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Atlantic to See ‘Above-Average’ Hurricane Season, Colorado State University Researchers Predict

Posted on by April 3, 2025

Colorado State University (CSU) researchers are predicting an “above-average” Atlantic hurricane season this year, with a likelihood of more frequent storms, including nine hurricanes and 17 named storms.

The Tropical Cyclones, Radar, Atmospheric Modeling, and Software (TC-RAMS) Team within the Department of Atmospheric Science at CSU cited warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea as a primary factor in their prediction, a press release from CSU said.

Levi Silvers, one of the authors of the report and a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at CSU, said the increase in storm activity is significant, though slightly lower than last year’s forecast.

“It’s a noticeable and important difference, because it matters for people along the coastlines whenever we have an above average season,” Silvers told CBS News.

The tropical Pacific is currently experiencing weak La Niña conditions, but it is likely that they will transition to neutral El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions in the next two months.

The odds of El Niño occurring this hurricane season are just 13 percent, according to the most recent NOAA outlook.

“When waters in the eastern subtropical Atlantic are much warmer than normal in the spring, it tends to force a weaker subtropical high and associated weaker winds blowing across the tropical Atlantic. These conditions will likely lead to a continuation of above-average water temperatures across most of the tropical Atlantic for the peak of the 2025 hurricane season. A warm Atlantic favors an above-average season, since a hurricane’s fuel source is warm ocean water. Additionally, a warm Atlantic leads to lower atmospheric pressure and a more unstable atmosphere,” the press release said.

The CSU forecasters said there is still “considerable uncertainty” about what phase ENSO will be in during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, which occurs from August to October.

“Given the combined hurricane-favorable signals of a warm Atlantic and the unlikelihood of El Niño, the CSU forecast team is predicting an above-normal season,” the press release said.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

Of the nine predicted hurricanes, the researchers forecast four to reach Category 3, 4 or 5 “major hurricane” strength, packing sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour.

“So far, the 2025 hurricane season is exhibiting characteristics similar to 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2017,” said lead author of the report Phil Klotzbach, a senior research scientist with CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Science, in the press release.

“While the average of our analog seasons was above normal, the large spread in observed activity in our analog years highlights the high levels of uncertainty that typically are associated with our early April outlook,” Klotzbach added.

The research team uses a statistical model for its forecasts, as well as four models based on a combination of predictions and information from the United Kingdom’s Met Office, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici and the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Using historical hurricane season data from 25 to 40 different years, the models evaluate conditions and variables like Atlantic sea surface temperatures, vertical wind shear, sea level pressures, ENSO and other factors.

The forecast team predicted that this season’s hurricane activity will be roughly 125 percent of the average hurricane season from 1991 to 2020. In comparison, last year’s activity was approximately 130 percent of an average season.

The CSU team will issue forecast updates on June 11, July 9 and August 6.

The researchers warned coastal residents to always take proper precautions.

“It takes only one storm near you to make this an active season for you,” said co-author of the report Michael Bell, a professor of atmospheric science at CSU, in the press release.

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Finland Shuts Down Its Last Utility-Scale Coal Plant

Posted on by April 3, 2025

The last utility-scale coal plant in Finland has closed. The Salmisaari plant, operated by the Helsinki-owned energy group called Helen, shut down its final coal-powered electricity and heat plant on Tuesday, as the country focuses on more renewable energy sources.

As Reuters reported, Finland passed a law in 2019 that would ban coal after 2029. To respond to that target, the country ramped up its expansion of renewable energies, leading to an even quicker end to regular coal-fired power production than expected.

“Of course, we cannot say that not a single gramme of coal will be burned in Finland anymore, because there are various crisis situation solutions, but this is indeed Finland’s last coal power plant that is in daily production use,” Olli Sirkka, CEO of Helen, told Reuters.

