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Threats to Indigenous land defenders in Bolivia have drawn attention from the United Nations. The land defenders are speaking out against water and soil contamination, documented by the state government, from multiple mines in the area.

Leaders from Seque Jahuira have successfully organized, protested, and even passed legislation to address the effects of mining in the area. They have encountered threats and hostility causing leaders to fear for their families’ safety.

Unfortunately, they are not alone in their experience. Indigenous People and leaders from communities affected by mines often experience intimidation and violence, even though Indigenous Peoples have a right to say no to mining or to set conditions for a project.

Protest leads to legislation addressing mining pollution

On September 1st, 2025, the town of Seque Jahuira in Bolivia, together with other communities in the region, held a mass protest against the presence of multiple mining operations on their territory. Protestors marched to the mayor’s office and took the local municipal building. 

With them, they carried documentation emitted by the office of the Governor of La Paz, the country’s capital. The documents stated that, in 2023, at least nine companies operating in the region legally and illegally were responsible for dumping toxic mine waste and generating acid mine drainage, affecting the health of waterways and soil in an area that relies predominantly on agriculture and raising livestock for their livelihood. 

After the protests, the National Ombudsman Office also put out a statement claiming that, “Despite multiple attempts to follow up on complaints of cyanide contamination in the water, they did not receive a response from the responsible agencies.” Despite the existence of government documentation and knowledge of the problem, residents of Seque Jahuira and neighboring towns were still living with the effects of mine contamination on their health and the environment.

By that afternoon, the mayor for the municipality of Viacha, where these communities are located, had signed municipal law 042/2025. This law declared the municipality a territory free of pollution from mining in order to uphold the right to a clean and healthy environment. The law allowed for inspections and sanctions for any mining operation not in compliance, and committed the local government to “mitigate all types of contamination and to take judicial actions for remediation and compensation for any harms caused to impacted communities.” 

Indigenous leaders in Seque Jahuira, allied organizations like the national Indigenous Peoples’ rights collective, Qhana Pukara Kurmi, and communities across Viacha celebrated this important step as more than 15 mining companies were ordered to suspend their operations in the municipality.

Leaders encounter threats and hostility

But the next day, Qhana Pukara Kurmi and prominent community leaders began receiving anonymous calls threatening them for their involvement in the protests and support for the implementation of the new law. Due to the threats, Qhana Pukara Kurmi took down the signage at their office in La Paz and were forced to abandon the office for a few weeks until they felt they could safely return to work there. 

The week following Qhana Pukara Kurmi’s departure from their office, two Indigenous leaders were forced to leave Viacha with their families, a move that also meant one of them had to close his construction supply store. As the threats continued, members of Qhana Pukara Kurmi and the leaders from Viacha were targets of a smear campaign, where videos and messages on social media tried to undermine their work and questioned their independence by accusing them of being funded by international organizations and actors. 

Later that month, members of Qhana Pukara Kurmi met with the Ombudsman’s Office to talk about the ongoing threats and hostile environment they were facing. A few days later, the Ombudsman’s Office confirmed that only six mining companies had active environmental licenses, and that 21 companies of the 23 operating in Viacha were operating illegally without the needed permits. 

While some government agencies, such as the National Ombudsman’s Office have spoken up about the situation in Viacha, Indigenous leaders still worry about threats to them and their families for their role in speaking out about the impacts of mining in their territory.

The UN and government agencies express concern

In October 2025, the UN Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders, on Freedom of  Peaceful Assembly and Association, and of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples sent a joint letter to the Bolivian Government asking them to respond to the events targeting Indigenous land defenders and to provide any information available on measures taken to ensure their protection. The letter cited allegations of arson at a leader’s house, violent attacks, the beating of a leader’s son, intimidation, and threats.

The Bolivian Government replied, stating that they had received the letter and needed more time to respond. Up to the date of publication, there has been no further response from the Government. 

Meanwhile, the situation in Seque Jahuira and Viacha has only intensified since the protest as companies continue operating without addressing communities’ concerns about the environmental impacts of their operations.

It is past time for the Bolivian Government to implement measures to remediate the environmental and water contamination in Viacha, to better regulate the mining companies operating in Viacha, and to guarantee the safety of Indigenous leaders defending the right to health and safety of their communities and territories.

The post Risks Remain for Indigenous Land Defenders in Bolivia appeared first on Earthworks.

Researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are working with Kenya’s farmers to help them respond to risks and make the right decision for their livelihoods and communities. 

Jordan Chamberlin, an agricultural economist and a principal scientist at CIMMYT, works with his colleagues to understand the constraints farmers face and how they allocate their resources. All of this helps the team target “the bottlenecks for unleashing the potential farmers have,” he tells Food Tank.

In Kenya, producers are working in rainfed systems, which are “inherently risky,” Chamberlin explains. He notes that many solutions being developed for farming systems aim to harness big data and analytics to provide better predictions and site-specific advice that will help producers thrive. But these tools don’t account for everything. 

CIMMYT’s researchers acknowledge that each suggestion provided by these new and emerging tools demand investment from farmers upfront. But recommendations to adopt a new technology or follow a set of practices to grow their crops doesn’t offer the full picture. Farmers may not understand the potential or the risks associated with that approach, making them reluctant to make a change. Knowledge can empower them to make more informed choices. 

