Cookies help us run our site more efficiently.

By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information or to customize your cookie preferences.

Accept Deny

GoGreenNation news

Why the best diet for you is also good for the planet

News Feed
Monday, June 10, 2024

Can you eat a diet that’s good for your health and good for the planet?A new study suggests that it’s possible. It found that people who ate mostly minimally processed plant foods such as nuts, beans, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and olive oil, along with modest amounts of meat, fish, eggs and dairy, had lower rates of premature death from heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases.At the same time, their diets had a smaller environmental footprint because they consisted of foods that were grown using relatively less land and water and that were produced with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.The study, published Monday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was inspired by a landmark 2019 report from the EAT-Lancet Commission, which designed a “Planetary Health Diet” capable of sustaining 10 billion people and the planet by 2050. The planetary health diet, in broad strokes, encourages people to eat more plants and whole foods alongside small portions of meat and dairy. It was designed to be flexible and adaptable to different cultural, culinary, and personal preferences.The new report is among the first large studies to examine how eating within the contours of the planetary health diet affects a person’s likelihood of dying prematurely from major diseases. The study analyzed data on more than 200,000 men and women in the United States who were followed closely for over three decades. The new study found the following:Lower mortality risk: People whose eating habits most closely adhered to the planetary health diet were 30 percent less likely to die prematurely compared to people who ate the lowest amounts of foods that form the basis of the planetary health diet.Less illness: Planetary health eaters had a 10 percent lower risk of dying from cancer, a 14 percent lower likelihood of dying from cardiovascular diseases, a 47 percent reduction in the risk of dying from lung disease, and a 28 percent lower likelihood of dying of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.Lower infectious-disease risk: Women whose eating habits closely aligned with the planetary health diet had a 38 percent lower risk of dying of infectious diseases.Better planet health: An environmental impact analysis found that this approach to eating was associated with 29 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions, a 51 percent reduction in cropland use, a 21 percent reduction in fertilizer use and 13 percent lower irrigation and water needs.How to follow a planetary dietIn the study, people whose eating habits adhered closely to the planetary health diet ate large amounts of the following foods:Whole fruits and non-starchy vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, cucumber and leafy greens.Peanuts and tree nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews and pistachios.Legumes such as beans, lentils and peas.Chicken and other forms of poultry.Foods that are rich in unsaturated fats, like avocados, olive oil and sunflower oil.Whole grains such as brown rice, wild rice, oatmeal, quinoa and barley, as well as foods that are made with whole grains (for example, whole wheat bread and rye bread)Lower amounts of red and processed meats, eggs, soft drinks, fruit juices and sugary processed foods including candy, cakes, breakfast cereals and desserts.Walter Willett, a senior author of the new study and a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, stressed that adopting a planetary health diet does not require giving up meat.He described it as an omnivorous diet that makes room for two servings a day of animal foods. A typical week on the diet, for example, might include one daily serving of dairy such as milk, cheese, or yogurt, a weekly serving of red meat, one weekly serving of eggs, two weekly servings of poultry, and two weekly servings of fish.The diet prioritizes generous amounts of fruits, nuts and vegetables and a variety of plant sources of protein such as beans, lentils and other legumes, which makes it relatively easy to follow, Willett said.“You can put these pieces together with the flavors and foods of almost every traditional culture,” he added. “There’s a lot of flexibility.”How healthy eating slows climate changeFood production accounts for about 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Much of that is driven by methane emissions from livestock, widespread deforestation, and emissions from food processing, farm machinery, the use of synthetic fertilizers and other aspects of agricultural production.Most of the cropland in America is used to grow just two crops — corn and soy — that are fed to livestock. This practice of monoculture farming can degrade soil, reduce biodiversity and require more irrigation, pesticides and herbicides. Only about 5 percent of farmland in America is used to grow other vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes, Willett said. Changing our diets and our food production system will not be enough on their own to put the brakes on climate change, but they are important steps, Willett said.“What this study shows is that we can both shift our diets to be far healthier than the average American diet and also at the same time have a substantial impact on slowing down climate change,” he added. “We don’t have to trade off planetary health for human health. We can have both — it’s a double win.”The new study was observational, meaning it found correlations between what people ate and their risk of major diseases, not necessarily cause and effect. It’s possible that other lifestyle behaviors could explain the findings. But the researchers took into account factors such as whether the participants smoked, exercised, drank alcohol, or had family histories of heart disease, cancer and other diseases. The health benefits of eating a diet high in nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fruits and vegetables have also been documented in rigorous clinical trials.Marion Nestle, an emeritus professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at NYU, said the federal government should adopt food policies to promote diets that are not only nutritious but sustainable. “The government could produce clear dietary guidelines, set healthier standards for school meals, support production of food for people — rather than feed for animals or fuel for cars — and stop subsidizing industrial production of meat,” said Nestle, who was not involved in the new study.Do you have a question about healthy eating? Email EatingLab@washpost.com and we may answer your question in a future column.

