At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 100,000 Asian elephants were living in the wild. Now, it is estimated that just 52,000 remain. Among the reasons for their decline — in addition to poaching and human-elephant conflict — is the boom of newly built roads and railways, which lead to collisions, habitat loss […]
Quick Key Facts The Endangered Species Act To understand what “endangered species” means, it’s important to unpack the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which followed the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the first piece of federal endangered species legislation. Enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1973, the ESA states that the federal government has a […]
Deforestation is making lizards in North America more vulnerable because of a lack of shelter from extreme temperatures, according to a new study. Led by scientists at University of Colorado Boulder and Tel Aviv University, the study found that forest loss, alongside climate change, could negatively impact 84% of lizards in North America by 2100. […]
France is weighing whether to implement penalty fees that fast fashion companies would have to pay per item sold as a way to offset the environmental impact of the industry. Members of parliament (MPs) in France proposed a bill that would charge up to 50% of the selling price of fast fashion items to brands […]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced finalized energy efficiency standards for washing machines and dryers. According to the DOE, the new standards could save U.S. households a total of $2.2 billion annually on utility costs, with savings of up to $39 billion on energy and water bills over 30 years. Additionally, the measures […]
Multiple countries in the EU are already hitting their sustainability goals set for 2030, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed EU countries’ progress on certain goals laid out by the “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” resolution adopted in 2015 by the UN. The resolution set 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including […]
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a last wave of more than $1 billion for the cleanup of Superfund hazardous waste sites from coast to coast. The most recent phase of Superfund cleanup is part of a total of $3.5 billion allocated for the work, a press release from the EPA said. […]
The Biden administration has announced that the United States Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $366 million in funding for 17 renewable energy projects in remote and rural areas of the country to alleviate high energy bills and improve reliability. The funding supports the administration’s target of directing 40 percent of climate-related investment benefits to […]
In a “landmark” ruling, Bangladesh’s High Court has suspended all licenses for the adoption of critically endangered wild elephants, meaning they can no longer be legally taken into captivity or exploited, reported the BBC. The ban to protect the approximately 200 wild elephants remaining in Bangladesh was welcomed by animal rights groups. Nearly half the […]