Adaptation. Mitigation. Justice.
To stop the destruction of life on this planet, international criminal codes must expand beyond human-focused war crimes and genocide to include ecocide—recognizing non-human life has inherent value. Heather Alberro & Luigi Daniele A movement of activists and legal scholars is seeking to make “ecocide” an international crime within the […]
It’s been three months since Winter Storm Uri scorched South Texas, leaving stands of gray stalks where living trees once stood, collapsing walls of cacti and making puddles out of aloe. What better time to rethink what we are growing and why—particularly in this time of global biodiversity crisis.
Two years ago, the City of San Antonio launched a war on the birds of Elmendorf Lake. The target was the hundreds of cattle egrets who have been roosting at this Westside ecological gem for decades. By razing the island to the ground, and dismantling possibly hundreds of nests, the assault destroyed the nesting ground for many related migratory birds. Many young were killed.
For Indigenous scholar Robin Wall Kimmerer, Western grammatical norms of using “it” to refer to more-than-human relatives absolve settler cultures of moral responsibility for exploiting and dominating nature. Here’s what we can say instead, drawn from Kimmerer’s native Anishinaabe. Robin Wall Kimmerer Singing whales, talking trees, dancing bees, birds who […]
What a time to start a weekly news wrap-up on the climate justice front. Stories of sweeping and rapid change have followed the incoming Biden Administration: reentering Paris and punking the KeystoneXL pipeline. On this front, a number of outlets have you covered. WaPo has (almost) all the executive-order action […]
‘PGE throwing another lawsuit at us to try to bring us to heel, when our community has overwhelmingly said “hell no” multiple times.’ Jessica Corbett/Common Dreams In a clear signal of how the fossil fuel industry feels about efforts to enact Rights of Nature protections that safeguard communities and the […]
Though critical to forest protection and reversing the climate crisis, indigenous rights are under attack and losing the fight in Bolivia against agricultural interests. Iokiñe Rodríguez and Mirna Inturias Earth’s forests oxygenate the atmosphere and store vast quantities of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2). But research suggests that the health of […]
Monarch mural in Mexico. Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region. Raúl Hernández Romero received death threats before his body was found, family says. Julia Conley Human rights defenders on Monday demanded a full investigation into the death of a second conservation activist in Michoacan state, Mexico, after […]
In the absence of an effective response by Brazil’s right-wing government to an oil disaster five months ago, civil society is rising to the challenge. Marina Martinez A major oil spill, coming from a mysterious source in the South Atlantic Ocean, has been contaminating Brazil’s coastline since Aug. 30, 2019. […]
Greg Harman A coalition of organizations and individuals launched a public campaign this week calling for the end of the violent eviction of the birds of Bird Island on San Antonio’s Westside. The campaign calls for residents to both sign a petition targeting the San Antonio Mayor and City Council […]
At the U.S.-Mexico border, the migration of pumas and coati are cut off by physical barriers. Humans? Not so much. By Kiah Collier and Neena Satija Texas Tribune HIDALGO, Texas — Muddy handprints cover the rusty, iron posts on this section of border fence in far South Texas. The 18-foot-tall barrier, […]
Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Oregon State University and Jane Lubchenco, Oregon State University What lies beneath the deep, dark expanse of the ocean is something that has fascinated sailors, fishermen, adventurers, poets and explorers for centuries. How could residents of New England, for instance, have known that beneath the coastal waters lies […]