Read more

Can you eat a diet that’s good for your health and good for the planet?

A new study suggests that it’s possible. It found that people who ate mostly minimally processed plant foods such as nuts, beans, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and olive oil, along with modest amounts of meat, fish, eggs and dairy, had lower rates of premature death from heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases.

At the same time, their diets had a smaller environmental footprint because they consisted of foods that were grown using relatively less land and water and that were produced with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

The study, published Monday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was inspired by a landmark 2019 report from the EAT-Lancet Commission, which designed a “Planetary Health Diet” capable of sustaining 10 billion people and the planet by 2050. The planetary health diet, in broad strokes, encourages people to eat more plants and whole foods alongside small portions of meat and dairy. It was designed to be flexible and adaptable to different cultural, culinary, and personal preferences.

The new report is among the first large studies to examine how eating within the contours of the planetary health diet affects a person’s likelihood of dying prematurely from major diseases. The study analyzed data on more than 200,000 men and women in the United States who were followed closely for over three decades. The new study found the following:

  • Lower mortality risk: People whose eating habits most closely adhered to the planetary health diet were 30 percent less likely to die prematurely compared to people who ate the lowest amounts of foods that form the basis of the planetary health diet.
  • Less illness: Planetary health eaters had a 10 percent lower risk of dying from cancer, a 14 percent lower likelihood of dying from cardiovascular diseases, a 47 percent reduction in the risk of dying from lung disease, and a 28 percent lower likelihood of dying of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
  • Lower infectious-disease risk: Women whose eating habits closely aligned with the planetary health diet had a 38 percent lower risk of dying of infectious diseases.
  • Better planet health: An environmental impact analysis found that this approach to eating was associated with 29 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions, a 51 percent reduction in cropland use, a 21 percent reduction in fertilizer use and 13 percent lower irrigation and water needs.

How to follow a planetary diet

In the study, people whose eating habits adhered closely to the planetary health diet ate large amounts of the following foods:

  • Whole fruits and non-starchy vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, cucumber and leafy greens.
  • Peanuts and tree nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews and pistachios.
  • Legumes such as beans, lentils and peas.
  • Chicken and other forms of poultry.
  • Foods that are rich in unsaturated fats, like avocados, olive oil and sunflower oil.
  • Whole grains such as brown rice, wild rice, oatmeal, quinoa and barley, as well as foods that are made with whole grains (for example, whole wheat bread and rye bread)
  • Lower amounts of red and processed meats, eggs, soft drinks, fruit juices and sugary processed foods including candy, cakes, breakfast cereals and desserts.

Walter Willett, a senior author of the new study and a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, stressed that adopting a planetary health diet does not require giving up meat.

He described it as an omnivorous diet that makes room for two servings a day of animal foods. A typical week on the diet, for example, might include one daily serving of dairy such as milk, cheese, or yogurt, a weekly serving of red meat, one weekly serving of eggs, two weekly servings of poultry, and two weekly servings of fish.

The diet prioritizes generous amounts of fruits, nuts and vegetables and a variety of plant sources of protein such as beans, lentils and other legumes, which makes it relatively easy to follow, Willett said.

“You can put these pieces together with the flavors and foods of almost every traditional culture,” he added. “There’s a lot of flexibility.”

How healthy eating slows climate change

Food production accounts for about 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Much of that is driven by methane emissions from livestock, widespread deforestation, and emissions from food processing, farm machinery, the use of synthetic fertilizers and other aspects of agricultural production.

