-
1 week ago | 
csmonitor.com | Troy Sambajon |Cameron Pugh
The “Stockholm tree pit” nurtures urban forestsUsing more breathable materials reduces the need for irrigation and increases tree survival. The design, pioneered in Sweden, involves giving a tree an underground structure of soil, stone, and biochar to aerate and fertilize. These layers allow trees surrounded by concrete to absorb more oxygen and rainwater.
-
2 weeks ago | 
csmonitor.com | Cameron Pugh |Troy Sambajon
The collaborative experience of owning their company raises home health care workers’ job satisfactionMore older Americans are depending on home care workers, but at the same time, studies suggest that poor working conditions in most of the industry exacerbate staffing shortages. In contrast to traditionally run care companies, co-ops are owned and run by the workers and generally have lower turnover.
-
3 weeks ago | 
csmonitor.com | Troy Sambajon |Ira Porter
Colleges across the United States are facing a looming crisis: The enrollment cliff, a projected decline in college-age students, threatens to shrink college programs and strain budgets. At the same time, rising tuition and expenses, the resumption of student loan collections in May by the federal government, and return on investment concerns have made affordability a key issue for students and families.
-
3 weeks ago | 
csmonitor.com | Troy Sambajon |Cameron Pugh
An international court weighed in for the first time on whether a government protected the rights of uncontacted peoplesSome 10,000 people worldwide live in Indigenous groups that voluntarily have little to no contact with the outside world. In March, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered Ecuador to prevent third parties from entering uncontacted peoples’ lands.
-
1 month ago | 
csmonitor.com | Cameron Pugh |Troy Sambajon
Eastern monarch butterflies doubled in populationAccording to a new report, the butterflies occupied 4.42 acres in central Mexico’s forests over the winter, up from 2.22 acres the previous year – the second-lowest total recorded in three decades of data. These migrating pollinators need large forests for protection against weather, and scientists attribute this year’s growth to less severe drought along the route from Canada and the United States to Mexico.
-
1 month ago | 
csmonitor.com | Troy Sambajon |Stephanie Hanes
Beside a restored creek in San Geronimo, California, birds soar where birdies once were scored. Formerly home to an 18-hole golf course, the 157-acre property has been rewilded into a thriving nature preserve. The fairway, once groomed to unnatural perfection, is now overgrown with tall grass and wildflowers. Putting greens have become pastures. A sand trap serves as a children’s play area.
-
1 month ago | 
csmonitor.com | Cameron Pugh |Troy Sambajon
Cacao farmers can increase yields from old trees and avoid clearing more forestWhen their trees produce fewer pods over time, farmers typically start new plantations. In Peru, grafting was found to boost productivity by 45% within two years, while preserving biodiversity. Researchers from the universities of Göttingen and Würzburg worked in the northwestern Piura region, grafting new branches of the prized cacao Blanco de Piura variety onto old stock.
-
1 month ago | 
csmonitor.com | Cameron Pugh |Troy Sambajon
A Texas airport is harnessing the wind power of jets at takeoffThe American company JetWind Power uses giant turbines to capture forceful air from planes and transform it into electricity. Dallas Love Field has served as a testing ground since 2021. Five solar-powered turbine “pods” on the tarmac collect wind, which started powering device-charging stations in the terminal in November. Eight more pods will follow.
-
1 month ago | 
csmonitor.com | Troy Sambajon |Jacob Turcotte
The United States is seeing a sudden drop in overdose deaths. The country saw a 25.7% decline in drug overdose deaths in 2024 compared with the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was the lowest number of overdose deaths in a 12-month period since 2020. Some 46 states reported a decline from 2023 to 2024. Virginia observed the most drastic reduction in deaths – a 41.6% decline.
-
1 month ago | 
csmonitor.com | Cameron Pugh |Troy Sambajon
Removals of small dams are restoring rivers across the Northeast U.S.Though smaller than those found in the West, more than 31,000 dams from Maryland to Maine nevertheless block fish migration and degrade waterways. American Rivers, an environmental nonprofit, estimates that 85% of U.S. dams – many built in the 19th century to support manufacturing – are unnecessary. Studies have found that removing dams can boost fish passage, improve water quality, and build watershed resilience.
