Earth Wise

The use of plastics has increased 20-fold in the past 50 years, and production of plastics is expected to double again in the next 20 years.  According to Eco Watch, the average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic every year.  And nearly one-third of all discarded plastic is not properly disposed of or […]

By some estimates, America’s oceans could provide enough electric power to meet a quarter of the country’s energy needs.  Despite this, until recently the contribution to the U.S. electric grid from marine energy has been exactly zero. But now, a wave energy test site run by the U.S. Navy near Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii is […]

Industries around the world are working to reduce their carbon emissions.  One very carbon-intensive industry is the airline industry and it is struggling to find ways to reduce its emissions even while air travel continues to be on the rise worldwide. Airlines are experimenting with a variety of alternatives to ordinary jet fuel.   KLM has […]

Wilderness areas are strongholds for biodiversity.  They buffer and regulate local climates, and they support many of the world’s most politically and economically marginalized communities.  While there is a great deal of attention being paid to the loss of species around the world, there is relatively little focus on the loss of entire ecosystems.  Simply […]

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the National Parks and this year the largest protected area anywhere on Earth has now been created.  Twice the size of Texas, the marine park also has the longest name among National Parks:  it is the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. It was actually established in 2006 by President George […]

Many of us like to have houseplants.  They add a bit of nature to our homes and they look nice.   It turns out that they have health advantages as well. Indoor air pollution is an important environmental threat to our health.  Most of it is called by volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.   These are compounds […]

There are many worries related to climate change, notably the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events, melting polar ice, rising seas, and so forth.  But perhaps one of the most ominous warnings comes from a new report issued by the Climate Institute about the future of coffee. According to the report, worldwide coffee production will […]

As the world’s population grows and becomes more urban and affluent, the amount of solid waste we produce grows and grows.  Over the past century, the total amount has risen tenfold.  By 2025, the world-wide total is expected to double again. The average person in the United States throws away their body weight in garbage […]

The Northwest Passage is a sea route connecting the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean, going along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. For hundreds of years, explorers looked for a way to traverse this route as a possible trade route to Asia.  Many attempts […]

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 500,000 rhinos across Africa and Asia.  By 1970, the number was down to 70,000.  Today, there are less than 30,000 rhinos in the wild.  The number of black rhinos dropped to as low as 2,300 in 1993.  Aggressive conservation efforts have brought their numbers up to […]