“We’re trying to ask: How do we think about the information that we present to farmers to clarify what the value proposition is if we’re trying to encourage technology change on smallholder farms that don’t have a lot of resources?” Chamberlin says. 

In agriculture, however, the return on investment can take years to see and in the face of inconsistent rainfall patterns, pests, and price uncertainty, it’s not always easy to predict. That’s why Chamberlin’s modeling is trying to “better characterize that kind of variability.”

Once researchers have the information, the next step is to share it with farmers who are often coming from different educational backgrounds. 

“Some of the work that we’ve done indicates that farmers respond better to information about the variability of financial returns,” Chamberlain tells Food Tank. And they’ve seen that presenting this clearly can help producers “overcome some of the inertia in the face of all this uncertainty.”

Listen to or watch the full conversation with Jordan Chamberlin on Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg to hear more about how we can better mitigate risks for farmers, what CIMMYT is doing to help producers improve soil health, and the effects of funding shocks and conflict that are rippling through communities. 

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The post In Kenya, Better Information Helps Farmers Manage Risk appeared first on Food Tank.

The Environmental Defense Fund cited $1.4 billion in canceled renewable energy investments stemming from federal policy shifts around renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and tailpipe emissions. 

TORONTO — Evan Pivnick, associate director of public affairs at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the release of Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy: 

“Today’s strategy sends an important signal that electrification and growing our electricity system is the nation-building effort we need to enhance our country’s economic competitiveness and energy security in a rapidly changing world. But while the strategy highlights the strength of Canada’s existing and relatively clean and affordable electricity system, it overstates the role of natural gas and understates the long-term energy security and affordability benefits of clean energy.

“We are pleased to see Canada’s focus on doubling Canada’s electricity grids.  Electrification offers a transformative opportunity to improve the lives of Canadians: it underlies affordability, energy security, and competitiveness. As consultations proceed, it’s critical that Canada does not lock in its exposure to fossil fuels as the rest of the world takes fuller advantage of the affordability and energy security benefits of clean power.  

“Clean electricity accounts for the majority of new demand growth globally not because it’s clean, but because in most markets around the world, solar or wind represent the cheapest available source of new electricity generation. Renewables are set to meet about 95% of global electricity demand growth between 2025 and 2027. Backed by the rapidly falling price of batteries, these resources are able to meet an ever-increasing share of the growing demand for electricity. The government’s focus should be on maximizing the cheapest resources available.

“The strategy contains some strong signals regarding forthcoming initiatives for everyday Canadians. We welcome the commitment to introduce measures to retrofit and electrify one million Canadian homes. Clean Energy Canada analysis consistently finds that Canadian households across the country can save hundreds of dollars per month by switching to clean energy options, including  heat pumps. These measures must apply broadly across households and heating types to help more Canadians access cost savings and cooling in a warming world. Young families must also not be forgotten in policy design, which should be careful not to exclude them, for example by setting overly strict income or housing type requirements.

“We also welcome the government’s commitment to provide further financial support to help double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050 at the lowest cost to ratepayers. The inclusion of demand-side measures (also known as distributed energy resources) such as heat pumps and two-way EV chargers is critical. As our research shows, these technologies play an essential role in meeting growing power demand and lowering the costs of grid build-out by allowing the electricity we have to be managed smarter, especially during peak periods.

“Transmission is rightfully prioritized in the strategy, and we welcome the referral of a new Transmission InterConnect Investment Strategy to the Major Projects Office, alongside the extension of the Clean Electricity ITC to major high-voltage intra-provincial transmission ties, complementing existing support for provincial interties. The strategy also gets the details right about the role the federal government must play in supporting new interties between provinces.

“Doubling the size of Canada’s electricity system is also an economic opportunity in its own right. Underpinning this goal are the wires, components, and technologies that a modern electricity system requires. Supply chains that Canada’s manufacturing sector could feed into. It is vital that the government move quickly on its planned analysis of Canada’s electricity component supply chain and on its commitments of further support for domestic manufacturers.

“But the details will be important. The strategy includes a worrying focus on natural gas, including proposing major changes to the Clean Electricity Regulations. Natural gas has a specific short term role, but only after we’ve maximized clean power solutions. “Renewables offer greater security and lower cost and, when paired with batteries and transmission lines, can address many of our energy system needs. Natural gas prices are subject to continental and global price fluctuations.

“This strategy will work in tandem with the further details promised tomorrow on the government’s plan to strengthen carbon pricing and incentivize industry to electrify. We look forward to Budget 2026 announcements supporting this strategy.

“As Prime Minister Carney recently stated, ‘Canada has a clean energy advantage.’ Let’s make sure the implementation of this strategy adequately capitalizes on it.”

The post Federal electricity strategy recognizes electrification is the name of the game—but misses the bullseye  appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

Recent discourse about CDR demand emphasizes uncertainty and scarcity. These concerns are real, but so are the demand signals already taking shape. If we support these signals now, they can create multiple paths forward for scaled CDR demand.