Most of the cropland in America is used to grow just two crops — corn and soy — that are fed to livestock. This practice of monoculture farming can degrade soil, reduce biodiversity and require more irrigation, pesticides and herbicides. Only about 5 percent of farmland in America is used to grow other vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes, Willett said.

Changing our diets and our food production system will not be enough on their own to put the brakes on climate change, but they are important steps, Willett said.

“What this study shows is that we can both shift our diets to be far healthier than the average American diet and also at the same time have a substantial impact on slowing down climate change,” he added. “We don’t have to trade off planetary health for human health. We can have both — it’s a double win.”

The new study was observational, meaning it found correlations between what people ate and their risk of major diseases, not necessarily cause and effect. It’s possible that other lifestyle behaviors could explain the findings. But the researchers took into account factors such as whether the participants smoked, exercised, drank alcohol, or had family histories of heart disease, cancer and other diseases. The health benefits of eating a diet high in nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fruits and vegetables have also been documented in rigorous clinical trials.

Marion Nestle, an emeritus professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at NYU, said the federal government should adopt food policies to promote diets that are not only nutritious but sustainable. “The government could produce clear dietary guidelines, set healthier standards for school meals, support production of food for people — rather than feed for animals or fuel for cars — and stop subsidizing industrial production of meat,” said Nestle, who was not involved in the new study.

Do you have a question about healthy eating? Email EatingLab@washpost.com and we may answer your question in a future column.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

Related News

A “scientific sandbox” lets researchers explore the evolution of vision systems

The AI-powered tool could inform the design of better sensors and cameras for robots or autonomous vehicles.

Why did humans evolve the eyes we have today?While scientists can’t go back in time to study the environmental pressures that shaped the evolution of the diverse vision systems that exist in nature, a new computational framework developed by MIT researchers allows them to explore this evolution in artificial intelligence agents.The framework they developed, in which embodied AI agents evolve eyes and learn to see over many generations, is like a “scientific sandbox” that allows researchers to recreate different evolutionary trees. The user does this by changing the structure of the world and the tasks AI agents complete, such as finding food or telling objects apart.This allows them to study why one animal may have evolved simple, light-sensitive patches as eyes, while another has complex, camera-type eyes.The researchers’ experiments with this framework showcase how tasks drove eye evolution in the agents. For instance, they found that navigation tasks often led to the evolution of compound eyes with many individual units, like the eyes of insects and crustaceans.On the other hand, if agents focused on object discrimination, they were more likely to evolve camera-type eyes with irises and retinas.This framework could enable scientists to probe “what-if” questions about vision systems that are difficult to study experimentally. It could also guide the design of novel sensors and cameras for robots, drones, and wearable devices that balance performance with real-world constraints like energy efficiency and manufacturability.“While we can never go back and figure out every detail of how evolution took place, in this work we’ve created an environment where we can, in a sense, recreate evolution and probe the environment in all these different ways. This method of doing science opens to the door to a lot of possibilities,” says Kushagra Tiwary, a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab and co-lead author of a paper on this research.He is joined on the paper by co-lead author and fellow graduate student Aaron Young; graduate student Tzofi Klinghoffer; former postdoc Akshat Dave, who is now an assistant professor at Stony Brook University; Tomaso Poggio, the Eugene McDermott Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, an investigator in the McGovern Institute, and