Solutions | Environment.org

The spotlight

Hey there, Looking Forward fam. We are celebrating a milestone: Today marks the 100th issue of this here old newsletter.

Over the past two-plus years, we’ve covered a huge range of climate solutions, from resilience hubs to solar grazing to the power of municipal budgets. We’ve answered some of your insightful questions. We even started a book club. And, of course, we have kept up a high level of enthusiasm for climate fiction drabbles.

We want to thank you all for being a part of this community. Whether you’ve been a subscriber since day one or this is the very first newsletter to hit your inbox, we are glad you’re here!

To celebrate 100 issues of Looking Forward, we’re rounding up some superlatives — senior yearbook style. My editor challenged me to pick a …

A look back at US climate solutions this year

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| Pollution

Some of the most jarring ways the United States will feel the impacts of climate change began to reveal themselves this year.

The U.S. saw a record-setting 25 billion-dollar natural disasters. Maui experienced the country’s deadliest wildfire in the last century. Phoenix suffered temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 31 consecutive days. Vermont endured epic floods. Despite all this, the Biden administration reneged on its promise and approved the Willow oil project in Alaska.

But this year was also filled with news of encouraging, inspiring, and groundbreaking progress in the U.S., not least of which was its joining a global agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and pledging with its biggest rival, China, to accelerate renewables.

Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 will require decarbonizing the nation’s energy production, transportation, homes and buildings, and industries. Here’s a …

This state employee is scouring the Earth for solutions to combat invasive species in Hawai’i

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| Pollution

This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and is republished with permission.

Mohsen Ramadan’s name is stamped on the corner of a yellowing copy of entomologist Fillipo Silvestri’s 1914 report on Mediterranean fruit flies.

The record chronicles Silvestri’s 11-month voyage from Europe, around Africa, to Australia and, finally, Hawai’i. Along the way, Silvestri collected parasites of the fruit fly, one that was ravaging Hawaiian horticulture at the time. The then-U.S. territory was suffering, its products barred from entering the mainland.

The African wasps Silvestri introduced to Hawai’i did the job, killing off the problem. It’s an early example of biological control in Hawai’i, a scientific realm that continues to be paramount to the state’s ecological and agricultural balance.

But government bureaucracy and inadequate research facilities are now blamed for delaying potentially significant relief to industries like macadamia and …

Trophic rewilding can expand natural climate solutions

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 27 March 2023; doi:10.1038/s41558-023-01631-6

In this Perspective, the authors argue that the restoration of wild animals and their functional roles can enhance natural carbon capture and storage. They call for the scope of natural climate solutions to be broadened to include animals.
Nature Climate Change…

Republicans want climate solutions — just not from Biden

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| Pollution

In late June, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision on West Virginia v. EPA, putting limits on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The result wasn’t in line with what most Americans want, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center released on Thursday. Seventy-two percent of people polled before the ruling approved of requiring power companies to use more energy from renewable sources like wind and solar. About half of Republicans hold views at odds with the conservative court’s decision.

The poll suggests that there’s broad support for doing something to try to alleviate the climate crisis, though Republicans don’t appear to like what President Joe Biden has done so far. According to Pew, 90 percent of Americans are in favor of planting a trillion trees to absorb …