Top ocean experts have published a report that redefines the concept of sustainable fishing and proposes 11 “golden rules” that challenge the current flawed approach in fisheries management.&nbsp;



The report, released shortly before <a href="https://www.oceanweek.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brussels’ Ocean Week</a> and ahead of the <a href="https://ocean-climate.org/en/unoc2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN Ocean Conference</a> in Nice, aims to halt the ongoing destruction of the oceans caused by fishing and ensure the restoration of abundant fish populations to sustain future generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-guiding-principles-of-sustainable-fishing-nbsp">Guiding principles of sustainable fishing&nbsp;</h2>



The rules are introduced at a time when scientists have dramatically downgraded their assessment of the ocean's health. The guiding principles underlying the rules aim to revolutionize the way we manage the ocean's exploitation.



According to the first guiding principle, fishing must minimize impacts on marine species and habitats, adapt to climate change, and promote the regeneration of depleted <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-impacting-marine-life-more-than-we-realized/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine life</a>.



In addition, fishing must support the health, well-being, and resilience of communities, particularly the most vulnerable, rather than merely benefit corporations that funnel profits to owners and shareholders while others bear the costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-vision-of-sustainable-fishing-nbsp">A new vision of sustainable fishing&nbsp;</h2>



The researchers hope their work will serve as the foundation for a complete reform of the current mismanagement of the Earth's largest common resource - the ocean.



The scientists call on policymakers, retailers, fishers, and industry leaders to embrace this new vision and commit to implementing these reforms.



Today, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sustainable-fishing-gets-a-boost-from-genomics-roadmap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fishing</a> is widely recognized as the leading cause of ocean destruction. The authors of the report decided to collaborate after reaching a consensus that the current definition of “sustainable fishing” is dangerously outdated and contributes to the depletion of marine species, destruction of natural habitats and carbon sinks, and the decline of artisanal fishing communities worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-outdated-concept-of-sustainability-nbsp">Outdated concept of sustainability&nbsp;</h2>



“The current concept of ‘sustainable fishing,’ adopted by governments and private actors since the post-war period is scientifically obsolete,” said lead author Callum Roberts, a professor at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Exeter</a> and chief scientist at the <a href="https://convexseascapesurvey.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Convex Seascape Survey</a>.&nbsp;



“It relies on a simplistic, productivist theory which assumes that as long as global catch volumes remain below a set limit, anyone can fish just about anything, anywhere, with any method.”



“Can we truly claim that all fishing gear is environmentally and socially equal? We currently label fisheries as sustainable without considering their impact on marine ecosystems or human factors, such as crew safety and rights,” added Jennifer Jacquet, a professor at the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Miami</a>.



The scientists denounce the outdated approach to sustainability, which fails to address key environmental, human, and developmental factors.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pressing-issues-like-biodiversity-loss-nbsp">Pressing issues like biodiversity loss&nbsp;</h2>



Despite widespread acceptance by industry and consumers, current sustainability standards overlook pressing issues like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-ocean-day-a-unified-approach-to-protect-biodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a> loss and climate change, while supporting high-capital industrial practices that primarily benefit the Global North.&nbsp;



These practices harm ecosystems, threaten artisanal fishing and food security, and jeopardize jobs, while undermining humans' universal right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-minimizing-environmental-harm">Minimizing environmental harm</h2>



The scientists reached another consensus: fisheries must be managed in a way that minimizes environmental harm while maximizing social benefits, particularly in the context of a rapidly warming planet and growing global hunger.



To address these challenges, a group of leading ocean researchers has developed a visionary approach to ocean exploitation.&nbsp;



This comprehensive, interdisciplinary definition of “fisheries sustainability” incorporates insights from biology, oceanography, social sciences, and economics.



The proposed rules provide a foundation for economic stakeholders and political leaders to transition to a sustainable fishing model that is viable for the long term.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-sustainable-fishing-nbsp">Rethinking sustainable fishing&nbsp;</h2>



The framework envisions a future where fishing ensures abundant fish stocks for humanity’s long-term needs.



“Our work advocates for fisheries that preserve ocean ecosystems’ vital functions, mitigate climate change, guarantee food security and respect human rights,” said Daniel Pauly, a professor at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of British Columbia</a>.



