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The US energy landscape is swiftly transitioning away from fossil fuels in favor of renewables, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. "By the close of 2014, the United States was relying on an unprecedented amount of renewable energy from wind turbines, solar panels, and other technologies. We are bearing witness to fundamental change in the energy sector, reflecting the needs and aspirations of all who depend on it," said the report. It added that US carbon emissions have already dropped 10% below 2005 levels

It may come as a surprise to learn that we are in the middle of the third great coral bleaching event in human history. And scientists are calling it the severest yet. The last great bleaching event was in 1998 when 11% of the world's coral reef coverage was lost. Some areas like the Maldives lost as much as 90% of their reefs. This event is worse, possibly much worse. 38% of the planet's reefs will be affected, with 12,000 sq km of reefs killed off entirely according to experts.

The largest solar-powered desalination plant in the US is planned in Fresno County, an inland area in California where the water contains natural salt and needs to be treated. The project, which could get underway next year, will create enough drinking water for 10,000 homes

The Natural Resources Defense Council and China's Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs released the 2018 Green Supply Chain Corporate Information Transparency Index, which ranks companies across 15 industries on their supply chain transparency, compliance, energy conservation, and environmental protection practices. The top-3 ranked companies were Apple, Dell, and Levi Strauss & Company.

Today, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in the U.S. and the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) in China launched the IPE Green Supply Chain Map, the only tool in the world to openly link leading multinational corporations to their suppliers' environmental performance.

Vivobarefoot is producing Ultra III, amphibious adventure shoes that contain Bloom's algae-based foam. Each pair of shoes will be composed of 25% algae foam that the company says help protect waterways by recirculating "57 gallons of filtered water back into natural habitats."

Naturally alkaline Hawaiian bottled water brand Waiākea says it will be the first beverage brand to utilize PET bottles that degrade in 10-15 years - rather than 1,500 - after teaming up with Florida-based TimePlast.

Nike introduced Flyleather, a new material made with at least 50% recycled natural leather fiber. The material requires 90% less water to produce and has an 80% lower carbon footprint, compared to traditional leather manufacturing

Thirteen nature conservation organizations are urging world leaders to back a plan to protect 30 percent of the world's surface and oceans by 2030.

Hershey Co. is spending $500 million in the hopes of producing its iconic chocolate Kisses from more sustainable cocoa. Through its so-called Cocoa for Good program, the company will invest the funds through 2030 to support four key areas: nourishing children, empowering youth, building prosperous communities and preserving natural ecosystems.

A number of biologists have recently made the argument that extinction is part of evolution and that saving species need not be a conservation priority. But this revisionist thinking shows a lack of understanding of evolution and an ignorance of the natural world.

Research published in the American Journal of Primatology earlier this month finds that the overall Western Chimpanzee population declined by six percent annually between 1990 and 2014, a total decline of 80.2 percent. The main threats to the Western Chimpanzee are almost all man-made. Habitat loss and fragmentation driven by slash-and-burn agriculture, industrial agriculture (including deforestation for oil palm plantations as well as eucalyptus, rubber, and sugar cane developments), and extractive industries like logging, mining, and oil top the list. In response to the finding that the Western Chimpanzee population has dropped so precipitously in less than three decades, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) elevated the subspecies' status to Critically Endangered on its Red List of Threatened Species.

The big question for 2018 is whether last year's troubling trends for environment and development - rising global carbon emissions, multiple billion-dollar natural disasters, U.S. President Donald Trump's abandonment of climate action - will continue or turn in a more positive direction. As WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer noted during the Stories to Watch event in Washington on January 10, 2018, developments across several key topics will determine the answer.

Colombia's supreme court granted protections, filed by 25 children and other young people, that affirm that deforestation in the Colombian Amazon violates their rights to health and life. In the ruling, the supreme court ordered the president of Colombia and environmental authorities to create an action plan to protect this important natural area.

France's government has unveiled a law to ban all production and exploration of oil and natural gas by 2040 on the country's mainland and overseas territories. The move is largely symbolic, however, as France's oil and gas production represents just 1 percent of national consumption - the rest is imported. The ban, which the government claims is a world first, is part of a larger plan to wean the country's economy from fossil fuels, encourage clean energy and fulfill France's commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement to curb global warming.

oday marks Earth Overshoot Day - the day by which the human race will have used more of Earth's natural resources than the planet can renew in the whole year.

interactive infographic showing the 100 most endangered species in the world

New software breaks down the performance of financial investments in environmental conservation.

Last month, the first comprehensive study on global bush meat consumption found that 113 species in Southeast Asia have dwindled to precarious numbers, primarily due to bush meat hunting and trapping. But while this region may be one of the worst affected, the study, published in Royal Society Open Science, reports that bush meat hunting is driving many of the world's mammals to the brink of extinction. "The large mammals are much more threatened than the small ones," says William Ripple, a professor of ecology at Oregon State University and lead author of the study. "This is likely because there is more meat on large mammals."