For years, governments have engaged in marathon annual talks to try to end global warming. But they often fall frustratingly short. Egypt will host COP27 in November at the Red Sea coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Rising sea levels caused by climate change are...
I helped put nature conservation on the global agenda. But now I fear for Earth’s future. Will the next generation save us from disaster? Climate change, conceptual illustration (Photo by SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via AP Images) This story by News Decoder...
Students at my U.S. school played what they thought was a harmless prank. They found out that actions have consequences and biodiversity is fragile. The car full of Styrofoam peanuts parked on campus in October. (Photo by Chris Shiepis) This story was runner-up in...
California’s water supplies are being squeezed by climate change. By better capturing, recycling and distributing water, the state can avert a crisis. A dry reservoir bed in Cupertino, California, 13 March 2014 (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Water has long been...
Beset by raging wildfires and drought, Californians could be forgiven for thinking a climate Armageddon is upon them. The easy assumption would be that global warming means the most populous U.S. state does not have enough water for its many farmers and citizens. Keira Yin of The Thacher School provides a fuller picture by interviewing a water resilience expert and probing data. She concludes that stepped-up efforts to better capture, recycle and distribute water could go a long way towards ensuring the state can fend off the effects of climate change. Ask your students to consider how climate change is affecting water supplies in your region and to identify what the government is or could be doing about it.
Threats to nature persist despite global efforts to save our planet. Is it time to get tough and make killing nature an international crime? Amira, a wild baby elephant, is buried after she was caught in a poacher’s trap, Sare, Aceh Besar, Indonesia, 24...
Most students, aware of the devastating effects of climate change, favor stronger protections for nature. But have they considered what course of action might be needed if “‘standard’ save-the-world activities” fail to stir change, to use author Paul Spencer Sochaczewski’s words? Spencer Sochaczewski looks at the gray areas relating to how to protect the environment. His piece encourages students to consider multiple sides to a complex issue, and invites them to consider the motivations and tactics of changemakers outside the mainstream.