This brief spotlights three important demand trends already gaining traction: (1) credit purchasing, (2) demand for differentiated products, and (3) demand for products and services for which CDR is a by-product or co-product. For each trend, we share case studies that illustrate existing successes and how demand can be further scaled.

The post Not Just Voluntary Credits: Three CDR Demand Trends to Support and Scale appeared first on RMI.

NEW YORK (May 14, 2026) – The National Audubon Society honored environmental journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert with the Rachel Carson Award at the Women in...

Today’s power grid was built to handle an outage at a major facility. But there is a growing risk from many smaller resources failing at once, writes Anirban Ghosh at Black & Veatch.

Naples Daily News: “What began as a fight against exploitation in Immokalee’s farm fields may now be improving the health of the next generation.” Presbyterian Hunger Program National Hunger Associate Andrew Kang Bartlett: “This groundbreaking study is a powerful affirmation that dignity at work is inseparable from health and life itself.”

The landmark health study linking the Fair Food Program to healthier farmworker mothers and children continues to make waves across the nation! 

A few weeks ago, we shared new insights from the study’s lead author on how the FFP’s comprehensive human rights enforcement may not only improve infant birth weights — a key indicator of long-term health and life outcomes — but also reduce rates of gestational diabetes and hypertension. Those findings alone are cause for celebration.

But this week, we want to share two new articles that place the study within the broader story of the Fair Food Program and the remarkable evolution from its humble beginnings in the small agricultural town of Immokalee, Florida, to becoming the new paradigm for human rights enforcement in global supply chains. That meteoric growth would not have been possible without the steadfast partnership of allies across the country — including faith communities like the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), whose members have marched alongside farmworkers for decades and whose news service is now helping shine a national spotlight on the Fair Food Program’s historic gains for workers and their families.

The first article comes courtesy of the Naples Daily News, while the second is from the news service of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 

Collier County labor program led to healthier babies, study finds

What began as a fight against exploitation in Immokalee’s farm fields may now be improving the health of the next generation.

A new study links the Fair Food Program — a farmworker-led effort created by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to enforce labor protections in agriculture — to a roughly 10% reduction in low-birth-weight babies among farmworker mothers from Latin America.

The research analyzed more than a decade of U.S. birth records from 2006 to 2018 to evaluate how improvements in agricultural working conditions influence long-term health.

Dr. Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that findings point to measurable health effects beyond the workplace.

“Low-weight births isn’t just a number on a chart that we think about, but it’s actually really, really important,” he said in an interview with The News-Press & Naples Daily News. “It predicts that child’s cognitive development over the long term of that child, implications on long-term health and long-term earnings and competitiveness in the market.”

What is driving the improvement in birth outcomes?

The study points to higher wages and changes in working conditions as benefiting birth outcomes.

Counties that adopted the Fair Food Program saw a 24% increase in agricultural worker pay, researchers found. Coupled with protections against wage theft, that increase often moves a family of two above the poverty line during pregnancy. Researchers said this financial stability helps expectant mothers have better access to nutrition and medical care.

“It’s the individuals whose wages have been depressed for so long that now all of a sudden are getting a livable or closer to a livable wage,” Rubalcaba said. “It helps alleviate some of these trade-offs that we do when considering economics of the household: Do I buy fresh foods and vegetables? Or, do I have enough money now to go get seen for prenatal care? Do I buy food or do I buy medication?”

The Fair Food Program also mandates farms to follow strict labor standards, including rest breaks in high heat, access to water and electrolytes and zero-tolerance policies for sexual harassment and abuse. Those are all factors that researchers say can affect stress levels during pregnancy.

Judge Laura Safer Espinoza, a retired New York State Supreme Court justice and current executive director of the Fair Food Standards Council, said those conditions can directly affect maternal health.

“The increased compensation, the respectful workplace where women don’t have to leave their dignity at the farm gate in order to earn the money that their families need — I think that’s huge in terms of having a more beneficial result for their babies and their health generally,” she said…

Born in Naples’ backyard

The program grew out of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which was founded in 1993 to fight wage theft, abuse and forced labor in Southwest Florida’s agricultural industry.

At the time, federal prosecutors described Immokalee as “ground zero for modern-day slavery” due to multiple labor trafficking cases.

The Fair Food Program launched in 2011 and established a system of worker protections backed by legally binding agreements with major buyers that require them to source from farms that meet a code of conduct.

“The Fair Food Program is a human rights transformation that was born in Naples’ own backyard. It’s now the leading paradigm of human rights enforcement in global supply chains,” Safer Espinoza said.

“That’s something that Naples residents can really be proud of, especially the ones that have supported the Fair Food Program and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers over decades.”

Could this model influence public health beyond agriculture? Migrant Justice celebrates the signing of Ben & Jerry’s to participate in Milk with Dignity protecting dairy workers

The study raises questions about whether workplace standards can shape health outcomes on a broader scale.

Rubalcaba said the research was designed to move beyond correlation and examine cause and effect.

“It provided an opportunity to identify how changes in wages and working conditions for low-wage workers impacted health outcomes. As an economist, methodologically, what we were thinking about is, we want to make these causal claims, not just associations.”

