Register now: Animal Advocacy Training & Wildlife Talks this weekend

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA)

Have you been wondering how to get involved in improving animal protection in Massachusetts? Join Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) for an Advocate for Animals Training. They will discuss the legislative process, preview the upcoming 2023-2024 session, and cover the many different ways that you can make a difference for animals. You’ll also have a chance to connect with others in your community who are also interested in animal protection issues. Register here to attend. If you first want to learn more about wildlife and how humans can co-exist with them in harmony, join the MSPCA presentation on 'Coexisting Humanely with Wildlife'. Topics include: how to avoid negative encounters with wildlife; information about MSPCA resources, including bear-proofing funding and beaver conflict resolution support; debunking common wildlife myths; and an overview of the MSPCA’s wildlife-related advocacy. There are two talks taking place in Pittsfield and Montery! Learn more about these talks

Despite Biden's promises, logging still threatens old forests and U.S. climate goals

Grist

"On Earth Day 2022, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to protect important but overlooked partners in the fight against climate change: mature and old-growth forests that sequester carbon, without charging a dime. [...] But in spite of Biden’s recent commitment, federal agencies continue to move dozens of logging projects forward in federal forests across the United States, putting over 300,000 acres at risk, according to a recent report by non-profit group, Climate Forests. Lauren Anderson, climate forest program manager for the conservation group Oregon Wild, said that’s in part due to a glaring omission in the Biden administration’s executive order. 'It did not highlight logging as a threat,' Anderson said." Read More

Louisiana Communities Show the Many Contours of Climate Migration

Oisakhose Aghomo | Yes! Magazine

"Since he purchased his 311-acre property in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, in 1998, John Allaire has watched 60 acres of it disappear. He has witnessed a series of climate disasters rapidly wash away Louisiana’s coastline, devastating already-overlooked communities like his. In 2005, he lost his home to Hurricane Rita. He applied for federal assistance to rebuild his home but was rejected. Instead, he was compensated with a temporary trailer, which he then lost to Hurricane Ike in 2008. He has been moving between Texas and Lafayette, Louisiana, for work since then. Climate events like these are becoming more frequent and higher in magnitude across the U.S. Gulf and Coastal South, and they’re displacing more and more people—especially BIPOC folks, who have been disproportionately affected by climate change across the globe. [...] In 2021, 59.1 million people were internally displaced worldwide by the climate crisis, and there will be more than 200 million climate migrants by 2050. Yet institutionalized protections for climate-displaced people are not guaranteed." Read More

Mimic Makers

Mary Holland | Naturally Curious

"Biomimicry, which refers to innovations by humans that are inspired by nature, happens to be one of my favorite topics, and I particularly love introducing the concept to children. Occasionally I come across a natural history book which is so compelling that I want to share it with Naturally Curious readers, especially at a gift-giving time of year. Mimic Makers: Biomimicry Inventors Inspired by Nature by Kristen Nordstrom is one of these books. Written for elementary school readers, it engagingly presents ten “mimic makers” who come up with technological inventions based on the natural world (leaf-inspired solar panels, beetle-inspired water collectors, maple seed-inspired drones, etc.). It’s biomimicry at its very best, guaranteed to captivate young (and not so young), inquisitive minds. (Photo: Red Maple seeds/samaras)" Read More

Energy-efficient heat pumps will be required for all new homes in Washington

Carla Delgado | Popular Science

"Nearly every new home and commercial building in Washington state will be required to install a heat pump in under a year. This follows the Climate Commitment Act signed into law in the state last year, which aims to limit pollution to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. Back in April, the Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) voted to require the installation of heat pumps for new commercial and multi-family buildings. The council recently voted in favor of requiring it for new residential construction as well, both of which are expected to go into effect in July 2023. These updates to the state’s commercial and residential codes encourage building electrification, which is a major step in phasing out the use of fossil fuels for heating and cooling." Read More

COP27 summit agrees to help climate victims. But it does nothing to stop fossil fuels

Ivana Kottasová, Ella Nilsen, & Rachel Ramirez | CNN

"The world has failed to reach an agreement to phase out fossil fuels after marathon UN climate talks were 'stonewalled' by a number of oil-producing nations. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries at the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt took the historic step of agreeing to set up a “loss and damage” fund meant to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters and agreed the globe needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half by 2030. The agreement also reaffirmed the goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, an attempt to address the biggest source of the planet warming emissions that are causing the climate crisis ended in a fiasco after a number of nations, including China and Saudi Arabia, blocked a key proposal to phase out all fossil fuels, not just coal." Read More