co-director of the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines; co-senior authors Brian Cheung, a postdoc in the  Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines and an incoming assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco; and Ramesh Raskar, associate professor of media arts and sciences and leader of the Camera Culture Group at MIT; as well as others at Rice University and Lund University. The research appears today in Science Advances.Building a scientific sandboxThe paper began as a conversation among the researchers about discovering new vision systems that could be useful in different fields, like robotics. To test their “what-if” questions, the researchers decided to use AI to explore the many evolutionary possibilities.“What-if questions inspired me when I was growing up to study science. With AI, we have a unique opportunity to create these embodied agents that allow us to ask the kinds of questions that would usually be impossible to answer,” Tiwary says.To build this evolutionary sandbox, the researchers took all the elements of a camera, like the sensors, lenses, apertures, and processors, and converted them into parameters that an embodied AI agent could learn.They used those building blocks as the starting point for an algorithmic learning mechanism an agent would use as it evolved eyes over time.“We couldn’t simulate the entire universe atom-by-atom. It was challenging to determine which ingredients we needed, which ingredients we didn’t need, and how to allocate resources over those different elements,” Cheung says.In their framework, this evolutionary algorithm can choose which elements to evolve based on the constraints of the environment and the task of the agent.Each environment has a single task, such as navigation, food identification, or prey tracking, designed to mimic real visual tasks animals must overcome to survive. The agents start with a single photoreceptor that looks out at the world and an associated neural network model that processes visual information.Then, over each agent’s lifetime, it is trained using reinforcement learning, a trial-and-error technique where the agent is rewarded for accomplishing the goal of its task. The environment also incorporates constraints, like a certain number of pixels for an agent’s visual sensors.“These constraints drive the design process, the same way we have physical constraints in our world, like the physics of light, that have driven the design of our own eyes,” Tiwary says.Over many generations, agents evolve different elements of vision systems that maximize rewards.Their framework uses a genetic encoding mechanism to computationally mimic evolution, where individual genes mutate to control an agent’s development.For instance, morphological genes capture how the agent views the environment and control eye placement; optical genes determine how the eye interacts with light and dictate the number of photoreceptors; and neural genes control the learning capacity of the agents.Testing hypothesesWhen the researchers set up experiments in this framework, they found that tasks had a major influence on the vision systems the agents evolved.For instance, agents that were focused on navigation tasks developed eyes designed to maximize spatial awareness through low-resolution sensing, while agents tasked with detecting objects developed eyes focused more on frontal acuity, rather than peripheral vision.Another experiment indicated that a bigger brain isn’t always better when it comes to processing visual information. Only so much visual information can go into the system at a time, based on physical constraints like the number of photoreceptors in the eyes.“At some point a bigger brain doesn’t help the agents at all, and in nature that would be a waste of resources,” Cheung says.In the future, the researchers want to use this simulator to explore the best vision systems for specific applications, which could help scientists develop task-specific sensors and cameras. They also want to integrate LLMs into their framework to make it easier for users to ask “what-if” questions and study additional possibilities.“There’s a real benefit that comes from asking questions in a more imaginative way. I hope this inspires others to create larger frameworks, where instead of focusing on narrow questions that cover a specific area, they are looking to answer questions with a much wider scope,” Cheung says.This work was supported, in part, by the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Mathematics for the Discovery of Algorithms and Architectures (DIAL) program.

