Peak News and Blog

Climate Commitment Act Moves to Senate Floor In 2021, the Washington Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, or CCA, which establishes a comprehensive program to reduce carbon pollution and achieve the greenhouse gas limits set in state law. The program will start Jan. 1, 2023. This puts Washington on a path to meet the greenhouse…

The $100 billion coffee industry is vulnerable to climate change The $100 billion coffee industry is one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change. The plants that grow arabica beans thrive in cool regions with distinct rainy and dry seasons. But global warming is causing those regions to shrink. Within the next seven decades,…

Food, agriculture, and land use Human activity has transformed a significant fraction of the planet’s land, especially for growing food and harvesting forests. Land is the livelihood for billions of people. The twin forces of a growing population and rising consumption mean the challenge of stewarding land in sustainable ways will only intensify. How can…

Increase resources available to women farmersWhen agricultural plots produce well, there is less pressure to deforest the area. Sustainable intensification practices can increase smallholder yields, which reduces the demand to clear additional land.However, there is a gender gap in agriculture in low-income countries between the resources and rights available to men who work the land…

Plant-rich diets Paring down and replacing that hamburger with meatless meats has multiple benefits. It reduces demand which reduces the associated land clearing, fertilizer use, emissions from burping cattle, and greenhouse gas emissions from animal operations.Shifting to a diet richer in plants is a solution that runs counter to an American diet that includes an average…

In the Atlantic Ocean, subtle shifts hint at dramatic dangers ​Our oceans mean life on this planet. Oceans regulate our planet’s temperature and provide oxygen and food. However, we must not take it for granted. A warming atmosphere is causing an arm of the powerful Gulf Stream to weaken. Is this bad? Well, the Gulf…