As Power Magazine reported, wind energy capacity alone in Finland increased by more than double since 2020. Now, it contributes nearly one-quarter of the country’s energy, while the closure of the last coal-fired plant means coal-powered energy will make up less than 1% of the energy in Finland. In 2023, coal made up 6.7% of Finland’s total energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The Salmisaari plant generated 175 megawatts of electricity and 300 megawatts of heat per year. Now, Helen will meet energy demands using wind, nuclear, hydropower and solar energy and will meet heating needs with heat pumps, waste heat, electric boilers, bioenergy and environmental heat sources. 

Finland will reserve some coal for energy security purposes and emergencies, and some companies may continue to use limited amounts of coal to meet peak demand needs until the country’s coal ban takes place in 2029.

According to Helen, the end to coal-fired energy production will reduce the company’s annual carbon emissions by about 50% compared to its 2024 levels, and its emissions are now about 20% of the levels from 1990. By 2030, the company plans for its emissions to be less than 5% of the 1990 level of emissions.

Helsinki’s emissions are expected to decrease by around 30% compared to last year, and Finland’s emissions are expected to decline about 2% compared to 2024.

In addition to reducing emissions, Helen noted that this shift to cleaner energy and heating sources will help reduce customers’ utility bill costs and increase Finland’s self-sufficiency.

“We have been able to improve our competitiveness by investing in the flexibility of the energy system in line with our strategy and shifting our production to clean solutions,” Sirkka said. “This way, we can operate more profitably with lower customer prices. Our success is an excellent indication that, at best, the clean transition, cost efficiency and Finland’s security of supply can go hand in hand.”

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EU Lifts Hunting Ban on Turtle Doves in ‘Reckless’ Move

Posted on by April 3, 2025

The European Commission has lifted a ban on hunting vulnerable turtle doves for sport.

The commission announced that EU countries could reopen the European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) hunting season in areas of Western Europe. The reopening followed a pause on hunting the birds initiated in 2021.

“The Turtle-dove did its part. Left alone, it started to recover. But governments failed to uphold their end of the deal. Instead of fixing weak enforcement and protecting habitats, they’re rushing to lift the ban. This is reckless and shortsighted. We know where this path leads – straight back to the brink. The European Commission should have stood firm and kept the moratorium,” said Barbara Herrero, BirdLife Europe’s senior nature conservation policy officer, in a press release from the nonprofit.

The ban had stopped the hunting of turtle doves in France, Spain, Portugal and the Western Flyway in northwest Italy in 2021. In 2022, it had halted hunting in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, Malta and the Central-Eastern Flyway in Cyprus.

“Hunting is a major driver of the species’ decline, yet instead of strengthening protections, the Commission is opening the door to more killing,” BirdLife Europe said. “The hunting pause worked. Data shows that after years of decline, the Turtle-dove population in the Western Flyway has started to recover. But in the Central-Eastern Flyway, where hunting bans have not been properly enforced, no recovery has been observed.”

European turtle doves continue to be listed as “Vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List due to unsustainable hunting, habitat loss and food shortages caused by intensive farming and pesticides.

Turtle doves are a member of the pigeon species who mate for life. Each year they fly across Europe from sub-Saharan Africa to breed in northern European countries during the summer months, reported The Guardian. In countries like Italy and Spain, people shoot migrating turtle doves for sport.

Without the ban, hunters will be permitted to shoot 132,000 of the birds across France, Italy and Spain.

Alejandro Martínez, president of the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation, said European turtle doves are classed as game because they can be sustainably hunted and serve a traditional social, economic, cultural or culinary purpose.

“Hunting in Spain generates €6.5bn and 200,000 jobs,” Martínez said, as The Guardian reported. “This serves as a driving force for development in rural areas that subsist and prosper thanks to the use of species like the turtle dove.”

The European Commission based its decision to end the hunting moratorium on three conditions: a rise in turtle dove survival rates; a population increase for a minimum of two consecutive years; and effective enforcement, monitoring and control systems.

“But one of these conditions has still not been met. While population numbers have improved, the enforcement systems remain weak and unreliable,” BirdLife Europe said. “The Commission is relying on a 1.5% hunting quota, assuming it will be sustainable, but there is no way to ensure that hunters will stick to this limit. The risk is clear. Without proper controls, overhunting will resume, and the species will start declining again.”

