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[1/5] View of boats stuck in a sea with invasive green water hyacinth weed at the Hartbeespoort dam, informally known as "Harties", a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, February 16, 2023. REUTERS/Shafiek TassiemHARTBEESPOORT, South Africa, March 1 (Reuters) - The Hartbeespoort dam in South Africa used to be brimming with people enjoying scenic landscapes and recreational water sports. Now, the visitors are greeted to the sight of boats stuck in a sea of invasive green water hyacinth weed. Scientists and community members have, however, found a unique way to deal with the invasion by introducing a water hyacinth eating bug called Megamelus scutellaris. The insect army has previously reduced the expanse of water hyacinths to a mere 5% on the dam, Coetzee said.

☆ A burned-out tech worker quit her job at a gaming company to spend time filming ocean critters. It helped her reset.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Daina Buchner quit her tech job at a gaming company last year over burnout concerns. Daina Buchner touching a whale. Courtesy of Daina Buchner. Courtesy of Daina Buchner. Courtesy of Daina Buchner.

☆ This startup that connects conservation projects with funders just raised $8 million. Check out the 30-slide pitch deck Lemu used to secure the fresh capital.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup hoping to channel more cash into conservation via its app just raised $8 million. Chilean startup Lemu is developing a marketplace that ranks conservation projects on priority and impact. A Chilean startup connecting conservation projects with funders just raised $8 million. It plans to list and rank high-priority and high-impact conservation projects in the hope that the app's users will donate money, or "invest," in them. It will have two ranking features: LemiImpact, a local-level impact ranking based on potential project outcomes, and LemuRank, which is a global ranking of high-priority conservation efforts.

☆ Inside Ken Griffin's rise to one of Wall Street's most powerful people, and why politics could be next
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

JB and I are not on speaking terms these days," said Ken Griffin, the billionaire hedge-fund manager, referring to JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois. As Florida rolled back pandemic restrictions more quickly than Chicago, even more Citadel employees migrated south. Ken Griffin's hedge fund has had a run of eye-popping returns since 2020. Others worry that it gives Griffin's hedge fund an unfair advantage. Hundreds of Citadel employees, partners, and families gathered at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida.

☆ With Great Salt Lake at rock bottom, lawmakers aim for rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Water volume on the Great Salt Lake has dropped by more than two-thirds since pioneers once settled the Salt Lake Valley. Much of the lake surface is now exposed. Photographs of empty marinas and the cracking crust of the lake’s surface often illustrate the lake’s decline. The rivers and streams that feed The Great Salt Lake are overallocated, which means farmers and other water users collectively have rights to more water than what typically flows through each year. Spencer Cox last November closed the Great Salt Lake basin to appropriations for new water uses, effectively capping the line of water users wanting to use what flows into the lake.

☆ Climate leaders say 3 conversations need to happen at the World Economic Forum this week to lock in a sustainable future
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The climate crisis is set to dominate the agenda at this year's World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. Climate experts say they'll be looking out for 3 conversations, including how to pay for the climate crisis. More climate finance dealsSome solutions to the climate crisis already exist, according to Sweta Chakraborty, behavioral scientist and CEO of climate solutions organization We Don't Have Time. A sovereign debt conversion deal enables governments to convert a portion of this debt into sustainability financing. "Developing countries want to join the fight against the climate crisis and need financial support to be successful," she said.

☆ Walmart bans single-use bags in more stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Walmart will eliminate single-use paper and plastic carryout bags at the register from stores in New York, Connecticut and Colorado this month. The company previously stopped giving out single-use plastic bags in New York and Connecticut and in some areas in Colorado. Plastic-bag bans reduce the number of these bags in stores and encourage customers to bring reusable bags or pay a small fee for paper bags. In New Jersey, a ban on single-use plastic and paper bags has meant grocery delivery services have switched to heavy-duty bags. Reusable bags — cloth totes or thicker, more durable plastic bags — aren’t a perfect solution, either, unless they are actually reused.

Despite layoff announcements and signs of a slowdown elsewhere in the economy, the labor market for clean energy jobs remains tight. said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group. The Biden Administration has repeatedly promised that new green energy jobs would be well-paying union jobs. Some solar companies have tried to recruit veterans, saying the skills learned in military life translate well to the industry. Utility scale solar developer SOLV Energy, SunPower and Nextracker last year teamed up with nonprofit Solar Energy International to fund a women-only training program for solar installers.

How to earn Alaska Airlines milesThere are two types of Alaska miles: Elite-qualifying miles and redeemable miles. Earn Alaska miles for car rentalsYou can opt-in to earn Alaska miles when you rent cars through Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, or Thrifty. Redeem Alaska miles for domestic flightsOne of the most popular ways to redeem Alaska miles is for domestic award flights on Alaska and its partner American Airlines. Redeem Alaska miles for flights on partner airlinesUsing Alaska Airlines miles for award flights on partner airlines is perhaps the best way to use your Alaska miles. Donate Alaska Airlines miles to charityYou can donate your Alaska miles to over a dozen different charities, in 1,000-mile increments, and with no maximums or fees.

