Mike DiGirolamo

Pioneering policies and rights-of-nature rules win World Future Policy Awards Policies enacted by seven nations and one international agreement have been recognized by the World Future Council for “top policy solutions for [humans], nature and generations to come.” On this edit...

Policies enacted by 7 nations and one international agreement have been recognized by the World Future Council for “top policy solutions for [humans], nature and generations to come.” I spoke with the council’s CEO, Neshan Gunasekera, about the eight World Future Policy Award laureates. Listen:

For the first time, we linked a new fossil fuel project to hundreds of deaths. Here’s the impact of Woodside’s Scarborough gas project The results challenge claims that the climate risks posed by an individual fossil fuel project are negligible or cannot be quantified.

“it is no longer defensible for companies proposing new or extended fossil fuel projects to claim the climate harms will be negligible. Our research shows the harms are, in fact, tangible and quantifiable – and no project is too small to matter.”
theconversation.com/for-the-firs...

Ah. Didn't see this. I just put down a vote for the Regent Honeyeater.

World’s top fossil fuel producers set to grow despite Paris targets The world’s 20 largest fossil fuel producing countries are on track to produce more than twice the amount of coal, oil and gas in 2030 than would be consistent with the global goal to limit warming to...

"World’s 20 largest fossil fuel producing countries are on track to produce more than twice the amount of coal, oil and gas in 2030 than would be consistent with the global goal to limit warming to 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit), according to the new Production Gap Report 2025."

From Bobby Bascomb

Really enjoying listening to @corinanewsome.bsky.social discuss how birding can be a pathway to #racial justice, particularly in overburdened communities. #birding #envjustice

Bird-watching for nature connection & social justice Wildlife biologist and ornithologist Corina Newsome of the U.S. NGO National Wildlife Federation joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss how bird-watching plays a role in environmental justice for underse...

Wildlife biologist Corina Newsome joins me on this week's podcast to talk about how birding is beneficial for racial justice and conservation at large.

“ What birds require of us will benefit us in ways that are far beyond bird conservation."

Listen @mongabay.com

Jane Goodall (1934–2025): primatologist, conservationist, and messenger of hope Jane Goodall, who revealed the intimate lives of chimpanzees and gave the modern world a language of hope, has died at the age of 91. Over the course of six decades, she moved from an unlikely young r...

By now, many of you are aware of the passing of Jane Goodall. Mongabay CEO, Rhett Butler, shares some words and reflections on her legacy.

"She described humanity as standing at the mouth of a dark tunnel with a star shining at the end—hope. To reach it, she said, required collective effort."

Mongabay staffer shares the joy and impact of wildlife photography On this episode of Mongabay’s weekly podcast, we look at nature through the lens of wildlife photographer and senior marketing associate at Mongabay, Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo, the multilingual staff...

This week on the podcast for @mongabay.com I speak with @apcwildlife.bsky.social about his journey to wildlife photography, the healing he found behind the lens, and his work with Mongabay as the senior marketing associate.

“This huge hole in my life led me back to nature."

The honesty, humor and wonder of ‘Nature’s Last Dance,’ from Natalie Kyriacou I recently received an advance copy of Natalie Kyriacou’s widely praised new book, Nature’s Last Dance: Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction, and found myself agreeing with its many high-profile fa...

Natalie Kyriacou has written my personal favorite book of the year, 'Nature's Last Dance,' which connects the dots on what exactly nature is, how we depend on it, and most importantly how we can all save it. This meticulously researched book is full of heart, science, and unflinching honesty. (4/4)

In ‘Hope Dies Last,’ author Alan Weisman chronicles the people fighting for the planet I bought Alan Weisman’s Hope Dies Last in a bookstore despite knowing nothing about it and based purely on the title. Four hundred pages later, I sat down with the author to talk about the miraculous ...

Alan Weisman's 'Hope Dies Last' is not fiction, and that's what makes it so compelling: stories of those, as Weisman puts it, 'not waiting around for miracles but out there trying to make them.' While there are no glimpses of utopia in this volume, there's plenty of real inspiration. (3/4).

Kim Stanley Robinson on how his novel ‘Ministry for the Future’ holds lessons for the present Roughly five years since Kim Stanley Robinson’s groundbreaking climate fiction novel, The Ministry for the Future, hit shelves and The New York Times bestseller list, there’s little he says he’d chang...

I recommend Kim Stanley Robinson's 'The Ministry for the Future' for the very fact that the novel gives you a cognitive map of what might play out in a scenario where international cooperation takes shape to combat the polycrisis. It's not a perfect vision, but the point is how we get there.

