Originally published by NexusMedia. by Marlene Cimons It was predictable that one day Adisa Azapagic, who studies the carbon footprint of various foods, would get around to chocolate. Little was known about the environmental impact of producing that guilt-and swoon-inducing pleasure, and for many, ignorance was bliss. “My husband wasn’t amused when I suggested he consider […]

The post Death By Chocolate appeared first on PlanetSave.

The status quo is widepread environmental destruction. We have the solutions, but some people prefer the status quo. For now, they are getting their way.

The post We Have A Problem appeared first on PlanetSave.

Rachel Carson’s influential book Silent Spring, which documented the effects of the indiscriminate widespread use of pesticides on the environment, was published back in 1962, nearly 60 years ago now. Since that time, the book has often been cited as one of the drivers behind environmental action and regulation of various kinds. Following the release, […]

The post Silent Spring Was Published Back In 1962 — Flying-Insect & Bird Populations Have Still Fallen Precipitously Since Then appeared first on PlanetSave.

Despite the presence of a record number of people working to count the insects, this year's population census for monarch butterflies wintering in California has fallen to a 5-year low, according to a new report.

The post Monarch Butterfly Count In California At 5-Year Low, Despite Record Number Of Volunteers Counting appeared first on PlanetSave.

An ocean dead zone is an area where there is not enough oxygen dissolved in the water to allow aquatic creatures to breath. To put it in perspective, imagine a person locked in a sealed chamber in which the level of oxygen is slowly but steadily decreased until they lie gasping for breath until they […]

The post Ocean Dead Zones Multiplying Rapidly, Threatening Food Source For Hundreds Of Millions appeared first on PlanetSave.

The coastline of Kenya has been a hotspot for tourism and fishing activities for a quite a while now — with the region also being home to fair numbers of sea turtles. Recent years, though, have made the region home to significant quantities of plastic trash and debris — much of which eventually washes into […]

The post Interesting Plastic-Trash-To-Construction-Materials Recycling Program Underway In Coastal Kenya appeared first on PlanetSave.

Micro plastics are now present in large quantity in essentially all of the world’s water. As a result, they are also present in a fast-growing proportion of the world’s drinking water and food as well. To quantify that to some degree — previous studies have found micro plastic pollution in mussels (a type of shellfish) […]

The post Study: Micro Plastics Found In Mussels In “Pristine” Arctic Waters (As Well As In UK, China, Canada, Chile, Belgium…) appeared first on PlanetSave.

While everyone is talking about electric cars and autonomy as a huge disruptor to the global economy, there is another elephant in the room that not many people seem to notice — lab-grown meat! A few days ago news broke that China bought $300 million worth of lab-grown meat from three Israeli-based companies — SuperMeat, […]

The post Talk About Disruption — Lab-Grown Meat Has Arrived! appeared first on PlanetSave.

The modern world has a problem of overspecialization. The limits of extrapolating generalized truths from what can be observed in limited contexts and over limited periods of times have become more and more apparent in recent years as the blowback of the industrialized way of life, and its associated ways of thinking and interacting with […]

The post Untreatable Super Malaria Spreading Rapidly In Asia — How Will Convergence Of Climate Change Induced Mosquito Expansion & Drug Resistance Play Out? appeared first on PlanetSave.

While many people have pointed out the reality that cutting one’s consumption of meat is a notable means of reducing one’s carbon footprint, I haven’t heard many people bring up the subject of meat consumption by pets… Image by Patricia Marroquin/UCLA Considering how the practice of keeping a “pet” dog or cat has become vastly […]

The post Cats & Dogs Create Insane Amount Of Global Warming Emissions appeared first on PlanetSave.

Our #FakePresident has removed the United States for the Paris climate accords, leading some Americans to experience ecoanxiety. That’s a relatively new term that American Psychological Association used to describe the feelings of dread and helplessness the follow from “watching the slow and seemingly irrevocable impacts of climate change unfold, and worrying about the future […]

The post Beans For Beef: The Climate Change Initiative That Anyone Can Do appeared first on PlanetSave.

A dead zone larger than New Jersey is expected to appear in the Gulf of Mexico later this year. Similar dead zones are found in the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay. A report by Mighty, a global environmental group headed by Henry Waxman, a former US Congressman, claims the dead zones are the result […]

The post Massive Dead Zone In Gulf Of Mexico Blamed On Meat Industry appeared first on PlanetSave.

