Species Setback
EPA Weakens Protective Regulations The U.S. Department of the Interior is effecting significant changes that weaken how the Endangered Species Act is implemented, a move critics fear will allow for more oil and gas drilling on land that is cur- rently habitat-protected, and will limit how much regulators consider the impacts of the cli- mate crisis. The changes affect how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration consider whether spe- cies qualify for protections, as well as how the agencies determine what habitats deserve special protections. It could make it more difficult to factor in the impact of climate change on species.
Polar Alert
Alaskan Sea Ice Melting Faster Sea ice along northern Alaska disappeared far earlier than normal this spring, alarming coastal residents that rely on wildlife and fish. The ice melted as a result of exceptionally warm water temperatures extending far out into the ocean. The last five years have produced the warmest sea-surface temperatures on record in the region, contributing to record low sea ice levels.
Healing Hazard
Health Care Sector Impacts Climate A new study by the international nonprofit Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), in collaboration with Arup, a British multinational professional services firm, claims that if the global health care sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet. It provides, for the first time, an estimate of health care’s global climate footprint.
Josh Karliner, HCWH international director of program and strategy and report co-author, says, “The health sector needs to transition to clean, renewable energy and deploy other primary prevention strategies to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”
Abandoned Crops
Economics Drive Farm Food Losses Farmer Cannon Michael left more than 100 acres of ripe cantaloupes unharvested last year because he couldn’t sell them for enough to cover the cost of labor, packing and shipping. According to a new study from Santa Clara University, in California, about one-third of edible produce remains unharvested in the fields, where it rots and gets plowed under. Most research on food loss and food waste has focused on post-harvest, retail and consumer levels. The new study offers a far more accurate look at on-farm food loss by rely- ing on in-field measure- ments. ReFED, a coalition of nonprofits, businesses and government agencies that fight food loss and food waste, estimates that 21 percent of water, 18 percent of cropland and 19 percent of fertilizer in the U.S. are dedicated to food that is never eaten.
November 2019 15
Kool-Kats
Candy Wrappers Reimagined as Origami Myriad companies are pledging to make their products and packaging more sustainable, including the multina- tional food and drink giant Nestlé, which announced in January that it is committed to using 100 percent recy- clable packaging for its candy by 2025. Miniature KitKat chocolate bars from its Japan confectionery branch will be wrapped in paper instead of plastic, with instructions for how to fashion it, post-snack, into the iconic origami crane, a traditional Japanese messenger of thoughts and wishes. Nestlé hopes that this will guarantee the paper remains in use longer rather than be disposed of immediately.
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