Business

Around ten years ago, California made history by being the first state in the US to ban single-use plastic bags as a way to address the growing plastic waste issue. However, this move led to the introduction of reusable, heavy-duty plastic bags that were offered to shoppers for a small fee. Despite being designed for multiple uses and technically recyclable, many retailers considered them exempt from the ban.Unfortunately, these heavy-duty bags didn't see much reuse as they closely resembled the flimsy bags they replaced. Despite bearing a recycling symbol, very few of them were actually recycled. As a result, last...

Coal, nickel, palm oil, rainforests. The riches of Indonesia matter to the rest of the world. Therefore, so does its presidential election. Early results on Wednesday in the world’s third-largest democracy signaled the victory of Prabowo Subianto, a former army general linked to human rights abuses, as the country’s next president. The new government’s approach on the management of its natural resources could have a significant effect on the world’s ability to keep global warming to relatively safe levels. Environmentalists are also watching what the vote might mean for their ability to operate freely in a country with a history...

A new study has found that rising temperatures could increase the area threatened by crop-devouring locusts by up to 25 percent in the coming decades. This is due to more regions experiencing cycles of drought and heavy rain that create ideal conditions for biblical swarms of locusts. Locusts have long been a problem for farmers in northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, thriving in hot, dry conditions but needing occasional rainfall to hatch their eggs. Human-caused climate change is heating up their habitats and intensifying sporadic rains, exposing new areas to potential infestations. Xiaogang He, an assistant professor...