Animals
Culture
Energy

Common household rat poisons found to pose unacceptable risk to wildlife as animal advocates push for ban

Environmentalists say proposed temporary suspension of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides ‘doesn’t go far enough’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCommonly available rat poisons pose unacceptable risks to native wildlife, according to a government review that has stopped short of recommending a blanket ban on the products, to the consternation of animal advocates.The long-awaited review of first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides – FGARs and SGARs – has recommended the cancellation of some products, but a large array of waxes, pellets and blocks could continue to be sold to consumers subject to stricter labelling and conditions of use. Continue reading...

Commonly available rat poisons pose unacceptable risks to native wildlife, according to a government review that has stopped short of recommending a blanket ban on the products, to the consternation of animal advocates.The long-awaited review of first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides – FGARs and SGARs – has recommended the cancellation of some products, but a large array of waxes, pellets and blocks could continue to be sold to consumers subject to stricter labelling and conditions of use.Baits containing anticoagulant rodenticides are widely available in supermarkets and garden stores such as Bunnings, Coles and Woolworths.The baits have come under scrutiny because they have been found in dead native animals such as tawny frogmouths, powerful owls and quolls that had eaten poisoned rats and mice.The second-generation products are more toxic and are banned from public sale in the United States and parts of Canada and highly restricted in the European Union.Commercially available rat poisons have been found in dead native animals. Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The GuardianConsumers can identify SGARs in Australia by checking whether they contain one of the following active ingredients: brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, difenacoum and flocoumafen. There are three FGAR active ingredients registered for use in Australia: warfarin, coumatetralyl and diphacinone.The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), in response to the review which was published Tuesday, has proposed a temporary suspension of SGARs while public consultation about the recommendations is under way. If the suspension goes ahead the APVMA said the affected products could still be used, but only in accordance with the proposed stricter conditions.“If suspended, the importation or manufacture of SGARs would be illegal. They could only be sold if they meet the new strict conditions around pack size and use,” a spokesperson said.Holly Parsons, of BirdLife Australia, said the review “doesn’t go far enough and crucially, fails to address secondary poisoning that is killing owls and birds of prey” such as when, for example, a native bird ate a poisoned rat.“Despite overwhelming evidence provided in support of the complete removal of SGARs from public sale, we’re yet to see proposed restrictions that come close to achieving this,” Parsons said.She said consumers should be able to “walk into stores under the assumption that the products available to them aren’t going to inadvertently kill native animals” but the APVMA has put “the responsibility on to the consumer with an expectation that labels are fully read and followed – and we know that won’t be the case”.The review also recommended cancelling the registration of anticoagulant rodenticides baits that come in powder and liquid form or which do not contain dyes or bittering agents, finding they do not meet safety criteria.But it found other baits sold as waxes, pellets and blocks could continue to be sold to consumers with some changes to labelling and conditions of use.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailThe APVMA found that under “current instructions” it could not be satisfied that these types of products would not have unintended, harmful effects on non-target animals, including native wildlife, nor that they would not pose undue safety risks to people who handled them including vulnerable people such as children.But it found the conditions of product registration and other “relevant particulars” could be varied in such a way as to allow the authority “to be satisfied that products will meet the safety criteria”.Some of the proposed new instructions would include limiting mice baits to indoor use only when in tamper-resistant bait stations; placing outdoor rat baits in tamper-proof stations within two metres of outside a building; changes to pack sizes; and tighter directions for the clean-up and disposal of carcasses and uneaten baits.The recommendations are subject to three months of public consultation before the authority makes a final decision.John White is an associate professor of wildlife and conservation biology at Deakin University. In 2023 he worked with a team of researchers that studied rat poison in dead tawny frogmouths and owls, who found 95% of frogmouths had rodenticides in their livers and 68% of frogmouths tested had liver rodenticide levels consistent with causing death or significant toxicological impacts.He said the authority’s proposed changes failed to properly tackle the problem that SGARS, from an environmental perspective, were “just too toxic”.White said even if the authority tightened the conditions of use and labelling rules there was no guarantee that consumers would follow new instructions. “We should be completely banning these things, not tinkering at the edges,” he said.A spokesperson for Woolworths said the supermarket would await the APVMA’s final recommendations “to inform a responsible approach to these products, together with the suppliers of them”.They said the chain stocked “a small range of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides for customers who might have a problem with rats or mice in their home, workplace, and especially in rural areas where it’s important for customers to have access to these products” while also selling “a number of alternative options”.Bunnings and Coles declined to comment.

Animals
Government

Trail Cameras in Vermont Captured Something Strange: Moths Sipping a Moose's Tears

Tear-drinking, known as lachryphagy, has mostly been observed in the tropics, so scientists were somewhat surprised to find the unusual behavior so far north

