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Global Movement Aligns Mindfulness, Ecology, and Climate Healing By Yasmin Prabhudas * Helen Clay, founder of Yoga and Climate Action Network. Photo courtesy of Helen Clay. Yoga began in South Asia about 5,000 years ago. It has grown in popularity, especially in the US, India and China, and today, some 300 million people around the world practice yoga .   Yet the key principles of the tradition may be neglected. Yoga is about living a purposeful life in balance with nature. However, it has evolved into a huge, money-making industry. The yoga market today is worth $370 billion  worldwide, according to Wellness Creative Co., which tracks market trends. US citizens, for example, spend $16 billion  on yoga equipment, classes, and accessories every year, says Goa Yogashala, a respected teacher training school in India.   Some yoga practitioners and centers are determined to keep the attention on yoga’s philosophical roots, which emphasizes each person’s ties to nature and minimizing harm to other living beings.   Yoga Principles Are Eco-friendly Yoga practice and philosophy are outlined in the ancient Sanskrit texts of the Upanisads  and epic poem Bhagavad Gita , but the basis for much thinking is taken from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra , which is believed to date back to the first century CE.   The “eight limbs” of yoga  in the Sutra are guidelines on how to live a meaningful life. They include the Yamas and the Niyamas.   Helen Clay, who lives in Sheffield, UK, has been practicing yoga for 40 years and teaching for 30 years. She says of the Yoga Sutra: “The Yamas and the Niyamas are the first and second of the eight limbs’ arsenal. The postural work, the physical or meditative work […] rests on those first two foundations, which should infuse all yoga.”   Clay has a master’s degree in yoga and meditation and has learned Sanskrit. She established the Yoga and Climate Action Network to explore how yoga goes beyond individual health and well-being and toward planetary health and well-being.   [Clay] established the Yoga and Climate Action Network to explore how yoga goes beyond individual health and well-being and toward planetary health and well-being. “The five Yamas,” Clay explains, “relate to how you behave in relation to other people in the wider world. Ahimsa , which means “nonviolence,” refers to “thought, word, and deed, and it’s like the bedrock of every other aspect he [Patanjali] talks about.” Helen Clay. Photo courtesy of Helen Clay. “ Satya means truth, so […] seeing what is real.” This could mean acknowledging the many concerns about climate change.   Clay continues: “ Asteya is not stealing. […] And brahmacharya […] meant celibacy. And aparigraha is nonhoarding.”   “The idea is that people are subject to anger, desire, lust, […] acquisitiveness, or power, and these restraints are really important to be able to live happily with yourself and within the world.”   The five Niyamas, she explains, are about personal conduct. Saucha is cleanliness and purity but can include not polluting the world. Santosha is about contentment, restraining individuals from overconsumption. Tapas is self-change, and isvara phanidhana means “surrender to the Lord or something bigger”—for example, seeing oneself as part of nature.  “Those qualities […] are a training that has a link to sustainability and climate. If you start from ahimsa , then you’re thinking about your actions in the world,” explains Clay. Commercialization Clay states that, while millions of people practice yoga now, she doesn’t think knowledge about the Yamas and Niyamas is as well-known as it should be.   “People see it as just a physical practice,” she says. “It just becomes part of what you buy. Yoga leggings, yoga clothes, yoga equipment [that] have to be changed to keep up with fashion. It’s just the opposite of what it’s about.” And yoga tourism means “people are flying all over,” which can contribute to pollution.   But it’s challenging to promote the underlying teachings, Clay says. “The philosophy is quite complicated, and if you don't have somebody to explain it to you, it's really difficult to wrap your head around.”   Gaining an Understanding Dr. Vikas Chothe, who cofounded the Swasti Yoga Center  in Pune, India, with his partner, Dr. Shwetambari Chothe, reiterates Clay’s concerns: “There is a great amount of resistance to any academic studies as far as the yoga fraternity is concerned globally because mostly it is considered like a skill set, which can be used for your bread-and-butter living. […] You will find people who are teaching yoga for 20–30 years who themselves are not very well versed or aware about the fundamentals of the texts of yoga.” “The philosophy of yoga wants you to connect with nature.” Chothe’s advice to yoga instructors who want to go green is to gain an understanding of yoga’s scriptural basis. “When you understand, you will start getting answers helping you to connect with nature and the universe. The moment you see why is there a mountain pose, why is there a tree pose, why is there a lion pose—the reason is because the philosophy of yoga wants you to connect with nature.” Green Yoga Dr. Vikas Chothe and Dr. Shwetambari Chothe, cofounders of the Swasti Yoga Center. Photo courtesy of Swasti Yoga Center. The center has been training yoga teachers over the past 10 years. Its green yoga corporate program  teaches instructors how to integrate yoga and align their activities with, for example, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. They also work on their environmental and social governance  by helping employees to reduce their consumption and carbon footprint. The green yoga instructor program  blends traditional yoga training with eco-friendly practices so participants can “lead holistic, sustainable lives and teach others to do the same.” The training covers a person’s food, daily routine, activities, thinking, and work–life balance.   There is also a yoga and sustainability literacy course , promoting the connection between the practice and living an environmentally friendly life. Sustainability Eco-friendly products are available at the center. They include chanting beads made from cow dung, bamboo tissues, biodegradable cups, and upcycled pouches. This helps generate employment locally and recycles waste material. Vegetarian and vegan diets are important too. “If I consume 1 kilogram of meat,” Chothe says, “it takes 80,000 liters [21,000 gallons] of water, because you must have the corn to feed the cattle. So, if I shift to […] a vegetarian meal and consume rice or wheat, that takes 8,000 liters [2,100 gallons] of water. From 80,000 you’re immediately coming down to 8,000.” "If I consume one kilogram of meat, it takes 80,000 liters of water, because you must have the corn to feed the cattle." Yet more water can be saved if rice is replaced with millet  (a grain high in carbohydrate). One kilogram of millet requires only 400 liters (105 gallons) of water, which is especially beneficial in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where water is scarce. While it’s hard to measure the environmental impact of the center’s activities, it shares its “yoga and sustainability toolkit” with more than 4,000 students across 35 countries. Dealing with Climate Anxiety In the forests outside Portland, Oregon, lies Vernonia Springs, the site of the Terra Vida Academy , an “eco-campus” combining yoga with agroforestry , permaculture , and “natural building.” It is set in 28 acres of parkland and has a 1.5-mile nature trail. Yoga at the Terra Vida Academy. Photo courtesy of Jeff Walton Jeff Walton. Photo courtesy of Jeff Walton Founder Jeff Walton says the yoga classes are designed to help people with their mental health when dealing with the world. He himself suffers from climate anxiety. “I believe the yoga we offer—allowing people to be in nature—is the biggest part of the solution because I think we live in such a digital age that they […] are really so disconnected and afraid of nature,” he says. He explains: “The yoga helps them work on their mindfulness while they’re out here and they get that environmental connection.” Participants can also take part in other ecologically beneficial activities, such as hempcrete building courses. Participants can also take part in other ecologically beneficial activities, such as hempcrete  building courses . Hempcrete  is a mix of hemp plant hurd (the plan’s woody inner core), a lime-based binder, and water. Wheelbarrows full of hempcrete. Photo courtesy of Jeff Walton Making a Difference “I believe we cannot have individual health and well-being without planetary health and well-being, and that yoga has much to offer in both respects. This requires extending yoga practice beyond awareness to what the Bhagavad Gita calls ‘skillful action.’ We can all make a positive difference, however small, within our own spheres of influence ... especially when we band together,” Clay says. *Yasmin Prabhudas   is a freelance journalist working mainly for nonprofit organizations, labor unions, the education sector, and government agencies.

