World Oceans Day: Fighting for healthy oceans

It is difficult to be a conservationist in my lifetime. Every single day I hesitate opening the news because I fear that someone will show us yet another ecological catastrophe, to be added to the litany of horrors we’ve been accumulating like plastic in the ocean.

Discovering new life in forests after fire

Conifer forests in the western U.S. are home to a special type of habitat known as “snag forests” that contain some of the highest levels of animal and plant diversity and abundance of any forest type. These important places are created when patches of intense, high-severity fire occur within larger wildfires.

Residential solar is the best deal in town

The California Energy Commission (CEC) passed its 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, requiring that new homes built in California include solar energy generation.

Why mountains matter

Half the world’s population depends on mountain ecosystems, yet climate change is threatening their continued existence. It’s time to protect the world’s mountains for the sake of future generations.

Let our children settle air quality battles

The Trump administration announced recently that it wants to roll back vehicle fuel economy standards and tailpipe pollution limits. The nation’s 78 million kids below the age of 18 will be the ones breathing in this polluted air in their lifetimes.

Transitioning to a zero waste future

The biggest economic opportunity in the history of the planet is figuring out how to finance the transition to a zero waste future, according to Terry Tamminen, CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and co-founder of the Planet Pledge Fund.

Metropolitan water shortages: lessons learned the hard way

In an era of climate uncertainty, one thing we can be sure of is the next drought is coming. Some Californians have learned that planning for scarcity is critical.

Reefscape: a global reef survey to build better satellites for coral conservation

This post is the first in a series that will chronicle the next year’s worth of field work to build the spectral libraries that will underpin a global coral reef satellite mission.

Finding a refuge for corals amid decimated reefs in the Galápagos

A new global reef survey "Reefscape" series begins in the Galápagos Islands.

The unstoppable transformation

Former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres spoke last month about “a transformation that is now unstoppable, irreversible and more than anything else, it is exponential."

Plastic bag bans draw unexpected supporters in Texas: cotton ginners and cattle rancher

Bans or fees on carryout bags have become a popular and effective way to act locally to reduce the global impacts of single-use plastic consumption.

Don’t be complacent: climate change will ravage rich and poor alike