This innovative approach recognizes the ecological, social, and ethical roles of fishing, proposing a systemic and sustainable model that involves market players, policymakers, and legal frameworks.&nbsp;



Roberts emphasized the need for a shift in perspective: “We must view fishing as a privilege rather than a right. Marine life is a public good that should both benefit society and nature, not be the object of a resource race driven by private gains.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ambitious-yet-realistic-proposals-nbsp">Ambitious yet realistic proposals&nbsp;</h2>



The proposals outlined in the report are ambitious yet realistic, with many actions rooted in proven successful practices.



The scientists urge policymakers, retailers, and fisheries managers to acknowledge the failures of current fishing practices and prioritize adopting the proposed golden rules.&nbsp;



Supermarkets, which are responsible for nearly two-thirds of European seafood sales, play a pivotal role in driving this transition. They can influence fishing practices through their sourcing policies, scrutinize “sustainability” labels, and respond to growing consumer concerns about the hidden impacts of their food.



“We are witnessing a growing disconnect between the widespread availability of supposedly sustainable fish products, the collapse of ocean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-ecosystems-survive-extinctions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ecosystems</a> and the frequency of reported human rights’ abuses. Supermarkets must stop misleading consumers,” said Pauline Bricault, markets campaign manager at <a href="https://www.bloomassociation.org/en/about-us/the-team-at-bloom/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BLOOM</a>.



“Both the IPCC and IPBES have set 2030 as a deadline for critical changes. Industry stakeholders have no more excuses, they must act now.”



The call to action is urgent, with 2030 looming as a critical deadline for implementing necessary changes to avert further damage to ocean ecosystems and ensure a sustainable future for global fisheries.



The report, titled “Rethinking sustainability of marine fisheries for a fast-changing planet,” was published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s44183-024-00078-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">npj Ocean Sustainability</a>.&nbsp;



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‘Sustainable fishing’ must be redefined to halt ocean destruction

Top ocean experts have published a report that redefines the concept of sustainable fishing and proposes 11 “golden rules” that challenge the current flawed approach in fisheries management.&nbsp; The report, released shortly before Brussels’ Ocean Week and ahead of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, aims to halt the ongoing destruction of the oceans caused by fishing and ensure the restoration of abundant fish populations to sustain future generations. Guiding principles of sustainable fishing&nbsp; The rules are introduced at a time when scientists have dramatically downgraded their...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.footprintnetwork.org/">Global Footprint Network</a> are monitoring the world's ecological footprint each year and pinpointing the day that we have officially demanded more from nature than what the Earth can regenerate. This day, which is referred to as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-already-burned-earths-resources-2017/">Earth Overshoot Day</a>, is coming earlier and earlier every decade.

For 2018, Earth Overshoot Day falls on August 1st, which means it takes just 212 days for humans to use up our yearly supply of global resources. Scientists at the Global Footprint Network have created a chart that measures this day since the 1970s, when the globe did not use an excess of the year's resources until November or December.

According to the experts, humanity is now using the equivalent of 1. 7 planets. This is due primarily to the overharvesting of forests, overfishing, and carbon emissions that are too high to be captured and stored naturally by Earth's ecosystems.

Mathis Wackernagel is the chief executive and co-founder of the Global Footprint Network.


“Our current economies are running a Ponzi scheme with our planet,” Wackernagel told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us">The Guardian</a>. “We are borrowing the Earth’s future resources to operate our economies in the present.”

“Like any Ponzi scheme, this works for some time. But as nations, companies, or households dig themselves deeper and deeper into debt, they eventually fall apart.”

As desperate as the situation is becoming, the scientists at the Global Footprint Network says that is not too late to lower the world's ecological footprint, and that reducing carbon emissions would make the biggest difference.

*Reducing the carbon component of humanity’s Ecological Footprint by 50% would get us from consuming the resources of 1.7 Earths down to 1.2 Earths,” the experts explain. “This corresponds to moving the date of Overshoot Day by 93 days, or about three months.”

The international research organization also emphasizes the role that individuals could make in moving the Overshoot date by taking small steps in our daily lives to reduce the impact we have on our planet.

