Yancoal (Moolarben) is trying to expand a coal mine in New South Wales that would clear 113 hectares of koala habitat if it is approved.

"Australians are skipping meals," said Foodbank Australia chief executive Kylea Tink. "They're not knowing what they're going to put in their children's lunch boxes the next day." 20% of the country lives in severe food insecurity:

The former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, disagrees with Bill Gates in a commentary for @mongabay.com edited by @erikhoffner.bsky.social. "His suggestion that the world must choose between financing development or climate action falsely presents a zero-sum situation."

This week on the podcast, I speak with our founder and CEO, @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social who reflects on his longtime friendship with Jane Goodall, being named to the @forbes.com 2025 sustainability leaders list, and being awarded the Henry Shaw Medal. Listen here:

I’ve been hosting the Mongabay Newscast for nearly 3 years. We’ve had some great conversations about the biggest environmental challenges of our time. Myself and @erikhoffner.bsky.social took home an award. But we want to hear from you. How has the Newscast impacted you? Tell us: lnkd.in/gKc5AQtg

Australia’s “humpback comeback” is making waves globally. Numbers of whales on the east coast have rebounded to an estimated 50,000 from a historic low. Wildlife scientist and whale expert @drvanessapirotta.bsky.social joins me on the podcast this week @mongabay.com to chat about this achievement:

The world is deeply unserious about dealing with climate change. We need to reduce emissions by 50% in 5 years and we're nowhere near that.

The Indigenous Pakayaku in Ecuador’s Amazon have kept mining, logging & oil out of their community's forests for generations @mongabay.com's reporter visited to meet their 45 women warriors who patrol 99,000 acres of rainforest to detect incursions Few have been allowed to witness this until now:

AUSSIE BIRD COUNT STARTS TODAY! aussiebirdcount.org.au Spend 20 minutes counting the birds you encounter. Log them. Repeat as many times as you like. Proper science! There are also prizes.

We love fan mail at @mongabay.com's podcast A new listener loved the optimism of our host @mikedigirolamo.bsky.social's discussion with global #rewilding advocate Ben Goldsmith, hear why they made this climate activist cry from #conservationoptimism here: news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025...

Psychologist @drjuliashaw.bsky.social joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss her latest read, examining some of the highest-profile environmental crimes and why they occur, in 'Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet and How to Stop Them.' 🎙️Listen: @mongabay.com

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:

“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...

"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

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

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."

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."

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)

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.

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.

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

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" 🏆 🥂

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.

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:

I try not to complain, but the housing crisis in Australia continues to get worse with each day. Prices are rising. That's the opposite of solving the problem. Meanwhile over half our federal members of parliament own multiple properties. 91 have one listed as an investment or are the landlord.

Wealth inequality is a primary culprit behind the ecological collapse of societies over the past 12,000 years, which have come to be dominated by a small circle of elites, says Cambridge researcher Luke Kemp. Kemp tells me how we can combat wealth inequality, save nature, and human society.

Tomorrow morning this time, I'll be on the Sydney Marathon course. I wrote my final thoughts before race day:

'If the economy doesn’t work for human well-being & health & nature,' Natalie Kyriacou asks ..."who *is* it working for and why are we continuing down this path?” Nature “is our whole existence" she tells @mikedigirolamo.bsky.social on the Mongabay Newscast Listen here or via any #podcast app:

I read (and highly recommend) the widely praised new book, Nature’s Last Dance: Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction, from Natalie Kyriacou. In our conversation together, Kyriacou stressed to me "… if we are going to protect nature, to protect something, you need to fall in love with it.”

The fact that Sydney just had its wettest August in 27 years, and we are barely halfway through the month (which is supposed to be dry) should deeply unsettle you:

[COMMENTARY] Mongabay podcast host Mike DiGirolamo has struggled with questions of futility in the face of huge challenges in the past, but in a new op-ed he shares how he has overcome these through a strategy of engagement and action. ** The views expressed are those of the author.

For a number of years, I've been asked a variation on 'how do you keep going when things are so bleak?' And in this op-ed for @mongabay.com I answer that question:

A rewilding movement is gaining momentum in England. Philanthropist and rewilding advocate, Ben Goldsmith, tells me about the cultural shifts taking place in the nation, enabling it. "If you stop a random person on the street now, in the city or in the countryside, they know that beavers are back."

Capped off my first 35k (22 mile) long run in about three years since my injury. Happy to report I still have a little bit of speed in my legs. What has changed is my outlook on giant sporting events in the context of environmental breakdown. My thoughts as I head into the Sydney Marathon:

This is the US Constitution page @ the Library of Congress Sections 9 and 10 have been removed 9 includes habeas corpus, the courts' review of unlawful detention & imprisonment This gov't can't change the Constitution w/ sneaky editing, but it's a new low: constitution.congress.gov/constitution/

I bought Alan Weisman's book 'Hope Dies Last' in a local shop based purely on the title. 400 pages later, I sat down with the author to talk about the miraculous work of the book’s protagonists trying to solve humanity’s most intractable ecological problems. 🎙️Listen to the interview @mongabay.com

“I started this book because I was really, really, really depressed about how I saw systems breaking down,” Alan Weisman tells me. “By the end of this book, I was so uplifted by all these people...each of them daring to hope and oftentimes succeeding, that I'm there with them. This ain't over."

In Brazil’s schools & prisons, shark is often on the menu That's not great for public health An investigation by @philjaco.bsky.social @bykarlamendes.bsky.social & @kuangkeng.bsky.social for @mongabay.com reveals *thousands of tons* of mercury laden, possibly endangered #sharks & rays, are served:

I recently got to speak with @willowonearth.bsky.social, editor-in-chief of the nonprofit nature and culture magazine @atmosmag.bsky.social about the importance of covering nature through the lens of community, identity, arts and culture, and the many insights of her new podcast 'The Nature Of':

"The Albanese government was so worried a court case could halt native forest logging in northern New South Wales that it drew up plans to essentially sidestep federal environment laws in the event of a loss," reports Anne Davies Astonishing, as native forest logging has lost NSW $70 mil in 4 years

In the 1880s, only roughly 7% of Singapore's native forests remained. Today, nearly 47% of the city is considered green space, providing numerous benefits to human residents and wildlife. I speak with ecologist Anuj Jain about how and why Singapore can be a model for urban re greening.

Dominant narratives, such as those that insist that taxing the super-rich will harm our economies, often protect harmful systems and the wealthy few, at the expense of both people and the planet. To build a better and fairer future, we must challenge these narratives and tell new ones.

Narratives help shape our society, entrenching beliefs that can help — or harm — our planet and human rights. Tsering Yangzom Lama, story manager at @greenpeace.org, speaks with me on the @mongabay.com podcast about how to counter dominant narratives that have fueled exploitation.

In the wake of the USAID funding cuts, nonprofit org Wildlife Conservation Network is working to connect community based conservationists with funders around the world. In my conversation with CEO JG Collomb he explains WCN's philosophy, and why he encourages funding without strings attached:

I've been told avocado toast is to blame for this.