According to BirdLife Europe, illegal and unsustainable hunting in the Central-Eastern Flyway continues unchecked. Greece’s Ionian Islands are a hotspot for the illegal killing of migratory turtle doves, and Malta has continued hunting turtle doves illegally in the spring.

“The Turtle-dove is not safe. Without strong protections, we risk another devastating population crash. The European Commission must act responsibly and put nature before politics,” the press release said.

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Trump Administration Fires Thousands of U.S. Health Workers, Putting Wellbeing of Americans at ‘Serious Risk’

Posted on by April 2, 2025

Thousands of United States health workers were laid off on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s massive purge of federal employees, including top scientists and senior leaders in charge of regulating food and drugs, researching treatments and cures and protecting Americans from disease.

Termination emails were sent out to employees of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and several smaller agencies, reported NPR.

“Today, two billionaires are making good on their vow to take a wrecking ball to the Department of Health and Human Services and put Americans’ health and wellbeing at serious risk,” said Democratic Senator from Washington State Patty Murray, who is former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, in a press release. “These firings make a lot of sense if you believe measles spreading like wildfire is good – or think we should be slashing cancer research. While Republicans work to pass more tax breaks for billionaires, Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. are ripping essential health services away from the American people and decimating our country’s ability to prevent outbreaks and keep families safe.”

HHS announced last week that it planned to fire 10,000 people, NPR reported. The forced layoffs are in addition to the roughly 10,000 employees who have already left or whose jobs have been terminated.

“It’s in Project 2025,” said one HHS supervisor, an employee of 20 years, as she waited in a line to find out if she would lose her job, reported The Guardian. “Basically since February they’ve been telling us we might be let go.”

“We’re being led through a security line like you would if you were at TSA,” the supervisor said. “We have to take off our shoes, take out our laptops, and they have to check our badge to make sure we can swipe it, and then check our names against a list.”

Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services stand in line to enter the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building in Washington, DC on April 2, 2025. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

The Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice (DEHSP), part of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, has “been slated to be eliminated in its entirety,” an internal email from Director Ari Bernstein said, as Politico’s E&E News reported.

Former officials and outside experts described the firings and loss of expertise at the agencies as a “bloodletting,” reported The New York Times.

The cuts are part of a wider plan by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who announced last week that he intended to reduce the number of employees at HHS from 82,000 to 62,000. The plan includes a number of agencies being collapsed into the new Administration for a Healthy America.

The intention of the restructuring is to bring the functions and communications of the agency under the direct supervision of Kennedy, who has said he will “make America healthy again.”

“These cuts to agency experts and programs leave our country less safe, less prepared and without the necessary talent and resources to respond to health threats,” said Mandy Cohen, head of the CDC during the Biden administration, in a text message, as The New York Times reported.

Kennedy is also getting rid of departments like the Administration for Community Living, which supports programs to help people with disabilities and older Americans live independently.

“Today was simply a tragedy,” said Michael T. Osterholm, director of University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, who has been a presidential advisor. “There is so much intellectual capital that literally got swept under the rug today in this country, and we are going to pay a price for this for years to come.”

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Researchers Find Lead, Plastic Additives and Other Contaminants in Hedgehogs 

Posted on by April 2, 2025

In a new study, researchers have found a wide range of pollutants in Western European hedgehogs, including heavy metals, plastic additives and more.

The researchers from Lund University in Sweden were exploring the levels of heavy metals found in hedgehogs in southern Sweden, following previous research that revealed heavy metal pollution in hedgehogs in urban areas around Europe. They also aimed to prove that using already deceased carcasses of road kill, rather than killing wildlife for research, would be a useful way to detect contaminant levels in wildlife and their habitats.

The samples were collected between 2021 and 2022 from already deceased hedgehogs, including roadkill and hedgehogs that did not make it through rehabilitation. The researchers relied on citizen scientists to contact the team when they discovered dead hedgehogs. 

Researchers used samples to test both long-term pollutant exposure, from spine and teeth tissue, and short-term exposure, from liver tissue. The study, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, revealed that phthalate diesters and PCBs were the most prevalent pollutants in the hedgehog liver tissues. In total, the team found high levels of lead, phthalates, PCBs, pesticides, brominated flame retardants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the hedgehogs.

