The Green Times

12/12/2025

Such beauty to behold!

11/12/2025

Hopeful energy transition...good news at last!

In the past two years, with surprisingly little notice, renewable energy has suddenly become the obvious, mainstream, cost-efficient choice around the world. Solar power is now growing faster than any power source in history, and it is closely followed by wind power—which is really another form of energy from the sun, since it is differential heating of the earth that produces the wind that turns the turbines. Globally, roughly a third more power is being generated from the sun this spring than last. If this exponential rate of growth can continue, we will soon live in a very different world.

“There is a chance for a deep reordering of the earth’s power systems, in every sense of the word ‘power,’ offering a plausible check to not only the climate crisis but to autocracy,” Bill McKibben writes. “Instead of relying on scattered deposits of fossil fuel—the control of which has largely defined geopolitics for more than a century—we are moving rapidly toward a reliance on diffuse but ubiquitous sources of supply. The sun and the wind are available everywhere, and they complement each other well; when sunlight diminishes in the northern latitudes at the approach of winter, the winds pick up. This energy is impossible to hoard and difficult to fight wars over. If you’re interested in abundance, the sun beams tens of thousands of times more energy at the earth than we currently need.” Read about how solar power could transform the world: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/m6H30U

11/12/2025

Good research to celebrate on Mountain Day

𝙻𝙴𝙾𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙳 𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷 𝙽𝙴𝚆𝚂🐆 ~ Proud to share our new paper entitled “Tails Through Time: Leopard population dynamics in the Little Karoo,” recently published in the Journal of Arid Environments.
This study utilised camera trap data spanning over 10 years to provide the first estimate of a leopard population trend in the Little Karoo – a mixed-use, semi-arid landscape in the Western Cape, South Africa. We found that leopard density has remained stable over time, and that terrain ruggedness is an important indicator of where these remarkable cats can persist.
This is a collaborative effort by the Cape Leopard Trust, Panthera and SEEC UCT and we wish to thank the many partners, funders and landowners who enabled us to do this work.

Today is also , and what better way to celebrate than with a paper that illustrates how critical mountains are to maintaining the integrity of leopard populations!

Full article 🔗👇
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105515

11/12/2025

Really cool move... protect our local octopuses too pls...eat something else.

Chile is advancing legislation that aims to prohibit octopus farming, setting a precedent as the first Latin American country to take such a step. 🐙🚫

👉 Find out more: https://veganfta.com/articles/2025/11/20/chile-moves-to-ban-octopus-farming-in-landmark-animal-legislation/

11/12/2025

Yay for our zebras and thank you WWF

🚨 BREAKING: South Africa has just secured nearly 50,000 hectares of new protected land, signalling a major win for conservation. 🎉

The expansion boosts breeding space for Cape mountain zebras 🦓 and strengthens protection for threatened succulents, mammals and bird species across the Western Cape. 🦜🐝

Read more: https://pulse.ly/uflbptvrtj

11/12/2025

Eat green this season, especially when it comes to our ocean💚🐟

11/12/2025

Thank you for this important work to save our ellies🐘💚

Today, we honor the life and legacy of Iain Douglas-Hamilton, one of the world’s most influential elephant conservationists. At just 23, he conducted the first in-depth scientific study of elephant social behavior in Tanzania, pioneering research that transformed global understanding of these intelligent, deeply social beings. In the 1970s, he was also the first to expose the scale of Africa’s ivory-poaching crisis, helping lead to the 1989 global ban on the ivory trade.

In 1993, Douglas-Hamilton founded Save the Elephants, revolutionizing conservation with GPS tracking, long-term population studies, and innovative human–elephant coexistence programs. His leadership helped launch the Elephant Crisis Fund and strengthened international efforts to protect vulnerable elephant populations. His work earned many of conservation’s highest honors, including the Indianapolis Prize and a CBE.

Douglas-Hamilton’s passion for elephants reached millions through his books Battle for the Elephants and Among the Elephants, as well as numerous documentaries, including The Family That Lives with Elephants, Ivory Wars, Africa’s Elephant Kingdom, The Secret Life of Elephants, This Wild Life, and A Life Among Elephants. Across media, science, and policy, he shaped how the world sees and protects elephants. 💛🐘

Rest In Heaven, Iain. 🙏✝️

11/12/2025

How cute is this?

Researchers exploring the deep waters of the southern Weddell Sea have uncovered an enormous nesting ground built by Antarctic icefish. Using underwater cameras they found millions of circular nests spread across the seafloor each one guarded by a single fish watching over its eggs. These nests stretch across hundreds of square kilometers and early counts suggest the colony holds tens of millions of active breeding sites making it the largest fish breeding area ever recorded. The region remained hidden for years beneath the giant A68 iceberg but once it drifted away scientists were finally able to study the newly exposed seafloor.
Each nest is shaped with careful precision and positioned where slightly warmer deep sea currents flow. Researchers believe these small temperature differences help the eggs develop in an environment that is otherwise extremely cold. The discovery reveals a complex Antarctic ecosystem where careful nesting behavior supports the survival of a species adapted to icy waters.
Scientists note that the sheer scale of the colony means it may play a major role in the wider marine food web. Because of its ecological importance experts are calling for special protection. The finding shows how much life thrives beneath the ice and how many secrets Antarctica still holds.

11/12/2025

Let's see how he performs on the ground.

11/12/2025

Could we pls ditch disposable lighters in our world?

African Oystercatcher Monitoring on Robben Island:

A lighter note, but actually dark!
73 lighters found on 2 km of shoreline by three observers! Robben Island sits alongside busy shipping lanes into the port of Cape Town, and also in the dispersal fan of the trash that washes out to sea from 214 square kilometres of the city of Cape Town via the Black River. (Read article in comments)

11/12/2025

Farming and fossil fuels are our top culprits...we need to stop business as usual before it's too late

UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required ‘before collapse becomes inevitable’