New Study Raises Health Concerns  By Mark Smith* Gum chewing was once the epitome of casual cool . Pexels  For decades, chewing gum was the epitome of casual cool. But a new study has found that those who enjoy gum may be biting off more than they want to chew. A pilot study on microplastics by experts at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that a single piece of gum can release hundreds or even thousands of tiny plastic particles into the mouth as it is being chewed.  In their research, the team from UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering tested 10 popular chewing gum brands, half of which were marked as synthetic and five as “natural.”  As volunteers chewed each piece of gum, the team collected saliva samples at set intervals, then measured the amount and rate of change of released microplastics. The team discovered that, on average, 1 gram of gum released around 100 microplastic fragments, with some gums shedding more than 600 fragments per gram.  With a typical piece of gum weighing between 2 and 6 grams, it means a larger piece could release 3,000 particles. The researchers also found that 92% of microplastic particles are released during the first eight minutes of chewing. Chewing Remains Popular  Humans have been chewing on various saps and natural resins for millennia, but it was only in the post-World War I period that synthetic gum entered widespread use. With a global market totaling around $48 billion this  year alone, chewing gum remains popular. Significant growth is due to sugar-free oral health gums, which help neutralize plaque acid and reduce cavities, plaque, and gingivitis. In fact, “ The American Dental Association endorses chewing sugarfree gum for 20 minutes after meals as an effective way to maintain oral hygiene , ”  notes a recent Technavio market report.   In addition, there is increasing interest in gums that help people stop smoking as well as ones that have infused vitamins, teeth-whitening, or weight-loss properties—or new flavors that “shift”  from fruity to minty tastes. The biggest headaches of the chewing gun industry, according to market reports like Business Research (BR) Insights ,  have been consumer flight from the sugary gums and issues with gum disposal after use. The BR report noted that, according to the European Environmental Agency, “only 15% of consumers dispose of gum properly.” Synthetic and Natural Gums While natural gums use plant-based polymers such as chicle, synthetic alternatives use petroleum-derived plastic bases. Trends and tastes have spurred a partial return to some natural chewing ingredients, but both types remain popular. Chicle oozes from the pod of a sapodilla tree in Panama . Wikimedia  Speaking exclusively to The Earth & I , Professor Sanjay Mohanty, who led the UCLA pilot study, said his team was surprised to find both shed similar levels of microplastics in their experiments. “Surprisingly, we found that synthetic chewing gums released a similar number of microplastics as compared to natural or plant-based gums,” he said.  “Surprisingly, we found that synthetic chewing gums released a similar number of microplastics as compared to natural or plant-based gums.” “The average concentration of microplastics per gram of gum that we studied was 104.0 for synthetics and 95.8 for natural or plant-based gum.” The most abundant polymers for both types of gum were polyolefins, a group of plastics that includes polyethylene and polypropylene. Other polymers that appeared in both gum samples included polyethylene terephthalates (known as PET), polyacrylamides, and polystyrenes. As well as being surprised at the findings, the professor said mystery still surrounds the origins of the plastics in the “natural” gums.  “As synthetic gums are made with petrochemical polymers, we went in expecting to see comparatively much less microplastics to the natural gums tested. We do not know what the potential source of those microplastics were, in either type of gum.” One suggestion put forward by the team was that they may have been introduced during production or packaging processes. Dr. Sherri “Sam” Mason from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, is one of the world’s leading experts on microplastic pollution, with her work being instrumental in raising global awareness and driving policy changes.  When she read about the UCLA team’s research, she said she was not shocked. She told The Earth & I : “Sadly, I was not surprised at the findings. I was actually interviewed for a documentary called Dark Side of the Chew  back in 2014 in which I was asked about chewing gum.  “Most chewing gums, especially those that dominate the market, use plastics as the base. It is not a surprise that the friction associated with chewing would cause the release of microplastics.” Dr. Sherri Mason, microplastics pollution expert based at Gannon University. Photo provided by Sherri A. Mason Health Concerns Microplastics—defined as plastics measuring less than 5mm in length—are literally everywhere, from oceans to the atmosphere. They do not biodegrade and are shed by everyday products such as food packaging and plastic bottles.  Much of the controversy and concern around them stems from uncertainty. And while scientists have not established any direct effect of microplastics on humans, some studies  have begun to examine the correlation between microplastics in the human body and disease. “Data is connecting various gastrointestinal issues, like IBS and changes in gut microbiomes, with microplastics, Mason said. “Data is connecting various gastrointestinal issues, like IBS and changes in gut microbiomes, with microplastics.” “Any particle of plastic that is smaller than 100 microns, which is basically the width of a human hair, can make their way across the gastrointestinal track into the blood and carried throughout the body.  “Micro-and nano-plastics have been found within organs, like the liver and kidney, as well as having crossed barriers into the brain and across the placenta,” she said. “Their presence is being associated with various lung issues, like asthma and lung cancer, increases in blood plaques leading to heart disease, various neurological disorders, like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as fertility issues.” Professor Mohanty’s team presented the results of their pilot study at the American Chemical Society in San Diego. But he said the gum industry had not been in touch about the findings. The Earth & I  reached out to the International Chewing Gum Association, the global trade body for the industry, to request a comment on the research but did not receive a response. The professor added that he would like to look for even smaller particles.  “Our study could only resolve particles down to about 20 micrometers in diameter, due to limits with the spectroscopy technique we used. So, this study could have missed particles smaller than that.” Professor Sanjay Mohanty, who led the UCLA study. Image courtesy of UCLA The study did not measure toxicity; it only evaluated ingestion risk and found that both types of gum presented similar risks. In general, though, the team said products containing natural or plant-based materials may introduce fewer dissolved chemicals into the human body. Future Study Mason said there was enough data generally to understand there was a “negative impact” of plastics on human health.  But she added, “We needn't catastrophize—this isn't the end of the world as we know it—but we need to make changes now before things get worse.  “We should have a reasonable amount of concern and be pushing for societal changes, like precautionary policies, to reduce our exposure, especially within the agricultural and consumables markets,” she said. *Mark Smith   is a journalist and author from the UK. He has written on subjects ranging from business and technology to world affairs, history, and popular culture for the Guardian, BBC, Telegraph, and magazines in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

$80 Billion of New Emissions-Free Reactors to Be Paid For Cooling towers at a nuclear power plant. Mingo123/Pixabay The US government recently announced what it termed an $80 billion “strategic partnership” to accelerate the deployment of nuclear power in support of artificial-intelligence infrastructure. In collaboration with industry players such as Brookfield Asset Management, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Cameco Corporation, the initiative targets the creation of “at least $80 billion of new reactors” in the United States. Brookfield announced the initiative was related to Trump's May 2025 executive order to have 10 "new large reactors with complete design under construction by 2030." Beyond the headline dollar figure, what stands out is the environmental dimension : Nuclear energy offers a proven route to large-scale, low-carbon baseload power—critical for both decarbonizing the grid and meeting rapidly growing demand from AI data centers. Why Nuclear Matters for the Climate Nuclear plants generate electricity with virtually no direct CO₂ emissions during operation—making them an essential complement to renewables when addressing climate change. The US Department of Energy’s nuclear energy deployment framework sets an ambition to deploy 200 GW of new capacity by 2050, including large reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs), and micro-reactors. SMRs in particular offer advantages : modular factory fabrication, lower upfront costs, siting flexibility, and compatibility with industrial or remote-site power applications. In the context of AI and datacenters—which are projected to consume a growing share of US electricity—the stability and scale of nuclear baseload power enable tech infrastructure to expand without conflicting with decarbonization goals. One analysis notes that major tech firms are turning to nuclear to meet the energy hunger of “hyperscale” AI-datacenter growth. Waste and Reuse   One common concern is radioactive waste. It’s important to note that advanced reactor designs and fast‐neutron technologies promise to recycle nuclear-fuel components, reduce long-term radiotoxicity, and shrink required storage timelines. For instance, fast‐reactor technology  can reuse spent nuclear fuel and generate more fuel than it consumes. While nuclear is not a silver bullet, the current initiative represents a meaningful environmental opportunity. Large-scale zero-carbon power generation, when matched with next-generation reactor technologies and AI-driven infrastructure growth, is increasingly seen as helping to pivot  energy systems toward sustainability rather than lock dependence on fossil-fuel plants. With discipline in deployment, siting, regulation and waste oversight, nuclear power may well become a cornerstone of a climate-resilient energy future.

