A tiny (but sprawling) climate solution right under our feet
When it comes to plants’ ability to sequester planet-warming carbon, trees tend to get all the attention. But a new study from the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks is looking to change that. Their research debuts the Underground Atlas, an interactive map of the world’s mycorrhizal fungi, a complex ecosystem of microbes that intertwine with subterranean roots where they sock away CO2. Around 13 billion tons of carbon winds up in this type of fungi every year. “They’re just this key missing piece to not only our ability to protect biodiversity, but also to protect healthy, resilient ecosystems,” Michael Van Nuland, the paper’s lead author, told Inside Climate News. The problem: His analysis found that only about 10% of these fungi are currently protected. That means current conservation efforts, including those in the Amazon rainforest, may be missing a crucial piece of the climate puzzle.
What you can do: Support efforts to curb the deforestation of the world’s lush-but-dwindling stock of carbon sinks. For the Amazon in particular, the best thing individuals can do every day is eliminate beef from their diet; cattle ranching is the top driver of deforestation in tropical rainforests. Here are some of our top recipes featuring plant-based alternatives.
Concerts are turning climate action up to 11
Summer music season is in full swing, and, if you can see through the cloud of microplastics (uh, sorry, glitter) wafting in the air above Sabrina Carpenter concerts, you’ll notice signs that more artists are doing the work to draw down the impact of their shows. Instead of single-use water bottles, Dave Matthews fans are offered $20 Nalgenes and a chance to win a signed guitar. Coldplay regularly grabs headlines for its kinetic dance floors and battery-charging bikes. Billie Eilish is nudging fans to shop secondhand instead of fast fashion for their concert fits by curating a roster of preloved clothing stores near stops on her tour. The common denominator in a lot of this, reports Grist, is a nonprofit called Reverb that’s focused on greening up live music. Their efforts are proving to be an increasingly popular addition to setlists: One survey found that more than half of concertgoers think artists have a responsibility to address the climate crisis.
What you can do: In addition to supporting acts taking clear steps to reduce concert waste and emissions, do you best to take transit to and from the venue. The planet-warming potential of fans traveling to shows is 38 times greater than the footprint hauling and housing the artist, crew, and all their gear. That’s because most fans drive.
The world’s top court puts nations on notice: Stop emitting or pay
Nations have a responsibility to prevent climate harm, the International Court of Justice ruled last Wednesday. Those who fail to do so could be forced to pay reparations. The opinion states that countries are liable for all their climate-harming actions, but is very specific about one must-do item: Stop using fossil fuels. That includes not only producing them, but also subsidizing them and licensing extraction. The day before the decision, the Trump administration’s EPA moved to eliminate a key scientific finding underpinning government climate regulation. The day after, China and the E.U. issued a joint statement pledging to work together to address warming. Though the international court’s decision isn’t legally binding, its guidance is “an invitation for lawsuits in many countries’ courts saying not enough is being done,” Michael Gerrard, a professor at Columbia University Law School, told The New York Times.
What you can do: Sign up for alerts from groups like Earthjustice, a nonprofit focused on using legal action to protect the environment. They’ve worked on landmark cases including Held Vx. Montana, in which a group of young people sued the state for impinging on their right to a clean and healthy environment.
Sustainable aviation fuel still isn’t taking off
Flight accounts for around 2.5% of global emissions, which might not sound like a lot until you remember that only about 10% of the population will ever board an airplane. In the airline industry, righting this imbalance hinges on the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is derived from sources like ethanol or agricultural waste rather than fossil fuels. Despite lofty promises, however, carriers’ SAF use amounts to mere drops of their fuel consumption while their overall emissions continue to rise, according to a Bloomberg Green analysis. At British Airways, for instance, SAF accounted for 1.9% of fuel consumption, but emissions from burning fuel jumped by 5%. That trajectory is on par with the whole of the industry.
What you can do: Make travel choices that factor in what’s best for the climate—including when you do, or don’t, board an airplane. This could mean opting for the train on shorter journeys, picking flights that produce fewer emissions, or opting to stick to economy-class seats. Here are our best tips for traveling more sustainably.