In Africa, how trees can help both climate and incomes
What we're writing
Farming a warmer planet
Fatima Ait Moussa, in the photo above, looks at cosmetics and oil products made from argan-tree nuts at her women鈥檚 cooperative in听Morocco. Africa holds lessons for how "climate-smart agriculture" can help the world respond to warming temperatures, in this case听one tree at a time. //听Zack Colman听
Oroville message: As climate shifts, so will听water strategy
Recent safety concerns at the Oroville Dam in California centered on engineering and maintenance, as the lake poured into an emergency spillway and caused worrisome erosion. But the incident is also a reminder that dams face new challenges in managing water in an era when rains can be heavier, and less precipitation is falling as snow.听//听Zack Colman听
Wanted: participants for national bird count this weekend
The听Great Backyard Bird Count runs from Feb. 17 to Feb. 20, with citizen-scientists (that could be you!) invited to go outside and identify all of the birds they see, for as little as 15 minutes, and report them at the bird count听. This year's count comes as new research highlights the risks of climate change for听birds and听animal species听in general.) 听//听Story Hinckley
What we're reading
A Massachusetts plan aims to cut the state's emissions, but critics say it could听divert electricity production to less efficient power plants outside the state. // The Boston Globe
Flooding in a Texas county听underscores that climate change isn't just听an environmental issue 鈥� it鈥檚 also about social justice. // Yale Climate Connections
A look at today's technology ... with a nod also to ancient Greek reliance on the sun. // Ars Technica
Texas is big on this map, but so are听gas-rich听Appalachian states.听// The Washington Post
What's trending
"To Republicans, Pruitt represented in a nominee exactly what the EPA needs: A leader who will roll back Obama鈥檚 aggressive environmental agenda and give states more power to enforce environmental laws. Democrats ... pushed to delay his vote pending the release of emails between [Pruitt's Oklahoma] attorney general鈥檚 office and industry." // Timothy Cama, writing in The Hill
"The president of the Navajo Nation鈥攚hose reservation is home to both the plant and the coal mine that serves it鈥攕ays his tribe opposes the plant鈥檚 closure and the loss of 800 jobs that depend on it. Now, he is calling on Mr. Trump to act on his promise to save the ailing U.S. coal industry...." 听// Amy Harder writing in The Wall Street Journal
"We've always thought of the Antarctic as the sleeping elephant starting to stir. Well, maybe it's starting to stir now." // Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, quoted by Reuters
"Where manufacturers now use any of 10 separate label phrases ...听they鈥檒l now be encouraged to use only two: 'Use By'听and 'Best if Used By.' "听// Caitlin Dewey, writing in The Washington Post