Environmental and Medicinal Value Helps Power Growing Global Bamboo Market    Towering bamboo forest in South Korea . Wikimedia     As the global bamboo market expands toward an estimated $106.5 billion by 2029, this fast-growing plant is emerging as a powerful ally in climate mitigation, sustainable materials, and traditional health uses.      Long valued in many cultures for food, construction, and crafts, bamboo is increasingly recognized for its environmental and medicinal significance. According to the Bamboo Global Market Report 2025 , the bamboo market is expanding rapidly, driven not only by commercial demand but by rising environmental awareness and investment in more sustainable solutions.      This versatile plant offers ecosystem benefits that help protect soil and water resources and support biodiversity, while certain species and extracts have been used in traditional health practices for digestive support and nutrient provision.        Key environmental and medicinal data follow:      There are 127 genera and over 1,680 species of bamboo worldwide . The primary bamboo-producing nations are China, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Sri Lanka.   China’s bamboo market is the world’s largest in market share, at 59.3% in 2024. This is helped by favorable climate conditions, inexpensive labor, 5% of China’s total forest area being bamboo, and the presence of over 800 species of bamboo in China.     The global bamboo market is projected to grow from $74.5 billion (2024) to $79.3 billion in 2025, with expectations to reach approximately $106.5 billion by 2029. Growth drivers include versatility in applications (textiles, flooring, packaging, energy) and government support for sustainable resource use.   A properly managed hectare of bamboo can sequester between 10 to 30 tons of CO 2 annually, with a potential to reach 100 tons in optimal conditions. Other estimates suggest up to around 12 tons of carbon per hectare per year in optimal conditions. Compare that with a range of 3–5 tons of CO 2 for a young, growing temperate or tropical forest.    According to IKEA , b amboo’s rapid renewability—some species can grow nearly 1 meter a day—enables frequent harvesting without forest depletion. It can mature for harvest in 3–5 years and capture significant amounts of carbon immediately after planting. Timber, on the other hand, requires 10–30+ years to reach peak sequestration.    Though the world’s forested areas are decreasing dramatically, bamboo forests are growing at a rate of 3% per year .    The global market for bamboo shoots is expected to grow from $2.8 billion in 2025 to about $4.2 billion by 2035.   According to Food Struct , bamboo shoots (all values are per 100 g raw unless otherwise noted) contain about 27 calories, 2.6 g of protein (about 5–6% daily value), and about 2.2 g (about 8% daily value) of fiber. They are also rich in vitamins (B1, B6) and minerals (copper, manganese) as well as antioxidants.      Bamboo is not a replacement for forests—but it is a carbon ally. For long-term carbon reservoirs, intact and well-managed forests remain essential.      Sources: https://product.sustainability-directory.com/learn/how-much-carbon-dioxide-can-one-hectare-of-bamboo https://www.factmr.com/report/bamboo-shoots-market Food Struct https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5285960 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10647463/

Stopping the Apocalypticism and Letting Market Forces Achieve the Energy Transition By David Dodge* Michael Liebreich speaks to an audience about how the world’s energy grids can transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Courtesy of Michael Liebreich With the election of President Donald Trump, the United States began halting action on climate change and retreating to fossil fuels, leaving some to wonder if the transition from coal, oil, and gas to renewable energy is dead . The world’s focus shifted almost overnight from concern about the impacts of climate change to anxiety about the global economy as the US president launched trade wars around the world. Even in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney, known for his work on climate change , began focusing on trade relationships and “nation building” projects that emphasize fossil fuel development. The new framing has led former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and conservative analysts to call for climate resets or a new kind of “climate realism.” Michael Liebreich is an expert in energy transition, host of the Cleaning Up podcast, and founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In his bid to take control of the “reset” narrative, he’s written two long essays in Bloomberg New Energy Finance: The Pragmatic Climate Reset – Part I and The Pragmatic Climate Reset – Part II . Inclusive, Achievable, Affordable He says it’s time for us to change our approach to climate change to something that’s more inclusive, has achievable goals, and is affordable and pragmatic. In his version of the climate reset, we stop demonizing people; we stop scaring people with hard-to-defend, worst-case scenarios; we end absolutism; and we adopt a plan that is achievable and, above all, affordable. Indeed, climate change does tend to divide people into those who fear end-of-the-world scenarios and those who are simply worried about their jobs and families. Liebreich says the scary, apocalyptic scenarios are too easy to shoot down, and all-or-nothing goals, such as 100% renewable energy and bringing an abrupt end to fossil fuels, are deeply polarizing and neither pragmatic nor affordable. Climate activists have been vociferous, sometimes to the point of demonizing opponents, in their push for a public policy that eliminates the use of fossil fuels. Karola G/Pexels Narrative Wars “You’ve got one narrative, which is promoted heavily from the White House and the US, but also by a lot of players in the fossil fuel industry, that says the transition has failed. Nada, it’s failed, it’s over. Forget it. It was always a foolish dream. It was always childish. Look at fossils. They are 80% of [worldwide energy use] still,” says Liebreich. “The other narrative that is out there and has carried us very far over the last few decades is that there’s a transition. The clean stuff just gets cheaper and cheaper and cheaper, and we will transition fully, and we must transition fully. And it’s incredibly scary if we don’t transition, because—and then fill in the blank of what is the latest scary story.” Liebreich says we need to stop the political discourse that says, “If you don’t agree with the transition, you’re an evil person and you have to have your car and your boiler and your furnace confiscated.” Has the 1.5°C Goal Perished? “Rumors of the death of the transition have been greatly exaggerated,” Liebreich says. “And here’s why. If you believe that the transition is 1.5°, which means net zero globally by 2050, then yes, I’m afraid the transition is dead.” Indeed, in 2024, for the first time, the annual global average temperature was 1.55°C warmer. But Liebreich says the 1.5° goal was problematic from the beginning. In fact, he exclaimed back in 2011, “ Ya basta ” (enough already), in effect saying, “Let’s call an end to the COP process due to its failure to deliver”—COP being the annual Conference of the Parties, which oversees climate negotiations under the 1995 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 2015, Liebreich ate crow when the Paris Accord was forged, which called for a goal of holding climate change to 2°C to avoid the most disastrous impacts. The 2° goal was at least grounded in the possibility of success, but small island nations pushed back hard, with help from Canada’s then–Environment Minister Catherine McKenna. They wanted a goal of 1.5° to avoid disastrous flooding of their nations. In the end, the Paris goal was 2°, with a compromise aspiration of 1.5°, which satisfied the island nations. But soon 1.5° became the rallying cry and the de facto goal of the world, despite no robust evidence that it could be achieved. It would have required the retirement of 45% of the fossil fuel emissions by 2030, which Liebreich says no leaders of petrostates could or would ever do—unless they were OK with economic collapse. The 1.5° goal was an absolute make-or-break goal, driven by the possibility of real and terrible impacts, but was it achievable? This led to 10 years of work on achieving the impossible, which Liebreich says led to all sorts of important innovations and achievements. But as it turns out the premise was prohibitively costly. Analysis suggested 2° was achievable with a carbon price of $225/ton, whereas getting to 1.5° would require a price of $6,050/ton, something that just wasn’t going to happen. The goals and the actions were driven by the very real potential impacts. But the calls for 100% renewable energy, an immediate end to the use of fossil fuels, and hard-to-defend worst-case scenarios were all part of the “absolutism” that was so deeply polarizing. Solar farms, such as this one near the town of Claresholm in southern Alberta, Canada—with sheep foraging between the rows—are rapidly being built in many areas of the world. Photo David Dodge,  GreenEnergyFutures.ca . Dawn of the Pragmatic Energy Transition “Let me say first of all, I want to make it very, very clear: What I’m not advocating for is slowing down,” says Liebreich. Much of the criticism of the energy transition rests on a misunderstanding of what is actually being replaced. As Liebreich argues, critics rely on what he calls the “ primary energy fallacy ”: the assumption that renewables must somehow substitute for today’s vast levels of primary energy use. In reality, primary energy demand is a legacy accounting measure from the fossil-fuel era that includes a tracking of a huge amount of waste—especially heat lost in combustion, power generation, and transport. Clean technologies like LEDs, electric vehicles, and heat pumps deliver the same energy services—light, mobility, and comfort—using far less energy in the first place. When critics cite primary energy figures to claim renewables are too small or the transition too costly, they are counting inefficiency as necessity and mistaking investments in a more efficient system for runaway costs. Liebreich says demand for energy is growing at about 3.3% a year, but that figure does not consider energy efficiency, which translates into a lower required growth rate of just 2%. And, he says, clean energy has already shown its potential for exponential growth: If we just let it grow at say 5% per year, fossil fuels will be squeezed out of the system not by 2050 but by 2065. “I’m just saying that a much more realistic model of the transition is that the clean stuff just grows faster than demand for a very long time,” says Liebreich. Pragmatic Growth of Clean Energy Looks Like This Instead of simply shooting for 100% renewable energy today, Liebreich suggests, a pragmatic climate reset would mean using some natural gas and shooting for 90%–95% instead of 100%. That one small change means the transition could be quick, effective, and affordable. How it works would be simple. Instead of using coal or combined-cycle gas plants , which are quite inflexible and lock localities into very high levels of fossil fuel usage, there would be a pivot to a new technology called flexible gas plants . (Legacy coal and gas power plants have to run constantly, wasting much energy and electricity when the demand for it isn’t there. They have to be kept running because it would take a long time to start them up or shut them down.) Liebreich points to a Finnish company called Wärtsilä Corporation that makes reciprocating (flexible) gas engines that can start and stop quickly, providing lower-emitting gas electricity during brief periods when the sun isn’t shining or the wind not blowing, thus allowing renewable energy to achieve its maximum grid input the rest of the time. Liebreich interviewed Anders Lindberg , the president of Wärtsilä, on Liebreich’s Cleaning Up  podcast. Lindberg used the real-world example of Chile, where wind and solar already generate 75% of the nation’s electricity. The other 25% comes from coal. He said that, if the coal plants were replaced with flexible gas plants, the latter would have to run for much less time than the coal facilities and would still be able to ensure that the grid received an uninterrupted supply of electricity and was kept stable. “You would use it [the flexible gas] 4% of the time. So, you’ve gone from 25% coal to 4% gas. It’s a huge, colossal climate win,” says Liebreich. Liebreich says fugitive natural gas emissions still need to be dealt with, and that he’s not talking about using natural gas for heating buildings, which would produce emissions nearly impossible to avoid. And besides, building heating can and will be done with heat pumps, both geoexchange and air-source heat pumps, which electrify heating very efficiently. Isn’t a Bigger Grid More Expensive? Electricity from renewable energy is following a rapid upward track and is expected to claim an increasingly larger share of the market as the years pass. ©International Energy Agency/CC by 4.0 “Everybody thinks a bigger grid must be more expensive,” says Liebreich. But he calls electrification the “gift that keeps on giving.” As transport is electrified, a massive system of batteries is created, and as heat is electrified, thermal storage results, both which are not grid-funded resources, but on the other hand are extremely useful to the grid and grid resilience. “So, you have this virtuous circle where the more you electrify, the cheaper the electricity gets,” says Liebreich. The cost of the energy transition has been greatly exaggerated, he says. People may spend billions on electric cars, but that’s instead of spending billions on internal combustion vehicles. While it’s true some coal plants are being retired early, much of the so-called costs of the energy transition are actually investments by companies building a new economic future. Sales of electric cars are increasing exponentially, putting inevitable downward pressure on the use of gasoline vehicles. International Energy Agency/CC by 4.0 As Liebreich says, rumors of the death of the energy transition have been greatly exaggerated. Seeking Highest-Probability Pathways A transition that is fast enough to hold climate change to 1.5° may be dead, says Liebreich, but the “transition, like a tortoise, is absolutely not dead.” All clean energy needs to do is maintain an annual growth rate of 5% or more to complete the energy transition—not by 2050, but it is still possible to keep to within about 2° of global warming. This is not, Liebreich maintains, a call for complacency: On the contrary, it’s fighting for a transition using the highest-probability pathways to success. Speaking to the writer, Liebreich says, “You and I are of a certain age. We were never going to see net zero globally, right? Not without medical miracles. … But even if we could live in a world [with a] 95% or 90% or even an 80% clean global economy, I think we could be able to pat ourselves on the back and say, ‘Good job.’” *David Dodge  is an environmental journalist, photojournalist, and the host and producer of GreenEnergyFutures.ca , a series of microdocumentaries on clean energy, transportation, and buildings. He’s worked for newspapers and published magazines and produced more than 350 award-winning EcoFile radio programs on sustainability for CKUA Radio.