Rubalcaba suggests the program’s model could apply to other low-wage industries where workers face similar economic and environmental pressures.

How far has the program expanded?

What started on a farm in Collier County has expanded into a global effort.

The Fair Food Program now operates across 22 states and has efforts in countries including Chile and South Africa. Its model has also inspired similar programs in the garment industry in Bangladesh and Pakistan, as well as dairy farms in Vermont.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recognized the Fair Food Program as a “gold standard” for worker protections, offering financial incentives to growers who join.

Around the same time the Naples Daily News was casting a light on the FFP’s multi-generational impact, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s news service was also heralding the program transformative power. Below are some key excerpts from their own coverage, which you can read in full by clicking here.

Giving babies a better chance at life by improving farmworker conditions Study finds positive results for program with Presbyterian ties

LOUISVILLE — A program that has been protecting the rights of migrant farmworkers for more than a  decade has a new reason to be proud: Researchers have found that it’s good for infants and their hard-working mothers. 

A study in the journal Demography centers on the Fair Food Program(FFP), which was started about 15 years ago by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a longtime partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

Farms that participate in the Fair Food Program agree to uphold ethical labor standards to ensure that migrant workers receive health and safety protections and fair wages. There’s a code of conduct aimed at eliminating abusive practices that workers would otherwise be vulnerable to…

Farmworkers in GA receive an on-the-clock, worker-to-worker education session

PHP National Hunger Associate Andrew Kang Bartlett was pleased to hear of the results.

“As longtime supporters of the CIW, we are thrilled to see the Fair Food Program create tangible benefits for the children of farmworkers!” Kang Bartlett said. “This groundbreaking study is a powerful affirmation that dignity at work is inseparable from health and life itself. The research makes clear that protecting those who harvest our food is essential to nurturing the next generation and building a truly just food system.”

Safer Espinoza, a retired New York State Supreme Court justice, welcomed the results as well. 

“We were very pleasantly surprised that the research yielded such concrete, measurable results. But when you think about it, the difference in the environment that’s been created is so dramatic that it makes perfect sense this would be one of the outcomes,” she said.

“The kinds of conditions that lead to healthy pregnancies are much more present for female workers on Fair Food Program farms than outside the program,” she added. “For starters, as the researchers found, their income is better, so they’re not subject to wage theft. They receive the Fair Food Program premium, so they’re able to feed themselves and their growing families better. And then everyone knows that working in less dangerous conditions, free of sexual harassment, free of verbal harassment, free of threat of violence and general worry about retaliation if you enforce or attempt to enforce your rights under the law — all of that makes for so much less stress and healthier pregnancies all around…” read more

While the PC(USA) article begins with the proposition that the Fair Food Program “has a new reason to be proud,” the truth is that the entire Fair Food Nation has reason to celebrate the extraordinary findings of the UNC and Indiana University public health research teams. Tens of thousands of farmworkers who fought to win the right to serve as frontline monitors of their own rights over the past 25 years. Hundreds of thousands of consumers — students, people of faith, labor and community allies, and more — who joined farmworkers from Immokalee in marches, fasts, and boycotts in communities across the country. Together, they helped make real a new kind of food system: Fair Food.

Together they — or perhaps better said, together we — built a movement capable of taking on one of the most powerful industries in the world and achieving changes once thought impossible: helping to end generations of modern-day slavery, sexual harassment and assault, dangerous working conditions, wage theft, and discrimination in the fields. The remarkable findings of this groundbreaking public health study are just the latest evidence of the profound impact that struggle has had on workers’ lives and on their families and their communities.

So wherever you are today, take a moment to recognize what you have been part of: an unprecedented movement for justice led by workers who had endured exploitation and abuse for generations, but who stood up and fought for their rights, their dignity, and their futures. And by winning not only new rights, but the power to help monitor and enforce those rights in the fields, farmworkers and their allies have measurably improved the lives of workers and their children alike in ways no one could have imagined back in 2001 when the boycott was launched and the cry first went up in Immokalee, “Taco Bell makes farmworkers poor!”

Check back soon for more news from the Campaign for Fair Food and the expansion of the Fair Food Program.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared in front of the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday to defend President Donald Trump’s 2027 Interior department budget request. Today’s hearing follows Burgum’s appearances in front of a House Appropriations subcommittee, a Senate appropriations subcommittee, and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last month.

At the hearing:

• Burgum refused to acknowledge that the American people are facing high energy prices due to Trump’s actions in the Middle East and his vendetta against renewable energy, falling back on his tired talking point that “the sun doesn’t shine” at night.

• Burgum struggled to defend Interior department spending on Trump’s vanity projects in Washington, D.C., like painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue and constructing a White House ballroom.

• Burgum pleaded ignorance when asked about the creation of Trump’s Freedom 250 group and corruption at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He also struggled to answer questions from Representatives Melanie Stansbury and Adelita Grijalva about massive proposed cuts to Bureau of Indian Affairs education programs.

“By refusing to take responsibility for his part in rising energy prices, Burgum is forsaking the American people in favor of fossil fuel executives,” Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Aaron Weiss said in a statement. “And in defending Trump’s vanity projects, Burgum is selling out national parks across the country to stroke President Trump’s ego.”