(2/4)

I've reviewed lot of books for @mongabay.com on our weekly podcast. Here are some brief thoughts on those I've read this year so far, and why I recommend them.

'The Ministry for the Future' - Kim Stanley Robinson
'Hope Dies Last' - Alan Weisman
'Nature's Last Dance' - Natalie Kyriacou.

(1/4)

For those who might want to point out that Australia is one of only a few countries surveyed that plans to reduce oil and gas production, yes, that's true. So, why then is coal mining not just on the table, but being ramped up when coal is quite literally the dirtiest form of energy available?

Australia is one of the countries in this list that plans to ramp up (not reduce) coal mining.

The Labor party (which partly campaigned on climate action) is the party in power.

Forbes Sustainability Leaders 2025: Sustainability Across Sectors Forbes Sustainability Leaders List highlights global leaders combating the climate crisis across a range of sectors. See who made the list.

Great to see our Founder & CEO, @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social at @mongabay.com on the @forbes.com 2025 Sustainability Leaders List:

"After [he] learned that a rainforest he visited with his family in Borneo would be cut down for wood pulp, he was inspired to start [Mongabay]."

❓Got questions about the EU Deforestation Regulation❓

Our Policy Lead was part of an informative webinar for journalists - hosted by @mongabay.com - discussing why the #EUDR is important, how it will be enforced and what journalists should consider when covering recent attacks on the law.

Canada’s mining companies destroy biodiversity with impunity, Indigenous journalist reports An international tribunal of environmental rights activists recently found extensive evidence that the Canadian mining sector is “guilty for the violation of Rights of Nature across South America and ...

Canadian mining companies are 'getting away with atrocities' in South America and across the globe, says Brandi Morin. She shares the details with @racheldonald.bsky.social on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast. Listen now @mongabay.com

YouTube video by Mongabay How to Cover the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)

Journalists covering the EUDR, I urge you to listen to the webinar we just hosted on how to cover this topic with panelists from @earthsight.bsky.social and @rainforestalliance.bsky.social and @bykarlamendes.bsky.social:

Recent #ICJ Advisory Opinion provides certainty on marine boundaries for #SIDS facing #climate impacts and sea level rise

Angelique Pouponneau explains ⬇️

🎙️ Listen now: news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025...

▶️ Read more: www.unsw.edu.au/news/2025/08...

🏆 Congrats to my colleagues at @mongabaylatam.bsky.social who collected a 1st place Future of Media Award at a London ceremony tonight from @pressgazette.co.uk: pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...

Judges said their investigation is a "powerful use of interactive maps, excellent photography & AI" 🏆 🥂

Everything should be okay. I was spared any significant damage to my belongings. Apartment is fine for the most part.

How did it get in? Through the doors. It poured upwards from the seam in the doors in the kitchen and my front door.

Thanks, Erica. Keeping safe here. The rain should stop within in the hour, and is not as bad as it was last night. That was horrible.

A flooded dirty kitchen floor, courtesy of climate inaction. Photo by Mike DiGirolamo.

Here’s what it looks like when your kitchen or workspace gets impacted by climate inaction.

At this current moment the rain has returned and so has my anxiety that I will get flooded again. This is really really annoying/scary. Would be super cool to not have to worry about this.

So, yeah. Climate action would be nice.

As a nature and climate reporter I am impacted by the topics I report on daily. This is just one example.

I keep my chin up, and continue moving forward. We've cleaned out the apartment and all is well, but hopefully next this happen (and it will) it won't be worse.

What can be done about this? Lots.

Phasing out coal, oil, and gas.
Taxing wealth appropriately.
Scrapping perverse tax incentives for property investors.
Caps on wealth.
Investing in forms of energy that do not emit greenhouse gases.
Inheritance taxes.
Broad scale nature protection, regeneration.

Had a flash flood last night here in Sydney. My studio apartment was flooded by about 3 inches of water. Flash flooding is becoming more common and intense in Sydney due to climate change. This needs to be reiterated.

And yes we are one of (if not the) most expensive housing markets in the world.

Top court delivers a ‘huge’ climate win for island nations The recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on states’ obligations regarding climate change was celebrated globally for providing clarity on countries’ legal obligation t...

The advisory opinion from the ICJ on states’ obligations regarding climate change was celebrated globally for giving clarity on countries’ legal obligation to prevent climate harm, but was also hailed by island nations for its certainty on their maritime boundaries remaining intact.

My latest: