An Index to the First Two Years of the Field Guide

4/20/23 – The Field Guide to the Anthropocene is a toddler!

a helping hand for a wood frog / author photo

Hello everyone:

This week marks both Earth Day (Saturday, April 22^nd) and the second anniversary of the Field Guide. The first thing I want to say is Thank You. I’m grateful to each of you for the work you’re doing to create a more equitable and ecologically vibrant Anthropocene, and I’m grateful for your support of this writing.

I’m not sure yet what Heather and I will be doing on Earth Day, though picking up some roadside trash and doing some gardening seem likely. Maybe we’ll get the canoe out again and see how spring is coming along in a nearby pond or marsh.

Years from now, though, if we look back to this week we’re more likely to remember our Big Night last Monday, when we were out in the rain helping spotted salamanders and wood frogs cross the road. For those of you who don’t know, Big Night is the name given to the warm(ish) rainy nights in spring here in the north country, when countless amphibians emerge from their winter burrows to sally forth across field, farm, forest, and highway on their ancient pilgrimage to the vernal pools they require to reproduce.

Volunteers gather at known road-crossings where hit-and-run mortality is high, and with flashlights and reflective vests help shepherd these small marvels to safety. I may write more about this soon, but for now I’ll just say it was a big night of small victories and a balm in a world of woes.

I hope your Earth Day is just as wonderful.

As for the Field Guide’s second anniversary, I’m offering an index to the work I’ve done over the last two years. If you’re on the hunt for a topic, or just want to browse, it should be a useful resource.

Please note that this is not a meticulous index which accounts for every mention of every person, place, or idea. This is a guide to primary and secondary topics, plus some key people and books.

It amazes me a bit that for 104 weeks now I’ve been standing at this desk into the wee hours, writing and researching, all in hopes of bringing a bit of perspective and insight to the environmental estrangement that we call the Anthropocene. That has meant looking outward to the rapidly diminishing natural world, looking inward and backward to the particular ways of thinking that have brought us to the brink, and looking forward to the choose-our-own-adventure options of either continuing the planet-shifting behaviors we have normalized or respecting and restoring life on Earth.

This Field Guide is meant to be my hand joining with all of yours in the necessary, urgent, and multi-generational effort to turn the wheel of culture in a new direction. The tasks are terribly large, but the consequences of failure are much larger. We can see those consequences arriving already, as the climate and biodiversity crises quickly intensify, but we also know the solutions. To be clear, those solutions require both revelations and revolutions, but we have no choice but to try to turn the wheel. What else is there?

My list of topics to write on is longer now than when I began two years ago. Each week I add more to the list, which is exciting. There’s so much to address, to think about, to share, and to work on together.

Finally, I’d like to thank each of you again for being part of this journey. I’m grateful especially to my paid subscribers for supporting the work. Paid subscriptions, so far, don’t begin to pay for the hours I put in here, but the more of you there are, the more I can devote myself to the writing. It means the world to me to do this work and to have your support.

Again, thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to our next year together.

Please note that because of the length of the index, those of you using Gmail may find this post cut short. You can see the complete piece by simply clicking on the Field Guide header above.

As always, please remember to scroll past this week’s writing to read some curated Anthropocene news.

Now on to the index:

INDEX: A FIELD GUIDE TO THE ANTHROPOCENE, EARTH DAY 2021 TO EARTH DAY 2023

• Abortion and environmentalism: 5/26/22,

• Aeroecology: 8/18/22,

• Air pollution: 1/27/22, 3/10/22,

• Agency (capacity to act) in the Anthropocene: 12/30/21, 1/6/22, 1/20/22, 3/24/22,

• Agricultural impacts on biodiversity: 2/24/22,

• Aliens: 12/1/22,

• All That Breathes (documentary film): 3/9/23, 3/16/23,

• Aloneness: 12/29/22,

• American Breakdown, by Jennifer Lunden: 7/15/21, 1/20/22,

• Amphibians: 3/31/22,

• Antarctic bottom water: 4/13/23,

• Antarctica: 6/10/21, 6/24/21, 7/29/21, 12/16/21, 12/30/21, 1/13/22, 2/3/22, 2/17/22, 5/19/22, 8/11/22, 10/6/22, 10/13/22, 10/20/22,

