By Suzanne York. This is the year of upheaval and change and understanding that we are all in this together, this life on our little blue dot.   If the current inhabitants of Planet Earth don’t get that humans are part of the web of life by now, we are all in big trouble. To help
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By Suzanne York. It is critical to support human rights in the face of climate change and environmental degradation, as the situation grows more dire with each passing year. People everywhere must have their rights to water, food, and health acknowledged and respected, women above all. As the world recognizes International Women’s Day, let’s explore
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By Suzanne York. This question came up a few times at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP), a biennial gathering of reproductive health and rights advocates.  This year’s conference included a small number of attendees who address both reproductive health and conservation/environmental rights through a development approach known as PHE, or population, health and environment. The
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By Suzanne York. There was some good news on the nature front, just in time for World Environment Day – the number of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif in central Africa has increased to above 1,000. This represents a rise of 25% since 2010 of a critically endangered species. It is a sign of hope
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By Suzanne York. On this World Elephant Day, it’s well known to many people that elephants are on the path to extinction in the wild, if something isn’t done soon to change this narrative. Last year, the Great Elephant Census, based on aerial surveys, concluded there are just over 350,000 elephants in Africa. It is
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By Suzanne York. A light went off for many conservationists attending the African Great Lakes Conference (AGLC) this past week. They learned that there is an integrated development model that can help make their environmental efforts successful for the long-term. It’s simple, really. By connecting population, health and environment issues, people will be empowered with
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By Suzanne York, Transition Earth. (A longer version of this article was originally written for the online magazine, ReImagining, published by the Chicago Wisdom Project) Lately it seems as if the entire world is veering wildly off course. From climate change to species extinctions to rising inequality, many people – not to mention nature – are crying out
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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. 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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By Suzanne York and A.Tianna Scozzaro. In the southwestern part of Indonesian Borneo, known as Kalimantan, there’s a small town on the outskirts of an incredibly diverse forest where the community has turned from illegal logging to stewards of the land. Sukadana borders Gunung Palung National Park, home to an estimated 2,500 orangutans. As much
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