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Commentary

Water Is a Source of Growing Tension and Violence in the Middle East

From the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in Turkey to the desert wadis on the southern tip of Yemen, the history of water conflicts provides a cautionary tale: When water and politics mix, freshwater can become both a weapon and a threat to national security.

Commentary
Coffee farmer Don Luis explains incremental adaptation measures he’s undertaken, like planting new coffee varieties resistant to coffee leaf rust and introducing shade trees. Photo: Rebecca Carter/WRI
Commentary

Thanks to Climate Change, Oranges Are Becoming the New Coffee in Some Parts of Costa Rica

Costa Rican coffee farmers are shifting to citrus trees as climate change and declining coffee prices challenge their profitability. Some prime coffee-growing areas will become unsuitable within a few decades.

Commentary
Sardinas Canyon fire
Commentary

Why Positive Climate Feedbacks Are So Bad

If your colleague or child does well and you give her or him positive feedback, that’s good.If climate change causes a cascade of impacts that result in additional climate change — which scientists call “positive feedback” — that’s bad, and maybe catastrophic.

Commentary
Forest wildfire
Commentary

5 Graphs Show Just How Unusual This Year’s Wildfires Are

Hotter-than-normal temperatures and drought are bringing wildfires to wetter, cooler regions. Even places that experience fires annually, like California and Greece, are seeing a faster-than-usual start to their fires seasons.

Commentary
Iraqi Kurdistan
Commentary

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Solar Offers Hope to the Powerless

Iraqi Kurds lack power up to 13 hours a day, thanks to inefficient infrastructure and booming demand. Though the region is flush with oil and gas, solar could be one of the most promising solutions.

Commentary
Plastic waste on a beach
Commentary

Banning Straws and Bags Won’t Solve our Plastic Problem

At worst, plastic bans can create unintended environmental problems. At best, they ignore the systemic issues creating waste in the first place.

Commentary
Waste collection door-to-door by the members of the SWaCH cooperative in Pune, India. Photo Credit: Brodie Talbot
Commentary

India's Boom Pushed Cities to Their Limits. Here's How Pune Coped.

Civil society organizations in Pune pushed for reforms to waste management and transport. Government worked with them—to a point.

Commentary
Fog over the forest in Kerinci-Seblat National Park. Flickr/Luke Macklin
Commentary

Indonesia's Deforestation Dropped 60 Percent in 2017, but There's More to Do

Indonesia must build on recent reductions in tree cover loss and protections for peatlands. To get there, they'll need more international support, innovative schemes such as peatland restoration and continued monitoring.

Commentary
Bus in Quito.
Commentary

With Transportation Data, These Cities Became More Sustainable and Socially Inclusive

Quito, Semarang City, Vienna and São Paulo are just a few of the cities that have used data to reshape transportation policy to reduce sexual violence, improve road safety and increase access for the disabled.

Commentary
Road near the village of Ilanga in the DRC. Photo by Molly Bergen
Commentary

Tracking Deforestation in DRC's Forest Concessions Is Complicated

Most of the tree cover loss in our sample concession occurred in areas where, using clues from the ground, we can conclude it wasn't illegal deforestation. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Commentary

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