Sustainable Development Goals (497)
The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The seventeen Sustaiable Development Goals (SDG) were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.
Children categories
2 Zero Hunger (13)
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3 Good Health and Well-Being (65)
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4 Quality Education (45)
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
6 Clean Water and Sanitation (34)
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7 Affordable and Clean Energy (35)
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8 Decent Work and Economic Growth (10)
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (30)
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
11 Sustainable Cities and Communities (162)
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12 Responsible Consumption and Production (58)
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
14 Life Below Water (83)
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15 Life on Land (152)
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (31)
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17 Partnerships for the Goals (20)
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
Monarch butterflies, an ephemeral but regular glimpse of beauty, are fluttering toward extinction
Written by Stephen Lyn Bales 
A monarch butterfly, recently declared endangered despite decades of conservation, is seen atop a coneflower. Stephen Lyn Bales
Dramatic monarch declines mean the bell tolls for we
KNOXVILLE — Monarch butterflies are ephemeral by nature. The orange and black dalliances that flitter through our lives, our yards, and our countryside like motes of dust are here one minute and gone the next. We pause for a few seconds to watch the “flutter-bys” and then move on.
For about all of the Lepidopteran family, where they come from, where they go, their raison d'être, we don’t ask. They are winged wisps that pass through our busy lives. But that is not true with this orange and black butterfly, named to honor King William III of England, the Prince of Orange. But two people did ask.
Norah and Fred Urquhart lived in Southern Canada and in the late 1930s they noticed that the monarch butterflies seemed to all be fluttering south this time of the year. Could they possibly be migrating and if so, where did they go? The notion that a butterfly might migrate south for the winter seemed hard to fathom. Yes, broad-winged hawks migrate. But a flimsy butterfly?
- monarch butterfly
- monarch
- are monarchs endangered?
- stephen lyn bales
- stephen bales
- ijams nature center
- lepidoptera
- catalina aguado
- norah and fred urquhart
- flight of the butterflies
- xerces society
- great smoky mountains institute at tremont
- danaus plexippus ssp plexippus
- endangered species
- international union for conservation of nature
- pesticide
- pollinator
- habitat loss
- climate change
- herbicide
- mexico
At Gray Fossil Site, paleontologists let the bone-crushing dog out
Written by East Tennessee State University
Illustration of the Gray Fossil Site bone-crushing dog, recently determined to have been active in the ancient Southern Appalachians. Mauricio Anton via ETSU
Discovery of ancient ambush predator is one of few large carnivores found at East Tennessee paleontological site
JOHNSON CITY — Overseen by the Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology at East Tennessee State University, researchers have studied the Gray Fossil Site for over 20 years. They have identified many extinct animal and plant species of the Pliocene epoch that lived there some 5 million years ago. While large herbivores are well known from the site, large predators are relatively uncommon, so far including only alligators and scarce remains of at least one sabertooth cat.
Now, there’s a new predator on the scene.
A recent study published in the Journal of Paleontology describes a single right humerus (upper arm bone) of an animal named Borophagus, a member of an extinct group more commonly called bone-crushing dogs. The animal is so named for its powerful teeth and jaws. This is the first evidence of any animals in the dog family from the Gray Fossil Site.
The research was conducted by Emily Bōgner, a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley, and alumnus of ETSU’s paleontology master’s program, and Dr. Joshua Samuels, associate professor in the ETSU Department of Geosciences and curator at the Gray Fossil Site and Museum.
SACE sees many silver linings in Senate climate bill; House passage expected
Written by Amy Rawe
A rainbow pierces gray skies during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. United Nations
Climate activists stress positives of Senate climate bill despite its shortcomings
Amy Rawe is communications director for Knoxville-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
KNOXVILLE — The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an estimated $430 billion bill, of which approximately $370 billion will be allocated to investments in clean energy and to address climate change.
It’s the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, and if it passes the House, will put the country on a path to be able to achieve roughly 40 percent emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, reestablishing our influence in meeting the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- southern alliance for clean energy
- climate bill
- inflation reduction act
- alternative energy
- sace
- stephen smith
- solar power
- southeast climate change
- electric car
- electric cars in southeast
- senate climate change
- amy rawe
- wind power
- what's in climate change bill?