According to the Global Footprint Network: “If everyone committed to #MoveTheDate  5 days each year, we could get out of global overshoot by 2050.”

Learn more about Earth Overshoot Day and how you can take your first step to help #MoveTheDate at <a href="https://www.overshootday.org">https://www.overshootday.org</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Humans are now using 1.7 times the amount of Earth’s resources

Experts at the Global Footprint Network are monitoring the world's...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-climate-change/">Antibiotic-resistant bacteria</a> pose one of the biggest threats to public health around the world, and they are unfortunately on the rise, according to the <a href="http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance">World Health Organization</a> (WHO). 

Antimicrobial resistance describes bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, where treatments that were once simple and effective to cure bacterial infections no longer work. 

This means that some infections now considered easily treatable could be fatal and antibiotics could one day be ineffective in preventing infections. 

As scientists and doctors race to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance, most of the focus has been on hospitals and clinics. However, a new study found that the environment plays just as big of a role in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria across the globe.

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://medicine.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter Medical School</a> and published in the journal mBio.

“Our research shows just how important it is to take action to limit antibiotics entering the environment,” said William Gaze, a co-author of the paper. “So far a lot of research effort to tackle this problem has been around hospitals and reducing clinical prescribing, but we now know that the environment is likely to play a part in how resistance to antibiotics can evolve and spread. We all need to think more holistically about environmental management of waste, including how we treat our wastewater.”

The researchers found that even low concentrations of antibiotics that enter that environment through improper disposal increase antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 

Antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria can enter the environment through toilet waste or people improperly disposing of antibiotic medications. The bacteria then spreads, contaminating watersheds and increasing the risk of transmittable infections to humans through close contact with infected animals or contaminated environments. 

The results also provide insight into the evolution of antimicrobial resistance in the body. If even small doses of antibiotics increase the risk of resistant bacteria, then antibiotics entering a person’s gut biome could increase the likelihood that those antibiotics won’t work. 

“Already, some commonly prescribed antibiotics are starting to prove ineffective for some infections,” said Aimee Murray, the leader of the research.  “Our research casts new light on how this problem may be spreading, and provides new evidence for the steps we may need to take in targeting the environment to try and stop this global problem. We now need more research to ascertain whether microbes evolve resistance to antibiotics when exposed to low levels in other settings than wastewater, such as in different areas of the body.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria spread through the environment, too

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose one of the biggest threats to public...

It was recently reported that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge swath of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-plastic-waste-asia-africa/">plastic debris floating in the ocean</a>, now measures almost one full square mile in area. An organization called <a href="https://www.theoceancleanup.com/">The Ocean Cleanup</a> calculated the most recent garbage patch size thanks to a mega aerial expedition surveying the extent of the plastic in the area. 

Now, Ocean Cleanup is working on deploying a huge Pacman-like sweeper designed to collect floating plastic in the Garbage Patch which can then be removed from the ocean and recycled on land. 

The Ocean Cleanup system is a 600-meter plastic floating tube that forms a natural U-shape and sits above the water attached to a tapered three-meter deep skirt. Its design is meant to ensure that plastic can’t slip underneath the tube but also makes sure sealife can pass under unharmed. 

The system will use wind, waves, and currents to maneuver through the Great Garbage Patch and every few months the collected garbage will be hauled away to land. 

“After completing the redesign last summer and passing third-party reviews, this is the design that is currently being constructed and is set to head into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch two months from now,” Ocean Cleanup CEO Boyan Slat told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5984077/The-giant-pac-man-gobble-plastic-ocean.html">Daily Mail.</a>

Ocean Cleanup claims that the new system could clean up fifty percent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch every five years and a fleet of the systems could remove 90 percent of all of the ocean plastic by 2040. 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains 1.8 million pieces of plastic and that number is only projected to increase. 

If all goes according to the plan, the Ocean Cleanup technology could effectively solve one of the world’s biggest environmental hazards and make the seas safer for marine wildlife and seabirds. 

The system still has to undergo some more testing, trials, and assembly before the cleanup technology will be towed 1,200 nautical miles offshore to start cleanup. 

--

By <a href="http://mailto;kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.theoceancleanup.com/media-gallery/">The Ocean Cleanup</a>

Giant Pac-Man system could help eat up ocean plastic pollution

It was recently reported that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,...