Quick hits Trump officials, billionaires, and the quiet reshaping of America’s public lands

Floodlight

Burgum grilled over Trump vanity projects, proposed budget cuts, how batteries work

The New Republic | SFGATE | The Hill | Heatmap | Mother Jones | E&E News

Drones enter Montana corner-crossing debate

Montana Free Press

BLM cancels bison grazing leases for American Prairie

Daily Montanan

Forest Service is not reorganizing, it is ‘dismantling,’ says union

FEDweek

Climate change starts a new clock on Colorado’s river runoff, study says

Colorado Sun

Opinion: Grand Staircase-Escalante faces a new kind of threat in Congress

Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Tax on foreigners shortchanges parks

Jackson Hole News & Guide

Quote of the day

We know public pressure works; it is up to us to apply it. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the anti-parks and anti-public lands caucus. The same can be said for those of us who want nothing more than to protect them.”

—Ryan Gellert, Patagonia, Salt Lake Tribune

Picture This @vallescaldera

How many of our followers have caught this view of Valles Caldera from Pajarito Mountain?

Pajarito Mountain, Cerro Grande, Rabbit Mountain, and other nearby peaks form the caldera rim, offering outstanding views into and across this 14-mile-wide, circular depression in the Earth.

 

Featured image: Doug Burgum at the House Natural Resources Committee on May 13, 2026

The post Burgum struggles to defend Trump’s vanity projects, energy agenda appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Saving the planet is serious business — but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun along the way.

Twice a month cartoonist Tom Toro contributes single-panel environmental cartoons to The Revelator’s weekly newsletter. These exclusive cartoons use Toro’s uniquely odd way of looking at the world to skewer some of the issues threatening life on Earth — from climate change to pollution to the extinction crisis.

You can sign up to get these cartoons (and the rest of our newsletter) here:

Subscribe to our newsletter

But the published cartoon is just part of the story. After the finished cartoons are released into the wild, Toro also shares process videos detailing how he created them. The videos, posted to Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube (and perhaps some other social networks that haven’t descended into chaos), offer unique insight into how each cartoon is composed.

 

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A post shared by Tom Toro (@tbtoro)

“I make these process videos as a way to invite people into my studio and to enjoy the creative process,” Toro says. “But I also make them to celebrate the art of cartooning at its most fundamental, and fun, level.”

Sometimes making the videos even provides Toro with a few other opportunities to be creative. Or just to make silly voices.

 

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A post shared by Tom Toro (@tbtoro)

One great aspect of these videos is seeing the art build — from initial sketch to hand-drawn black-and-white line art, and then through the addition of incredibly detailed, painted gray tones.

 

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A post shared by Tom Toro (@tbtoro)

It’s all a welcome reminder of the power and effectiveness of physical art — and cartooning — in our digital age.

“Over the years I’ve made concessions to technology in my artistic process, sketching on digital tablets and making edits in Photoshop,” says Toro. “But I always draw my final cartoons with pen and paper. Nothing beats the tactile feel of creating something by hand. The way the ink soaks into the vellum; the momentary sheen before it dries, as if the lines are winking at me; the unpredictable bloom of watercolor across a wet patch. It’s incredibly fun. I feel as if I’m in conversation with the cartoon, as if we’re co-conspirators trying to figure things out on the fly.”

Sometimes the videos show things change as Toro layers on the details.

“Whenever mistakes happen — and they happen all the time — there’s no quick fix, no Control-Z undo,” he says. “I need to find a way to cope with the accidental mark, the sloppy daub, the errant splash. Or maybe I don’t try to correct it? Maybe I let it guide me in a new, unexpected direction? Maybe the mistake isn’t a mistake at all, but a discovery? One that I never would have stumbled upon in the digital realm.”

Watch more of Tom Toro’s process videos below — and seriously, sign up for the newsletter, which links to our latest articles and commentaries each week. We put a lot of heart (and humor) into every issue, and it always contains exclusives only available to subscribers.

 

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The post Tom Toro’s Environmental Cartoons: Process Videos appeared first on The Revelator.

State regulators will vote on whether to finalize a proposed decision by an administrative judge rejecting changes to the Community Renewable Energy Program sought by solar advocates.

The event marks three decades of the movement’s constant struggle to protect nature and uphold the dignity of rural communities.

The post Brazil: MPA Begins Fourth National Meeting in Brasília appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

This op-ed ran in several Kentucky papers in May 2026.

Over the past several decades, rural Kentucky has faced significant changes. In Eastern Kentucky, a shrinking tax base, population loss, and the decline of long-standing industries has made resilience an ever-changing challenge. Through it all, our communities have adapted and searched for new ways to build a stronger, more diverse economy.

Increasingly, a new crisis has emerged: the soaring cost of keeping the lights on. For small businesses and farms that are essential to our local economy, electric rates for commercial facilities have more than doubled over the last 20 years. When you layer in historic inflation, the math becomes overwhelming. Overhead costs eat away at already thin margins, forcing owners to choose between a new hire, a new piece of equipment, or simply paying the utility bill.