• Anthony, Vaughn (my father): 4/22/21, 4/7/22, 10/27/22,

• “Anthropocene” definitions and discussion: 4/29/21, 5/6/21, 5/13/21, 6/24/21, 7/29/21, 8/26/21, 1/13/22, 2/10/22, 2/17/22, 3/17/22, 4/7/22, 5/19/22, 7/14/22, 8/25/22, 9/1/22, 9/22/22,

• Anthropocene noise: 2/16/23, 2/23/23, 3/2/23, 4/13/23,

• Apocalyptic futures: 11/11/21,

• Apocalyptic Planet, by Craig Childs: 6/10/21,

• Arctic Dreams, by Barry Lopez: 4/22/21, 12/23/21,

• Artificial intelligence: 12/1/22, 12/15/22,

• Atmospheric aerosol loading: 3/10/22,

• Attenborough, David: 9/2/21, 2/17/22, 3/10/22,

• Authoritarianism in the Anthropocene: 1/6/22,

• Backyard rewilding: 4/29/21, 5/13/21, 3/24/22,

• Beavers: 6/2/22, 6/9/22, 6/16/22,

• Beaver Believers: 6/9/22, 6/16/22,

• Big Night: 10/14/21, 3/31/22,

• Bioacoustics: 2/23/23,

• Biodiversity Intactness Index: 11/3/22,

• Biodiversity loss: 8/5/21, 11/4/21, 11/11/21, 11/18/21, 1/13/22, 1/27/22, 2/3/22, 2/24/22, 3/24/22, 3/31/22, 7/21/22, 7/28/22, 10/27/22, 11/3/22, 11/10/22, 11/17/22, 11/24/22, 12/8/22, 12/15/22, 12/22/22, 3/9/23,

• Biogeochemical flows (phosphorus and nitrogen): 3/3/22,

• Biophilia: 1/13/22, 2/10/22, 3/24/22,

• Biosolids (municipal septic waste used as fertilizer): 1/27/22, 3/31/22,

• Biosphere Integrity: 1/27/22, 2/17/22, 2/24/22,

• Bird conservation: 3/24/22, 4/7/22,

• Bird (avian) flu: 8/4/22,

• Birds: 8/4/22, 8/18/22, 3/9/23, 3/16/23, 3/30/23, 4/6/23,

• Birds Aren’t Real: 4/21/22,

• Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer: 9/9/21,

• Brand, Stewart: 5/13/21

• Brandolini’s Law: 4/28/22,

• Brannen, Peter: 6/3/21, 6/10/21, 7/22/21, 3/3/22,

• Breaking Boundaries (documentary on planetary boundaries): 2/17/22, 2/24/22, 3/10/22,

• Breakthrough Institute: 12/9/21,

• Bridle, James: 12/1/22,

• Canada and beavers: 6/9/22,

• Cape Roberts Project (Antarctica): 8/11/22,

• Carbon cycle: 6/3/21,

• Carson, Rachel: 5/27/21,

• Cassandra: 1/20/22,

• CASSE (Center for the Advancement of a Steady-State Economy): 12/16/21,

• Center for Large Landscape Conservation: 9/30/21, 10/7/21,

• CFCs: 3/10/22,

• Chemical industry: 1/27/22, 3/3/22, 3/31/22,

• Childs, Craig: 6/10/21,

• China: 1/6/22,

• Circular economy: 3/10/22,

• Climate change: 7/1/21, 8/12/21, 1/27/22, 2/3/22, 2/17/22, 2/24/22, 5/5/22, 5/12/22, 7/21/22, 7/28/22, 9/8/22, 10/6/22, 10/13/22, 10/20/22,

• Climate change and biodiversity must be solved together: 7/21/22, 7/28/22, 10/27/22, 11/3/22,

• Climate change and global inequity: 9/22/22,

• Climate change as a symptom of the Anthropocene: 5/6/21, 11/25/21, 2/24/22, 7/21/22,

• CO2 levels: 6/3/21, 6/10/21,

• Code Red for humanity: 8/12/21,

• Connecting to nature, the importance of: 5/6/21, 7/1/21, 9/9/21, 10/21/21, 3/24/22,

• Consciousness, human and other: 3/17/22,

• Constant growth (economic): 12/2/21, 12/9/21, 12/16/21, 3/10/22,

• Constitutional right to a healthy environment: 5/20/21, 1/27/22,  

• Corporations as AI: 12/1/22,

• COVID-19 pandemic: 5/19/22,

• The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, by E.O. Wilson: 1/6/22,

• Darwin, Charles: 1/13/22,

• “Deadly trio” of ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and warming: 6/3/21

• Debt-for-nature swaps: 12/15/22,

• Deep sea mining: 9/2/21,

• Deforestation: 8/5/21, 9/9/21,

• Degrowth: 12/16/21,

• Democracy in the Anthropocene: 1/6/22,

• Diary of a Young Naturalist, by Dara McNulty: 7/8/21,

• “Doomsday Glacier”: 10/6/22, 10/13/22, 10/20/22,

• Doughnut Economics: 3/10/22,

• Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reduce Global Warming: 6/10/21,

• Droughts: 9/8/22,

• Earth Day: 4/22/21, 4/21/22,

• Earth’s carrying capacity (for humans): 11/18/21,

• Ecological amnesia: 2/10/22, 6/2/22, 6/16/22,

• Ecologically incoherent fairy tale: 12/2/21,

• Ecological Ponzi scheme, Anthropocene culture as: 5/20/21, 4/7/22,  

• Ecomodernism: 12/9/21,

• Economics: 12/2/21, 12/9/21, 12/16/21,

• Ecophilia: 1/13/22,

• Eels and eel migration: 9/29/22,

• Electrical grid: 10/28/21, 4/7/22,

• Electrification of everything: 10/21/21, 10/28/21, 2/3/22, 4/7/22,

• Electrify: An Optimist’s Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future, by Saul Griffiths: 10/28/21,

• Emerson, Ralph Waldo: 9/9/21,

• Empathy: 2/10/22, 3/24/22, 3/31/22,

• Encyclopedia of Life: 1/6/22,

• The Ends of the World, by Peter Brannen: 6/3/21, 6/10/21, 3/3/22,

• Ensnared (living in a world structured by values we do not share): 10/28/21, 12/2/21, 1/27/22,

• EPA: 1/27/22,

• Erlich, Paul: 11/18/21,

• Extinctions (see also Mass extinction): 2/24/22, 5/26/22, 8/4/22, 9/1/22, 10/27/22, 1/5/23,

• Extinction Rebellion: 12/16/21, 1/6/22,

• Family planning: 11/17/22, 11/24/22,

• Farrier, David: 6/10/21, 11/18/21,

• Fertilizer: 3/3/22,

• Fisheries: 4/22/21, 5/27/21, 4/7/22,

• Floods: 9/8/22,

• Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils, by David Farrier: 6/10/21, 11/18/21,

• Freshwater use (global): 1/27/22, 3/10/22,

• Fusion power: 2/3/22,

• Gaia hypothesis/theory: 11/18/21, 3/17/22,

• Gerrymandering: 7/7/22,

• “Ghastly” report: 4/22/21, 5/20/21, 1/6/22,

• Ghosh, Amitav: 9/9/21,

• Global inequity: 12/16/21, 11/24/22,

• Global Framework for Biodiversity: 10/27/22, 11/3/22, 11/10/22, 12/15/22, 12/22/22,

• Goldfarb, Ben: 6/2/22, 6/9/22, 6/16/22,

• Good ancestors, are we being: 7/15/21,

• Good news in the Anthropocene: 3/16/23,

• Gould, Stephen Jay: 5/6/21

• Governance: 1/6/22,

• Greek chorus: 4/28/22,

• Green Amendment movement: 5/20/21, 1/27/22,

• Green growth: 12/9/21,

• Grief: 3/16/23,

• Griffith, Saul: 10/28/21,

• Growthism: 12/2/21, 12/9/21, 12/16/21,

• Habitat loss: 5/20/21, 5/27/21, 2/24/21, 4/7/22,

• Habitat connectivity: 9/30/21, 10/7/21, 10/14/21,

• Habitat restoration: 4/29/21, 5/13/21, 10/21/21, 2/24/22,

• Haemer, Diana: 6/30/22,

• Half-Earth Project: 1/6/22, 2/24/22, 11/24/22,

• Hardy, Heather: 5/6/21, 1/13/22,

• Haudenosaunee Confederacy: 7/15/21,

• Hawken, Paul: 6/10/21, 12/30/21,

• Heat pumps: 1/26/23,

• Heat waves: 7/1/21, 9/8/22,

• Hedin, Sven: 11/24/22,

• Hickel, Jason: 12/2/21, 12/16/21,

• High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA): 1/26/23,

• Horizon, by Barry Lopez: 4/22/21, 12/23/21,

• Human consciousness as root of Anthropocene: 3/17/22,

• Human culture as root of Anthropocene: 5/13/21, 2/10/22,

• Humans are not alone: 7/1/21, 9/9/21, 12/29/22,

• Human supremacy: 12/29/22, 1/12/23,

• Human theater vs. the real world: 9/22/22,

• Hydro power: 10/28/21,

• Hydrosphere: 9/8/22,

• I=PAT: 7/8/21,

• The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica, by Stephen Pyne: 7/22/21,

• I Contain Multitudes, by Ed Yong: 9/1/22,

• In Circulation, by Diana Haemer: 6/30/22,

• Indigenous conservation: 1/12/23,

• Inequality: 12/16/21,

• Inflation Reduction Act: 1/26/23,

• Insects, loss of: 11/4/21, 2/24/22,

• Interview with the Field Guide: 6/30/22,

• Invasive plants: 10/21/21,

• IPCC reports: 8/12/21, 4/28/22, 5/5/22, 5/12/22, 3/23/23,

• Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn: 3/17/22,

• Islands: 6/23/22,

• Kimmerer, Robin Wall: 9/9/21, 11/4/21, 1/13/22,

• Kolbert, Elizabeth: 7/22/21,

• “Landscape miracle drugs” (beavers): 6/2/22, 6/9/22, 6/16/22,

• Landscape of fear: 3/23/23,

• Landscapes of ghosts: 8/5/21,

• Land transformation: 1/27/22, 2/24/22,

• Laudato Si’ (On Care for Our Common Home), by Pope Francis: 6/17/21, 6/23/22, 1/12/23,

• Less is More, by Jason Hickel: 12/2/21, 12/16/21,

• Life in Syntropy: 8/19/21,

• Limitations of human senses: 7/14/22,

• The Limits to Growth: 12/2/21,

• Limits to growth (population, economics): 11/18/21, 12/2/21,

• Living Planet Index: 10/27/22,

• Living Planet Report: 11/3/22, 11/10/22,

• Lopez, Barry: 4/22/21, 5/13/21, 7/15/21, 9/9/21, 9/30/21, 12/23/21, 12/30/21, 4/21/22,

