In light of recent administrative and political actions, sometimes the state of the world seems so bleak I’m too dejected to even look out for the good news. Take environmentalism: in a period of climate-crisis deniers and fossil-fuel enthusiasts, it can be difficult to focus on the bright side. I’m here to tell you, that regardless of what local media outlets are telling you, there are still activists, scientists, and politicians concerned with our world. So, in honor of Earth Day, here’s three successes that have been made recently in the realm of environmental conservation.
The Karuk Tribe’s Treaty
On March 7, the Karuk Tribe of Northern California signed a treaty with the California Natural Resources Agency granting them sovereignty to conduct cultural burnings on their ancestral lands. Cultural burning is a component of land stewardship that has been practiced by indigenous groups for millenia. Essentially, the tribe will conduct low-intensity, controlled burns over an ecosystem, burning away dry underbrush and tinder, so that in the event of an actual wildfire, the blazes won’t be nearly as destructive.
This signals a few things. First, it indicates a growing awareness of climate change at a legislative level. The treaty was the first issued to a tribe after the California SB 310, which allows federally recognized tribes to enter into agreements about cultural burnings. In light of recent California wildfires, like the devastating Palisades fire, the dry chaparral biome is especially prone to burning. It’s reassuring to see that our government is interested in looking into alternatives to traditional western means of conservation, in order to save our ecosystems and protect vulnerable communities.
Moreover, the treaty being signed with an indigenous tribe notes a step in reversing a harsh colonial past of erasing indigenous presence in the U.S. By taking measures to undo the Smokey Bear initiative and the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians that criminalized cultural burning, we are entering a more equitable era focused on using all our resources for common goals. In doing so, we are ending the notion of all fire being bad! Our fire-adapted environment relies on high heats for spreading seeds and increasing fertility, like with coniferous trees, proving that with precise application, we can fight fire with fire.
Dire Wolves: The De-Extinction Movement
In October of 2024, Colossal Biosciences produced two dire wolf puppies, Remus and Romulus, and a third in January, named Khaleesi. The wolf pups are a breed that have been extinct for 10,000 years. Yeah. Not even going into the moral discussion of it all, that’s some pretty cool sci-fi action. By decoding ancient dire wolf genomes, scientists were able to sequence DNA for the wolves, use domesticated dogs as surrogate mothers, and conduct three separate live births.
There’s some pretty interesting implications of this new technology. The company’s overarching goal is to bring back the wooly mammoth, with the intention of placing it back in the Arctic. In doing so, it could help to balance ecosystems and counteract global warming. Moreover, with proof of technology bringing back species from extinction, this could open up discussion for animals on the brink of extinction. The company also produced two litters of Red Wolf puppies, a U.S. endangered species. By utilizing technology to counteract biodiversity loss, we could be discovering an alternative to extinction while we search for natural ways to boost species’ resilience.
Plastic Eating Fungi
I’m sure all too many of us are familiar with the looming threat of microplastics invading earth’s oceans and polluting marine life’s ecosystems. One of the biggest issues with these microplastics is their inability to decompose or dissolve, contrarily taking thousands of years to break down.
Recently, a team of researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have discovered that not only can some species of marine fungi degrade plastic, but can be conditioned to do it faster. Fungi consume materials other organisms don’t, and when researchers extracted different fungi species from off the shore of Oahu, they discovered that 60% of the fungi could digest plastics. Over the span of three months through breeding, the highest performing fungi were increasing their feeding rates by up to 15%.
This offers a groundbreaking perspective on how to recycle and remove these micro-plastics from the ocean. Collective action of humans minimizing their plastic expenditures combined with fungi being trained to eat the plastic pollution, may be the answer to global pollution problems.
These aren’t all the answers. They’re small, but decisive steps in approaching how we react to and continue to further environmental conservation efforts. Instead of fearing for what is out of your and my’s control, stay positive, and look to the future. By paying attention to what good is happening in the world, we can keep the momentum going, and execute this change on a more impactive, widespread scale. Happy Earth Day!