At Mountain Association, we have been supporting small businesses since 1976 and saw this energy crisis coming early. In 2008, as costs began their steep climb, we launched an energy savings program. Through this work we continually see one of the biggest challenges facing businesses is upfront capital.

That’s where the Rural Energy for America Program—REAP, for short—comes in. REAP is a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or energy efficiency improvements. For a rural small business owner, that means a grant can cover up to 25 percent of the cost of solar more efficient HVAC system, LED lighting, or better insulation. These are the kinds of upgrades that pay for themselves in a short time, reducing overhead and improving the bottom line. But for many, the upfront cost is simply out of reach.

At Mountain Association, we have been packaging REAP grants for our clients since 2009. To date, our team has secured more than 60 REAP grants for small businesses and farms across Eastern Kentucky, totaling over $2.5 million for our clients. These energy savings projects keep rural businesses open and competitive. As a bonus, many of the projects are completed by local contractors, allowing those federal investments to go even further in supporting Eastern Kentucky’s economy. Without support from programs like REAP, some of the businesses and farms we work with simply won’t make it as costs continue to rise.

Mike Long is the general manager of Long’s Pic Pac in Pineville, a town of about 1,630 people in Southeastern Kentucky. His father started the business in 1964 with a $3,500 loan. Today, Mike is fighting to keep it the grocery store of choice for a community where the median household income is just $27,159. Grocery stores typically run on a razor-thin 2.2% profit margin. One bad year or one season of sky-high demand charges and a rural store can vanish.

For Long’s Pic Pac, a REAP grant funded 40% of a project to install solar panels on the store’s roof and a 60-kW battery. The battery can store excess solar energy and vastly reduce the punishing “demand charges” that make up more than half of the grocery’s monthly power bill. The result is an estimated cost savings of at least $15,000 per year—money that can go to staffing the deli, offsetting delivery costs, or simply keeping prices stable for families in Pineville. Long expects to pay back the entire cost of the project in just four years.

The need for this program has never been more urgent. With each devastating flood or winter storm, utility companies are forced to make expensive repairs to aging infrastructure. Businesses and ratepayers pay for those repairs through higher rates. As the frequency and intensity of these storms increase, utilities will continue passing those recovery costs back to us. For a business like Long’s Pic Pac living on a 2.2% margin, this compounding cycle of damage, recovery, and rate hikes is a threat to its existence.

REAP is a proven, efficient tool that uses modest federal investment to unlock private capital and lower operating costs. But it only works if it is funded and protected. It isn’t just an energy policy. It is the difference between closing the doors and keeping the lights on.

Josh Bills is the Senior Energy Analyst at the Mountain Association. He can be reached at josh@mtassociation.org.

The post Protect REAP, a federal program rural Kentucky can’t afford to lose appeared first on Mountain Association.

The British government has notified the UN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) that it will cut the contribution it pledged for 2024-2027 in half, a GCF spokesperson told Climate Home News.

The reduction, which is part of a wider UK shift from development aid to military spending, will restrict the GCF’s ability to fund projects that help developing countries cut emissions and adapt to climate change.

Harjeet Singh, director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, called the UK’s decision “moral bankruptcy”, noting that Britain has a historical responsibility for climate change “as a nation built on fossil-fuelled industrialisation”.

• Feb 21, 2025 News After US retreat, countries clash over who should make up Green Climate Fund shortfall At this week’s board meeting, Germany and Sweden encouraged wealthier developing nations to step up – an idea rejected by Saudi Arabia Read more
• Mar 19, 2026 Justice UK cuts support for climate action abroad to fund military instead The UK’s foreign minister said the cuts to the aid budget would “deliver the biggest increase in defence spending since the Cold War” Read more

Liane Schalatek, who observes GCF board meetings for the Heinrich Böll Foundation, said the UK’s move was “an unfortunate signal”, especially as it comes just before the GCF launches its next fundraising round.

She noted that the UK has been the biggest contributor to the GCF, and “with the UK halving – where doubling would be needed – this will give permission to others to do the same”.

There are fears that other countries could follow suit as governments in Europe trim their aid budgets, while the US has refused to deliver any further money under climate change-sceptic President Donald Trump and has also given up its seat on the GCF board.

The GCF was established in 2010, and has since funded over $15 billion of climate projects across the developing world. Its financing comes mainly from developed countries pledging money in regular replenishment rounds.

During the last GCF replenishment round in 2023, the UK’s previous Conservative government promised £1.622 billion ($2.18 billion) for the 2024-27 period, with then development minister Andrew Mitchell saying the pledge “underlines our sustained commitment to tackling climate change”.

But, as of March 2026, the UK had only handed over £655 million ($885 million) of that pledge, which is its third to the fund, and has now informed the GCF it will only deliver £815 million ($1.1 billion). The GCF’s total funding for the 2024-2027 period is $10.149 billion.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office declined to comment.

Approved projects unaffected

A GCF spokesperson told Climate Home News that all current projects under implementation have guaranteed funding while the GCF is assessing what the cuts mean for the projects that are being prepared and are expected to come before the GCF board in 2026 and 2027.

