Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2024

Alice Rush

Adam Welz’s The End of Eden is an extraordinary document of a planet under stress. Taking a deep dive into the scientific history of our planet, Welz brings the research into the moment by exploring how species around the world are being forever altered or eliminated, in ways that few people are aware.

“Humans have been performing an uncontrolled experiment on this fragile, life-giving cocoon,” Welz writes in the book’s introduction, referring to Earth as a “tarnished Eden.”

Welz writes about places he’s traveled to, as well as ones he extensively researched, including the Mojave Desert, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands, New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, and areas close to his home in Cape Town, South Africa.

Welz looks mostly at microclimates and how “these intimate ecological breakups and breakdowns are of no less consequence than the so-called natural disasters.” It’s an exploration of the science of phenomena like thermal heat and CO2, and a painfully real one, considering how plagues, extreme weather, migration, fire and other events have affected the delicate ecological balance of Earth and mammals like the white-throated woodrat, honeycreepers in Hawaii, and land tortoises, among others.

But Welz sees hopeful adaptations as well. “Some species will colonize habitats, areas, and communities that they have never lived in before,” he says. “Climate change is scrambling natural communities and creating new combinations of species — new ecosystems — almost everywhere we look.”

EcoWatch spoke with Welz from his home in South Africa, where he’s busy working on a book about the history and future of nature conservation.

The level of research in the book is stunning. What was the challenge in putting that all together?

I’m constantly picking up stories and bits of information, just kind of filing them away. The book could have been way longer, but I picked the stories that I liked the most, that I thought best described or best illustrated the phenomena that I’m trying to get at.

Which is what? What might be the overall theme of The End of Eden?

What the problem that this book is trying to solve is that when you read about climate breakdown in general in the media, nearly all of it is focused on humans — what does it mean for us. Very little is focused on millions of other species that happen to share the planet with us. I picked particular species, I’ve told their stories, and I’ve sort of almost built them as characters. And once you understand the why a little more, I’m hoping you’ll be able to take the story I’ve just told you and realize as a reader that this is the same kind of thing that’s happening to species in lots of other places.

Would you say the eight chapters describe the eight major stressors on the climate?

No, it’s very hard to say that. I would just say that these are themes that made sense to me. Each chapter looks at this particular kind of phenomenon, and it tries to explore it and explain it through these examples of these different species. For example, I have a chapter on fertile air, which is how the increase in concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is driving the woodification of savannas around the world. They’re turning into essentially low-grade forests in large parts of the world. And that’s, I think, something very few people have thought about, you know, CO2 fertilization.

You write about the Key deer in Key West. How is that an example of the kind of research you did?

They’ve evolved to become these very cute mini-deer, but they’re absolutely dependent on freshwater resources on these small coral islands that make up the Keys. And these freshwater resources are, as sea level rises, becoming saltier and saltier. And with the hurricanes getting more intense and storm surges now washing right up over these islands, we’re looking at the end of the Key deer. Some of the projections are that within decades, well before 2100, the Florida Keys will not have any suitable habitat for the Key deer anymore. And again, it’s an example of how close to the edge a lot of species actually are.

I try and illustrate in some of these stories that these tiny little incremental shifts in maximum and minimum temperatures, or the length of a season just by a couple of days here and there, can actually have these massive effects on species, and then in turn have massive effects on ecosystems and affect large, large areas. I think that the key thing is to be aware of the impact.

You visited the Kosciuszko National Park after the massive Dunns Road fire there in 2020. You wrote, “I was stunned by what I saw. A dense mass of thousands, millions, of dead trees filled the landscape from horizon to horizon. The forest was the brown of dead wood and the black of charcoal. It smelled of ash and burned oil. I had never seen a place so thoroughly and extensively burned.” What impression did that make on you?

I’ve seen a lot of fires in my life. I’m used to fires, and like I say in the book, fires don’t scare me. They’re totally normal in loads of ecosystems. I was absolutely shocked by what I saw in the sense that I had never seen an area that large that had been so thoroughly burned. The forest floor in most places was completely bare. The fire had been so hot that it burned right through all the organic matter, it had been burned out of the soil. Everything was just like dead sand underneath these dead trees.