One of President Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises was to tighten border security and build a wall along the United States and Mexico border. But many experts have weighed in on the costly ramifications of such an endeavor from an economic standpoint, with estimates that it will cost upwards of 21.6 billion dollars to build, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security document reported by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-wall-exclusive/exclusive-trump-border-wall-to-cost-21-6-billion-take-3-5-years-to-build-internal-report-idUSKBN15O2ZN">Reuters</a>. 

However, with all the media attention the wall has garnered, little has been paid to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/us-mexico-border-wall-threaten-100-endangered-species/">environmental impacts</a> of a continuous border wall. 

A new paper published in the journal BioScience describes the threats that the wall would pose to biodiversity and the harm it could do to the many species that call area along the border home. 

The paper was co-authored by 16 experts from the U.S and Mexico and has been so far endorsed by more than 2,500 members of the scientific community from 43 countries. 

According to the report, a border wall would fragment the geographic ranges of many species like the Mexican gray wolf, Sonoran pronghorn, and Peninsular bighorn sheep. 

“Some of the affected animals are charismatic as well as threatened," said William Ripple, a co-author from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>. “A continuous wall would disconnect any jaguars and ocelots in the U.S. from their major range in Mexico. And it's not just solid walls that are the issue; certain types of fencing can be a complete barrier to individual wildlife species. All of that should be considered.”

There is also the possibility that wall construction won’t adhere to environmental laws and prevent access to important resources for animals. 

“Many species, such as bighorn sheep, are composed of populations of relatively few individuals per unit area and have large home ranges - hundreds of square miles in the bighorn's case,” said Rodolfo Dirzo, a <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford</a> biologist and co-author of the paper. “Barriers will impede the bighorn sheep's migrations and movements to track habitats that shift due to a changing climate.”

The border is home to a rich and vibrant ecosystem with bisecting habitats and regions. Any changes in the name of security could threaten the biodiversity of the area and the 62 critically endangered species that live there.  

The researchers urge a call to action urging Congress to order that security measures do not disregard federal environmental laws. 

“The border extends about 3,200 kilometers and bisects many important habitat types from desert to forest to scrublands to mountain ranges,” said Ripple. “These are important wildlife habitats, high in biological diversity, that span both sides of the border. I hope national leaders will listen to our conservation message.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Matt Clark, Defenders of Wildlife

Border wall would jeopardize endangered species, biodiversity

One of President Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises was to...

According to an announcement last week, Australia is preparing to test progressive new methods designed to save the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-barrier-reef-bounce-back/">Great Barrier Reef</a>. Experts will evaluate plans such as covering the ocean with film or shooting salt into the clouds to protect the world's largest coral reef system from further damage.

Spanning over 1,400 miles of Australia's coastline, the Great Barrier Reef is so large that it is visible from space. But now, after two years of unprecedented bleaching, some of the reef’s colorful display has completely vanished.

Ecologists have found that the reef has lost about half of its corals in the last two years due primarily to climate change. Rising ocean temperatures caused a historic bleaching event in 2016 that was followed by another major bleaching event in 2017.

Experts are saying that the damage caused by these back-to-back bleaching events may be irreparable. The Australian government has committed to methods of mitigating climate change, but is also looking for more immediate ways to protect the reef.


The capital city of Canberra offered funding at the beginning of the year to attract ideas they can potentially be used to protect the site. In addition to climate change, the Great Barrier Reef is also threatened by agricultural runoff and a coral-eating starfish.

Out of 69 proposed short-term solutions, six will be tested for feasibility. One of the ideas that has been selected is a method of brightening clouds by firing them with salt crystals from seawater. This would make the clouds more reflective and they could potentially bounce the Sun's rays back toward space.

David Mead is a researcher at the <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/">Australian Institute of Marine Science</a>.  

“The team have been looking at using a very fine nozzle to pump small droplets of salt water at the rate of several billion per second,” Mead told the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/">Australian Broadcasting Corporation</a> (ABC).

“The water vaporizes and you're left with a salt particle which will float around, and if you can introduce those into the system you can increase the amount of sunlight reflected back.”