• Louds (Muscongus) Island, Maine: 6/23/22, 8/4/22,

• Louv, Richard: 9/9/21,        

• Love for the natural world: 5/6/21, 1/13/22, 2/10/22, 3/24/22, 3/31/22,

• Lucifer Effect: 12/9/21,

• Lunden, Jennifer: 7/15/21, 1/20/22,

• Lyme Disease: 9/16/21,

• MacDonald, Helen: 12/30/21, 8/18/22,

• Macfarlane, Robert: 7/15/21, 8/26/21, 9/9/21,

• Maine, Anthropocene impacts in: 8/5/21, 1/20/22, 1/27/22, 12/8/22,

• Maine Master Naturalist Program: 5/6/21, 1/13/22,

• Malaga Island, Maine: 6/23/22,

• Marine permaculture: 6/3/21,

• Marine Protected Areas: 1/21/22, 4/7/22,

• Mars exploration: 7/29/21,

• Mass extinction: 5/20/21, 6/3/21, 6/10/21, 2/24/22, 1/5/23,

• McKibben, Bill: 5/5/22, 7/7/22, 9/22/22,

• Microbial Anthropocene: 6/10/21, 7/8/21, 8/25/22, 9/1/22,

• Microplastics: 3/3/22,

• Migration: 9/29/22,

• Mining: 9/2/21, 2/3/22,

• Montreal Protocol on regulating ozone: 3/10/22,

• Moose: 9/30/21,

• MOSAiC Arctic expedition: 5/12/22,

• Muscongus (Louds) Island, Maine: 6/23/22, 8/4/22,

• Natural resource parable: 3/3/22,

• Nature deficit disorder: 1/13/22,

• Nauru (South Pacific nation) as Anthropocene cautionary tale: 9/2/21,

• New normal problem: 2/2/23,

• New Year’s: 12/30/21,

• Nitrogen cycle: 1/27/22, 3/3/22,

• Noise pollution in the oceans: 2/16/23, 2/23/23, 3/2/23,

• Normalization of the Anthropocene: 2/2/23,

• Noticing other life: 3/9/23,

• Novel entities: 1/27/22, 3/3/22,

• Ocean acidification: 6/3/21, 1/27/22, 3/3/22, 6/30/22,

• Ocean circulation: 4/13/23,

• Ocean dead zones: 6/3/21,

• Ocean deoxygenation: 6/3/21,

• Ocean noise: 2/16/23, 2/23/23, 3/2/23,

• Ocean pollution: 5/27/21,

• Ocean warming: 6/3/21, 3/3/22, 6/30/22,

• Offshore wind power: 4/7/22,

• Oliver, Mary: 9/9/21,

• Overfishing: 5/27/21, 4/7/22,

• Overshoot Day: 5/20/21, 12/9/21,  

• Ozone depletion: 1/27/22, 3/10/22,

• Paint: 7/8/21,

• Pandemic, SARS-CoV-2: 9/23/21, 12/16/21, 2/16/23,

• Personal history (mine): 6/23/22, 6/30/22, 8/11/22, 1/19/23, 3/30/23, 4/6/23,

• Pesticides: 11/4/21, 3/3/22,

• Pets: 2/10/22,

• PFAS contamination: 1/27/22, 3/31/22,

• Phosphorus cycle: 1/27/22, 3/3/22,

• Pine Tree Amendment: 1/27/22,

• Planetary boundaries: 1/27/22, 2/17/22, 2/24/22, 3/3/22, 3/10/22,

• Planetary intelligence: 3/17/22,

• Plastics: 1/27/22, 3/3/22,

• Poetry: 1/19/23,

• Politics: 1/6/22, 7/7/22, 12/8/22,

• Polymetallic nodules: 9/2/21,

• Population, human: 5/20/21, 9/23/21, 11/18/21, 5/19/22, 11/17/22, 11/24/22,

• Posman, Kevin: 5/12/22,

• Precautionary Principle: 3/3/22, 3/10/22,

• Project Drawdown: 8/19/21,

• Pro-life movement and environmentalism: 5/26/22,

• Propeller noise: 3/2/23,

• Pyne, Stephen: 7/22/21,

• The Pyrocene, by Stephen Pyne: 7/22/21,

• Quammen, David: 10/14/21,

• Racism: 6/23/22,

• RAWA (Recovering America’s Wildlife Act): 12/8/22,

• Red List of Threatened Species: 11/3/22,

• Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation: 10/14/21, 11/25/21, 12/30/21,