Trail Cameras in Vermont Captured Something Strange: Moths Sipping a Moose’s Tears Tear-drinking, known as lachryphagy, has mostly been observed in the tropics, so scientists were somewhat surprised to find the unusual behavior so far north Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent December 16, 2025 8:49 a.m. A trail camera in Vermont captured 80 photos of moths fluttering around a moose's head, likely slurping up its tears. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Laurence Clarfeld was sifting through images captured by a trail camera in Vermont when he came across a photo that stopped him in his tracks. Clarfeld, an environmental scientist at the University of Vermont, knew he was looking at a moose. But, beyond that, he was totally perplexed. “It almost looked like the moose had two [additional] eyes,” he tells Scientific American’s Gennaro Tomma. When he flipped through more photos in the sequence, Clarfeld finally understood what he was seeing: Moths were sipping tears straight from the ungulate’s eyes. Scientists have observed this unusual phenomenon, known as lachryphagy, among other types of animals. But, as far as anyone knows, the photos represent the first documented evidence of moths drinking moose tears. Clarfeld and his colleagues describe the encounter in a new paper published November 20 in the journal Ecosphere.  Moths seen drinking moose tears for first time ever The photos were captured in the early morning hours of June 19, 2024, in the Green Mountain National Forest, a large swath of protected woodlands in southern Vermont. Researchers had deployed them as part of an ongoing wildlife survey by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. In total, the camera captured 80 snapshots of the moths fluttering around a moose’s head. The photos don’t specifically show the moths’ proboscises, the long, slender, straw-like mouthparts they use to suck nectar from flowers. But lachryphagy is the “most plausible explanation,” the researchers write in the paper. Roughly a year later, a colleague captured video footage that appeared to show the same thing—moths hovering around a moose’s eyes, per Scientific American. Scientists have previously observed moths, bees and butterflies feeding on the tears of other animals. They’ve documented solitary bees drinking the tears of yellow-spotted river turtles in Ecuador, stingless bees harvesting human tears in Thailand, erebid moths feasting on the tears of ringed kingfishers in Colombia and erebid moths slurping up the tears of sleeping black-chinned antbirds in Brazil. But most of these instances have occurred in subtropical and tropical regions. Only one known case of lachryphagy has been documented outside the tropics, according to the researchers: a moth eating the tears of a horse in Arkansas. At first, researcher Laurence Clarfeld didn't know what he was seeing when he spotted moths hovering around a moose's eyes. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department It may be that lachryphagy is simply more common in the tropics. But it’s also possible that “not a lot of scientists are looking in [other] places,” Akito Kawahara, an entomologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History who was not involved with the research, tells Scientific American. Why do moths and other insects feed on tears? It’s not entirely clear, but scientists suspect they may be seeking out certain essential nutrients, like sodium, during periods when those substances may be harder to find elsewhere. They may also be looking for protein boost. Insects typically get protein from plant nectar, but tears may be a handy backup. “Vertebrate fluids are the main alternative source for obtaining proteins,” Leandro Moraes, a biologist at the University of São Paulo who observed tear-feeding moths in Brazil, told National Geographic’s Sandrine Ceurstemont in 2018. Did you know? Resourceful insects Aside from tears, butterflies and moths have been known to take advantage of whatever resources are available, gathering up nutrient-rich liquids in and around soil, feces and carrion, including sweat and blood. Scientists call this feeding behavior “puddling.” Though lachryphagy appears to be relatively rare in nature, researchers still want to learn more about this unusual behavior. The tear drinker obviously benefits, but what about the tear supplier? For now, the relationship appears to be fairly one-sided—and might even be harmful to the host. In moose, for instance, eye-visiting moths could be transmitting pathogens that cause keratoconjunctivitis, which can lead to eye lesions and “significant health impacts,” the researchers write in the paper. For now, though, that’s just a hypothesis. Now that tear-drinking has been observed outside its typical range, the researchers are curious to know where else this behavior might be taking place, and among which other species. They’re encouraging wildlife scientists to keep an eye out because lachryphagy might ultimately be “more widespread than the lack of past records would suggest,” they write. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Animals
Forests
Health