Another proposed solution is a biodegradable “sun shield” in the form of a thin film with light-reflecting particles that could be placed across the ocean waters covering the reef.

Andrew Negri from the Australian Institute of Marine Science told the ABC: “The great thing about the film is it is only a molecule thick so you can swim straight through it and it'll just keep self-forming.”

The Great Barrier Reef is critical to the nation's economy, bringing in an estimated A$6.4 billion a year to the Australian economy. The reef is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, with more than 2 million visitors every year.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Australia is testing radical ways to save the Great Barrier Reef

According to an announcement last week, Australia is preparing to...

In the Arctic, climate change is causing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-sea-ice-record/">record-setting sea ice decline</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earlier-arctic-springs-geese-migrations/">earlier and earlier springs. </a>

New research has identified yet another way climate change will impact the Arctic, and its effects could be so wide-reaching that it may even change the food web and the environment of the Tundra. 

However, the study found that these changes could also provide a buffer and slow CO2 emissions from thawed permafrost in the Arctic. 

Researchers from <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University in St. Louis</a> studied wolf spiders in the Alaskan Arctic to see how a warming climate might impact the predator-prey relationships of the spiders. 

The results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study is one of the few to look at climate change’s impact on habitats and species on a macro level, meaning that the researchers examined not just climate change’s impact on wolf spiders, but the widespread ramifications of those changes. 

“We often think about how warmer temperatures might strengthen or weaken interactions between predators and their prey,” said Amanda Koltz, a  postdoctoral researcher in biology in Arts &amp; Sciences who led the research. “But in this case, we show that when warming alters those interactions, it can also lead to changes in ecosystem-level processes like decomposition rates."

Wolf spiders are one of the most important predators on the Tundra and are one of the most abundant species in the Arctic. The spiders hunt on the ground and will eat almost anything smaller than them, but their preferred food is a small arthropod called springtails. 

The springtails, in turn, eat decaying plants and fungus and play an important role in plant matter decomposition rates. 

Because wolf spiders eat springtails, they have an indirect effect on decomposition, according to the study. 

If decomposition rates change, it could release more harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere especially as warming temperatures thaw out frozen permafrost and the trapped CO2 contained within. 

Koltz and a team of researchers set up a series of experimental enclosures in Northern Alaska over two summer seasons to test how warming would impact the spider, fungus-eater, and soil system. 

The enclosures were kept at different temperatures and at the end of the two seasons, the researchers recorded any changes as well as the number of springtails, mites, spiders and other species. 

Interestingly, at the ambient temperatures, high-density populations of wolf spiders left fewer springtails resulting in faster decomposition rates. 

In the enclosures that were kept at warmer temperatures, there were still high-density spider populations but higher numbers of springtails and slower decomposition. 

The researchers hypothesize that the warmer temperatures changed the spiders’ taste in prey leaving more springtails to do their job in the soil. 

“Spiders are not going to save us from climate change, but we found that decomposition is slower under warming when there are more wolf spiders present,” said Koltz. “This suggests that under some circumstances, they could be alleviating some of the effects of warming on carbon losses from the tundra. It's a good thing.”

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Kiki Contreras

Warming in the Arctic could alter predator-prey relationships

In the Arctic, climate change is causing record-setting sea ice...

Air quality in the United States has improved quite a bit, even over the last decade. However, while summertime <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/half-americans-air-pollution/">pollution and haze</a> are steadily declining, wintertime pollution levels in the eastern U.S. remain stagnant. 

Now, researchers from the <a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> have learned why, thanks to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

“In the past 10 years or so, the summer air pollution levels have decreased rapidly, whereas the winter air pollution levels have not. Air quality in summer is now almost the same as in winter in the eastern US,” said Viral Shah, a corresponding author of the study. “We have pinpointed the chemical processes that explain the seasonal difference in response to emissions reductions.”

Both sulfate and nitrate particles can form smog and cause high levels of pollution. Sulfates come from sulfur dioxide and nitrates from nitrogen oxides.

In the United States, air quality regulations have lowered sulfur dioxide levels by 68 percent between 2007 and 2015, and nitrogen oxides levels also decreased by a third in that same time. 