Honeybees that are exposed to field-realistic (real-world, in other words) levels of neonicotinoid pesticides die earlier than those that are not — thereby reducing overall colony health — according to a new study led by York University. “A worker honeybee has been fitted with a RFID on its back so researchers can record when it […]

The post Honeybees Exposed To Real-World Levels Of Neonicotinoids Die Early, Damaging Colony Health, Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

Most of us do not spend our waking hours reading the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. Certainly no one in the #FakeTrump administration does, as they are too busy lining their own pockets at public expense and practicing the art of self aggrandizement. But if we did, we might […]

The post Is The World On The Verge Of A Sixth Mass Extinction? Scientists Say Yes appeared first on PlanetSave.

The number of individual animals in the world — amongst birds, amphibians, mammals, and reptiles, etc. — has been reduced by as much as 50% over the last few decades, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found. To put that another way, the last few decades, since […]

The post World’s Total Animal Numbers Dropped ~50% Over Last Few Decades, Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Cool Effect have just partnered to ensure protection of the diverse ecosystem in Makira Natural Park in Madagascar.

The post Saving Endangered Lemurs in Madagascar with Wildlife Conservation Society and Cool Effect appeared first on PlanetSave.

If tree-climbing goats themselves don't seem very interesting, consider that their actions are directly related to one of the world's currently most popular bodycare ingredients, argan oil, and that these tree-climbing caprine creatures help replant argan forests by spitting out the seeds with their cud.

The post Tree-Climbing Goats Plant New Argan Trees By Spitting Their Seeds appeared first on PlanetSave.

Arguments for and against the use of genetic modification techniques in the agricultural and healthcare/disease-prevention sectors typically focus on potential impacts to human health, and/or to wider ecosystems and natural services (a much more important area to watch, in my opinion than human health). My issue with genetic modification and the use of genetically modified […]

The post Many Insects Resistant To Genetic Manipulation Via CRISPR Editing Tool, Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

Ocean acidification created by continuing anthropogenic climate change will result in a collapsing food web, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. The new findings are the result of analysis focused around determining the effects of climate change on the world’s fisheries, and on overall marine biodiversity. Image via NOAA “Humans rely heavily […]

The post Ocean Acidification To Bring Collapsing Food Web appeared first on PlanetSave.

One of the last giant tusker elephants in the world, named Satao II by conservationists, was killed in Kenya earlier this year by poachers. He had apparently been (very likely) killed with a poisoned arrow near the boundary of the Tsavo East National Park in Kenya in January. Satao II was named after a famous […]

The post One Of The World’s Last “Giant Tusker” Elephants (Satao II) Killed By Poachers appeared first on PlanetSave.

In yet another sign of how morally bankrupt people nowadays are, it seems that a gang of poachers broke into the Thoiry Zoo outside of Paris on Tuesday, killed one of the rhinoceroses there, and then sawed off its horn. The intent no doubt being to cash in on the financially lucrative blackmarket trade in […]

The post Poachers Kill Rhino At Zoo Near Paris, Saw Off Horn appeared first on PlanetSave.

The Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller, has approved a new poison specifically intended for use against wild hogs known as Kaput Feral Hog Lure. The approval has resulted in the creation of a petition on Change.org calling for the approval to be rescinded. As some background here, the new poison includes warfarin — often used […]

The post Texas Agriculture Commissioner Approves Poison Targeting Wild Hogs appeared first on PlanetSave.

Forest elephant populations in Central Africa’s most important nature preserve, Gabon’s Minkébé National Park, have declined by between 78^ and 81% over recent times as a result of poaching, new research from Duke University has found. So, even in Central Africa’s largest nature preserve, poaching is still enough of a problem that forest elephants are […]

The post Forest Elephant Populations Have Seen An ~80% Decline In Central Africa’s Most Important Preserve Because Of Poaching appeared first on PlanetSave.

In conjunction with the decline of practically every other megafauna animal still in the world, giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) numbers have fallen by around 40% over just the last 30 years, according to new data from the IUCN. To put that quantitatively — there were between 151,702-163,452 giraffes in 1985; and around 97,562 giraffes in 2015. […]

The post Giraffe Numbers Have Fallen By ~40% Over The Last 30 Years, IUCN Reports appeared first on PlanetSave.