“What surprised us was that there were so many different environmental pollutants in the animals, such as PCBs and several different phthalates, and that there were very high concentrations of certain heavy metals, especially lead,” Maria Hansson, ecotoxicologist at Lund University who initiated the study, said in a statement.

As explained in the study, while urban green spaces have become havens for wildlife seeking shelter, food and water, human activity and industry can also turn loose pollutants. Hedgehogs primarily eat ground beetles, earthworms and slugs from the soil, which can increase their exposure to contaminants.

“This shows that urban environments, where the majority of people live today, contain a large amount of environmentally problematic substances that are proven to be harmful to health,” Hansson said. “These problematic substances come from building materials, plastics, pesticides, air pollution, waste, traffic, vehicles and even contaminated soil.”

In response, the researchers noted that governments need to implement more policies around urban soil monitoring and that consumers should minimize use of plastics and synthetic materials to reduce risks to hedgehogs and other wildlife.

“Today, we want nature in our cities, so we must also reduce the risk of organisms being exposed to the chemicals in the materials and products we choose to use,” Hansson said.

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World’s Largest Wildlife Crossing Gets First Layers of Soil Across California Freeway

Posted on by April 1, 2025

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — the largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world — has reached a new milestone, as workers laid the first layers of soil on the historic California overpass on Monday.

The crossing stretches over California’s 101 freeway and is designed to help bobcats, mountain lions, deer and other creatures safely traverse the busy, 10-lane road.

“I imagine a future for all the wildlife in our area where it’s possible to survive and thrive and the placement of this first soil on the bridge means another step closer to reality,” Annenberg, philanthropist and president of nonprofit the Annenberg Foundation, said in a statement, as the Los Angeles Times reported. “This extraordinary structure will serve not only animals, but it will reconnect an entire ecosystem and protect this global biodiversity hotspot — this moment marks another wonderful milestone toward that goal.”

Located in Agoura Hills, between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, the wildlife passage will allow mountain lions and other animals to expand their ranges to find food and mates.

“Time is running out for these mountain lions, and the National Wildlife Federation is so grateful to the Annenberg Foundation for showing extraordinary leadership to help make this crossing a reality,” said Beth Pratt, the California regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), in a press release from the Annenberg Foundation.

The 101 freeway has isolated small populations of pumas, and their offspring have been showing indications of having birth defects.

“Wildlife crossings restore ecosystems that had been fractured and disrupted. They reconnect lands and species that are aching to be whole. I believe these crossings go beyond mere conservation, toward a kind of environmental rejuvenation that is long overdue,” Annenberg said on the wildlife crossing’s website.

First conceptualized over three decades ago, construction on the wildlife overpass started in 2022 and is projected to be finished next year. The bridge spans 200 by 165 feet and stands 21 feet, eight inches above the 101 freeway. The Annenberg Foundation was a major contributor to the $92-million project.

“There’s been a growing awareness in California as we’re working to protect our nature, our biodiversity, that we can’t just restore and protect habitat. We actually have to build connectivity between habitats,” said Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency secretary, when the project was announced, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Annenberg Foundation

Workers began placing a mixture of sandy loam and lightweight volcanic aggregate on the crossing Monday morning. It is expected that the process will take several weeks and an enormous amount of soil — 6,000 cubic yards — over roughly one acre.

Once the soil is placed, native plants such as wild grape, buckwheat, coastal sage, wildflowers and milkweed will be planted. Other plants and trees like oaks will be planted on a dozen acres flanking each side of the new passageway.

“Wallis Annenberg’s grant will protect this global biodiversity hotspot — recognized as one of only 36 biodiversity hotspots worldwide — and ensure that California’s iconic mountain lions and other wildlife can find the food and mates they need to survive by reconnecting the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills and beyond,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of NWF, in the press release.

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More Than 1,900 Scientists Warn That U.S. Science Is ‘Being Annihilated’ Under Trump

Posted on by April 1, 2025

More than 1,900 scientists who are members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) have signed a letter warning the American public of the “danger” of Trump administration attacks on science.