A single fire, instead of being just a sort of a phase in that forest’s life, just deletes the forest, and it’s then replaced by a scrubland or a grassland or something. You have this massive shift in the nature of that ecosystem essentially overnight. And to see it on the scale that I saw in Australia — I really felt, like I say in the book, I felt like I was seeing the future. It’s like, all right, this is where we’re going, folks. This is a whole different thing. This is something brand new.

On a more personal level, you have a fish tank with some endangered catfish from Peru. It’s a very small thing, but how does that help?

Both of these species have had nearly all their riverine habitat in Peru destroyed by illegal gold mining, and there’s a tiny handful of people around the world that keep these fish. Conservation’s not all about these multi-million dollar projects to save huge animals like rhinos and what have you from extinction.

^{Author Adam Welz points to his fish tank with endangered catfish from Peru.}

Some of the book’s research really points to some unalterable changes in species. How does one avoid that kind of psychological climate change dread?

I get people saying to me, I’m scared to read your book because I might get depressed or something. It’s like, well, yeah, that happens to me. And I think, you know, well, this is what’s going on, folks. And you can either pretend it isn’t there or you can deal with it. And if it changes you, if it marks you, well, that’s what it’s going to do, because this is what’s happening. And that’s actually okay, even though it is difficult.

There’s all sorts of things that are just truly bleak and there are solutions, but the political opposition to those solutions at the moment is ferocious. And if we are really going to do something substantial about climate breakdown and the extinction crisis, it’s going to be a fight. There are very strong entrenched interests who want to carry on with fossil fuels and want to carry on with rampant destruction of ecosystems, because they’re making a lot of money out of it. It’s got to be a fight. It’s not going to solve itself. It’s not going to be because people have the right ideas. You know, if any change is going to come, it will be through action.

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The post ‘It’s Got to Be a Fight’: Author Adam Welz on Surviving Climate Breakdown and Saving Species of a ‘Tarnished Eden’ appeared first on EcoWatch.

https://www.ecowatch.com/adam-welz-the-end-of-eden-interview-ecowatch.html

Green Living

Earth911 Inspiration: Nothing In Vain

Published

14 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Alice Rush

Aristotle, who saw purpose and design in everything, wrote in several different works that “Nature does nothing in vain.” We reply that regardless of purpose, nature does everything with grace; we are fortunate to witness the miraculous results of 13.4 billion years of experimentation.

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: Nothing In Vain appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-nothing-in-vain/

Green Living

Can You Recycle Computers?

Published

3 days ago

January 21, 2026

Alice Rush

Last Updated on January 21, 2026

Picture this: Your laptop of three years decides it’s going to conk out. What’s the most sustainable solution? Seeing if you can get it repaired, of course.

Fighting planned obsolescence is a full time job, and it occurs with way more than just electronics.

But lets say you can’t repair your laptop for some unforeseeable reason…what then? You recycle it of course.

Computers don’t belong in landfills, nor do most conventional curbside recycling programs accept them. So how do you recycle computers? Here’s everything you need to know about computer recycling (and why we need to dispose of them properly).

why should you recycle computers?

First, lets tackle the reason we should bother to recycle computers. Computers are made up of several components – and when we dump them out, they become notorious for leaking toxins and carcinogens into the environment. This poses a risk for humans, wildlife, and soil quality alike.

However, if we recycle computers, all those components get a second shot at life. There are several valuable materials in our old computers that can be used to make new electronics, thus reducing waste and pollution.

According to the EPA, recycling 1 million laptops saves enough energy to power ~3,500 U.S. homes for a year.

And if that’s not reason enough – improperly disposed computers can put your personal or business files at risk of being recovered. And that can escalate to data breaches or reputation damage (yikes).

how do I get rid of my old computer?

To get rid of your old computer, you must first back up your data, sign out of all accounts, wipe & destroy the hard drive, then recycle the computer through local e-waste centers or retailers with take-back programs (Best Buy, Staples, etc.).

To wipe a hard drive, be sure to back up any important data first. Use built-in tools like ‘reset this PC’ or check with your computer’s manufacturer to see specific instructions. For example, here’s how to wipe a Dell hard drive and erase a Mac hard drive.

For absolutely no chance of your data being recovered, it’s always best to remove and destroy the hard drive, if possible. Here’s a guide to destroying a hard drive safely.

Once the hard drive is no longer an issue, you can recycle computers through a number of drop-off or mail-in options.

drop off:

Local e-waste recycling events (make sure to ask if your specific computer will be accepted in advance). Check your local .gov to see when your next one will be!