The iconic ring-tailed lemur of Madagascar (the only place that the primates known as “true lemurs” have ever existed) is rapidly headed towards extinction, according to new research from the University of Victoria in British Columbia and CU Boulder. The research found that as a result of growing levels of: habitat destruction, deforestation, open-pit mining, […]

The post Ring-Tailed Lemurs Declining Rapidly, Now Fewer Than 2,500 Left, Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

There are now only 7,100 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) left in the world, according to a new study from the Zoological Society of London, Panthera, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. The causes? The same ones as always — habitat loss and fragmentation, the “pet” trade, desertification (often driven by deforestation), and the over hunting of prey […]

The post Only 7,100 Cheetahs Left In The World, Study Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

The ocean acidification that’s now occurring, as a result of increasing anthropogenic levels of carbon dioxide emissions, will led to cascading losses of biodiversity in many marine habitats and ecosystems, according to new research from the University of British Columbia and its partners. The new work is some of the first to investigate the likely […]

The post Ocean Acidification May Cause Cascading Loss Of Biodiversity In Some Marine Habitats, Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

Specific coral genotypes (“individuals”) can live for more than 5,000 years (at the least) according to new research from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Penn State, and Dial Cordy & Associates. The findings — based on research focused on elkhorn corals (Acropora palmata) living around Florida and in the Caribbean — mean that corals are […]

The post Corals Grow To Be Much, Much Older Than Previously Assumed, Research Finds — Implications Relating To Ocean Acidification & Coral Bleaching Events appeared first on PlanetSave.

The mothman, the giant supposedly human-like flying creature first spotted in Point Pleasant, West Virginia back in the 1960s has made its return to the popular consciousness once again it seems — with images recently taken (on 20 November 2016) by an unidentified man now making the rounds on the internet. While certainly nowhere near […]

The post Mothman Sighting – Picture Taken In Point Pleasant, West Virginia, True Or Hoax? appeared first on PlanetSave.

The coconut crab has the strongest pinching force of all crustaceans — with the force applied during pinching actually being greater than the biting force of all living terrestrial animals except for alligators — according to new research detailed in a paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Notably, the research found that that […]

The post Coconut Crabs Possess Strongest Pinching Force Of All Crustaceans (Greater Than Biting Force Of All Terrestrial Animals Excepts Alligators), Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

While farming has long been a known phenomenon amongst various ant species, there’s much that remains unknown. With that in mind, new research has revealed some interesting things about the symbiotic partnership and farming that goes on between the ant species Philidris nagasau and at least 6 types of plant within the genus Squamellaria on […]

The post Ant Species (Philidris Nagasau) On Fiji Has Been Symbiotically Farming With Epiphytes For Around 3 Million Years, Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

While using the word fishing is perhaps a bit misleading (though some chimpanzees and orangutans do apparently go fishing with their hands sometimes), new research has found that a population of wild chimpanzees in Bakoun, Guinea regularly go fishing for algae during the dry season using sticks. Sometimes these sticks used are very long, up […]

The post Wild Chimpanzees In Bakoun, Guinea Regularly Go Fishing For Algae, Research Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

To the eyes of a land mammal, the deep ocean is a strange place. The colors, shapes, movements, and animal behaviors are quite different. With that in mind, the team of the Nautilus deep-sea submersible has a nice collection of videos and images on its website free for perusing. Here are some of the best […]

The post Googly Eyed Stubby Squid, Bobtail Squid, Flapjack Octopus, Dumbo Octopus,Vampire Squid, & Snail Fish (Nautilus Live Videos) appeared first on PlanetSave.

Urban solar farms are now being explored in South Africa under a grant awarded by the US Trade and Development Agency. The grant has been has awarded to SolarReserve South Africa Limited to advance its “Urban Solar Farms” initiative in South Africa. This is a study concerning large metropolitan municipalities intended to provide a framework for […]

The post SolarReserve to Develop 200MW Of Urban Solar Farms in South Africa appeared first on PlanetSave.

Permanently protecting nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains, the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean was designated by President Barack Obama on September 15, 2016. Formed millions of years ago by extinct volcanoes and sediment erosion, seamounts and sea canyons are some of the oldest and most mysterious locations on […]

The post First Atlantic Ocean Marine Monument Designated by USA appeared first on PlanetSave.

The last new mammal to Minnesota was identified in 1991—a shrew species. Now there is another, the evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis). It was found this summer during a survey of Minnesota’s forest bats, which was focused on their mating habits. DNR Nongame Wildlife Program and Central Lakes College researchers conducted the survey. “It’s very exciting to discover a new bat […]

The post Minnesota Has New Bat Species appeared first on PlanetSave.