- carbon dioxide
- carbon dioxide ppm
- global climate change
- global climate change knoxville
Dems pass huge climate bill assailed by some as another fossil energy sop
Written by Airiana Figueroa and Jacob Fischler
Record-setting bill will fund extensive efforts to address climate change, but the sausage-making deal is decried by some as a ‘suicide pact’
This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a sweeping energy, health care, climate and tax package Sunday afternoon, following an overnight marathon of votes that resulted in just a handful of notable changes to the legislation.
The 755-page bill was passed after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the evenly divided Senate. It now heads to the House, where Democratic leaders have announced they will take it up on Friday.
At last, we have arrived,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Democratic senators broke out into applause as Harris announced passage of the bill, expected to total more than $700 billion.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he dedicated the measure to young Americans who have pushed and protested for the Senate to take action on climate change.
An under-appreciated Black scientist pioneered the modern study of bees and other insects
Written by Edward D. Melillo
Zoologist Charles Henry Turner was the first scientist to prove certain insects could remember, learn and feel. Charles I. Abramson via The Conversation
Charles Henry Turner concluded that bees can perceive time and develop new feeding habits in response
This story was originally published by The Conversation. Edward D. Melillo is a professor of history and environmental studies at Amherst College.
On a crisp autumn morning in 1908, an elegantly dressed African American man strode back and forth among the pin oaks, magnolias and silver maples of O’Fallon Park in St. Louis, Missouri. After placing a dozen dishes filled with strawberry jam atop several picnic tables, biologist Charles Henry Turner retreated to a nearby bench, notebook and pencil at the ready.
Following a midmorning break for tea and toast (topped with strawberry jam, of course), Turner returned to his outdoor experiment. At noon and again at dusk, he placed jam-filled dishes on the park tables. As he discovered, honeybees (Apis mellifera) were reliable breakfast, lunch and dinner visitors to the sugary buffet. After a few days, Turner stopped offering jam at midday and sunset, and presented the treats only at dawn. Initially, the bees continued appearing at all three times. Soon, however, they changed their arrival patterns, visiting the picnic tables only in the mornings.
Updated: Summer of weather anomalies continues as deadly floods ravage SE Kentucky
Written by Thomas Fraser
Heavy flooding is seen in eastern Kentucky this weekend. State of Kentucky/Office of Gov. Andy Beshear
Another round of severe flooding hits the Southern Appalachian region
UPDATED: The death toll from last week’s unprecedented flooding in Kentucky reached at least 29, as some areas contended with additional flooding over the weekend. Fifteen of those, including four children, died in Knott County, which is about 100 miles north of Kingsport.
Water service to nearly 67,000 connections has been affected, as well as 17 wastewater-treatment systems in eastern Kentucky, according to Gov. Andy Beshear’s office.
“We are currently experiencing one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky’s history. The situation is dynamic and ongoing,” Beshear said in a statement.
“What we are going to see coming out of this is massive property damage and we expect loss of life. Hundreds will lose their homes. And this will be yet another event that will take not months, but years, for our families to rebuild and recover from.”
Congo retreats from climate commitments to fuel its fossil energy sector
NYT: Why should we care when you built your world with fossil fuels?
The government of Congo is recruiting fossil-fuel extractors to suck oil from beneath tropical forest and bog ecosystems that rival the Amazon in their role as carbon sinks.
Opponents say it’s another step in knocking over the dominoes of climate renewal as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to roil energy markets and threaten international commitments to addressing climate change.
Thinking Globally: Many places suffer even worse inflation!
Written by EarthSolidarity!™
MOTHER EARTH — Scarcity of food, lack of safety nets and paucity of solidarity lead to famine. This explainer by The Economist elucidates much of the detrimental interdependencies of the global economy which resulted in bottlenecks that can not withstand unanticipated shifts in supply and demand.
Come paddle Beaver Creek May 20 and reclaim your water
Written by Thomas FraserKnox County Parks & Recreation has cleared at least 12 miles of a planned 44-mile blueway. Get on the water and enjoy it.
Who wouldn’t want to canoe down the beautiful Knox County Water Trail? Well you don’t have to wait. On May 20, 2023 you can join the Float the Beaver trip.
All event proceeds are dedicated to the continued improvements on Beaver Creek including debris clearing, creek bed cleanup, and installation of public access docks.
