What is an Earthship? At the corner of 41st Street and Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia, Rashida Ali-Campbell is pioneering the world’s first urban Earthship. An Earthship is a type of sustainable housing structure first developed in Taos New Mexico by architect Michael Reynolds. The autonomous, off-grid house takes care of human’s six basic needs […]
As global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions threaten the world with irreversible climate collapse, activists around the United States and the world have turned to fossil fuel divestment as a major strategy to stop fossil fuel extraction. Experts agree that global warming is caused by humans burning fossil fuels and that it will continue to accelerate […]
Last year, global attention briefly coalesced around fires ravaging the Amazon Rainforest. As the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to affect the whole world, Branch Out reported in the past weeks that deforestation is the leading cause of new infectious diseases. In addition to threatening global public health, deforestation threatens the very existence of the Indigenous […]
Introduction The ongoing pandemic of the novel coronavirus – COVID-19 – is already affecting all our lives. While the full extent of its spread and resultant mortality is yet to be seen, there is no doubt that in terms of media coverage, social dynamics, economic consequences and government reaction, something unprecedented is happening. Far from […]
Global Burning This past August, a significant segment of world leaders attended the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France. The United States skipped out on the climate change discussion, where leaders turned their attention to forest fires, an often overlooked aspect of the climate crisis. Wildfires in the Amazon rainforest increased by an estimated 84% from […]
At the root of the climate crisis is the fundamental problem of humanity’s alienation from nature. Accordingly, one of the most radical, bold, and transformative actions we can take is both natural and straightforward: planting trees en masse in order to regenerate and strengthen our local ecosystems and sequester tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide […]
In 2018, each of us has been told by now to lower our carbon footprint. Taking public transportation instead of driving, saving electricity by turning off lights and devices, and eating less meat are common ways to reduce the number of greenhouse gases we are responsible for. These are all good practices but we can […]
Traveling along the Pacific Coast of the United States, it is impossible not to marvel at the enormity of coastal redwoods, known scientifically as Sequoia sempervirens. Redwoods shoot up to more than 320 feet high, and some are estimated to have lived about 2,500 years. These skyscrapers from nature hold secrets in their biology and ecology […]
Introduction Two hundred years ago, there were at least ten times as many redwoods living in the Bay Area as there are today. These trees play a vital role in their ecosystems, providing numerous benefits for local plants and animals while removing massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere [1]. Greenhouse gas levels and […]