☆ Banks will pump H2O to top of climate agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That’s when the United Nations’ first water confab in almost five decades starts in New York. Achieving that globally requires spending $1 trillion a year on the sustainable provision of drinking water and sanitation, and preparing for floods, scarcity and pollution, per the World Resources Institute. And 90% of climate change’s effects manifest through water, as recent floods and scarcity demonstrate. Knowing when to turn off the funding tap is important, too, just as many banks won’t back Arctic drilling or new coal mines. With some financial groups distancing themselves from umbrella climate change bodies, it’s a challenging time to make this case.

☆ Mother nature is screaming for us to adopt a new diet. An agreement by nearly 200 countries could help identify flaws in how we produce food.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Food production drives deforestation and biodiversity loss. Mother nature is screaming for us to adopt a new diet, too. It's a primary driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss that, in turn, releases greenhouse-gas emissions causing the climate crisis. As the global population grows and people in developing countries earn more money, the demand for food — especially meat — will further stress nature. The US State Department in October also requested advice on potential legislation to combat deforestation in food supply chains and voluntary actions the private sector could take.

☆ Historic biodiversity agreement reached at U.N. conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Negotiators reached a historic deal at a United Nations biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world. The global framework comes a day before the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, is set to end in Montreal. China, which holds the presidency at this conference, released a new draft earlier in the day that gave the sometimes contentious talks much-needed momentum. The most significant part of the agreement is a commitment to protect 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030. “The new text is a mixed bag,” Andrew Deutz, director of global policy, institutions and conservation finance for The Nature Conservancy, said.

☆ World leaders want to protect a third of the Earth's land and water to save wildlife from extinction. There's a climate connection, too.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nearly 200 countries agreed to protect 30% of Earth's land and water at a UN biodiversity meeting. The meeting, known as COP15, also underscored the link between nature and the climate crisis. Indigenous peoplesFor the first time, the biodiversity framework acknowledged the role of Indigenous people in protecting and restoring land and water. But world leaders didn't designate their land and territory as a separate category of conservation, which groups including Amnesty International and Greenpeace called for. Countries didn't achieve any of the targets to slow biodiversity loss by 2020 included in a previous framework, known as the Aichi targets.

☆ Rising climate costs to challenge countries, companies in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Katy Daigle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Nowhere was this more apparent than at the U.N. climate conference in Egypt, where countries reached a landmark agreement to set up a fund to help poor countries cope with climate-fueled disaster costs. Even Hayhoe and others warning about the dangers of climate change didn't escape censure, with some activists laying into them for flying to conferences or eating meat. As of today, there are 2,176 climate-related lawsuits in play across the world, including 654 filed in U.S. courtrooms, according to the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. And scientists and economists are making further advances in calculating exactly how much a country's activity may have contributed to climate change – and to specific disasters. With the new year, expect more public anxiety as climate change continues to escalate – and more worry among companies and governments over liability and risk.

☆ Guest view: Protecting Earth’s underground heroes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Tokiers Mark Tercek | Mark Tercek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

This activity seals and traps hidden underground ecosystems and their carbon-capturing capabilities. A recent estimate published by Nature found that more than 70% of the Earth’s known soil biodiversity hotspots are unprotected by current conservation schemes. The first step is to incorporate underground ecosystems into global conservation and climate schemes. We should also begin systematically mapping and monitoring underground biodiversity hotspots across the Earth. Researchers are starting to record, analyse and use soundscapes to identify underground biodiversity hotspots.

☆ Animals Are Running Out of Places to Live
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | Lauren Leatherby | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

In many places, poverty, powerful interests and a lack of law enforcement make habitat loss especially hard to address. Because animals there often have smaller ranges to begin with, habitat loss hits them especially hard. “That's the ultimate challenge of forest conservation globally.”Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Est. habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCARThis is the 2001 habitat of the white-headed lemur, a primate that eats fruit and flowers. Of the many targets being negotiated, the one that has gotten the most attention seeks to address habitat loss head on.

☆ Holiday gift giving is rife with waste. Here’s how to give greener, according to experts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But the holidays are an opportunity to transition to a greener way of living, while also maintaining some level of creativity. But after the excitement is done, the leftover boxes, plastics and paper usually end up in greenhouse-gas-emitting landfills or waste incinerators. And the amount of plastic usually included with holiday presents is enormous, not only in the wrapping, packaging and shipping, but the products themselves. Use recycled or reusable wrapping paper: If you have old newspapers or recycled paper lying around, repurpose them for wrapping. Make homemade gifts: Instead of buying presents, be creative and devise do-it-yourself gifts, which can make it more personal.

