Earth Day

April 22 is Earth Day. According to the Earth Day website, this day “marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.” The theme of #EarthDay this year is “Invest in Our Planet”. Today is the perfect occasion to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The Old Farmer’s Almanac has these suggestions to celebrate […]

Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration: How Drylands Can Be Greened What can double crop yields and provide building timber and firewood, fodder, and shade for livestock, as well as wild foods for nutrition and medication? And what at the same time can increase incomes and living standards for farming families and their communities, while leading to more […]

Have you ever heard of forest therapy or forest bathing? Do you know anything about phytoncides? These are all about making you healthier in an incredibly simple way. Forest therapy is “healing and wellness through immersion in forests and other natural environments.”  It’s about allowing your body and psyche to be at peace in the […]

Here’s another upbeat story from the World Economic Forum about a man who is making a difference. His simple technique in Burkina Faso boosts the planting of trees and contributes to the Great Green Wall. This movement is fighting desertification in the Sahel region and halting the expansion of the Sahara Desert by the planting […]

The frontline of climate change and its devastating impact is now centered in Africa, in particular the Sahel region, located on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. Ongoing conflicts due to the lack of resources, droughts and food shortages have made the region one of the poorest places on Earth and induced mass migrations […]

The “share of renewables in the energy sector has doubled every 5.5 years since 2007. If this continues, fossil fuels will be a thing of the past well before 2050.” That’s according to the World Economic Forum in its 2017 video “Global warming can be beaten”. The message in that short film is also that […]

Dr Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots Day of Peace

Everyone who is interested in the environment – and many who are not – know who Dr. Jane Goodall is. Well into her 9th decade of life (she turns 87 this year) and best known for her in-depth and personal studies of chimpanzees, she is as involved in her activism for a sustainable planet as […]

Yes, you, you and every single other person, can help to fight deforestation. Change the planet for the better and plant a tree with The Nature Conservancy. Join its effort to Plant a Billion Trees. Donate to “turn the tide of deforestation and help protect and expand forests around the globe,” or get involved in […]

Rainbow shower tree (Cassiaxnealiae)

By Danielle Carpenter – Climate change and extreme climatic events are having grave consequences for plant biodiversity around the world. Fires in Australia, the Amazon and North America are destroying key ecosystems. Bark beetles are benefiting from warmer temperatures to kill increasing numbers of trees worldwide. Extreme drought in some areas and flooding in others […]

Companies are using drones to fight deforestation. One of them, BioCarbon Engineering, based in Oxford, England, aims to plant as many as 1 billion trees per year. It uses drones flying 300 feet over land to map an area’s level of deforestation, topography and soil quality, and report its potential for reforestation. With that information, automated planting drones carrying […]