Saving Our Disappearing Reproductive Rights |
From Stephanie Feldstein, Population and Sustainability Program Director |
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Mere hours after President Donald J. Trump took his second oath of office, his administration removed the essential government website for reproductive health information, reproductiverights.gov. The site was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2022 as part of an awareness campaign for people searching for abortion resources and other reproductive-health guidance.
Luckily digital media company theSkimm republished the information on its own website. But the American people should never have to hack their way around government censorship to access important information about reproductive health.
Here at the Center, we know the welfare of people is closely linked to that of ecosystems and the wild world. It’s why our Population and Sustainability program was created and why we’ll never stop fighting for a more just and equitable world for all living things. Read on to learn more. |
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For decades experts have debated the effects of restoring wolves to Yellowstone National Park and exactly what their role was in influencing elk, willow, and stream health. A new study that collected data over a 20-year period found a 1,500% increase in willow tree volume along riparian zones following the reintroduction of wolves, illustrating just how important wolves really are to rewilding the Yellowstone ecosystem.
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Bring Home a Box of Endangered Species Condoms |
The Center’s Endangered Species Condoms are a fun, unique way to get people talking about the connection between human population growth and the extinction crisis. In the 15 years since we launched the project, we’ve given away more than 1.5 million condoms — but we haven’t done it alone. Volunteers across the country have distributed the condoms at concerts, bars, churches, college campuses, farmer’s markets, and other local venues.
The condom packages feature artwork of endangered species; facts about endless growth and its link to the extinction crisis; and solutions like universal access to contraception, reproductive healthcare, education, and gender equity.
Here’s one thing you can do: You too can join the movement when you sign up to become part of our volunteer network. Just submit your idea for condom distribution, and we’ll send you a free box of them. |
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Top Suppliers Commit to Deforestation-Free Avocados |
Leading avocado suppliers have joined a new certification program aimed at curbing avocado-driven deforestation in Mexico. The Pro-Forest Avocado (PFA) program requires that packinghouses don’t source avocados from orchards on recently deforested lands. The companies committed to it include major suppliers to the U.S. market like Calavo Growers, Mission Produce, and West Pak Avocado.
This is a major step forward in protecting Mexican forests where millions of monarch butterflies migrate to spend the winter. But the program is still voluntary, so to ensure its success, the Center and our conservation allies are calling on grocery retailers to adopt zero-deforestation policies in their supply chains.
Here’s one thing you can do: Tell U.S. grocery stores to protect monarchs and source only PFA-certified avocados. |
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Cities Should Adopt Plant-Based Food Policies |
The Trump administration is already demonstrating that it will block efforts to build a just and sustainable food system at every turn. But where the federal government fails, local governments can — and must — take up the mantle to push progress forward.
A new Medium post by Leah Kelly, our food and agriculture policy specialist, outlines some recent major achievements in curbing municipal food-based emissions across the United States. Cities like Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C., have adopted climate-friendly food policies. These policies are extremely important because cities account for about 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the highest source of consumption-based emissions in cities are meat and dairy purchases.
Here’s one thing you can do: Visit the Center’s Climate-Friendly Cities webpage to learn more about how to encourage climate-friendly food policies in your own city.
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FDA Supports Reuse and Refill |
A recent win for waste reduction and reuse might help reduce the amount of single-use waste polluting the environment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued new supplemental guidance to the federal food code that makes it easier for states to let people refill and reuse containers in restaurants, bulk grocery store aisles, and delis, as well as at events. A coalition of reuse advocates, led by the Center, participated in the process to update the guidance, which hadn’t addressed reusables since 2013.
The new guidance gives health departments, reuse service providers, businesses, and advocates clear direction and an easier path to build and scale reuse infrastructure. “Reuse challenges our throwaway society, protects forests and waterways, and supports a more sustainable economy,” said Center Senior Campaigner Kelley Dennings. Here’s one thing you can do: Participate in the reuse economy by bringing your own reusable coffee mug or leftovers container the next time you go out to eat. |
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Study: Freshwater Animals in Peril |
Freshwater animals live their lives in rivers, lakes, and streams, where most people pay them little attention. But just because they’re out of our sight doesn’t mean human actions don’t affect them. A new study assessed more than 23,000 freshwater animal species and found that 24% of them are threatened with extinction. The reasons vary, but pollution, dams, agriculture, and invasive species top the list of threats.
The authors of the study point out that 35% of wetlands were lost between 1970 and 2015 — a rate three times faster than that of forest loss. Fresh water supports more than 10% of all known species, including about one-third of vertebrates and one-half of fishes, while covering only 1% of Earth’s surface. Here’s one thing you can do: It takes 12 years, on average, to protect species — but the Endangered Species Act says it should take two. Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service to do its job and stop extinctions. |
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Wildlife Spotlight: Florida Scrub Jay |
Florida scrub jays are gregarious, inquisitive birds with vibrant blue plumage. They live in close family groups consisting of a breeding pair and young helpers who raise new chicks. The birds live only in Florida, and because they feed, breed, and nest on high and dry lands prized by agriculture operations and developers, they’re under increasing threat as Florida’s population grows.
Florida scrub jays have been federally protected as threatened since 1987, but a 2024 lawsuit by a national private property group is seeking to change that. In January four conservation groups, including the Center, filed a request in federal court to defend the scrub jays’ crucial Endangered Species Act safeguards.
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Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States |
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