“Our focus will continue to be delivering the greatest impact with the investments we make, working with the largest network of partners in the financial architecture and mobilizing the greatest amount of resources to fulfill GCF’s critical and unique mandate,” the spokesperson said.

Scientists warn El Niño could intensify climate extremes in 2026

In a separate email to GCF board members, seen by Climate Home News, the GCF’s executive director Mafalda Duarte warned that the cuts are “expected to have a material impact” on the fund’s work over the next two years.

Duarte said the cuts were part of the UK wider decision to reduce international development spending “and invest more in addressing growing security threats”.

Development to military

Announcing this decision in March, UK foreign minister Yvette Cooper said the cuts were a “hugely difficult decision” and “not ideological”, but necessary “to deliver the biggest increase in defence spending since the Cold War”. The US has been pressuring countries in the NATO alliance to boost military budgets as conflict surges around the world, from Ukraine to the Middle East.

Cooper reiterated Labour’s commitment to restore overseas development spending to 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) “when fiscal circumstances allow”, but did not provide a timeline when pressed by an opposition member of parliament. UK aid was reduced from 0.7% to 0.5% of GNI by the previous Conservative government in 2021, and is now set to fall further to 0.3%. 

While the UK government has claimed it is only cutting international climate finance by around 13% compared to the previous government’s level of spending, analysis by Carbon Brief suggests that the real figure is close to 50% once inflation and accounting changes are considered. 

The leadership of the UK is currently in doubt with several ministers from the ruling Labour Party calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign, with a challenge to his leadership of the party and country expected after poor local election results for Labour.

The post UK halves Green Climate Fund contribution, as it spends more on security appeared first on Climate Home News.

Canada’s forthcoming vehicle emissions standard (VES) will determine how quickly the country builds the charging network needed to support widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption. The federal government is expected to release draft VES regulations...

The Santa Marta summit moved beyond the blockages in the UN climate process, building a coalition of around 60 countries that want to tackle a shift away from fossil fuels. The host countries said the outcomes would feed into the voluntary roadmap on the energy transition being put together by COP30 hosts Brazil, which is due to be presented before COP31.

June’s mid-year climate talks in Bonn, followed by London Climate Action Week, will be key moments to reflect on the progress so far and work out ways to bring the strands closer together. How might that happen while fossil fuels remain the elephant in the UNFCCC room and there’s no formal place for a roadmap on the agenda?

Tune in to hear our expert reporters discussing this and other key topics set to headline at the Bonn session, both in the negotiations and on the sidelines! Questions and comments will be welcome from participants and used to inform our future coverage.

SPEAKERS:

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• Guest #2: Joe Lo, news editor at Climate Home News
• Guest #3: Tais Gadea Lara, freelance climate journalist

DAY: Wednesday 27 May

TIME: 3pm UK time | 4pm Central Europe (CEST) | 10am US Eastern (EDT)

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The post Webinar: From Santa Marta to Bonn – where next for the fossil fuel transition? appeared first on Climate Home News.

Updates to the Global Methane Tracker 2026 confirm what Earthworks has been saying for more than a decade – the oil and gas methane problem is worse than companies are willing to admit. 

Despite Big Oil’s rhetoric about efforts to reduce methane emissions, the world is still far off track to stave off the worst effects of the climate crisis. Industry’s words may have changed (from climate denial to promises that industry is the solution), but our work in the oil and gas field still shows that actions haven’t. Or as the IEA, more neutrally, puts it: “transparency and reporting on abatement plans still lag the industry’s stated ambitions.”

Here are some big takeaways from the 2026 IEA Global Methane Tracker: 

Estimates are estimates…which involve little to no actual measurement

For over a decade Earthworks thermographers have been documenting pollution throughout the upstream and midstream sector at an alarming rate – often this pollution is going unreported until we discover it. Over the years it has become clear to us that pollution estimates are just that…estimates, which contain little to no actual measurements. We are happy to see that the IEA has developed new methodologies that incorporate actual measurements to supplement and reconcile company reported estimates and claims. 

Detection has improved, yet industry still refuses to act

The IEA Global Methane Tracker also points to another major issue we have been sounding the alarm on for years – even when problems are identified companies rarely take action. 

The IEA (via information from the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS)) looked at satellite based methane emissions detections and alerts at both the global and country level and found that globally only 12% of methane detection alerts were responded to in 2025. In the United States, the issue is far worse. According to the Global Methane Tracker, “Since 2022, the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) has tracked 1,300 super-emitting oil and gas-related events in the United States – about 10% of the global total.” – that makes the United States one of the super-emitting countries. However, according to a 2025 report by the UNEP (the administrators of the MARS system) the United States has one of the lowest response rates at an abysmal 2%. 

In other words, US oil and gas companies are massive methane polluters. They claim to have the tools to stop the pollution (just read the methane reductions section of any oil and gas company’s annual climate report – here is TotalEnergies for example). They just don’t seem to take action to actually stop the pollution. What is most puzzling is that the IEA also finds that “around 30% of methane emissions from fossil fuel operations could be reduced at no cost.”