Alpine Voices Turn Mountains into Places of Prayer, Joy, and Shared Belonging By Jana Perez-Angelo* Mountains and slopes in the Saas Valley area in southwest Switzerland’s Alps. ©Saastal Tourismus AG At dawn in the German-speaking Alps, the world begins in silence. The sky’s first pink breath brushes the knife-edge peaks, and the crisp air carries only the faint clang of distant cowbells. Then a voice rises, not loud but confident, its notes curling upward like smoke toward the ridgelines. Another voice answers. Soon two or three weave together, a trail-side chorus drifting through the valley. For centuries, this is how Alpine mornings have begun, with song offered to the mountains. It is a gentle reminder that, in these high places, music is as much a part of the ecosystem as snowmelt and wind. It’s truly the case that “the hills are alive with the sound of music,” as Julie Andrews sang in the classic film The Sound of Music . It also shows how communal song, shared walking, and mindful presence can cultivate a population’s love for the Earth and deepen their determination to protect and take care of it. For in the Alps, music is not just heard; it is breathed with the mountains and offered like prayer to the sky. Songs as Reverence, and Reverence as Ecology From the Swiss ranz des vaches  melodies and songs to Austrian yodels  to the German Wanderlieder songs, Alpine hiking and folk-song traditions have long shaped and been shaped by the relationship between people and landscape. Alpine folk songs rarely describe nature from a distance. They speak from within it. Lyrics reference mountain winds as companions, meadows as resting places, streams as teachers whose “lively water shows the way.” One of the best-known Wanderlieder, Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust  ( To Wander Is the Miller's Delight ) revels in the joy of moving water, working millstones, and the delight of wandering outdoors, not as escapism but as a return to one’s rightful element. Four hikers climb a trail on Monte Moro, a mountain in the Alps on the border between Italy and Switzerland. ©Saastal Tourismus AG One of the best-known Wanderlieder is Der fröhliche Wanderer  ( The Happy Wanderer ), which well illustrates the reverential joy of the mountain hiker as he or she bursts with song. The English lyrics run in part as follows: I love to go a-wandering, Along the mountain track, And as I go, I love to sing, My knapsack on my back. Chorus: Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Val-deri, Val-dera. My knapsack on my back. And the concluding verse is: Oh, may I go a-wandering Until the day I die! Oh, may I always laugh and sing, Beneath God’s clear blue sky! Many mountain songs express reverence, not worshiping nature as a deity but honoring it as a gift. They reveal an implicit ecological ethic, gratitude for weather, respect for animals, and awareness of one’s vulnerability. In Kein schöner Land  ( No More Beautiful Country ), singers gather beneath the linden tree, praising the beauty of creation “as God’s grace permits.” The spiritual undertone is clear: Time in nature is sacred, communal, and worthy of blessing. Scholars who study sacred soundscapes, such as those writing in the MDPI journal Religions  (2023), note that mountains inherently create conditions for a sense of the divine: vastness, silence, echo, and light . Alpine songs magnify this. When voices rise amid stone and sky, the sound becomes a kind of offering. Many hikers agree with St. Augustine that to sing is to “ pray twice ” and is a way of aligning breath with sun and air. A Braunvieh cow, wearing the traditional cowbell, in the Engadin valley of the Swiss Alps. Even today, farmers let their cows graze the slopes and valleys of the area. Daniel Schwen/Wikipedia Echoes of Herding Bells The roots of Alpine song lie not in concert halls but in meadows and cattle pastures. Long before hiking became recreation, mountain life demanded constant movement, herding cows to higher pastures, navigating ridges, calling across deep valleys. The ranz des vaches, songs that constituted the traditional Swiss herding cry, were originally melodic signals to guide cows and communicate between herders. Each valley had its own variant, shaped by dialect, terrain, and the acoustics of the cliffs. Research from the Urner Institut Kulturen der Alpen  at the University of Lucerne (Switzerland) shows how deeply these forms are tied to local identity. These calls evolved into melodic expressions recognizable today as early forms of yodeling. Contrary to popular caricature, yodeling is not merely novelty, it is a functional, embodied technique. It shifts rapidly between chest and head voice, allowing sound to jump ridgelines and return as an echo. In this sense, the early Alpine song was a dialogue with the land itself—the singer called, the mountain answered. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Emily Loeffler argues in Mountain Geist ,  these practices had shaped a distinct Alpine musical identity, rooted in movement, seasonal migration, and the rhythms of pastoral life. The mountains were not backdrop but partner, shaping timbre, tempo, and even the physical stance of the singer. When German-speaking Romantic thinkers discovered the Alps, they reimagined wandering as a spiritual and philosophical pursuit. When German-speaking Romantic thinkers discovered the Alps, they reimagined wandering as a spiritual and philosophical pursuit. This merging of pastoral practicality and Romantic idealism birthed the Wanderlieder hiking songs, which celebrated freedom, beauty, and communion with nature. The Shared Ritual of Singing While Hiking While herding shaped early Alpine music, modern hiking culture also plays a vital role. In Germany, the late-19th-century Wandervogel movement —formed of youth critical of industrial life who sought renewal in nature—revived communal singing on trails. They sang ancient folk songs and newly composed Wanderlieder, and harmonized at mountaintop rest stops. Their goal was simple: reconnecting young people like themselves with land, community, and joy. Today, this tradition continues. Walk any popular trail in Bavaria or Tyrol  (Bavaria is a state in southeast Germany and Tyrol a region in northern Italy and western Austria) and you might hear a group pause to sing a familiar refrain. Song keeps rhythm on steep climbs, lightens the pack, and invites camaraderie among strangers. The act of singing together while ascending echoes the communal labor of earlier generations who carried milk, tools, or firewood up the same paths. Music also slows the hiker’s perception, turning a strenuous trek into attentive presence. When you sing, you breathe differently. You notice air quality, slope, and echo. You attune to weather shifts and the quiet underfoot crunch of stone. In this way, Alpine songs make hikers not just observers of nature but participants in its unfolding. Instruments That Carry the Landscape In this video , a Bavarian Volksmusik band plays Oktoberfest polka music with some traditional Alpine instruments: accordion, tuba, and guitar. Certain Alpine instruments  evolved precisely because they resonate with mountain environments. The alphorn , with history and acoustics described in organology.net , stretches as long as 4 meters (13 feet) and sends warm, resonant notes across great distances. Historically used for signaling, its tone is shaped by valley acoustics; many alphorn pieces imitate natural patterns such as bird calls or the slow roll of thunder. The hackbrett (hammered dulcimer) produces a shimmering, water-like sound that mirrors the flow of streams. The accordion  and fiddle , carried easily to mountain huts, became staples of communal music-making. Recordings from Smithsonian Folkways’ Mountain Songs and Yodeling of the Alps reveal how seamlessly these timbres merge with open-air environments. Together with the human voice, especially the yodel, their tones create a soundscape inseparable from the Alps themselves. Alphorn players at the Grindelwald Alphorn Festival, Switzerland. Cristo Vlahos/Wikipedia Reshaping Traditions for a New Generation Far from fading, Alpine song traditions are experiencing renewal. Youth choirs in Austria and Switzerland compete in yodeling festivals. In Bavaria, hiking clubs blend traditional songs with new compositions about environmental stewardship. Tourism boards promote musical trails such as Tyrol’s Strasse der Lieder  (Road of Songs) , where trail markers teach songs that hikers can sing at designated viewpoints. Contemporary musicians fuse folk forms with jazz or electronic textures, introducing Alpine themes to global audiences. Rather than diluting the tradition, these fusions reveal its adaptability. They show that mountain music, like the ecosystems that inspired it, is alive, changing with climate and generational culture. This revival also reflects a wider longing to reconnect with the natural world. Studies in human ecology  note that folk songs encode ecological knowledge and emotional bonds with landscapes. In an era of ecological crisis, Alpine songs feel like reminders of older wisdom, the idea that delight in nature fosters responsibility for nature. Sunset over the Austrian Alps, where the mountains breathe and the world slows down. ©goodfon.com/landscapess Singing as Stewardship Music has always shaped human perceptions. In the Alps, songs teach that mountains are not places to exploit but venues to experience new life. The simple act of singing outdoors makes us better listeners. It encourages humility. When your voice mingles with wind and water, you sense your smallness, yet also you belong. This emotional connection is often what inspires people to protect fragile ecosystems. The Alps face warming temperatures, shrinking glaciers, and increased tourism pressure. Cultural traditions that deepen affection for these landscapes may be vital for their future. Alpine songs endure because they remind us that when we sing outdoors, we participate in a shared liturgy of stone, sky, and community. The mountains become not just landscapes to admire but places of prayer, joy, and belonging, where every step and every note can be an expression of love for the Earth that holds us. *Jana Perez-Angelo  is a Denver-based writer and multidisciplinary creative and digital strategist passionate about brand storytelling and purpose-driven content. Her work has been featured in Relevant Magazine, Medium, and Faithful Life.

Plant-based Food Manufacturing on a Roll High-protein tempeh burgers are made with a fermented soybean product. Wikimedia Vegetarians, vegans and others who don’t eat meat or dairy remain a growing market for food producers. A 2025 market report  finds that this consumer group—which also includes those who don’t eat eggs or seafood—is starting to steer away from processed (“artificial”) substitutes and move to fully plant-based products. Here are additional highlights about the global plant-based food market: The global plant-based food market was valued  at about $64.56 billion in 2025 and projected to reach around $109.86 billion by 2029. Future Market Insights reports  that the plant-based market is growing due to consumer interest in “healthier, climate-friendly, and ethically sourced diets.” Supermarkets occupy  39% of the plant-based market share. The US plant-based food market is expected to grow  at 12.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2025 to 2035, followed by South Korea at 12.2% and the EU at 12%. Those three nations, together with the UK and Japan, are driving the development of the plant-based food market, says Future Market Insights . Market forecasts emphasize plant-based offerings as part of mixed diets . For instance, about 25% of US consumers describe themselves as flexitarian. Only 3% say they are vegetarian—with 2% being vegan. Food manufacturers are using a larger variety of plant protein. Pea, soy and wheat are the top three ingredients in plant-based food, but fava bean, lentil, flaxseed, sunflower, and algae (and other aquatic plants like seaweed) are entering innovation pipelines. Pricing concerns remain: In a 2024 survey by Innova Market Insights, 38% of participants cited “price or value for money” as a barrier to adopting plant-based options. Branded plant-based sales dropped by 8.3% between 2022 and 2024. However, private label sales increased by 6.8% across six plant-based categories during the same period, according to Vegconomist .

Should Kinshasa Pursue Oil Exploration? Or ‘Conservation Financing’? By Dhanada K. Mishra* Gorillas and their habitat could be significantly impacted by exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Cuvette Centrale wetlands. Francesco Ungaro/Pexels Today, there are two kinds of existential cry resounding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a central African nation synonymous with ecological and mineral riches. One is represented by Jane Goodall, a pioneering primatologist who spent much of her professional life in the DRC but who passed away  in October 2025 at age 91. Her role as a global environmental conscience and her legacy of defending great apes and their habitats are colliding with the resource development plans of the DRC government. The nation is caught between two forces, seeking, on the one hand, to protect its wealth of ecological treasures and, on the other, to exploit its vast reserves of   copper, cobalt, diamonds, gold, coltan, and tantalum—and possibly oil and gas—worth an estimated $24 trillion . But the development plans may also destabilize the environment for a variety of endangered mammals and other wildlife, sparking the current controversy. Opening the Forest Gates In 2025, DRC authorities launched an unprecedented oil and gas licensing round. The “auction,” which dramatically expands a tender from 2022, puts up more than half the country’s land—including millions of acres of pristine rainforest and centuries-old peatlands—for fossil fuel exploration . Conservationists note that a move like this also places roughly 306 million acres at risk, much of it home to endangered mountain gorillas, bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees), and Eastern lowland gorillas. They further warn that this is a monumental threat to one of Earth’s irreplaceable carbon sinks—the Cuvette Centrale peatlands , which hold an estimated 30 gigatons  of carbon in an anaerobic lockbox beneath its vast boggy upper layer.   The government … argues that oil production can be done responsibly, leaving only a tiny environmental footprint, and could finally lift the DRC onto the world stage. Civil society groups, both within the DRC and internationally, called for  an immediate halt to the auction, warning the fallout could devastate both biodiversity and the lives of nearly 40 million Congolese—many of them Indigenous—who depend on these forests. Yet the government, caught between much of its population’s desperate poverty and the land’s untapped natural wealth, counters  that economic sovereignty, development, and humanitarian relief must come first. It argues that oil production can be done responsibly, leaving only a tiny environmental footprint, and could finally lift the DRC onto the world stage, funding desperately needed infrastructure, schools, and jobs.  It points to the country’s rank as the second-poorest globally , with a gross domestic product per capita of only $753 and an average annual income of $449. In 2023, nearly 75% of the 112 million Congolese lived on less than $2.15 a day, the international threshold for extreme poverty. This video provides an overview of the environmental issues surrounding the Cuvette Centrale peatlands. A Clash of Imperatives The DRC government points out  the seeming hypocrisy of wealthier countries: Western nations, it notes, grew rich on oil and minerals and now urge the DRC to serve as a carbon sink for others’ carbon dioxide emissions.   Regarding oil exploration, officials promise robust standards —environmental assessments, modern drilling methods , legal protections. Oil firms tout advanced technologies that pare down the footprint  of exploration, such as multiwell pads  and directional drilling , to reduce surface disruption. For instance, multiwell pads, as opposed to traditional single-well pads, reduce the surface area required for drilling operations by consolidating multiple wells at a single site; this has  proven more efficient and cost-effective as well.   Instead of conventional boreholes, which are vertical, directional drilling enables the borehole to be intentionally steered in a specific direction. Several underground reservoirs can be tapped from a single location. This reduces ecological impact by minimizing land clearing, limiting habitat fragmentation, reducing wildlife disturbance, and allowing operators to avoid drilling directly in sensitive environments. There are many startups that are exploring different aspects of the oil and gas exploration industry to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact. But skepticism runs deep. Reports  by Earth Insight  and partner organizations  show that, even with best practices, oil extraction brings infrastructure—roads, pipelines, settlements—that lets poachers, miners, and loggers into previously inaccessible wildlands. The mere presence of oil blocks mapped across gorilla habitats and peatland basins guarantees a cascade of collateral impacts . And while firms might pledge compensation or reforestation, enforcement remains weak in a nation struggling with corruption  and scant resources.   DRC government corruption, in fact, is pervasive and well documented. The country ranks near the bottom of global corruption indices , and networks of politically connected elites have embezzled and laundered  public funds. Moreover, multinational companies have admitted bribing officials for mining rights, and state-owned enterprises such as Gecamines have been subject to major embezzlement investigations. Corruption reportedly permeates public services and undermines governance at all levels . Oil pipelines and related infrastructure such as roads and settlements allow access to wilderness areas for those who might engage in legal or illegal harvesting activities. Willian Mattiola/Pexels Climate at a Tipping Point Perhaps the most profound implication of oil and gas drilling is for the climate. The Cuvette Centrale peatlands store more carbon than all the trees of the Congo Basin combined. Disturbing the land in any extensive way could trigger emissions dwarfing the nation’s annual output, destabilizing one of the globe’s key “ carbon brakes .” Researchers warn  that drilling infrastructure could degrade these fragile wetlands, releasing methane  and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and accelerating the very climate crisis the world is seeking to prevent.   International diplomats, from the European Union to the UN’s REDD program  (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), have urged the DRC to preserve these lands and instead pursue “ conservation financing ”—payments for ecosystem services, carbon markets, sustainable ecotourism, and development aid that reward countries not for exploitation but for stewardship.   Who Gets to Decide? One of the sharpest battlegrounds is rights and representation for Indigenous communities. Many of the lands at stake are home to people whose ancestry stretches back centuries. Under international law, their “ free, prior, and informed consent ” is required for extraction projects. Yet, according to local NGOs, consultation has often been cursory or bypassed entirely. Legal protections on paper may fray in the weeds of distant provinces where oil interests and local powerbrokers hold sway.   Under international law, [Indigenous people’s] “free, prior, and informed consent” is required for extraction projects. These issues—enforcement, representation, benefit sharing—are not unique to the DRC. They echo in rainforests from Brazil to Borneo, wherever ancient lands are recast as grids on a resource map.   A World on Edge In this sense, the battle over Congo’s wildlands is universal. Even the most iconic, “protected” places face relentless pressure.   In November 2025, US President Donald Trump ignited fresh controversy by resurrecting plans to open up pristine stretches of California and Oregon’s coastlines for oil exploration and drilling —the first such move in decades. His plan is intended to ensure US energy dominance and would permit 21 sales off the coast of Alaska starting next year, seven in the Gulf of America, and six in the Pacific Ocean, from northern to southern California. As in the DRC, this plan has provoked outrage from state governments, environmental groups, and local residents, who warn such action threatens both biodiversity and the region’s climate credentials.   Opponents say the US government’s plan would expose more than a billion acres of US offshore waters to fossil fuel development, including California’s legendary Pacific coast and Oregon’s marine sanctuaries. A bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee, rests on a tree branch in a DRC rainforest. USO/iStock They argue  this would lock America more deeply into high-carbon infrastructure at a time when the world’s carbon budget is vanishing and when adoption of renewable energy  is increasing, driven by lower cost and environmental appeal. The drama in Washington and Kinshasa, though continents apart, is a mirror: Wherever there is oil, there is a struggle for control over nature, the climate, and the meaning of “progress.”   Sustainable Paths Forward Are there alternatives? The DRC has begun to explore conservation-linked revenues —selling “rainforest credits” on international carbon markets, attracting funding for forest protection, and growing the ecotourism sector. But these markets are in their infancy, and rich nations have a mixed record  on delivering promised climate finance.   Taking the long view, however, although conservation-linked revenue streams for less-developed nations are currently smaller than fossil fuel income, projections suggest they could become economically significant if carbon markets and biodiversity finance scale rapidly. Analysis by MSCI estimates the global voluntary carbon-credit market could reach up to $100 billion annually by 2050, providing substantial revenue for nature-based climate solutions. Meanwhile, ecosystem services (the overall benefits provided to humankind by nature) have been valued at over $150 trillion  per year, illustrating the vast economic potential of conserving biodiversity. Scaling biodiversity finance to meet international goals will require mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars  annually, indicating that under ambitious market growth scenarios, conservation-linked revenues could approach or rival income from extractive sectors over the long term. With the rise of renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, etc., the future of fossil fuel–based energy as a revenue source is far from guaranteed. Consumption of renewable energy is increasing steadily, is projected to be 20% of total energy consumption  by 2030, and is expected to drive down the use of fossil fuels in percentage terms by 2050. Thus, even though there is today a voraciously increasing demand for energy and electricity worldwide, fossil fuels’ share of that market is trending down. Today’s Choices Loom over the Future The DRC’s oil and gas licensing round illustrates the complexity of energy, climate, development, and good-governance choices facing countries with large untapped resources and globally significant ecosystems. Outcomes will depend on a combination of exploration results, the rigor of regulatory implementation, the effectiveness of low‑impact technologies, the quality of community consultation and benefit sharing, and the availability of credible alternatives through conservation finance, renewable energy substitutes, and broader economic diversification.​​ For policymakers, investors, and communities alike, the central question is how to reconcile immediate economic aspirations with long‑term stewardship of forests, peatlands, and wildlife that play a critical role far beyond national borders. The decisions made affecting the DRC’s Congo Basin over the coming years will help shape both the country’s development trajectory and the global response to biodiversity loss and climate change. At such an inflection point, it’s good to recall Jane Goodall, who once said, “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” *Dhanada Kanta Mishra  is a PhD in civil engineering from the University of Michigan and is currently working as the managing director of a Hong Kong–based AI startup for building technology for the sustainability of built infrastructure ( www.raspect.ai ). He writes on environmental issues, sustainability, the climate crisis, and built infrastructure .

Alpine snowmaking machine at work . iStock   Ski resorts increasingly rely on artificial snowmaking and often build mountain reservoirs to supply water. Now there’s growing concern about putting such water demands on already fragile mountain hydrological systems.     A 2025 study p ublished in Ecological Economics examines data from 35 ski resorts over nine seasons, using modeling to assess how reservoir construction affects water withdrawals, especially during low-flow periods. The findings challenge the current assumption that reservoirs reduce environmental pressure. Instead, as temperatures warm, ski resorts may need ever greater amounts of reservoir water over time.    The study’s findings are important because ski resort operators are seeing a reduction in natural snow cover, causing them to increasingly rely on snowmaking, which is possible down to a maximum of −2 °C (28 °F).  Here are some key data insights from the study:  The seasonal natural snow reliability index for the 35 resorts ranges from 4% to 85%, with an average of 61%.    The French Alps have approximately 136 reservoirs, with a combined storage capacity of nearly 7.3 million m 3  (19.2 billion gallons)    On average, ski resorts withdraw 212,113 cubic meters (56 million gallons) of water per year for snowmaking.   Among the 35 ski resorts studied, a 1% increase in reservoir capacity is associated with a 0.28% increase in low-flow period water withdrawals (typically from December to March).    Over the longer term, the effect grows. The same 1% increase in reservoir capacity corresponds to a 0.4% increase in low-flow period withdrawals. In other words, rather than alleviating stress on water sources during dry periods, expanding reservoir capacity tends to encourage increased water use—potentially exacerbating low-flow period conditions.    Reservoirs are often promoted by ski-lift operators as part of “environmental commitment” or climate change adaptation strategies, but the empirical evidence indicates they may contribute to future water-use conflicts.    Canadian ski resorts are currently estimated to use around 43.4 million cubic meters (11.4 billion gallons) of water for snowmaking per annum, with predicted increases ranging from 55% to 97% by 2050.   Reservoir capacity has grown: In 2010, ski resorts had a storage capacity of 2.22 million cubic meters (586 million gallons) of water, which increased to 3.54 million cubic meters (935 million gallons) in 2021.

Community and Household Solar Is Electrifying Remote Communities in Underdeveloped Nations By Rick Laezman* An electric light allows a seamstress in the village of Kasakula, Malawi, to work after sunset, increasing her family’s income. Courtesy of SolarAid/Kondwani Jere Electricity is life-transformative. It can bring people and families from a literal “dark” age and open up for them an array of new possibilities in education, work, friendship, family, and health. This is what the people of an increasing number of rural, remote communities in less-developed areas of the world are experiencing as various organizations bring solar technology to their doorstep. Two villages highlight this progress: Vila Limeira in the Amazonas state of Brazil and Kasakula, Malawi. In a time of extraordinary technological progress, extreme poverty is still the norm in many parts of the globe. According to the International Energy Agency , 730 million people  lacked access to electricity in 2024 .  This is 9% of the global population  of 8.2 billion. A video  explaining the electrification of the Amazon riverside village of Vila Limeira, Brazil. Shining a Light in Amazonia One area that is benefiting tremendously from rural electrification efforts is the Amazon rainforest. Eighty percent  of the Amazon River’s 4,000 miles lies in Brazil, along with much of the Amazon rainforest and watershed. The country has a robust electrical system, but there are still hundreds of thousands of people in remote rainforest communities without access to electricity. According to Alessandra Mathyas, a conservation analyst at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Brazil, the main reason for this is the distance involved in crossing forests and rivers with transmission infrastructure. It “would cause significant environmental damage and would provide little financial return” for the utilities that provide the infrastructure, she says. [Brazil] has a robust electrical system, but there are still hundreds of thousands of people  in remote rainforest communities without access to electricity. Recognizing this, the Brazilian government in 2003 launched a program called Luz para Todos (Light for All) . The program provided funding to expand electrical access into remote rural communities. It emphasized the expansion of networks, on-site photovoltaic (solar) systems, and minigrids powered by solar and biomass generation. More than 20 years later, the program is considered a success, with more than 20 million rural households now connected. Mathyas notes that the government program has invested primarily in individual photovoltaic systems. She adds that while these systems provide some electricity to families and communities, she believes they are “insufficient to ensure a good standard of living or to stimulate productive activities.” To help fill this gap, WWF has embraced minigrids to provide sustainable electricity to homes and communities that are typically located in clusters. Mathyas says, “They provide greater power for productive uses” and “continuous, reliable service to families.” In 2021, WWF implemented a 32 kW microgrid powered by solar photovoltaic panels in Vila Limeira,  a small, riverside community of 90 people in southern Amazonas state. The project was the result of careful planning, collaboration, and involvement from the community's residents. First, Mathyas and the WWF conducted a survey of energy needed for homes and local agricultural production, which is the primary source of income for the community. The survey also included the local school, community center, and church. It pointed toward a photovoltaic minigrid—rather than individual-home solar panels—as the best solution for the community. Residents helped with the installation by preparing the site for the new system. They constructed a storage space for the batteries and, with the help of the WWF, trained two individuals in system maintenance, including monitoring battery performance, consumption, and charging. Additional video  insights and information about the electrification success in Vila Limeira. The minigrid has been a success. It allowed Vila Limeira to become the first 100% solar-powered community in the region. The benefits of this transition have been tremendous. The minigrid allowed the community to wean itself off of generators powered by very expensive and dirty diesel fuel and provided electricity continuously rather than for short increments of only a few hours at a time. Small things, like a water fountain with cold running water in the school and a lighted kitchen at dinnertime, became realities. Residents no longer had to travel down to the river to wash clothes because now they could use appliances in their homes. The grid has also helped the community economically. Residents have achieved great savings on their energy costs, and the increased efficiency in their agricultural production has boosted their access to markets and supported plans for expansion. “This project can inspire Brazil and other countries in the Amazon to bring affordable energy to places that are still without electricity.” “This project can inspire Brazil and other countries in the Amazon to bring affordable energy to places that are still without electricity,” said Mathyas. Other organizations have adopted similar approaches in the region. According to Roxani Roushas with the United Nations Development Program’s Rome Centre for Climate Action and Energy Transition, “traditional grid expansion is often not technically, financially, or environmentally feasible” in remote rural communities. She adds that in these locations, “decentralized renewable energy solutions become essential.” These include minigrids, solar home systems, hybrid systems, and other stand-alone technologies. A view of Kasakula village, Malawi, during the daytime. Courtesy of SolarAid/Kondwani Jere One program that has successfully adopted this approach has been the Aylluq Q’anchaynin  program in the Indigenous community of Alto Mishagua in Peru. Led by six college students at the Federal University for Latin American Integration (UNILA) in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, the program installed a complete solar energy system to power 40 households in the community. A view of Kasakula village, Malawi (with the benefit of recent full solar electrification) at night.  Courtesy of SolarAid/Kondwani Jere Beyond bringing reliable access to electricity, … education, communications, emergency response, public services, and social programs have all improved. The program has seen many benefits. Beyond bringing reliable access to electricity for 40 families, it has strengthened the community’s autonomy through self-sufficient energy generation. Education, communications, emergency response, public services, and social programs have all improved. Families also have cut down on fuel consumption and long trips via riverboat to cities for the things they need. As Roushas points out, “the impact goes far beyond energy.” Sunshine in the Sub-Sahara   More than 5,000 miles and an ocean away, solar energy is also improving the lives of residents in another continent. Sadly, poverty and lack of access to electricity are pervasive in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Bank , the region is home to nearly 60% of the world’s population living below the international poverty line. Many of the countries in the region also rank among the world’s poorest. Malawi, for example, is considered the fourth-poorest country in the world, also according to the World Bank . Heavy reliance on agriculture and vulnerability to the extreme effects of climate change leave more than 70% of the nation’s population in poverty. Here, too, organizations have stepped in to address the problem. Sustainable Energy for All  (SEforAll) is an independent international organization created by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to accelerate affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. It emphasizes evidence-driven planning, policy support, and finance mobilization. In Malawi, SEforAll helped launch the Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) in 2022. It is a unified planning framework that combines electrification expansion, clean cooking, and even vaccine distribution logistics on a single open-access platform . Alexandros Korkovelos is a senior officer of energy planning for SEforAll. He notes that Malawi continues to face significant electricity access challenges, with only roughly one in six people   estimated to have any form of electricity (grid or off-grid). “This means that millions of people, and a large share of public services in areas where these people live, still operate without reliable power,” he says. Korkovelos explains that the lack of access to reliable supplies of electricity can be attributed to several factors. These include a dispersed rural population, the inability of families to afford electricity and the costs associated with it (e.g., connection cost, taxes ,  and appliances), a weakened and under-resourced power system, and challenges around aligning policies and coordination within the energy sector. The IEP developed by SEforAll envisions a mix of technologies and strategies to achieve 100% access by 2030. These include grid densification (connecting more families who live within reach of existing grid infrastructure), grid expansion, minigrids, and—in the most remote areas—solar home systems.   The last of these strategies has been the focus of groups like SolarAid , an international charity dedicated to tackling poverty and the climate crisis by helping to bring clean, safe solar lighting to the most rural and inaccessible areas of the region. Its Light a Village  program applies a unique model that has demonstrated a successful approach. According to Brave Mhonie, general manager of SolarAid in Malawi, the program has succeeded by “taking away the access barrier.” The [SolarAid] program provides “energy as a service,” selling electricity rather than hardware, and so has brought solar power access to remote rural communities at a price they can afford. The program provides “energy as a service,” selling electricity rather than hardware, and so has brought solar power access to remote rural communities at a price they can afford. The program has innovated the concept of distributed solar power by providing each household and community building with their own solar systems. Ownership of the hardware remains with the utility provider, so customers pay only for the electricity they receive. This approach overcomes the prohibitive cost of buying a new solar system, which is a hurdle even in affluent societies. A young woman studies by solar-powered electric light, a far better and healthier way than using candle or kerosene light, both of which are not only inefficient and polluting but expensive. Courtesy of SolarAid/Kondwani Jere On the other hand, social conditions created a strong incentive to act. Fifty percent of the population in the SolarAid communities were women, but their participation in local schooling was very low. The lack of access to electricity created barriers for their participation. Now, with near-universal access to electricity (99% of households), the results are tangible, says Mhonie. “Now young women do not have to travel at night to learn,” he says. “They can spend a longer time studying at home.” The connections have also improved the economic well-being of the communities. According to Mhonie, “households have increased their productivity, and connected shops have increased their working hours.” More than 9,000 customers have now been connected, plus 12 schools in the area and teachers’ homes. The program also recruited and trained 84 customer service representatives, technicians who can perform needed maintenance on the installed equipment. A Better Life for All, Under the Sun In many places around the world, government agencies, utilities, and nonprofit groups are teaming up to help poor, remote, and rural communities increase their access to electricity. They are taking their lessons and bringing them to other places of need. The benefits of this reach beyond the communities themselves. According to Mhonie, it is a good thing to provide access to solar energy in these remote rural communities. “No one deserves to live in poverty,” he says. By bringing light to villages, he explains, SolarAid and other organizations’ efforts are “making life on Earth a better life.” *Rick Laezman   is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California, US. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than 10 years.

Counting the Awardees for Environmental Achievement A Nobel Prize medal. Wikimedia While the prestigious Nobel Prize  system does not include a formal “environment” award, numerous laureates in the Peace, Chemistry, Physics, and Economic Sciences categories have been honored for research and action that deepen humanity’s understanding of the planet and support its protection. This data brief highlights key laureates and their achievements—and how awards for environmental contributions have accumulated over time. Between 1901 to 2025 , 633 prizes have been awarded to 1,026 people and organizations across six categories (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences). A retrospective by the Nobel Foundation identifies 11 Nobel Prizes directly tied to understanding and protecting Earth’s systems—from climate modeling and ozone chemistry to sustainable economics.  The Nobel Foundation’s “ Spotlight on Sustainability ” notes that the share of environment-related Nobel work is rising, particularly in “green chemistry” and climate-related physics. Notable examples follow: Paul Crutzen, Mario Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland (Chemistry, 1995): Awarded for discovering how man-made compounds destroy the ozone layer—a landmark moment that shaped the Montreal Protocol. Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement (Peace, 2004): Honored “for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace” by linking environmental restoration with women’s empowerment. William Nordhaus (Economic Sciences, 2018): Recognized “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis,” making him the first economist to model global warming’s long-term cost. Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University and Klaus Hasselmann of Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (Physics, 2021): Jointly honored “for the physical modeling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming.” Their work built the foundation of modern climate forecasting. David W. C. MacMillan of Princeton University (Chemistry, 2021): Recognized for pioneering asymmetric organocatalysis , a breakthrough that revolutionized green chemistry by reducing reliance on toxic and rare metals. Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi (Chemistry, 2025): Awarded “for the development of metal-organic frameworks,” materials that can capture carbon dioxide and extract water from air—technologies crucial for climate mitigation.

Stemming the ‘Rivers’ of Polluting Cast-off Clothing By Karl Selle* A video  shows the vast waste-clothing dumps in the Atacama Desert. Chilean traders illegally landfill more than half of the 60,000 tons of the cast-off clothing they import annually from Europe and the US. Stand in front of your wardrobe for a moment and imagine every T-shirt, dress, and pair of jeans tracing its way across the planet after you’re done with it. Most of those garments don’t quietly “disappear” into a donation bin or recycling stream. Every year, the world produces  more than 100 billion garments and about 92 million tons of textile waste, much of it ending up in landfills, open dumps, or burned in the open air, according to a recent   United Nations Environment Programme   (UNEP) opinion piece  on textile waste tied to International Zero Waste Day. The clothing industry is one of the world’s foremost polluters , affecting the environment sharply at every stage, from production to disposal. According to the UN , the industry produces 20% of global wastewater and 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. And cotton farming claims an enormous share of agricultural water and pesticide use. At the same time, clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000, while people are wearing each item around 36% fewer times than they did 15 years ago, as documented in a 2017  report  by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation titled “A New Textiles Economy.” Less than 1% of the material used to make clothes is recycled back into new clothing, meaning the fashion system is still overwhelmingly linear: We grow or pump resources, churn out garments, and discard them. This article follows the “rivers” of textile waste from rich consumer markets to the communities downstream. It looks at how new rules—like the European Union’s (EU’s)  revised Waste Framework Directive —could change those flows, and what it would take to turn today’s dumping problem into tomorrow’s circular textiles system. Where Used Clothes Actually Go When we picture textile waste, we usually imagine a local landfill or perhaps a thrift store that “finds a good home” for our cast-offs. The reality is far more global. Studies highlighted  by UNEP’s International Zero Waste Day’s focus on fashion suggest that every second, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes is dumped or burned somewhere in the world. Every second, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes is dumped or burned somewhere in the world. In 2015 alone, the global clothing system produced tens of millions of tons of fiber, with more than 70 million tons of textiles entering the apparel pipeline and the vast majority ending up landfilled or incinerated after short use. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation report shows that clothing sales more than doubled between 2000 and 2015, while garments were worn far fewer times before being discarded. Europeans and Americans, for instance, remained steady, wearing garments around 100 times and less than 50 times, respectively, before tossing them. But globally, the average of wears dropped from around 200 to less than 150, while in China the average number of wears plummeted from more than 200 to just 62, the report says, citing data from 2002 to 2016. Once discarded, textiles don’t disappear; they shed microplastics, leak dyes and finishing chemicals, and accumulate in ecosystems. An analysis by the European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates  that between 200,000 and 500,000 tons of microplastics from textiles enter the oceans each year globally, making synthetic fabrics a major source of microplastic pollution. A video  giving a look into the bustling Kantamanto Market in the central business district of Accra, the capital of Ghana. Sixty percent of the market was destroyed by fire in January 2025, but it’s now being rebuilt. Piles of “Dead White Man’s Clothes” Now picture Accra, the capital of Ghana in West Africa. Every week, around 100 containers of secondhand clothes—over 15 million fashion items—arrive at its nearby port of Tema.  About 70% of these garments are destined for the vast Kantamanto Market, according to a 2024  Greenpeace Africa investigation . On the ground, data from the Or Foundation paint  a complex picture. Some 30,000 people in the market community recirculate about 25 million pieces of secondhand clothing every month through resale, repair, and remanufacturing. It is one of the world’s most sophisticated reuse hubs—and proof that informal economies can dramatically extend garment lifespans. The Kantamanto market community is, in many ways, doing the work that brands and wealthy consumers have failed to do: using clothes until they are truly worn out. But this river of clothing has a toxic edge. Greenpeace notes that Ghana now receives every year around 152,600 tons of secondhand clothes, locally known as Obroni Wawu —“dead white man’s clothes.” A large fraction arrives damaged, unsellable, or made from cheap synthetics that quickly become waste. The Greenpeace Africa investigation and related research show  that much of this surplus ends up clogging drains, littering beaches, and forming new layers in urban dumps. Polyester is used by itself or blended with other fibers to make a wide variety of clothing. But when the petroleum-derived material is dumped into the environment, it becomes toxic as it degrades. Polina Tankilevitch/Pexels When Dumps Become Landscapes On the other side of the world, northern Chile has become a symbol of textile oversupply. Government figures cited  in Environmental Health News estimate that the country imports around 123,000 tons of used clothing every year, much of it secondhand or unsold stock from brands. When these goods can’t be sold, they are often dumped in the Atacama Desert, forming colorful, toxic hills of discarded clothing even visible from space. The textile hills are toxic because of their preponderance of polyester, a petroleum product. Chile’s fast fashion waste cleanup plan  has become a global symbol of fashion’s failure to manage its own leftovers. Open-air burning and long-term degradation [of textile waste] threaten biodiversity, soil health, and nearby communities. UNEP’s opinion piece on textile waste highlights  these Atacama “micro-dumps” as part of a wider pattern: textile waste accumulating in fragile ecosystems, where open-air burning and long-term degradation threaten biodiversity, soil health, and nearby communities. In India, the city of Hyderabad offers another snapshot of the crisis. Every day, the city collects about 9,000 tons of municipal waste, of which 750–800 tons are discarded clothes, according to a recent  report  from The Times of India . Officials estimate that around 40% of this textile waste could be recycled, but most of it is simply mixed with other garbage and dumped. The same article notes that the city lacks true sanitary landfills, meaning dyes, chemicals, and synthetic microfibers from clothing seep directly into soil and water. The Fast Fashion Craze In recent years, the biggest accelerants to the global textile-waste glut have not been legacy fashion houses but ultra–fast fashion platforms, such as Shein and increasingly Temu, both based in China. These companies churn out  thousands of new styles daily and are often priced so low that garments are treated as disposable, says Grist, an independent media outlet that tracks climate change. Shein alone reportedly emitted 16.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023—more than what four coal power plants spew in a year—and, with around 76% of its clothing made from polyester, only about 6% of that polyester is recycled. Rather than reducing “waste,” this model amplifies it : Garments wear out, are discarded quickly, and add to the global mountains of landfill and incineration. Addressing the textile-waste crisis will therefore require rethinking not only regulation and disposal, but the very economics of fashion , advocates and experts advise. Rather than relying on quotas or trade restrictions, consumers and policymakers might do well to create space  for quality, longevity, and circular business models—such as clothing rental, repair and resale, or truly durable design. Brands could be encouraged (or incentivized) to design  for longevity, material recovery, and reuse rather than pushing constant novelty. At the same time, consumers can shift demand by buying fewer items, better-made items and resisting the cheap-price impulse that fuels throwaway consumption. Over time, if enough people and companies embrace a slower, more considered approach to clothing, the “rivers” of textile waste could shrink—and flow instead toward loops of reuse and recycling . Realistically, a circular economy won’t happen without concrete improvements in textile recycling and reuse infrastructure . Encouragingly, some companies—including fast fashion players themselves—are experimenting with chemical and fiber-to-fiber recycling to recover  polyester and synthetic fibers and reincorporate them into new garments. Advances in automated sorting (for example using near-infrared imaging combined with artificial intelligence) are improving  the feasibility of separating mixed-fiber garments so that they don’t all end up as low-grade waste. Irrigating an Alabama cotton field. Growing cotton requires enormous volumes of water. Wikipedia/Alabama Extension New Rules for Clothing Producers Policy is starting to catch up with this reality. In October 2025, the EU’s  revised Waste Framework Directive  entered into force, introducing extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules for textiles across member states. The law requires producers—including e-commerce sellers—to fund the collection, sorting, and treatment of textile waste, and it sets targets to reduce food and textile waste as part of a broader circular economy push. The same EU textile EPR rules note that the bloc generated about 12.6 million tons of textile waste in 2019, with only about one-fifth separately collected for reuse or recycling. Americans produced 17 million tons of textiles in 2018, landfilled about 11.3 million tons, and recycled only 2.5 million tons—a recycling rate of just 14.7%. In the United States, the federal government has not yet adopted nationwide EPR for textiles, but the scale of the problem is clear. According to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) textile waste data , Americans produced 17 million tons of textiles in 2018, landfilled about 11.3 million tons, and recycled only 2.5 million tons—a recycling rate of just 14.7%. Those EPA figures show textiles making up a significant share of municipal waste, even before accounting for exports. Other governments are watching the EU closely. Chile, for example, has begun to integrate textiles into its own circular economy strategy and EPR framework in direct response to the Atacama disaster, building on the issues highlighted by UNEP and reporting  by various media from the Atacama Desert. These are important steps, but they will succeed only if they change the flow of textiles at every stage—from design and production to export and disposal. From Dumping to Stewardship So, what would it mean to truly “rethink the rivers of textile waste”? The evidence from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation report, the EEA microplastics analysis , and community-level studies suggests a few clear priorities: Turn off the tap of overproduction. Brands need binding targets to reduce volumes and design for durability rather than disposability. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s circular textiles vision emphasizes  longer garment use, better design, and business models based on services (rental, repair, resale) instead of endless new units. Make producers responsible for the full life cycle. EPR schemes, like the EU’s  new textile waste law , can shift the cost burden away from municipalities and import-dependent communities and back onto the companies that profit from selling clothes. Done well, these schemes can fund high-quality sorting, textile-to-textile recycling, and social enterprises that build on models like the Kantamanto market community . Respect the limits of import-dependent markets. Countries like Ghana and Chile should have the right—and the data—to cap imports of poor-quality goods that are likely to become waste. Campaigns like Greenpeace Africa’s “return to sender” analysis  of secondhand flows argue that exporters must stop treating African ports as pressure valves for overproduction. Invest in local recycling and repair, not just waste-to-energy. Hyderabad’s example, where the Greater Hyderabad textile waste figures show  750–800 tons of clothing discarded daily, demonstrates both the scale of the challenge and the potential to create jobs in sorting, repair, and fiber-to-fiber recycling instead of sending everything to landfills or incinerators. The question now is whether policymakers, brands, and consumers will act quickly enough to stop people’s clothes from becoming the next dominant “landform” on the planet. *Karl Selle is a freelance writer who lives in Bowie, Maryland, US.