The administration’s attack on scientific institutions in the United States has included cancellations of federal grants to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the firing of NASA, NOAA and other government employees; investigations and threats to private universities; resignations; and censorship, reported The Guardian.

“We see real danger in this moment. We hold diverse political beliefs, but we are united as researchers in wanting to protect independent scientific inquiry. We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nation’s scientific enterprise is being decimated,” the scientists stated in the letter.

Established by Congress in 1863 — during the administration of Abraham Lincoln — as the National Academy of Sciences, today the organization is a nonprofit and includes the National Academies of Engineering and Medicine. Together, the academies have over 6,800 peer-elected members.

“The quest for truth – the mission of science – requires that scientists freely explore new questions and report their findings honestly, independent of special interests. The administration is engaging in censorship, destroying this independence,” the letter stated. “It is using executive orders and financial threats to manipulate which studies are funded or published, how results are reported, and which data and research findings the public can access. The administration is blocking research on topics it finds objectionable, such as climate change, or that yields results it does not like, on topics ranging from vaccine safety to economic trends.”

The signatories are all elected members of NASEM and represent some of the top scientists in the country. The letter describes researchers removing scientifically accurate terminology from papers and grant proposals to comply with federal agencies; removing their own names from work; and abandoning studies, The Washington Post reported.

Richard Aslin, Yale School of Medicine senior scientist and an author of the letter, said the scientists wanted “to make sure the American public is aware that this is not just about us losing our jobs. It’s about the whole country losing a tremendously valuable resource that has made us, honestly, the envy of the world,” reported The Washington Post.

The Trump administration’s upheaval of scientific institutions has some wondering if the cuts are a precursor to privatization, The Guardian reported.

“The administration is slashing funding for scientific agencies, terminating grants to scientists, defunding their laboratories, and hampering international scientific collaboration. The funding cuts are forcing institutions to pause research (including studies of new disease treatments), dismiss faculty, and stop enrolling graduate students — the pipeline for the next generation’s scientists,” the letter said.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that the administration plans to reduce the HHS workforce by 20,000 — about a quarter of its employees. Agencies on the chopping block include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Peter Marks, who was the FDA’s director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, resigned last weekend, citing the administration’s “unprecedented assault on scientific truth.”

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary,” Marks’ resignation letter stated. “But rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

In an unprecedented attack on environmental science, the administration also sought to dissolve the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development by firing more than 1,100 scientists.

“The nation’s scientific enterprise is being annihilated and the silence of too many of our scientific leaders is only making the ongoing catastrophe worse,” said Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of the Health Research Group at nonprofit consumer rights advocacy organization Public Citizen, a think tank based in Washington, DC, as reported by The Guardian.

“The ‘SOS’ signal from 1,900 scientists must be a wake-up call for our leading scientific and medical organizations to show courage and speak out at this critical moment,” Steinbrook said. “If scientists and scientific and medical organizations will not forcefully speak out in defense of science and public health, who will? There is no alternative.”

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New Scorecard Ranks Food Packaging Options by Sustainability

Posted on by April 1, 2025

A newly launched guide, called the UP Scorecard, helps consumers and companies identify more sustainable packaging options. 

The scorecard tool ranks food packaging based on six main sustainability factors, including water use required for manufacturing, recoverability, chemicals used in manufacturing, plastic pollution, sourcing and climate impacts.

“With the launch of the UP Scorecard, businesses and consumers now have a powerful tool at their fingertips to help navigate the complex world of food packaging sustainability and safety,” said Plastic Pollution Coalition, which was involved with the scorecard development. “By using the UP Scorecard, you can make informed decisions that reduce your environmental impact while also protecting human health.”

Each of the six factors receives a score out of 100, with 100 being the best possible sustainability score. Then, those factors are aggregated into a final score.

For example, when comparing product choices for cups designed to hold hot liquids, like coffee, that will be sold in the U.S., users can compare steel tumblers, ceramic mugs, PLA-lined paper cups, PE-lined paper cups, insulated PLA-lined paper cups and EPS foam cups. 

