Many people feel desperate about the state of the world today. It’s no wonder because the number of negative news we hear is endless – biodiversity loss, resource depletion, increasing inequality, wars, and so on. The more informed we are, the more helpless we feel, thinking, “How can I make a difference?” It turns out […]
How anyone can become a solutionary for systemic change Read More »
Advocates are inserting storylines into TV and radio shows to promote behaviors that could lead to social change. Just don’t call it infotainment. When Aisha Bekele’s (not her real name) daughter was 14, she was abducted on her way to school, raped and forced to marry the man who did it. Scared the same thing
Soap Operas That Teach but Don’t Preach (Reasons to be Cheerful) Read More »
When soap operas are designed in a way that they not only entertain people but also educate about social issues, they can have a huge positive impact on society and the environment. This type of approach is called entertainment education and is at the core of what Population Media Center does. Through hot TV soaps
How PMC’s hot soap operas improved the lives of more than 500 million people Read More »
Women often suffer the most from environmental degradation. A nonprofit in Colombia is trying to make their needs central to conservation. Sara Inés Lara, leader of Colombia-based bird conservation organization Fundación ProAves, got her first taste of conservation’s potential more than 30 years ago. She grew up in one of the most biodiverse places in the world,
To Save a Forest, Look to the Women (YES! Magazine) Read More »
With around a third of freshwater fish facing extinction, ichthyologists are racing to discover more—including the 200 species found last year—before they disappear. Continue reading my story about newly discovered freshwater species in 2021 on Scientific American.
Blind Eel and Nearly Transparent Fish Discovered in 2021 (Scientific American) Read More »
Three fish conservation experts explain why we must urgently act to protect Critically Endangered freshwater fish in Southeast Asia.
Why freshwater fish need as much or more attention than rhinos Read More »
When Colombian conservationist Sara Inés Lara started helping women from rural communities access family planning and education and become guardians of their own environment, she got a lot of pushback from local men and conservation colleagues. After all, it was a taboo to address environmental protection, women’s empowerment and population. Seventeen years later, her NGO
A Zambian park North Luangwa has reversed the national extinction of black rhinos and brought the species back in a successful reintroduction project that is inspiring in many ways. Continue reading this story on Reasons to be Cheerful.
Back from the Brink (Reasons to be Cheerful) Read More »
The saola is so elusive that no biologist has seen one in the wild. Now they are racing to find it, so they can save it Continue reading the fascinating story about one of the world’s most threatened land mammals on The Guardian.
While in most places, we hear about rhinos and elephants being killed, in North Luangwa National Park in Zambia, one of the most untouched wilderness sanctuaries in Africa, the situation is quite the opposite. This little-known park is home to Zambia’s only black rhino population, which continues to show one of the highest growth rates