• Reverence for the Earth: 1/12/23,

• Rewilding: 6/16/22, 7/28/22, 3/23/23,

• Rewiring America: 1/26/23,

• The Road, by Cormac McCarthy: 11/11/21,

• Road ecology: 9/30/21, 10/7/21, 10/14/21,

• Roadkill: 9/30/21, 10/7/21, 10/14/21,

• Rockström, Johan: 2/17/22, 2/24/22, 3/3/22, 3/10/22,

• Sacredness of the world: 1/12/23,

• Salk, Jonas: 7/15/21,

• Scientists’ responsibility to speak out: 5/20/21, 1/20/22, 3/31/22,

• Seabirds: 8/4/22,

• Sea level rise: 10/13/22, 10/20/22,

• Seismic airguns: 2/16/23, 2/23/23,

• Sheldrake, Merlin: 8/26/21,

• Sherwin-Williams logo: 7/8/21,

• Shipping: 2/16/23, 3/2/23,

• Shoreline clean-ups: 5/27/21,

• Shortsightedness, human: 7/14/22,

• Simic, Charles: 1/19/23,

• Slavery, broadly defined, as feature of Anthropocene: 2/10/22,

• Solstice: 6/24/21, 12/23/21,

• Sonar: 3/2/23,

• Songbird Farm and PFAS contamination: 1/27/22, 3/31/22,

• Space exploration: 7/29/21, 12/16/21, 3/17/22,

• Species loneliness: 9/9/21,

• Spring: 3/23/23,

• Steady-state economy: 12/16/21,

• Stockholm Resiliency Centre: 1/27/22, 2/17/22, 2/24/22, 3/3/22, 3/10/22,

• Studying nature: 5/6/21, 1/13/22, 3/24/22,

• The Sun: 2/3/22,

• Supervolcano, human CO2 output resembling: 6/3/21, 6/10/21,

• Synthetic microbes: 9/1/22,

• Tallamy, Douglas: 4/29/21

• Thunberg, Greta: 11/11/21, 12/9/21, 1/6/22,

• Thwaites Glacier: 10/6/22, 10/13/22, 10/20/22,

• Ticks: 9/16/21,

• Time, Anthropocene compression of: 6/10/21, 2/24/22, 1/5/23, 2/2/23,

• Topophilia: 1/13/22,

• Tree swallows: 3/24/22,

• Turtles: 3/31/22,

• Ukraine war: 2/16/23,

• U.N. Biodiversity Conference: 10/27/22, 11/3/22, 11/10/22, 12/8/22, 12/15/22, 12/22/22,

• Unnatural selection: 9/1/22,

• Underland: A Deep Time Journey, by Robert Macfarlane: 7/15/21, 8/26/21,

• Urban wildlife: 3/9/23,

• Vegetarianism, benefits of: 3/3/22, 3/10/22,

• Veneer of civilization: 11/11/21,

• Vesper Flights, by Helen MacDonald: 12/30/21, 8/18/22,

• Water crisis: 3/10/22,

• Waves: 7/14/22,

• Ways of Being, by James Bridle: 12/1/22,

• We are not alone: 12/29/22,

• Weather, as altered by climate change: 7/1/21,

• Weddell seals: 2/23/23,

• West Antarctic Ice Sheet: 10/6/22, 10/13/22, 10/20/22,

• Wetlands: 6/2/22, 6/9/22, 6/16/22,

• White Sky, by Elizabeth Kolbert: 7/22/21,

• Who is We?: 9/22/22,

• Wicked Problem: 1/6/22,

• Wildlife crossings: 9/30/21, 10/7/21, 10/14/21,

• Wilson, E.O.: 9/23/21, 11/4/21, 11/18/21, 1/6/22, 1/13/22,

• Wind power: 4/7/22, 3/2/23,

• Windshield phenomenon: 11/4/21,

• Yong, Ed: 9/1/22,

• Zaitchik, Alexander: 12/2/21, 12/16/21,

spotted salamander crossing the road

Thanks for sticking with me.

In other Anthropocene news:

From the Times, a brilliant idea to cover California’s 4,000 miles of canals with solar panels. The list of benefits is remarkably long: smart use of space for solar arrays, huge reduction in evaporation from the canals, improved panel efficiency because of the water’s cooling effect, no real estate purchase necessary, reduced algae growth in the canals, and the replacement of diesel irrigation pumps with solar power.

From the AP, a federal judge in North Dakota has temporarily blocked the implementation of regulations (from the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers) which define what the Clean Water Act means by “waters of the United States.” The new rules, fiercely disliked by agriculture and ranching interests, would clarify that the Clean Water Act does in fact apply to wetlands, small intermittent streams, etc. I understand the urge to fight regulations, but we no longer live in a world that can afford to sacrifice wetlands and other biodiverse habitats. The judge’s block is in place until a lawsuit from several states makes its way through the Supreme Court.

From Anthropocene, the most detailed study of the food waste life cycle has much to teach us about how to reduce the waste.

From E&E News, an explanation of the implications of the 9^th Circuit ruling that overturned the ban on natural gas in new construction in Berkeley, CA. It’s a win for the fossil fuel industry, but there are solutions, like a town/city rewriting its building codes rather than creating a ban, or (more usefully) the federal government updating its regulations.

From the Guardian, some good news for coral reefs, as a new deepwater reef was found in a Galapagos marine preserve, thriving and pristine. “This has raised hopes,” the Guardian notes, “that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification. It also showed the effectiveness of conservation actions and effective management.”

From Nature, a clear and urgent message on the false promise of carbon dioxide removal technology. It’s worth investing in for after we’ve severely reduced our emissions, but it’s worse than useless as a tool to “fix” climate change. At the moment, it’s an expensive distraction.

From Vox, the truth about water usage in the U.S. West, where drought and excess usage is becoming an existential issue for cities and agriculture. Most of the water goes to grow food for cows. More than 75% of water usage from the Colorado river is for crops, and about 70% of those crops are fed to cows.