In Mozambique, human honey hunters communicate and cooperate with a species of bird called the greater honeyguide in order to find bee hives. They do this by making a certain vocalization to the birds that they are ready to be guided. The birds come to where the humans are and then begin taking them to the locations. The […]

The post Birds Lead Humans To Honey appeared first on PlanetSave.

The International Day of the Tiger is July 29, but there are still thousands of tigers living in captivity. The World Wildlife Fund has estimated there are about 8,000 living on farms, with only 3,900 living in the wild. Countries like Laos, Vietnam, China and Thailand may have about 200 tiger farms, and some of them […]

The post Tiger Farms Should Be Closed appeared first on PlanetSave.

A new species of whale was discovered in a Alaska, but it has never been seen alive by scientists. In 2014, on St. George Island, a 7-meter beaked whale was found dead on a beach. A biology teacher noticed it and the next person to see the whale was someone who had worked previously as a seal researcher. This […]

The post New Whale Discovered In Alaska appeared first on PlanetSave.

Pollution and climate change have put 12 indigenous fish species on the brink of extinction in India. Research is being conducted in the area between Bengaluru and Melekote in 10 lakes by Dr. M. Ramachandra Mohan, HoD, Department of Zoology and some students. “Of the 12 species, five are under the vulnerable category and the rest are endangered. […]

The post 12 Fish Species In India Near Extinction appeared first on PlanetSave.

It sounds like a sci-fi story, with drones dropping candies coated with plague vaccine in order to save an endangered species and its food source. How do you vaccinate a large number of wild animals against a deadly disease? With robotic candy dispensers, of course. The black footed ferret, which has been on the endangered […]

The post Drones Will Deliver M&Ms Smeared With Vaccine-Laced Peanut Butter To Save Ferrets appeared first on PlanetSave.

For the year 2015, 445 species that were new to science were identified by Indian researchers. Of the newly identified, 262 were animals and 183 were plants. New species were identified in all regions of India, and about 15% were higher vertebrates. The eastern Himalayas is where most of the new species are from. The Western Ghats, […]

The post 445 New Species Identified In India appeared first on PlanetSave.

On your next date, you might not want to try vomiting bioluminescent mucus, but for male crustaceans called ostracods it works like a charm. The female ostracods like it, say some researchers. “When you’re there watching this display it’s spectacular. You can have up to nine species all in the same area displaying at similar times. I […]

The post Glowing Vomit Attracts Female Crustaceans appeared first on PlanetSave.

Sometimes possums are said to be ‘ugly’, ‘beady-eyed, or ‘scary’. They might also be perceived as vermin or having no purpose. However, some research has estimated that possums can kill thousands of ticks in a single year, and some of the ticks they kill are the same ones that carry Lyme disease, which obviously impacts […]

The post Possums Can Kill Thousands Of Ticks appeared first on PlanetSave.

The supposed carcass of the Loch Ness Monster has been found on the shores of the infamous Scottish loch, according to some recent reports. Found in this case refers of course to the recent appearance of a rather interesting new hoax — the photos are quite fetching aren’t they? While animals that fit the description […]

The post Carcass Of Loch Ness Monster “Found” In Scotland — Photos, Facts, & Thoughts On The Approaching Extinction Of Many Marine Species appeared first on PlanetSave.

The solar transition is well underway in the UK. Our sister site SolarLove has reported that solar energy generation surged by around 153% over the last year in the UK (2014–2015). So, without much ado, research about the effects of solar farms on biodiversity continues. The fertile news is that after a conclusive study of solar farms, the […]

The post Solar Farms Improve Local Biodiversity appeared first on PlanetSave.

The Royal Society For Protection Of Birds (RSPB) in the UK last week announced an objective that began about 10 years ago — a renewable energy project for the charity to offset its contributions to climate change. Collaborating with Ecotricity, the Royal Society For Protection Of Birds installed a new wind turbine at RSPB Headquarters at the Lodge. A 100-metre wind […]

The post Royal Society For Protection Of Birds Installs Wind Turbine To Cut Emissions appeared first on PlanetSave.

Originally published on Chomping Climate Change. Walking by fruits, vegetables, or other plant material growing in sunshine, the fragrance is often exhilarating.  That’s in part because plant material in sunshine creates oxygen, at the same time as it absorbs greenhouse gas from our atmosphere. But walking by livestock, the opposite happens, either in daylight or nighttime;  there’s normally an unpleasant […]

The post Cooking Data To Hate On Plants appeared first on PlanetSave.