Published

1 year ago

February 3, 2025

Alice Rush

The Western monarch butterfly population in California has plummeted to a near-record low of less than 10,000 this winter.

The 28th annual Western Monarch Count — conducted by hundreds of partners and volunteers — reported a peak monarch population of 9,119 overwintering butterflies. It was the second lowest on record since the count started in 1997, according to a press release from nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

The low number coincides with the proposed protection of monarchs under the U.S. Endangered Species Act by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

“The population’s size is extremely concerning,” said Emma Pelton, a Xerces Society endangered species biologist, in the press release. “We know small populations are especially vulnerable to environmental fluctuations, and we think that’s what happened this year. The record high late summer temperatures and drought in the West likely contributed to the significant drop-off we saw in the third and fourth breeding generations.”

The count represents a steep decline from the more than 200,000 overwintering Western monarchs observed during each of the past three years. The all-time low was fewer than 2,000 recorded in 2020.

Since the 1980s, the Western population of monarchs has declined by over 95 percent, reported the Los Angeles Times. Back then, it was estimated that as many as four million butterflies spent the winter in California, the state’s fish and wildlife department said.

Unless urgent conservation efforts are taken, FWS says Western monarchs face a 99 percent chance of becoming extinct by 2080.

Pelton said a number of factors threaten the species throughout their migratory range, including habitat loss, pesticides and increasingly extreme weather due to climate change.

The recent Los Angeles county wildfires burned tree groves that monarchs use as overwintering habitat, including one site in Lower Topanga Canyon.

Santa Cruz County hosted the largest overwintering clusters observed during the last count. The highest mid-season counts were found at Lighthouse Field State Park with 1,406 butterflies, Natural Bridges State Park with 1,400 monarchs and Moran Lake with 645, the press release said.

San Luis Obispo County’s Pismo Beach monarch Butterfly Grove had the fourth biggest count in late November with 556 Western monarchs, followed by the Skywest Golf Course in the Bay Area with 477 individuals.

A site owned by The Nature Conservancy in Santa Barbara that had top counts in the past — including 33,200 last winter — had only 198 monarchs this time around.

“The iconic monarch butterfly is cherished across North America, captivating children and adults throughout its fascinating lifecycle. Despite its fragility, it is remarkably resilient, like many things in nature when we just give them a chance,” said Martha Williams, former director of FWS, in a December statement, as the Los Angeles Times reported. “Science shows that the monarch needs that chance.”

Western monarchs are separated from their Eastern counterparts by the Rocky Mountains. Eastern monarchs spend their winters each year in central Mexico. Both geographically distinct monarch species make their migrations over multiple generations.

Western monarchs generally overwinter clustered in sheltered tree groves along the California Coast and northern Baja, Mexico.

“A lot of people care about monarchs. Voluntary efforts like pollinator gardens and restoring habitat are probably a reason they aren’t in worse shape,” said Isis Howard, Western Monarch Count coordinator with the Xerces Society, in the press release. “However, these actions are not enough. To help monarchs recover, we need to work at a larger scale and address widespread issues like pesticide contamination and climate change that are beyond what voluntary efforts have been able to achieve.”

When the proposed listing by FWS is finalized, it is expected to lead to better support for Western monarchs, including improved overwintering habitat protection in California and increased incentives for the restoration of breeding habitat.

An ongoing concern is the contamination of milkweed by pesticides. Research by University of Nevada-Reno and the Xerces Society in California’s Central Valley found that the leaves of the plant — the monarch caterpillars’ food source — were contaminated by 64 distinct pesticides.

One of the pesticides — methoxyfenozide — is likely highly toxic to monarch caterpillars and was found in 96 percent of tested milkweed samples.

Currently the only insect species taken into consideration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s testing of pesticides is the adult honey bee, for which methoxyfenozide was classified as “practically non-toxic.”

The Xerces Society and Earthjustice in December formally petitioned the EPA to include native wildlife such as solitary bees, bumble bees, moths and butterflies in their assessment of pesticide risks to pollinators.

“We know pesticides are a key driver of monarch and other pollinator declines. Yet there are glaring gaps in the EPA’s oversight of pesticides: the vast majority of pesticides have never been tested for their impacts on butterflies,” said Rosemary Malfi, Xerces Society’s director of conservation policy, in a statement, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. “How can we protect these essential species if we’re missing the basic information needed to make better decisions?”

The post California’s Monarch Butterfly Population Plummets to Near-Record Low appeared first on EcoWatch.

https://www.ecowatch.com/monarch-butterfly-population-california-2025.html

Green Living

Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Alice Rush

Thoreau wrote in Walden that “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in,” which reminds us that life is short and nature fills it beautifully. What are you looking for that can’t be found during an afternoon in nature?

Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.

The post Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-time-is-but-the-stream/

Green Living

Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action

Published

3 days ago

February 25, 2026

Alice Rush

Turn back the clock with this classic interview that will get you ready for Spring yard care planning. A lawn may be beautiful but it can take a heavy toll on the environment, accounting for between 30% and 60% of residential water use in the United States. Rob Moir, Ph.D., is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ORI works with residential lawn owners to heal damaged ecosystems by restoring coastal areas to lessen the destructive impacts of climate change. The benefits of a natural lawn reach far beyond reduced local water pollution, eliminating chemicals that can contribute to cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cellular diseases. Natural lawns are also better for local pollinators and store much more carbon than heavily fertilized lawns. If you considered removing your lawn to play a part in the battle against climate change, this interview may change your mind — a healthy lawn is a powerful carbon sink.

Rob Moir, Ph.D., president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute, is our guest on *Sustainability in Your Ear*.