Best Buy accepts various desktops, laptops, and tablets, including some accessories. There’s a limit of 3 items per household per day. They charge a small fee for recycling monitors.

Staples accepts computers & Macs. They charge a fee for monitors. When you recycle, you get rewards with their store!

Use ERI’s recycle search and find recycling locations near you. Just type in “computer recycling” and your zip code to learn what your options are.

mail-in:

Several manufacturers will accept mail-in recycling for their computer models. Dell and HP have trade-in programs for computers that meet certain standards, as well as recycling options for lesser functioning computers of any brand. Apple also accepts trade-in and recycling for several devices, including computers.

Green Citizen offers free mail-in recycling for laptops, desktops, and tablets, but there may be fees for data destruction.

Most of these places will also accept computer accessories, like keyboards, mice, etc. But be sure to double check!

should you remove the hard drive from a computer before recycling?

Yes, always remove the hard drive before recycling. It’s best to wipe it, then remove it and destroy it. Because even a wiped hard drive can still be recovered, to an extent.

Even if you empty the recycling bin on your computer it doesn’t guarantee that the content is gone because the computer marks that data space to be overwritten with new data. So if the data hasn’t been overwritten, data recovery software can pick it up.

does best buy erase hard drives when recycling?

Best Buy offers tips and advice on wiping hard drives and data for Windows computers prior to drop off, but won’t actually do it for you. It’s best to go prepared by wiping/destroying your hard drive first.

So, what did you think of this guide to recycling computers? Let me know in the comments!

The post Can You Recycle Computers? appeared first on Going Zero Waste.

Can You Recycle Computers?

Green Living

Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Carbonfuture is Building the Trust Infrastructure for Carbon Removal

Published

3 days ago

January 21, 2026

Alice Rush

Read a transcript of this episode. Subscribe to receive transcripts: Learn more.

The carbon removal industry stands at a crucial crossroads. While cutting emissions remains essential, avoiding catastrophic warming now requires pulling billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere permanently. But as this nascent field grapples with questions of legitimacy, scalability, and accountability, a critical challenge remains: How do we build the infrastructure needed to track, verify, and certify that carbon has actually been removed and stays removed? Meet Hannes Junginger-Gestrich, CEO of Carbonfuture, a company helping define the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) infrastructure that could transform carbon removal from scattered efforts into a functioning ecosystem. Launched five years ago, Carbonfuture has emerged as what CDR.fyi describes as “the largest facilitator of durable carbon removal” by volume. The company’s digital platform integrates data across the carbon removal life cycle, connecting diverse approaches like biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture with buyers seeking to meet climate commitments. “We are probably more the crowd, the ground keepers in a stadium that makes sure that everything is provided properly,” Hannes explains, using a sports analogy to describe their role: “We are the ground keepers in a stadium [who ensure] the players have a playing field that’s in shape and no one gets hurt, and the audience can come and they pay their tickets and have a good experience.”

Hannes Junginger-Gestrich, CEO of Carbonfuture, is our guest on Sustainability In Your Ear.

The MRV infrastructure becomes crucial as corporate demand for verified carbon removal grows and trust becomes currency. One of the most interesting aspects of the conversation centers on balancing data confidentiality with transparency needs, particularly when collecting data along industrial value chains from agricultural residue producers to biochar processors to end users. Perhaps most telling is Junginger-Gestrich’s unwavering commitment to scientific rigor over short-term economic gains: “We never had to trade off between rigor and allowing a not so good project on our platform for economic reasons. We always lean to the scientific and rigorous side.” This philosophy has guided Carbonfuture’s work with leading buyers like Microsoft, helping develop increasingly sophisticated approaches to carbon removal verification. While Junginger-Gestrich expresses concern about delayed emission reductions globally, he remains optimistic about carbon removal scaling: “I think we will be on the path to the gigatons by 2040 for sure.” His vision emphasizes ecosystem thinking over vertical integration, aiming to drive down costs while creating network effects that could accelerate the entire field. As governments worldwide grapple with climate policy, the monitoring, reporting, and verification systems companies like Carbonfuture are developing now may well determine the success of our collective effort to reverse climate change. You can learn more about Carbonfuture at carbonfuture.earth.