Despite levels decreasing, wintertime pollution levels are still higher than they are in the summer and the researchers discovered that winter climate conditions cancel out the effects of air quality regulations. 

Data was collected for the study during a six-week observational survey of pollution plumes where the researchers flew through plumes in several major cities including New York City and Washington, D.C. 

Focusing on pollution during the winter helped improve air quality models and show why winter pollution is unaffected by overall better air quality regulations. 

“We now have a better tool to look at what is the best strategy to improve wintertime air quality on regional scales in the eastern US, and potentially other places, like Europe and Asia,” said Lyatt Jaeglé, the second author of the paper. 

During the summer, sunlight stops some nitrates and sulfates from forming particles, however, during the winter cold temperatures and less sunlight results in an increase of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides moving to the liquid phase and converting to sulfate and nitrate particles. 

This is causing wintertime air pollution levels to decrease much slower than in the summer. 

“It's not that the reductions aren't working. It's just that the reductions have a canceling effect, and the canceling effect has a set strength,” said Shah. “We need to make further reductions. Once the reductions become larger than the canceling effect, then winter will start behaving more like summer.”

The models in the study predict that wintertime air quality won’t catch up with summer until 2023, and the researchers say that the results call for more emissions reductions to improve pollution and air quality year-round. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Lyatt Jaeglé/<a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>

Eastern U.S. air pollution levels remain stagnant during winter

Air quality in the United States has improved quite a...

Many people think of environmentalists as granola-eating pacifists.  The stereotype is more shrill than hard-edged. The fact is that environmentalism is part of a culture war fighting for a cause that many are deeply passionate about.  There are environmentalists that have risked life, health and reputation to save something greater than themselves, and here are a few examples to prove it. 

In July 1905, America still in the infancy of its conservation movement, Guy Bradley, then only 35 years old, was shot.  Guy Bradley fell back into his small boat and floated away from the coast of Florida, bleeding to death before he was found.  Bradley was one of a new breed of American wildlife law enforcement officers. At the time, birds were being massacred for their feathers, simply to decorate women’s hats.  

Guy Bradley had himself hunted birds for their plumes until it was made illegal, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Bradley">writing</a> to the president of the Audubon Society, “I used to hunt plume birds, but since the game laws were passed, I have not killed a plume bird. For it is a cruel and hard calling not withstanding being unlawful. I make this statement upon honor.”  

Upon receiving his commission as a game warden in Florida, Gut Bradley was paid a monthly stipend of $35, the equivalent of $917 in today’s money.  Bradley was charged with monitoring a long stretch from the Ten Thousand Islands through the Everglades of Florida. Bradley set about educating locals about the new anti-bird hunting laws and setting up spies to inform him of any wrongdoing.  Mostly Bradley worked alone, an easy target for unlawful gangs. 

Bradley had previously arrested his killers, a father and sons for poaching birds for their feathers in the region, fueling a long standing grudge that finally boiled over into murder.  Today, Guy Bradley is memorialized with a <a href="https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/guy-bradley-trail.htm">trail</a> in the Everglades.  The death of Guy Bradley catalyzed the passing of more bird protection laws and better enforcement, perhaps being instrumental in saving some bird species from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lost-extinctions-animals/">extinction</a>.  

When most people think of environmentalism, they think of saving species or stopping climate change.  Few I think consider the saving of indigenous cultures as part of environmentalism. I would argue that saving cultures evolved with a specific environment and part of the greater natural whole is of utmost importance.  

Brazil is a hotspot of cultural diversity; and according to <a href="https://pib.socioambiental.org/en/Languages">Povos Indigenas no Brazil</a>, of the world’s 7,000 languages and dialects, 150 are spoken by native peoples in Brazil.  To differing degrees these languages represent different cultures of people that are at a huge disadvantage compared to the mainstream Portuguese speaking European Brazilians.  Over the years rubber barons have enslaved natives, torturing them physically and threatening death to their children to collect rubber. Missionaries have brought disease that inadvertently devastates native peoples.  Logging, gold prospecting and oil extraction all negatively affect native populations of Brazil. 