Costa Rica Shifts Toward Regenerative Tourism Alongside Other Nations

Costa Rica has long stood out for its commitment to protecting natural areas through tourism. Now, our country joins a growing number of nations that push beyond basic protection. They aim to restore and improve ecosystems damaged by past activities. This approach, called regenerative tourism, changes how visitors interact with places they travel to. In […] The post Costa Rica Shifts Toward Regenerative Tourism Alongside Other Nations appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Costa Rica has long stood out for its commitment to protecting natural areas through tourism. Now, our country joins a growing number of nations that push beyond basic protection. They aim to restore and improve ecosystems damaged by past activities. This approach, called regenerative tourism, changes how visitors interact with places they travel to. In Costa Rica, tourism generates over 8 percent of the national economy and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. For decades, the focus stayed on sustainability—keeping beaches clean, forests intact, and wildlife safe without causing more harm. But recent efforts show a clear move to regeneration. Local projects work to rebuild habitats, boost biodiversity, and strengthen communities hit hard by environmental changes. Take Punta Leona, a coastal area in Puntarenas. Hotels there add a small fee to each booking, with funds going directly to conserve local plants and animals. This has helped protect scarlet macaws and other species facing threats from habitat loss. In the Arenal area, Rancho Margot operates as a self-sustaining farm and lodge. It grows its own food, recycles water, and teaches guests how to plant trees that restore soil eroded by old farming practices. These actions do more than maintain the status quo; they repair what was lost. Costa Rica’s government backs this trend. The Tourism Board promotes programs that encourage visitors to join conservation work, such as planting mangroves along the Pacific coast or monitoring sea turtles in Tortuguero. A group called Costa Rica Regenerativa advises businesses on how to integrate regeneration into their operations. They focus on holistic plans that cover social, cultural, and environmental needs. As a result, areas like Monteverde see improved cloud forest health, with reforestation efforts bringing back native species absent for years. This shift aligns with global patterns. New Zealand sets a strong example. Its tourism authority invites travelers to participate in restoring native forests and waterways. In places like Rotorua, canopy tours fund projects that remove invasive plants and protect geothermal sites. The country reports higher visitor satisfaction when people contribute to these efforts, leading to longer stays and more repeat trips. Saudi Arabia takes a different path but shares the goal. It invests in large-scale regeneration in desert regions, turning arid lands into green spaces through water management and planting programs. Tourism there now includes experiences where guests help with these restorations, drawing interest from eco-conscious travelers. Finland emphasizes carbon neutrality in its northern landscapes. Cities like Helsinki offer tours that involve cleaning up lakes and planting boreal forests. This not only offsets travel emissions but also enhances wildlife corridors for species like reindeer. Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands provide another case. Strict rules limit visitor numbers, but regenerative programs let people assist in removing invasive species and monitoring marine life. Revenue from these activities funds habitat restoration, helping giant tortoises and other endemic animals thrive. In Mexico, Playa Viva on the Pacific coast runs as a regenerative resort. It restores mangroves and coastal dunes while involving local communities in decision-making. Guests leave with a sense of having improved the place they visited. These examples show regenerative tourism spreading across continents. It responds to rising awareness of climate change and biodiversity loss. Travelers today seek meaningful trips that give back, and nations like Costa Rica benefit from this demand. Studies from the World Travel & Tourism Council indicate that regenerative practices can increase tourism revenue by up to 20 percent in participating areas, as they attract higher-spending visitors. Challenges remain. Mass tourism can strain resources, as seen in some Costa Rican beaches where overcrowding leads to pollution. To counter this, experts call for better regulations and education. Community involvement stays key—local people must lead these initiatives to ensure they meet real needs. Looking ahead, Costa Rica plans to expand regenerative models nationwide. Partnerships with international organizations aim to share knowledge with other countries. This positions the nation as a guide in the field, showing how tourism can heal rather than just preserve. As more nations adopt this model, the travel industry may see lasting change. For us here in Costa Rica, it means building a healthier future for our land and people. The post Costa Rica Shifts Toward Regenerative Tourism Alongside Other Nations appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Animals
Business
Climate

In Alaska’s Warming Arctic, Photos Show an Indigenous Elder Passing Down Hunting Traditions

An Inupiaq elder teaches his great-grandson to hunt in rapidly warming Northwest Alaska where thinning ice, shifting caribou migrations and severe storms are reshaping life

