As world leaders and business titans gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, tackling climate change was top of the agenda. So today we're delivering to you our best solutions-oriented environmental coverage. Read about how legalized marijuana can save wildlife, credit card companies could cater to the climate-conscious and Native communities are connecting with Pope Francis (pictured) to save the planet.
| | | Illegal cannabis farming takes a toll on public lands. Pacific fishers, bobcats, northern spotted owls and San Joaquin kit foxes are all listed as threatened or endangered animals under the Endangered Species Act. But there may be a surprisingly simple fix to their status: Legalize cannabis. Up to 70 percent of the black-market cannabis in California is cultivated on illegal sites, called trespass grows, that are located in national parks and other public lands, according to the Cannabis Removal on Public Lands (CROP) Project, a nonprofit coalition of conservation organizations and government groups. To establish these illicit pot farms, growers raze a section of forest, siphon water from streams for irrigation and use mass quantities of pesticides, turning once pristine wildlife habitats into dead zones. | | READ NOW |
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| | | | What if a bank introduced a credit card with rewards that only went to carbon offsets? If you’re feeling climate-anxious but unwilling to cut your consumption … behold, the eco-friendly credit card. Today, credit card consumers can put points earned toward frequent flier miles or, if they’re feeling altruistic, channel them toward philanthropic causes. What if a points-based card automatically offsets the carbon footprint of all your purchases? This could be the card for people who spend money and love to jet-set but feel ashamed about it. (There’s even a Swedish word for that: flygskam). | | READ NOW |
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| | | | | Rasmus Andresen, 33, personifies a new generation of progressive, pan-European politics. |
| | | Indigenous communities are demanding that their environmental concerns be heard. |
| | | From an injectable vasectomy to recycling India's flowers, here’s the best of OZY this week. |
| | | Tricks for water conservation are becoming ever more important in India. |
| | | Solar storage is helping the Golden State's schools remain open — and safe — during wildfires. |
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