- There are many important conservation and environmental stories Mongabay isn’t able to cover.
- Here’s a digest of some of the significant developments from the week.
- If you think we’ve missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.
- Mongabay does not vet the news sources below, nor does the inclusion of a story on this list imply an endorsement of its content.
Tropical forests
Agricultural giant Cargill is aiming for a deforestation-free supply chain by 2030 (Supply Chain Dive).
A humpback whale carcass washed up in the Amazon rainforest on Feb. 20 (Yahoo Finance, The New York Times).
An order from the Supreme Court of India could force more than a million people from their forest communities (Al Jazeera, The Guardian).
Leaders in Ivory Coast say they can stop the destruction of the West African country’s forests for cocoa, but they’ve been met with charges that the scheme is just a land grab (Yale e360).
Two scientists who described a new species of blue-legged tarantula may have obtained the specimen illegally (Science Magazine).
Bamboo as a biofuel could help bring electricity to parts of rural Indonesia, an entrepreneur says (CIFOR Forests News).
Vietnam has met the requirements necessary to begin receiving REDD+ payments (Global Landscapes Forum).
Other news
Trump’s doubts about the validity of climate science separate him from other Republican leaders (The New York Times).
Pollutants and plastics turning up in the deep ocean have marine biologists worried (The Atlantic).
Rising temperatures could vaporize clouds and the cooling that they provide (Nature News).
The production of concrete comes with a bevy of environmental problems (The Guardian).
A multi-part series examines the challenges facing the Colorado River in the American West (Yale e360).
Antarctica may soon shed a chunk of ice that’s twice as large as New York City (The Hill).
Coal mining in Siberia leaves “black snow” in its wake (Smithsonian).
Plastic production is replacing coal mining in Appalachia in the United States, raising environmental and health concerns (Inside Climate News).
The author of The Uninhabitable Earth discusses what the public doesn’t understand about climate change (The Atlantic).
The periodic table marks its 150th anniversary this week (The Economist).
Andrew Wheeler, known as a proponent of deregulation and a lobbyist for energy companies in the past, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday as the new EPA administrator (The New York Times, The Washington Post).
Sea snails’ delicate shells are dissolving in increasingly acidic ocean waters (Hakai Magazine).
Dramatic declines in fish populations tied to warming seas have scientists worried (The New York Times).
Banner image of the Colorado River by Peter Stabolepszy via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).
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South Africa Today – Environment
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