Every year, 20 million tons of plastic enters the world’s oceans. In 2012, the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development dubbed marine plastic litter “a major environmental issue…
A Malagasy girl. While Madagascar faces widespread deforestation and erosion, it is estimated that 70 percent of its people suffer from malnutrition. The Rio+20 Summit is attempting to tackle both…
This month, momentous events will occur on the global scene that will set the tone for whether 2012 will be a hopeful year or one in which dislocations and disconnects…
José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva speaking at a TEDx Amazon in 2010, just a few months before he and his wife were assassinated for their activism. On May 24th, 2011,…
Aerial view of Egypt's drylands. Desertification is a global problem, but a UN treaty on the issue has largely been ignored. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. It seems world leaders…
U.S. President Barack Obama (left) meets with Canadian Prime Minister (right) Stephen Harper in 2009. WWF criticizes both nations for watering down negotiations at the Rio+20 Summit. Photo by: Pete…
Turkana children from northern Kenya, a region which suffers prolonged and extreme droughts. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. The Climate Change Task Force (CCTF)—made up of 30 climate scientists, other…
WWF is calling upon Brazil "to play politics as well as they play football" to ensure the Rio+20 summit produces a meaningful outcome. “The Rio negotiations are a mess right…
Amazon rainforest. Five large corporations have launched an effort to boost demand for carbon credits from "high quality" Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) projects in tropical countries. Insurance…
Industrial tuna fishing has pushed some species to the edge of extinction. Photo by: Alex Hoffard/Greenpeace. Despite a slew of past pledges and agreements, the world's governments have made little…
Aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In an announcement to coincide with the beginnings of the UN's Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development, Australia has…
Cattle ranches carve into the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. As world leaders, officials, NGOs, businesses, and experts gather in Rio de Janeiro for the UN…
Meandering river in the lowlands of Gabon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. American writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau once said, "In wilderness is the preservation of the world." Anyone…
African elephants at Chobe River in Botswana. Photo by: Tiffany Roufs. Last month ten African nations, led by Botswana, pledged to incorporate "natural capital" into their economies. Natural capital, which…
Aerial view of the infamous Río Huaypetue gold mine in the Peruvian Amazon. This remote but massive gold mine is known for the destruction of primary rainforest, widespread mercury pollution,…
An as yet unidentified species of gecko on the island of Java, Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. World leaders need to do much more to protect the Earth's millions…