The Ocean River Institute is recruiting Massachusetts communities, town by town, to take a pledge to follow natural lawn practices in the Healthy Soils for Climate Restoration Challenge. You don’t need to live in Massachusetts to participate and learn about the alternatives to the traditional, chemical-intensive lawn practices that use Roundup, a source of glyphosates that kills soil-dwelling fungi and local pollinators, and fast-acting nitrogen fertilizers. You can learn more about the Ocean River Institute at www.oceanriver.org.

Rob has contributed many articles about climate change and the history of environmental change since this interview, including:

Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
Follow Sustainability in Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 30, 2022.

The post Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-the-ocean-river-institutes-natural-lawn-challenge-for-climate-action/

Green Living

7 Best Sustainable Wedding Dresses for Your Special Day

Published

5 days ago

February 23, 2026

Alice Rush

Choosing your perfect gown can be one of the most exciting decisions for your special day, but for the eco fashionista, it can be a challenge to find a dress that fits your values and style — but these brands have exceptional sustainable wedding dresses you’ll swoon over!

Using earth-minded materials like hemp, cruelty-free peace silk, deadstock recycled fabrics and vintage lace, and producing consciously, either in small batches or handcrafting each individual piece made-to-order, the brands below meet high standards for transparency, ecological sustainability, and fair labor.

[For more sustainable wedding dresses, check out this guide to secondhand wedding dress sites!]

Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!

1. Christy Dawn

sustainable wedding dresses from Christy Dawn

Dreamy dress brand Christy Dawn does not disappoint with their romantic bridal collection! Each piece is more swoon-worthy than the next.

Their three sustainable bridal gowns are made from regenerative silk charmeuse —sourced through BOMBYX, an innovative silk producer using best practices — and colored in a beautiful pearl silk with non-toxic dyes. Each dress is ethically cut and sewn by makers in Los Angeles earning living wages, as with the rest of Christy Dawn’s collections.

The Britta Dress and Fitzgerald Dress are 1920s inspired while the Athena Dress is a more modern (but equally romantic) option. All of these dresses are made-to-order with an estimated timeline of 4 weeks.

Conscious Qualities: Regenerative silk and organic non-toxic dyes, ethically made-to-order in Los Angeles

Price Range: $2,500 – $3,000

Size Range: XS – XL

Check Out Christy Dawn Bridal

2. Pure Magnolia

Classic sustainable wedding dresses from Pure Magnolia

Blending the traditional with the modern, Pure Magnolia designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. And each dress is made in their Canadian studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.

The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible as well, and recycles their scrap fabric through FABCYCLE.

Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, locally and fairly made, recycles scrap fabrics

Price Range: $845 – $3,300 CAD

Size Range: 0 – 28

Check Out Pure Magnolia

3. Lost in Paris

Bohemian-inspired gowns ethically made by Lost in Paris

Lost in Paris crafts each of their creatively designed bohemian-inspired gowns ethically in their Sydney, Australia studio. Unconventional yet undeniably striking, Lost in Paris’ dresses are made from vintage lace and cotton.

Investing in a dress from Lost in Paris is seamless — the brand offers at-home sample try-ons, offers train and sleeve adjustments on several styles, ships their dresses worldwide for free, and even accepts returns. Oh, and, if one of their ready-made sizes doesn’t work for you, you can get a dress designed to your measurements.

Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses vintage lace, locally made

Price Range: $950 – $3900 AUD

Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing options

Check Out Lost in Paris

For More Slow Fashion Content:

4. Wear Your Love

Ethical wedding dresses made with organic cotton from wear your love

Wear Your Love creates feminine, effortless dresses in their Northern California studio that are — in contrast to the majority of wedding dresses on the market — actually comfortable! The brand’s free-spirited designs are made with soft, earth-minded fabrics like organic cotton and each dress is made to order for each bride to their exact measurements.

There are also customizations available for each eco-friendly wedding dress such as train or no train, skirt or sleeve linings, back coverage, skirt style, and more.

Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model, locally and transparently made

Price Range: $680 – $1,700

Size Range: N/A; dresses are made to your measurements

Check Out Wear Your Love

5. Larimeloom

Custom-made ethical wedding dresses from Larimeloom

Based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Larimeloom crafts exceptional custom-made dresses by hand in their atelier. The brand creates comfortable minimalist dresses from durable natural fabrics and colors them with natural or non-toxic dyes.

Larimeloom has also implemented zero waste design techniques, cutting their patterns strategically in order to minimize fabric waste.

Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, zero-waste designs, natural fabrics and dyes

Price Range: 650€ – 2,650€

Size Range: XS – XL

Explore Larimelume

6. Sister Organics

Lace wedding dresses made with earth-friendly natural fabrics from Sister Organics

Sourcing quality earth-friendly natural fabrics like organic hemp and cotton, Sister Organics creates classic, eco-friendly wedding dresses for UK-based brides.

Each dress is made to order in England, so you can select a pre-defined size, customize the length of a size, or get an entirely different dress made for your measurements.

Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model

Price Range: £125 – £390

Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing

Check Out Sister Organics

7. Indiebride London

Vintage-inspired eco wedding dresses from Indiebride London

Indiebride’s vintage-inspired sustainable wedding dresses are delicate and romantic yet free-spirited, offering a unique collection for the bride that wants to skip the conventional wedding gown and choose a piece that fits their individual style.

The brand’s conscious wedding dresses are handmade in London using majority natural fibers and can be altered or customized to your specifications.

Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses many natural fabrics, locally made

Price Range: £1,200 – £1,700

Size Range: 8 – 16 (UK sizes)

Check Out Indiebride