By Suzanne York. In what is sadly a sign of things to come for many places, Bolivia has declared a state of emergency, as it endures its worst drought in 25 years. The Andean glaciers that for centuries have supplied water to La Paz and its sprawling neighbor El Alto – one of the poorest
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By Suzanne York. In terms of dirty energy vs. clean, the writing is on the wall. Despite promises made to the contrary, jobs in the fossil fuel industry are not likely to come back, and even if they did, not for long. The costs of solar and wind are falling well below coal and oil,
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By Suzanne York. The prediction is so shocking that it is difficult to comprehend – our world is on track to lose two-thirds of wild animals by 2020. The Living Planet Report 2016, by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London, reports that animal populations plummeted by 58% between 1970 and 2012, with losses on
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By Suzanne York.   Amazingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, climate change has been barely mentioned in the U.S. presidential elections. This, despite the fact that 2016 is likely to be the hottest year on record. Fortunately, the leaders of other countries seem to have a better handle on it. A landmark international climate agreement was
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By Suzanne York. Recent legislation in California is empowering women to make the best choices for themselves and their families, in terms of reproductive health. Though it seems as if our nation should have passed legislation easing access to reproductive health years ago, it’s nevertheless a positive path forward. As the saying goes, “better late
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By Suzanne York. The clock is ticking and global environmental problems are mounting, with droughts, biodiversity loss, and acidic oceans and much more taking a toll on the planet. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s World Congress, currently taking place in Hawai’i, is tackling this growing list of threats to the environment. The
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By Suzanne York. It’s official, more or less – we have entered the Anthropocene epoch, a time when humanity’s impact on the planet is so transformational that it’s pushed the world into a new geological period. “New Age of Man” An international working group, after seven years of deliberation, voted unanimously (with one abstention) at
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By Suzanne York. One thing is for certain – there is not a lack of specially recognized days, especially for Earth’s endangered species. Last week there was World Elephant Day. This week, we have World Orangutan Day. If only the day could be celebrated with uplifting photos and stories.   But sadly, orangutans are facing multiple
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By Suzanne York. One elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its ivory. Perhaps it is appropriate that World Elephant Day (August 12) follows Earth Overshoot Day, the date when humanity exceeds the carrying capacity of the planet. This is because human beings are doing a good job of wiping wild elephants off the face
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By Suzanne York. Most people in the world will blithely go about their lives on August 8th, without knowing that on this day, we go into debt to nature. Otherwise known as Earth Overshoot Day, it is the day when humanity’s resource consumption for the year exceeds the planet’s ability to replenish its natural capital.
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