☆ Natural vs. artificial Christmas tree: Which option is better for climate?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Christopher Dilts/Bloomber/Getty ImagesIt’s easy to imagine that reusing an artificial tree year after year is the more sustainable option. The American Christmas Tree Association, a nonprofit that represents artificial tree manufacturers, commissioned WAP Sustainability Consulting for a study in 2018 that found the environmental impact of an artificial tree is better than a real tree if you use the fake tree for at least five years. “Planting, fertilizing and watering were taken into account for real trees, which have an approximate field cultivation period of seven to eight years.”What are the benefits of real trees? Nathan Howard/Getty ImagesOn average, it takes seven years to fully grow a Christmas tree, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. About 15,000 farms grow Christmas trees in the US alone, employing over 100,000 people either full or part-time in the industry, according to the National Christmas Tree Association.

☆ 'Vulture bees' feed their babies rotting flesh, even though it breeds toxin-producing bacteria. They're a mystery to scientists.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Vulture bees" feed their larvae rotting meat instead of relying on pollen like other bees. Scientists hung raw chicken in Costa Rica and watched vulture bees fill their leg pouches and stomachs with it. Sure enough, the researchers discovered that vulture bees' guts may be more like actual vultures or hyenas than their pollen-gathering relatives. The vulture bees had lots of acid-producing bacteria like lactobacillus, probably creating a far more acidic gut than their pollen-eating cousins. They want to study what happens in the pods where the vulture bees store meat before feeding it to their larvae.

☆ Analysis: First U.S. coral insurance marks the rise of the reef brigades
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Clare Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

On Monday, the global 'Reef Brigades' plan came closer to reality when it bought an insurance policy on behalf of the state of Hawaii, the first U.S. coral insurance contract, which will provide funds for repair work, building on similar policies taken out in the Caribbean. Apart from being a precious nursery for fish, coral reefs that fringe developed coastlines can limit flooding by providing a barrier against ocean storm surges, meaning insurers have every interest in protecting them. For the premium of $110,000 in Hawaii's contract announced on Monday, that state will get up to $2 million of insurance protection for its coral reefs until the end of December 2023. Just offshore from some of the country's most famous Mayan ruins, local tourism businesses and the government bought an insurance policy to cover their share of the Mesoamerican Reef. Willis Towers Watson, which worked on the MAR Fund policy and the Hawaii policy, said it is actively working on a coral reef policy for Fiji, and policies for coral reef bleaching, run-off due to excessive rainfall, and lost fishing days due to climate change-induced storms.

☆ US researchers jubilant after rediscovering a bird lost to science for 140 years in Papua New Guinea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Scientists from the American Bird Conservancy have rediscovered a rare bird not documented since 1882. The bird only lives on Ferguson Island, off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Researchers installed camera traps on Fergusson Island, Papua New Guinea, with the results showing the rare black-naped pheasant-pigeon strutting in the images. Seeing the images was like "finding a unicorn," said John C. Mittermeier, Director of the Lost Birds program at the American Bird Conservancy and co-leader of the expedition. Christina Biggs, Manager for the Search for Lost Species at Re:wild, said, "This rediscovery is an incredible beacon of hope for other birds that have been lost for a half-century or more."

☆ Long-lost pigeon species 'rediscovered' in Papua New Guinea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A bird thought to be extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea. Rediscovering the bird required an expedition team to spend a grueling month on Fergusson, a rugged island in the D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago off eastern Papua New Guinea where the bird was originally documented. The team consisted of local staff at the Papua New Guinea National Museum as well as international scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Bird Conservancy. Many members of the community told the team that they hadn’t seen the black-naped pheasant-pigeon in decades, says the news release. So the expedition team placed a camera on a 3,200-foot high ridge near the Kwama River above Duda Ununa, according to the release.

"There's now a big push to get nature into sovereign debt markets," said Simon Zadek, executive director at NatureFinance, which advises governments on debt-for-nature swaps and other types of climate-focused finance. At that level, it would be the biggest debt-for-nature swap struck to date. The combined value of swap deals to date is $3.7 billion, according to the data. Securing the buy-in of development banks is usually key for the economics of a deal. The WWF has projects in Central and South America where they are monitoring deforestation by tracking jaguars, said Brenes, who has worked on debt-for-nature swaps for the last 25 years.

☆ Proposal 1: New York will vote to put money toward climate change mitigation efforts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Proposal 1 would allow the state to sell $4.2 billion in bonds to address climate change. Proponents say that the proposal will allow New Yorkers to prepare for climate change. Opponents are critical of the fact that the state will go into more debt if the measure is approved. Ballot measure detailsProposal 1 would authorize the New York state comptroller to sell bonds to help fund initiatives that "preserve, enhance, and restore New York's natural resources and reduce the impact of climate change." Up to $1.5 billion would be set aside for climate change projects, such as green building projects, urban forestry efforts, and carbon and methane sequestration.

☆ Florida teen wins competition by capturing 28 Burmese pythons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

MIAMI — A 19-year-old South Florida man captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology. Earlier this year, a team of biologists hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida. A Burmese python is held during a safe capture demonstration on June 16, 2022, in Miami. Concepcion told the South Florida SunSentinel that he’s been hunting pythons for about five years, and typically looks for them at night because that’s when they’re on the move, seeking the warmth of roads. We are removing record numbers of pythons and we’re going to keep at it,” South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Member “Alligator Ron” Bergeron said in a news release.

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