In this scenario, a ceramic mug has the highest summary score of the bunch at 66. It earned 100 marks for sourcing, recoverability, and plastic pollution, but scored lower for water use, chemicals of concern, and climate impact. EPS foam cups scored the lowest in this scenario, with a 20 summary score. It earned just one point each for sourcing, recoverability, and plastic pollution, with higher scores in water use and climate impact.

Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard

The tool was first announced in 2021 and has been in beta testing. Its fully launched version has been updated to make it more comprehensive by extending the range of materials and container types included in the scorecard, expanding the list of chemicals of concern based on up-to-date scientific data and introducing product portfolio comparisons for users to compare different products. The chemicals of concern are included based on multiple risk factors, including carcinogenicity, bioaccumulation, reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption, among others.

The new updates also allow users to track their progress in switching to more sustainable packaging options and even check forecasts to see how their switches can influence their “eco footprints.”

Another part of the latest update is a new benchmark, where users can compare their food packaging choices against a fictional model city, called Ecoville. This region serves as a sustainable benchmark that users can look to when trying to make more sustainable packaging choices.

Users can test the tool with a guest profile or save their searches and track progress by creating an account.

UP Scorecard was developed as a collaboration among NGOs, food service companies and technical experts, which were coordinated by the Food Packaging Forum Foundation. This nonprofit coalition is dubbed the Single-Use Material Decelerator, or SUM’D.

The creators will continue to update the UP Scorecard with additional regions, product types, materials and chemicals of concern, along with adjustments based on user feedback.

“As the packaging landscape evolves, the UP Scorecard will continue to evolve with it — providing transparency and a path toward a more sustainable future,” the Plastic Pollution Coalition said.

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Plant-Based Leather Alternative Contains Zero Plastics

Posted on by April 1, 2025

Alt. Leather, a startup based in Melbourne, Australia, has designed an entirely eco-based leather alternative made from natural fibers and agricultural waste that provides an animal-free option using zero plastics.

The new material looks and feels like leather and is meant to replace conventional leather products used in the footwear, fashion, upholstery and automotive industries, a press release from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said.

“Our material scientists have developed an innovative formula that meets global ISO standards for strength, abrasion resistance, flexibility and colour fastness,” Alt. Leather said on its website. “10% of our ingredients are upcycled from textiles and cellulose destined for landfill or incineration. 100% of our ingredients are derived from regenerative plants available in abundance globally. Designed with end-of-life in mind, we are currently testing the degradability and recyclability of our material.”

The leather substitute is designed to be “a high-performance yet sustainable and circular solution” to lower the environmental impact of traditional leather production.

“Every ingredient we choose is carefully considered to ensure that we are tapping into regenerative and abundant resources globally. Polysaccharides like cellulose and starches, recycled and natural fibres, and plant-derived resins are all part of our solution. We have screened thousands of plant-based ingredient combinations to develop our world-first technology,” Alt. Leather said.

Founded by Tina Funder, Alt. Leather identified a market gap for alternatives to synthetic and animal leathers. But the startup lacked access to the specialized equipment it needed to refine its material production processes, so it contacted CSIRO for help.

“Tina saw an opportunity to tap into Australia’s abundance of regenerative plants and leading research facilities to transform the leather industry,” the press release said. “The team began by testing their material on small-scale extruders, machines that shape and form material by forcing it through a mould. Once the material performed well, they moved to a larger extruder, which allowed them to test the feasibility of scaling up production.”

Funder explained that these trials were essential to determine the best processing methods.

“The structured approach of Kick-Start allowed us to test our material in a real-world setting and confirm that it could be scaled up,” Funder said in the press release.

Through CSIRO’s India Australia RISE Accelerator program and Circular Economy cohort, Alt. Leather was able to gain direct access to Indian manufacturers Chennai and Noida, where their footwear and handbags were produced. They were also able to get one-on-one support from industry experts and program facilitators in India and Australia.

“For Alt. Leather, this support has been pivotal in unlocking the commercial readiness of their sustainable, circular solution – an essential alternative as businesses face increasing pressure to reduce their environmental impact,” the press release said.

