animals

  1. Animals

Protecting Biodiversity: Keeping Your Pets from Harming Local Ecosystems

Written by Jane Marsh
The impact of domestic pets on the environment

Busy? Try the speed read.

Our beloved pets are family members, but responsible pet ownership requires you to safeguard local habitats.

  • Exotic Pets a Problem in the Everglades
  • The Impact of Domesticated Pets on Local Habitats
  • How to Protect Local Habitats From Your Pet

The unwanted release of the Burmese Python has wreaked havoc on the Everglades which has seen a decline in 99.3% of Racoons, a 98.9% decrease in possums and an 87.5% drop in bobcats. However Pythons are not all to blame, as there have been 140 invasive reptiles and amphibians that have been introduced since the pet trade in the 1980s.

How about our beloved furry friends? Unfortunately nearly 200 species are threatened by dogs globally and in the United States, domestic cats kill about 1.3 billion-4 billion birds and 6.3 billion-22.3 billion mammals annually. 

So how can we be more mindful of the ecological impacts our pets can have? Heres a few recommendations

  • Pick up the poop! Dispose appropriately and use sustainable bags
  • Return unwanted reptiles and amphibians to a pet store instead of releasing them in the wild
  • You can prevent your cat from preying on wildlife by keeping them indoors
  • Avoid flushing dead or live fish down drains as they’ll end up in aquatic ecosystems they don’t belong
  • Never remove wildlife from natural habitats to domesticate them
  • Keep your dogs of restricted trails as not to disturb wildlife especially during breeding season



Not only can we safeguard our local habitats and be responsible pet owners but we can do so whilst enjoying the companionship of our animal friends.

Dig deeper —> 7 min
  1. Energy and Environment

How Indigenous Hunting Is the Key to Forest Sustainability

Written by Oscar Collins
Indigenous Hunting Forest Sustainability
Forests are vulnerable because of deforestation and climate change. One way to help forests is by hunting sustainably, as Indigenous hunters do. Indigenous hunters see animals and humans as crucial to nature. Others should take notes from Indigenous cultures and practice preservation instead of poaching. Hunting controls animal populations and keeps ecosystems balanced. Those interested in sustainability could start hunting for their food after researching the hunting laws in their area. Dig deeper → 3 min
  1. Lifestyle

Simple ideas I found while driving across America

Written by Jared Wolf
Grand Teton Lake Jenny

The scoop: I just drove from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. I learned a lot about America along the way.

Some key highlights from rural America:

  • Galena has hundreds of storefronts in the middle of rural Western Illinois
  • Badlands National Park is in South Dakota but looks like a white Mars
  • There are job shortages for hourly workers from coast to coast. It is tangible.
  • Counties are more significant than states. Remove all stereotypes.
  • Ethical and sustainable agriculture is the most important thing in the world.

Dig deeper → 5 min
  1. Energy and Environment

Sustainability starts with the way we treat animals

Written by Jared Wolf

Question: How can sustainability succeed without laws protecting animals?

The science is out on animals. Man's outdated perceptions of our underwater and in-the-forest cousins are coming to light as science meets PETA.

Animals are sentient beings. It's not a romance novel, it's the world we live in. Animals experience a wide range of emotions.

The animal manifesto: Every squirrel, every rabbit, every bear, every fish serves a clear, identifiable role in Earth's ecosystem except for two creatures: invasive species like pythons in the Everglades.... and mankind.

Humans as protectors: Man certainly plays a role in this crazy floating ball universe, but we've drifted so far from our hunter-gatherer origins that our ecological purpose is becoming harder and harder to define. As such, it is the moral responsibility of man to act as benevolent stewards for the vulnerable, voiceless animal kingdom.

Animal lives matter: The next sustainability chapter of post-industrial society begins with a recognition of animals as they are, fellow Earthlings deserving of basic rights.

Bottom line Today, most advanced nations do not recognize animals as sentient beings. And we expect sustainable lifestyles to be widely adopted in our homes? You have to learn how to drive a car before lifting up the hood to fix it.
  1. Business

Tyson Foods Cries Wolf

Written by Danny Schleien

The scoop John Tyson, Chairman of Tyson Foods, sent out a dire message about the global food chain supply breaking as millions of chickens, cattle and pigs face euthanasia due to widespread closures of slaughter houses. 

Where it stands

  • Meat processing plants across America face closure due to the pandemic. 
  • Processing plants use the ’just in time’ inventory system.
    • Animals have limited processing time, after which they get too big and loses their monetary value for companies such as Tyson.
  • It is difficult for meat processors to pivot between varying amounts of demand, exposing its shortcomings as a reliable form of food production. 

What are the main concerns?

  • Most meat processing plants operate in counties in America worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. 
  • Thousands of animals and workers in these poorly-sanitised plants remain in close proximity to one other. 
  • The chances of infections spreading are incredibly high in the plants, with over 5,000 meat workers and 1,500 workers contracting the virus since April. 
  • Meat processing systems lack a vital aspect of sustainability: resilience. 

Zoom out Farmers have discarded millions of pounds of edible food due to the virus and warn of increased food security concerns. Almost 30-40% of food is wasted in America, equivalent to an estimated value of $162 billion every year. 

Bottom Line Our food systems need to focus on resilience plans moving forward, making them more adaptable and decentralised to effectively deal with external disturbances such as a pandemic.

Dig deeper → 5 min

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