The Knox County Water Trail project was officially started in 2020 by Mayor Glenn Jacobs establishing this 44-mile stretch of navigable water which stretches from Clayton Park in Halls to Melton Hill in Harden Valley. The initiative is focused on clearing and caring for the area to ensure navigable waters.
Tennessee AquariumTennessee Aquarium hatches endangered shark species
CHATTANOOGA — The Tennessee Aquarium reached a significant milestone just in time for Shark Week with the recent hatching of three critically endangered short-tail nurse shark pups.
The diminutive youngsters, which hatched July 7, are the product of three adult short-tail nurse sharks — one male and two females — which arrived at the aquarium along with eight juveniles and eight fertilized eggs from a facility in Canada last year.
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Torrential rains in Smokies destroy trails, roads and other infrastructure
Written by Thomas Fraser
A washout is seen along Porters Creek Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park following torrential rain on July 12. National Park Service
Flooding causes Smokies damage, prompts water advisory for Sevierville
SEVIERVILLE — Extremely heavy rain on July 12 in the Smoky Mountains caused a cascade of problems now just coming to light.
Sevierville and Sevier County issued a boil-water advisory early Thursday after debris flushed by Tuesday’s floodwaters clogged the city water utility’s main intake on the French Broad River, leading to pressure decreases that opened up lines to possible outside contamination.
In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Greenbrier campground was closed indefinitely after the swollen Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River wiped out roads, trails and bridges in the area.
Falcons in flight: Gatlinburg couple earns top conservation honors from Tennessee Wildlife Federation
Written by Deborah Sosower![Worsham Conservationist of the Year1]()
Arrowmont supporters Margit and Earl Worsham named Conservationists of the Year by Tennessee Wildlife Federation
This story was provided by Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
GATLINBURG — Margit and Earl Worsham stood in front of family, friends, and fellow conservationists on stage in Nashville this spring and were presented with a unique award of mahogany shaped like a peregrine falcon in flight.
They were named the Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s 2022 Conservationists of the Year at the federation’s 57th Annual Conservation Awards in May.
It’s a prestigious honor presented to nominees considered to have the most significant contribution to the cause of natural resources conservation in Tennessee.
HuffPost: More than 50 House Republicans want to repeal a century-old excise tax that bankrolls wildlife conservation
In the latest “gun rights” lash-out from the GOP, legislation has been filed to abolish firearms taxes levied on gunmakers that fund wildlife conservation.
The Republican legislation is framed as a way to defend gun purchasers from odious taxation under the 2nd Amendment umbrella, but leading hunting and fishing interests said the proposal is misguided and misses the target by a wide mark.
The levy as currently written applies to gunmakers, not individual firearms purchasers.
ORNL researcher models fire’s growing footprint in a changing climate
Written by Thomas Fraser
Wild turkeys forage in charred hardwood forest soon after the 2016 Gatlinburg fires, which moved from the Smokies to developed areas in Sevier County. An ORNL model predicts wildfire threats will increase in the Southern Appalachians because of climate change. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press via Knoxville Mercury
ORNL report: Local wildfire danger will likely loom larger because of climate change
OAK RIDGE — This cruel summer, the Southern Appalachian region is already baking in above-normal temperatures and basking in poor air quality.
Air temperatures in Knoxville flirted with 100 degrees on July 6, which were well above average and prompted the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory for much of the metropolitan area.
It’s hard to definitively link a heat wave to global warming, but one oft-cited consequence of climate change is the growing intensity of wildfires, even in the traditionally moisture-rich Appalachians. The range of climate change effects is difficult to pin down, but one constant in the study of climate change is an expected increase in overall temperatures, which can power wildfires via both fuel increases and volatility.
- oak ridge national laboratory
- wildfire
- wildfire risk
- climate change wildfire
- jaifu mao
- thanksgiving fire of 2016
- sevier county wildfire
- wears valley wildfire
- brush clearing for wildfire
- smokies wildfire mitigation
- smokies fire
- computational earth model system
- peter thornton
- southern appalachian bioregion
- southern appalachian climate change
- southeast wildfire risk
- heat wave
- global warming
- earth system model
- wildfire carbon emission
- ornl
- 2016 sevier county wildfire