KOTZEBUE, Alaska (AP) — The low autumn light turned the tundra gold as James Schaeffer, 7, and his cousin Charles Gallahorn, 10, raced down a dirt path by the cemetery on the edge of town. Permafrost thaw had buckled the ground, tilting wooden cross grave markers sideways. The boys took turns smashing slabs of ice that had formed in puddles across the warped road.Their great-grandfather, Roswell Schaeffer, 78, trailed behind. What was a playground to the kids was, for Schaeffer – an Inupiaq elder and prolific hunter – a reminder of what warming temperatures had undone: the stable ice he once hunted seals on, the permafrost cellars that kept food frozen all summer, the salmon runs and caribou migrations that once defined the seasons.Now another pressure loomed. A 211-mile mining road that would cut through caribou and salmon habitat was approved by the Trump administration this fall, though the project still faces lawsuits and opposition from environmental and native groups. Schaeffer and other critics worry it could open the region to outside hunters and further devastate already declining herds. “If we lose our caribou – both from climate change and overhunting – we’ll never be the same,” he said. “We’re going to lose our culture totally.”Still, Schaeffer insists on taking the next generation out on the land, even when the animals don’t come. It was late September and he and James would normally have been at their camp hunting caribou. But the herd has been migrating later each year and still hadn’t arrived – a pattern scientists link to climate change, mostly caused by the burning of oil, gas and coal. So instead of caribou, they scanned the tundra for swans, ptarmigan and ducks.Caribou antlers are stacked outside Schaeffer's home. Traditional seal hooks and whale harpoons hang in his hunting shed. Inside, a photograph of him with a hunted beluga is mounted on the wall beside the head of a dall sheep and a traditional mask his daughter Aakatchaq made from caribou hide and lynx fur.He got his first caribou at 14 and began taking his own children out at 7. James made his first caribou kill this past spring with a .22 rifle. He teaches James what his father taught him: that power comes from giving food and a hunter’s responsibility is to feed the elders.“When you’re raised an Inupiaq, your whole being is to make sure the elders have food,” he said.But even as he passes down those lessons, Schaeffer worries there won’t be enough to sustain the next generation – or to sustain him. “The reason I’ve been a successful hunter is the firm belief that, when I become old, people will feed me,” he said. “My great-grandson and my grandson are my future for food.” That future feels tenuous These days, they’re eating less hunted food and relying more on farmed chicken and processed goods from the store. The caribou are fewer, the salmon scarcer, the storms more severe. Record rainfall battered Northwest Alaska this year, flooding Schaeffer’s backyard twice this fall alone. He worries about the toll on wildlife and whether his grandchildren will be able to live in Kotzebue as the changes accelerate.“It’s kind of scary to think about what’s going to happen,” he said.That afternoon, James ducked into the bed of Schaeffer’s truck and aimed into the water. He shot two ducks. Schaeffer helped him into waders – waterproof overalls – so they could collect them and bring them home for dinner, but the tide was too high. They had to turn back without collecting the ducks. The changes weigh on others, too. Schaeffer’s friend, writer and commercial fisherman Seth Kantner grew up along the Kobuk River, where caribou once reliably crossed by the hundreds of thousands. “I can hardly stand how lonely it feels without all the caribou that used to be here,” he said. “This road is the largest threat. But right beside it is climate change.”The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environmentCopyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – December 2025

Animals
Climate
Culture

Suggested Viewing

Reboot

Humans have exploited Earth to the point where it is no longer possible to live on it. Their only option is to relocate to Mars. When the last group of people has boarded the spaceship for the red planet, the Earth can finally breathe easy. Like an expressionist painting, Reboot depicts a world in which the absence of our species is the only chance nature has to recover its lushness and flourish once more.

Animation
Crisis
Cosmos

TO SEE THE SNOW LEOPARD

“To see a snow leopard is to see God.” It’s a film about the search of the snow leopard - a beautiful and rare animal. There are only a few thousand of them left on the planet. Most of the animals have been given names but almost no one has seen them. This is a story about the mystery of human’s contact with another life, with wild nature, and the search for the lost source of inner strength. Scientists, hunters, shamans, tourists - the leopard sees them, but they do not see him.

Animals

Wings of Hope

“Wings of Hope,” is a film chronicling the re-discovery of a population of wild Harpy Eagles in the Maya Mountains of southern Belize. It details the history of the Belize Foundation and Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) and UNC Wilmington initiative born from this discovery – the Integrated Community-based Harpy Eagle and Avian Conservation Program. Created by Emmy-award winning filmmakers, Richard and Carol Foster of Wildlife Film Productions, this 20-minute documentary is rich with breath-taking footage of adult and juvenile Harpy eagles and other wildlife and vistas found in the pristine tropical forests of the Bladen Nature Reserve. Over the seven year duration of the project, the Fosters followed local people involved as they transition from trainees to conservationists and as their lives are changed through their efforts to save this rare bird and its diminishing habitat.

Animals
Nature
Conservation

A Year With Northern Owls

We follow five North American owls in different seasons; from summer heat to spring rejuvenation.

Animals
Conservation
Documentary

On the Brink

A short movie explaining how sea lice coming from fish farms in British Columbia are harming wild salmon to the brink of extinction.

Animals
Agriculture
Extinction

Join us to forge
a sustainable future

Our team is always growing.
Become a partner, volunteer, sponsor, or intern today.
Let us know how you would like to get involved!

CONTACT US

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Subscribers receive a free day pass for streaming Cinema Verde.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.