Early on, the government of Brazil had a program intent on reaching the tribes of people living in the vast green lowland rainforests.  The program intended to ease transitions of people just coming into contact with the outside world and help them survive in peace with the mainstream culture of Brazil.  It was in this tradition that Sydney Possuelo began working, initially under the Villas Boas brothers, who first succeeded in having large tracts of land set aside for indigenous people in Brazil, creating the Xingu Indigenous Reservation.  In his book, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=SaQukI3z4YUC&amp;q=teeth#v=snippet&amp;q=pistol&amp;f=false">The Unconquered</a>, Scott Wallace vividly recounts some of Sydney Possuelo’s struggles to protect indigenous people:

“After he’d faced down an angry mob eager to invade Kayapó lands along the Xingu.  He was knocked to his knees and had his arms pinned back by two men while a third shoved a loaded pistol in his mouth.  He lost four teeth that night, but he stood his ground…”

Since Possuelo’s early days contacting native peoples in an effort to help them, he’s changed course.  Working as director of FUNAI (Fondaçao Nacional do Indio), Sydney Possuelo was able to double the area of officially designated lands in merely two years during the 90s.  Eventually Possuelo resigned as the director of FUNAI to instead work to protect uncontacted indigenous people, without disturbing them. According to <a href="http://www.korubo.com/AMAZONDOC/possuelo.html">Korubo.com</a>, by 2001, Sydney Possuelo had located 40 tribes, without contacting them, allowing the decision of contact to be theirs.

In 2006, Sydney Possuelo was fired from FUNAI because he contradicted a statement by the FUNAI president who said that there was too much land set aside for very few Indians.  Possuelo continues his crusade to help indigenous people of Brazil working in a non-profit organization. Taken together the land Possuelo has helped set aside is not only land for indigenous people but acts as land for wildlife as well.  Indigenous land is protected from environmentally hazardous extraction industries and even from anthropology which while recording cultures may actually destroy them just by contact. 

In February this year, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/05/leading-ivory-trade-investigator-killed-in-kenya">The Guardian</a> reported that an American man living in Nairobi, Kenya was stabbed to death in his home.  The initial police reports said that the murder was likely part of a botched murder but there were possibly deeper motives at play.  Esmond Bradley Martin had been investigating the illegal ivory trade in Kenya for years and had the year before had success in China making ivory imports illegal.  Others working to stop the illegal trade in elephant ivory and rhino horns have been killed recently, including one man shot point blank in a taxi. 

Esmond Bradley Martin was one of the first to seriously investigate the trade in ivory and horns, getting some of the first solid numbers on the trade.  It seems likely that someone didn’t like the interference into their illegal and immoral trade. From his humble beginnings working largely independently, Esmond Bradley Martin was working for CITES and federal governments by the end of his life, making real impacts by all accounts.  

<a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2017/02/11/why-latin-america-is-the-deadliest-place-for-environmentalists">The Economist</a> reported that Latin America is the deadliest place in the world to be an environmentalist, and it’s been true for many.  Isidro Baldenegro López was murdered in the Sierra Madre last year for standing up against loggers. Isidro’s father was also killed by loggers decades earlier and witnessed by his son.  Both men were Raramuri/Tarahumara Native Americans, defending not only the environment but their traditional lands.

Isidro Baldenegro López organized blockades, marches and protests featuring the wives of murdered activists.  Isidro spent 15 months in prison related to his environmental activism but was acquitted of all charges. In 2003, Isidro Baldenegro López was successful in getting logging banned by a court ruling.  It’s clear that Isidro knew his life could be at stake and fought on against oppression of his people and the land. 

A large chunk of environmentalists killed or threatened are indigenous too.  According to The Economist, one third of environmentalists murdered in 2015 were part of indigenous groups.  Whether someone dies fighting for the survival or a species or for the protection of their people’s own land, it’s not hard to see that often environmentalism is a fight between the haves and the have nots.  For some the land is all there is. For some this is enough to risk their lives for. These are all people who should be remembered, they are true heroes. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Noteworthy heroes of the environment

Many people think of environmentalists as granola-eating pacifists.  The stereotype...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> have found that microclimates may provide protection against climate change for many native plants and animals along the British countryside.

The intolerable temperatures that are predicted by the end of this century are expected to push some native species northwards. Many plants, butterflies, and beetles have already started to vanish from the warmer regions of their habitats. 

