• Politics

How the West Was Lost

• Endangered Species Act
• extinction
• nature
• United Nations
• wildlife

By Kate Wall When one thinks of the western United States it’s hard not to conjure up images of wildlife and wilderness.  But a coalition of “western” lawmakers wants to change that.  Last week the Congressional Western Caucus formally announced a raft of legislation aimed squarely at the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA has […]

• Air

PTI – In 2020, Let’s Talk More About Air Pollution

• air pollution
• clean air
• Clean Air Act
• electric vehicles
• Tesla

By Miro Korenha and Monica Medina Pardon the interruption from the constant conversation about the stock market, impeachment and conflict in the Middle East.  We’d like to talk about something completely different.  2020 is the 50th anniversary of the passage of one of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws — the Clean Air Act.  This week […]

• People

The Most Important Resource of the Twenty-First Century

• 21st Century
• climate change
• data
• disruption
• empathy
• environment

By Scott Nuzum What is the most important resource of the twenty-first century? Depending on whom you ask, the answer may be water, data, rare earth metals, or sand. In truth, each of these resources—and countless others—will play a critical role in shaping twenty-first-century events and society. But there is one resource that we don’t […]

• Politics

Embracing Biodiversity as the Critical Element of Change in 2020

• #30x30
• biodiversity
• Convention on Biodiversity
• protect nature
• wildlife conservation

By Polen Cisneros, Wildlife Crime Program Officer, International Fund for Animal Welfare  As a conservationist and a millennial, it is easy to say that 2019 was rather a disheartening year for nature.  Not only did the current administration weaken certain protections for animals at the risk of extinction, but the 2019 IPBES Report also painted […]

• Climate Change

Let’s Panic About Climate Change Like It’s Y2K

• 2020
• climate change
• Y2K

by Miro Korenha, co-founder and publisher of Our Daily Planet  I know I’m not the only one, but the thought that 2020 is just three weeks away truly astounds me. The other day as my nostalgia got the best of me, I clicked on an internet article about Y2K and the pandemonium that surrounded the […]

• Politics

For the Conservation Movement, It’s Almost Heaven, West Virginia

• #ResistRockwool
• AI
• coal
• fossil fuels
• satellite monitoring
• waste-to-energy

By Monica Medina, Founder and CEO of Our Daily Planet And now, for those of you who need a break from a long week of impeachmentpalooza, take a trip with us to Shepherdstown, West Virginia — a small town, nestled at the northeastern edge of the Shenandoah Valley, practically an exurb of Washington, D.C. It […]

• Climate Change

We Need To Expand the National Weather Service To Provide More Climate Services

• climate change
• National Weather Service
• severe weather

By Monica Medina, Founder and CEO of Our Daily Planet Earlier this year, I drafted a chapter for a book of “big” new environmental ideas entitled “A Better Planet: Forty Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future.”  In my essay, I propose that in order to brace ourselves for the impacts of climate change that we […]

• Water

The Clean Water Act Has Been Drained

• clean water
• Clean Water Act
• PFAS
• WOTUS

By Monica Medina, Founder and Publisher, Our Daily Planet The fall of 2019 will be remembered for the Ukrainian scandal and the impeachment investigation.  But for many Americans, this should be remembered as the time when our nation’s clean water crisis became crystal clear.  This is not just a Flint problem.  It is a national […]

• Animals

When Extinction is Simply Not an Option

• 30 by 30
• biodiversity
• extinction crisis
• IFAW
• North Atlantic Right Whale

by CT Harry, Marine Campaigner, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)   North Atlantic right whales once numbered tens of thousands in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the Labrador Sea to the coast of Florida. They were nearly driven extinct by whaling at the turn of the century and, tragically, once again, are […]

• Climate Change

Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change — One island, One Atoll, One Country at a Time

• climate change
• Federated States of Micronesia
• ocean
• sea level rise

By David W. Panuelo, President of the Federated States of Micronesia

This past week, world leaders gathered in Norway to focus on the health of our oceans at a critical time. For island nations such as the Federated States of Micronesia, threatened as never before by climate change, seriousness of purpose isn’t elective, it’s existential.

For me and for the country I am privileged to lead, the climate crisis is not abstract. It is not tomorrow’s far away challenge. We are just 1% dry land. Fly to Norway over the western Pacific and dotted below in the blue ocean are the more than 600 islands and islets that make up the Federated States of Micronesia.

For us, there is no climate and resilience plan without sustainable oceans at its heart.

• Politics

Remembering Elijah Cummings, Continuing His Fight for Environmental Justice

• Congress
• Elijah Cummings
• Environmental Justice

by Miro Korenha, co-founder and publisher, Our Daily Planet    These days the tone in Washington is ominous. For those of us who are unnerved by what we perceive to be the unraveling of our democratic institutions, some of our only comfort has come from the voices that remind us of what we’re fighting for. […]

• Climate Change

What’s the Matter with Florida?

• climate change
• Florida
• sea level rise

By Scott Nuzum Over the summer, I returned to my hometown of Venice, Florida for the first time in five years. As I prepared for my trip, I was excited by the prospect of revisiting old haunts, reconnecting with old friends, and reminiscing about my childhood spent exploring the area’s coastal waters. But I also […]