Integrity & Transparency Concerns on Gas Certification Schemes 

Furthermore, “actions” that the industry have taken are shrouded in questions. For instance, gas certification efforts from companies like Project Canary, which claim to certify companies’ methane emissions, often don’t hold up under independent scrutiny. Through our field work we even discovered that some of these efforts are little more than greenwashing. The IEA report references our effort (with OCI and the GasLeaks Project) to encourage Senator Markey (D-MA), a member of the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy (which oversees the FTC) to address certification schemes within the FTC.

Although certification typically involves independent third-party verification of emissions (enhancing buyers’ trust in reported emissions), it also faces its own unique challenges. Measurement-based quantification is not always required, raising the risk that methane emissions could be underestimated. Although volumes of certified natural gas reached 320 bcm in 2024 (roughly 7.5% of global output), certification remains concentrated in the North American upstream natural gas sector, with limited uptake outside this segment. Questions have also been raised about the integrity and transparency of some schemes, casting doubt on the reliability of emissions reported under them.

Raising the Bar: Data to Action at Earthworks

Optical gas image of pollution at Shell Plastics Plant in Beaver, County, Pennsylvania. Taken 16 February 2026.

Methane detection tools are expanding and improving. Data is becoming more available, often at no cost. Earthworks is expanding its use of satellite technology to guide and strengthen our existing ground-truthing of oil & gas pollution harms using our optical gas imaging cameras. Yet, as the IEA report shows, what was true of industry and pollution before remains true today: without proper accountability, polluters will continue to pollute.

This is especially true now with The the U.S. Trump Administration’s pay-to-play EPA stopped enforcing oil and gas methane regulations on March 12, 2025 and recently reaffirmed its intention to roll back methane standards for new and existing sources as outlined in the 2024 EPA Methane Rule. That rule is one of the best levers that everyday people across the country have currently to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for methane pollution.

We believe the narrative must change to reflect the objective truth about polluters. The obvious discrepancy between industry rhetoric and data must translate into public skepticism of every oil & gas climate claim. The facts must translate into known truth so that the well-earned pressure from the public demands industry actually take action to stop polluting the air we breathe and the climate we depend on.

We believe accountability must be universal and enforced by government policies that put people before polluters.

We believe this industry must be phased out. Detection and significant reductions in methane pollution are essential, but only as a bandaid fix. Cuts to pollution facility-by-facility only buy us time to enact other energy solutions to the climate crisis. But not even those work if the number of facilities continue to expand and total methane emissions increase.

Earthworks Data 2 Action To Date

•  Polluter of the Month series with partner Gas Leaks to shine a light on the biggest inconsistencies between the words and actions of the biggest polluters in the US.
• Report on Appalachian Super-emitters found nearly 100 oil and gas emission events in the Appalachian Basin, unknowingly exposing nearby communities to harmful carcinogens.
• Our work has always been covered in a Financial Times article that identified as repeat polluters several companies who advertise themselves as less polluting companies.

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The post Big Oil’s Big Methane is still a Big Problem appeared first on Earthworks.

Nature is full of fascinating creatures that produce light. From fireflies putting on mesmerizing summer displays to fish that glow eerily in the depths of the ocean, this bioluminescence is a result of chemical reactions that produce flashes of light.

In a new study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers have harnessed bioluminescent sea-dwelling algae to produce a light source that glows blue without the need for electricity or toxic chemicals. The advance could lead use in living sensors that monitor water quality, autonomous robots that work in dark environments, and eco-friendly consumer lighting such as glow sticks.

“I was curious if we could create a world in which we don’t use electricity but rather use biology to produce light,” said Wil Srubar, a civil, environmental and architectural engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, in a press release. “This discovery really paves the way for engineering other living light materials and devices.”

Marine algae species such as Pyrocystis lunula produce cold blue light that is visible from the water surface. The photosynthetic organisms, which survive on sunlight and carbon dioxide, flash when they are agitated by waves, passing boats, or swimmers. The spectacular light show draws visitors to beaches in the nighttime.

But the sparking light from the glowing algae lasts for only a few milliseconds at a time. The glow is also unpredictable and is hard to control.

Acidic (top) and basic (bottom) environments trigger different bioluminescent behaviors in algae. Credit: Giulia Brachi

Researchers at UC Boulder decided to use chemistry to get the marine organisms to sustain their luminescence. In the past, researchers have suggested that exposing P. lunula to various chemical compounds could activate the algae’s luminescence reaction.

So Srubar and colleagues exposed the algae to two solutions. One was acidic, with a pH of 4, similar to that of tomato juice, while the other was a basic solution with a pH of 10, comparable to mild soap. The acidic solution was a hit. Algae in the solution stayed brightly lit for 25 minutes.

For a more practical way to use the algae, the researchers embedded the organisms into various 3D-printed objects made with naturally-derived hydrogel. In these constructs, the algae survived for weeks while glowing when exposed to the acidic solution. After four weeks, the acid-treated examples still retained 75 percent of their brightness.

Srubar and colleagues are now exploring whether P. lunula may respond to various chemicals. The goal is to harness the algae to light up when exposed to toxins and serve as a tool for water quality monitoring.

Source: Giulia Brachi et al. Chemical stimulation sustains bioluminescence of living light materials. Science Advances, 2026.

Top image: ©Anthropocene Magazine