural world for granted.  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “the state of the planet is broken,” our attitude about it is “suicidal,” and then he spent more than 10 minutes cataloging our global “crimes against nature.” 

Why This Matters:  Guterres implored the world to make 2021 a “leap” year — a year in which individuals, businesses, and governments make a “quantum leap” towards carbon neutrality, and when more women leaders are at the table and they take decisive action to begin to cut carbon emissions by 45% by 2030.

• Sustainability

The Vicuña Makes A Comeback

• #30x30
• #CampaignforNature
• endangered species
• habitat
• nature
• vicuña

Just a few decades ago, the vicuña was nearly extinct from overhunting. Today, there are more than 350,000 vicuñas — the long-necked fluffy alpaca cousins — living in their native range along the Andes. How did this conservation comeback happen?  By giving communities the rights to shear the vicuñas for their prized wool, the animals became a source of income. 

Why This Matters: Vicuña wool is a luxury item and one of the most expensive fibers in the world.

• Animals

One Cool Thing: Alligators Can Regrow Their Tails

• alligators
• nature
• regeneration

Scientists have long known that some reptiles — like lizards and geckos — can regrow their tails.  But they recently learned that alligators can do the same, CNN reports.  This was a surprise to scientists, who used advanced imaging techniques to discover that juvenile alligators also have the ability to regrow their tails up to […]

• Animals

Let’s Stop Bankrolling Extinction

• biodiversity
• climate change
• extinction
• finance
• nature

by Amy Lupica, ODP Contributing Writer According to a new report, last year the world’s largest investment banks invested over $2.6 trillion in industries tied to the destruction of the natural world. The analysis found that 50 top investment banks provided financial services tied to extinctions and ecosystem destruction valued at more than Canada’s GDP.  […]

• Sustainability

“Unsustainable Exploitation of the Environment” Will Lead to More COVIDs

• 30 by 30
• biodiversity
• Campaign for Nature
• CBD
• IPBES
• nature
• zoonotic disease

Yesterday leaders from 190 countries were supposed to have met in Kunming, China for final negotiations on a biodiversity treaty designed to address the world’s urgent extinction and biodiversity crises. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has made attendance of the UN Biodiversity Conference impossible. However, a panel of experts from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and […]

• Ocean

One Octopus Thing: This Sweet Documentary Will Steal Your Heart

• #30x30
• biodiversity
• National Geographic Society
• nature
• ocean

We may not be able to enjoy movies in the theater right now, but there is no shortage of great nature documentaries to enjoy from the comfort of your home.  One you may not have heard about is called “My Octopus Teacher” — it is the story of filmmaker Craig Foster who was suffering from […]