On the other hand, the researchers have found that locally variable habitats such as hummocky hillsides or shaded valleys could help a range of native species survive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lifestyle-changes-limit-global-warming/">global warming</a>.


The team analyzed five million records of plants and animals collected by members of the public in England, and discovered that a number of these microclimates are already providing refuge for plants and animals that are the most sensitive to warming, which could be extremely beneficial.


For example, the researchers estimate that the use of an alternative habitat has reduced the likelihood of local extinctions of Dark Green Fritillary butterflies by 63 percent in the parts of the country that have warmed the most.


“It is tempting to think it might be quite nice for the UK to warm up by a few degrees, but this will actually be really bad news for many of our native animals and plants that are adapted to our cooler, wetter climate,” said study lead author Dr. Andrew Suggit.

“However, refugia within the varied topography of the British landscape can have a local temperature difference of as much as seven degrees in daytime maximum temperature, making them extremely important alternative habitats for many climate-sensitive species.”

The researchers suggested that microclimates could be artificially created for plants and animals that are not mobile enough to shift their geographical range, and also in areas where the conditions are not variable.

“Refugia buffer species from adverse climate change, and so they could play an important role in our response to this huge challenge,” said Dr. Suggit. 

“This includes making sure that important refugia are protected. Where refugia do not occur naturally, pre-existing engineering or infrastructure projects could be adapted to ensure that variable terrain is left behind and available for our wildlife to use.”

Dr. Ilya Maclean from the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> is the director of the research.  

“The public can also do their bit by encouraging a good mix of sunny and shady spots in their gardens, and by planting species that offer a lot of cover alongside those that offer less,” said Dr. Maclean. 

“Now that we know a substantial amount of warming will unavoidably take place this century, it's about giving our plants and animals as many options as possible to avoid the adverse heat.”

Co-author Dr. Mike Morecroft added: “This study has provided us with the best evidence yet that refugia can make a real difference to the fate of species threatened by climate change.”

“We now have a good understanding of where they are and which species most need the lifeline they provide. We're working to incorporate this new knowledge into our conservation planning and management.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Robert Thompson

Microclimates help protect species from global warming

Researchers at the University of York have found that microclimates...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a>&nbsp;features the Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of the largest tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland. The glacier is located on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet.



As human-induced climate change continues to drive up temperatures, global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. ESA reports that, over the past decade alone, 3.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet. This is enough to cover the UK with meltwater 15 meters deep.



Based on satellite imagery, researchers determined that Kangerlussuaq entered a new phase of rapid retreat and acceleration in 2017. In their study, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00123/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>,&nbsp; the experts report that the glacier's ice front is now at its most retreated position since the early 20th century.



"Given Kangerlussuaq’s previous impacts on both the magnitude and pattern of ice sheet wide mass loss, we predict that its new phase of retreat, acceleration and thinning will markedly enhance the south-east region’s contribution to increasing discharge from the ice sheet," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"More broadly, accurate forecasting of the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise will require a deeper understanding of, and responses to, these non-linear ice dynamic processes."



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the complex relationship between ocean and climate. ESA's Climate Change Initiative will help us understand how oceans influence the climate and how climate change is impacting the oceans.&nbsp;



"Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate," explains ESA.



"As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life."



The amount of heat and carbon dioxide soaked up by the ocean depends on specific variables, including phytoplankton, temperatures, waves, salinity, and ice cover. Satellites can be used to measure these variables from space.



"From their unique vantage point, satellites provide key information for understanding the complexities of our planet and monitoring environmental issues," says ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a> describes how scientists are using autonomous sound sensors to monitor deforestation in the Amazon. By recording soundscapes, the experts can determine which animals are present through their distinct sounds.&nbsp;



Using this method, sounds can be used as scientific measurements to analyze the effects of deforestation. The researchers will gain a better understanding of how the acoustics of a forest can be used to measure its health.&nbsp;



"From space, parts of the Amazon rainforest that have previously been logged or burned may look lush and green, like a place buzzing with activity and full of sounds. But inside the rainforest, the animal life may tell a different story, of a harsh environment and a quieter soundscape," says NASA.



Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

[sendtonews key="u0TYxxqfF7-2186404-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA’s...