From exporting coral to restoring reefs, a Madagascar startup rethinks business

From exporting coral to restoring reefs, a Madagascar startup rethinks business

Koraï divers prepare to install a frame housing young hard corals in the protected waters of Antsoha Island, off northwestern Madagascar. Image courtesy of Koraï. By Valisoa Rasolofomboahangy via Mongabay With coral cover declining in Madagascar, Koraï, a Franco-Malagasy startup, has shifted its focus to coral reef restoration from its predecessor’s specialization in coral export. Jeimila Donty, its founder and CEO, is part of a young “pro-climate” generation keen to […]

February 7, 2024 16

Environment

‘A deeply troubling discovery’: Earth may have already passed the crucial 1.5°C warming limit

By Malcolm McCulloch, The University of Western Australia Global temperatures have already exceeded 1.5°C warming and may pass 2°C later this decade, according to a world-first study I led. The worrying findings, based on temperature records contained in sea sponge skeletons, suggest global climate change has progressed much further than previously thought. Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming. Obtaining accurate information about the extent of the warming […]

February 6, 2024 22

Sport

Chamonix 1924: A legacy carved in snow

Next week marks the 100th anniversary of the Closing Ceremony of the first Olympic Winter Games Chamonix 1924. We celebrate the occasion by looking at the impact the event had on its host city and region. Until 1924, Chamonix, a picturesque town in the heart of the French Alps, was primarily known to climbers and mountaineers attempting the ascent of Mont Blanc and exploring the surrounding mountains during the summer. The […]

February 5, 2024 8

Entertainment

Wetlands are superheroes: expert sets out how they protect people and places

By Jacqueline L Raw, Nelson Mandela University In the past, wetlands were often seen as undesirable landscapes – waterlogged areas that were difficult to navigate, impossible to build on or farm, and a source of pests such as mosquitoes. But the view on wetlands has shifted as we have learnt how important these ecosystems are for essential “services”. They purify water and provide habitats for plants and animals. […]

February 1, 2024 26

Environment

Ocean heating breaks record, again, with disastrous outcomes for the planet

By Elizabeth Claire Alberts via Mongabay New research shows that ocean temperatures are hotter than ever in the modern era due to human-driven global warming. High ocean temperatures are placing a strain on marine life and biological processes while also increasing extreme weather events on land. The world is also seeing an escalation in the frequency and intensity of marine heat waves, events in which sea temperatures exceed a certain […]

January 31, 2024 13

Environment

Ocean heating breaks record, again, with disastrous outcomes for the planet

A lemon shark in the mangroves in the Bahamas. Image by Anita Kainrath / Ocean Image Bank. By Elizabeth Claire Alberts via Mongabay Human actions are rapidly changing the world’s oceans, whether through overfishing, pollution or coastal development. But among the most intense pressures placed on the seas right now is humanity’s ongoing burning of fossil fuels, pumping dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which in turn has pushed sea temperatures to record levels. […]

January 31, 2024 7

Environment

Climate change made 2023 Amazon drought 30 times more likely, scientists say

The river that supplies water to the Kokama Indigenous People of the Porto Praia community was mostly dry in October of 2023. Image © Marizilda Cruppe / Greenpeace. By Carla Ruas via Mongabay Global warming was the main driver of the severe drought that parched the Amazon River Basin in 2023. That is the alarming conclusion of a new report from World Weather Attribution (WWA), a team of international climate scientists […]

January 29, 2024 14

Uncategorized

Dennis Francis, General Assembly President, Wants to Help Small States. Here’s How.

Dennis Francis, president of the United Nations General Assembly for the 78th sesssion, photographed in his office, overlooking the East River, on Dec. 21, 2023. A quarter of the way into his yearlong tenure, the Caribbean diplomat has shifted his priorities because of the Israel-Hamas war, but he remains focused on sustainable development and enabling small states to use the multilateral system to their advantage. Some of them, he said, […]

January 12, 2024 7

Environment

Copernicus: 2023 is the hottest year on record

Global temperatures reached exceptionally high levels in 2023. The Copernicus Climate Change Services, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, monitored several key climate indicators throughout the year, reporting on record-breaking conditions such as the hottest month on record and daily global temperature averages briefly surpassing pre-industrial levels by more than 2°C. Unprecedented global temperatures from June […]

January 11, 2024 25