Alt. Leather is working to improve the performance and composition of their material through regular formulation testing. It is also looking at partnering with international and Australian brands that want to incorporate a sustainable leather alternative into their products.

“We’ve learned how to navigate international supply chains and manufacturing landscapes, positioning us well for global expansion,” Funder added.

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‘Fossil Fuels Are Killing Us’: Major Study Details How Fossil Fuels Are Driving Climate, Health and Biodiversity Crises

Posted on by March 31, 2025

In a new review published in the journal Oxford Open Climate Change, scientists have issued an urgent warning that the fossil fuel industry and its products are driving intertwined crises threatening humans, wildlife and our shared future on this planet.

The collaborative review by scientists from the Center for Biological Diversity and several universities synthesizes scientific evidence that shows fossil fuels and the industry are behind many harms to public health, biodiversity and environmental justice, while contributing to the agrochemical pollution, plastics and climate crises, a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity said.

“The science can’t be any clearer that fossil fuels are killing us,” said lead author of the report Shaye Wolf, the Center for Biological Diversity’s climate science director, in the press release. “Oil, gas and coal will continue to condemn us to more deaths, wildlife extinctions and extreme weather disasters unless we make dirty fossil fuels a thing of the past. Clean, renewable energy is here, it’s affordable, and it will save millions of lives and trillions of dollars once we make it the centerpiece of our economy.”

The review’s focus is on the United States — the largest producer of oil and gas in the world and the biggest contributor to the fossil fuel crises. The study provides solutions that are already available for the phaseout of fossil fuel use and extraction while transitioning quickly and “fairly” to affordable renewable, clean energy and materials throughout the economy.

“Fossil fuel pollution impacts health at every stage of life, with elevated risks for conditions ranging from premature births to childhood leukemia and severe depression,” said co-author of the review David J.X. González, an assistant environmental health sciences professor at University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health, in the press release. “We’ve got to work fast to end fossil fuel operations near our homes, schools and hospitals and trade fossil fuel infrastructure for healthy, clean energy.”

Fossil fuels are responsible for roughly 90 percent of all human-caused carbon emissions that are causing global heating, ocean acidification and fueling unparalleled climate disasters.

To limit damages caused by the climate crisis, the authors encouraged governments to immediately cease the expansion of fossil fuels and to phase out current fossil fuel development.

The review also detailed the disproportionate harms fossil fuel use, extraction and processing inflict upon low-income communities and communities of color.

“Decades of discriminatory policies, such as redlining, have concentrated fossil fuel development in Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor white communities, resulting in devastating consequences,” said Robin Saha, an associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Montana, in the press release. “For far too long, these fenceline communities have been treated as sacrifice zones by greedy, callous industries. The most polluted communities should be prioritized for clean energy investments and removal and cleanup of dirty fossil fuel infrastructure.”

Climate change and pollution caused by fossil fuel use are also accelerating animals’ risk of extinction. As much as a third of plants and animals could become extinct over the next half-century if fossil fuel use continues unabated.

The review emphasized the need for increased protection of essential carbon-storing ecosystems and the incorporation of renewable energy infrastructure into the built environment, among other measures.

It also stressed the increased production of plastics by the fossil fuel industry, which creates pervasive pollution that contaminates our water, air, soil and food systems.

The scientists recommended ambitious targets to reduce the production of primary plastics and accompanying “chemicals of concern,” while at the same time incentivizing sustainable and safe plastics alternatives and substitutes, along with sustainable agricultural practices that limit petrochemical pollution from fertilizers and pesticides fueled by fossil fuels.

The review discussed a major barrier to the transition to clean energy: the longstanding, multibillion-dollar disinformation campaign by the fossil fuel industry to cover up the hazards of its products while blocking policies that support the phasing out of fossil fuels.

“The fossil fuel industry has spent decades misleading us about the harms of their products and working to prevent meaningful climate action,” said Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard University professor of the history of science, in the press release. “Perversely, our governments continue to give out hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to this damaging industry. It is past time that stops.”

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