Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The Deluge is a tome, a vast and sprawling novel with myriad narrative threads. Tracking the future of American society between 2013–2040 against the backdrop of worsening climate change, the reader is shown a nation plunging fitfully into turmoil – with hard-fought moments of recovery and sudden, devastation catastrophes.
In April, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recognized an additional two Indigenous territories, including one 32,000-hectare (more than 79,000-acre) territory belonging to the Karajá peoples in Mato Grosso. According to a new study published in the journal Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, this act alone could quite possibly be the best investment not just for Indigenous rights, but for securing the future climate stability of the state.
So is the climate system, for all practical purposes, now close to a 1.5°C trend? If CMIP6 is to be taken at face value, the answer is yes. And the data now seems consistent with those models.
Within weeks, the nation will deploy 9,000 people to begin restoring landscapes, erecting solar panels, and taking other steps to help guide the country toward a cleaner, greener future.
The Indonesian government intends to release a total of 13 million hectares (32 million acres) from the national forest estate for leasehold management by local communities, a policy known as social forestry. Prior to the community forestry license, people’s relationship with the land was determined by an Indigenous Dayak system of customary rules and norms, known here as handil.
Hopefully, the unexpected – yet welcome – success of seagrass in the Maldives is a cause for conservation optimism.
I don’t know whether there is an H5N1 “bird flu” pandemic in our future. We humans think we can build moats around our modern way of life that protect us from the natural world. All the while we have actually been building the equivalent of superhighways into the heart of human society everywhere due to our dense living arrangements and global travel and trade.
Intact North American prairie is often referred to as the “American Serengeti” because of the abundance of biodiversity found on the landscape. As a keystone species, bison are integral to creating habitat for other prairie animals
The journey towards sustainable development demands respect for Indigenous values and a willingness to learn from their centuries-old wisdom. By bridging traditional knowledge with contemporary advancements, we forge a path toward inclusive growth and sustainable futures for all.
To create a common consensual vision around which the national climate movement could mobilize, a broad civil society gathering should be convened to attract the leadership of all environmental and climate action groups and set the stage for the National Climate Action Plan.
Until states and Congress pass new laws to prevent wetlands from being destroyed, we see action by businesses and nongovernment organizations as the most promising substitute.
In 2019, Australia was on the cusp of approving a new coal mine on traditional Wirdi land in Queensland that would have extracted approximately 40 million tons of coal each year for 35 years. But that didn’t happen, thanks to the advocacy of Murrawah Maroochy Johnson, a 29-year-old Wirdi woman of the Birri Gubba Nation, who led a lawsuit against the coal company in 2021, and won.
