Earth Summit

Updates from the Rio Earth Summit, day one

We'll keep this updated as announcements are made over the course of the day.

Philip Bump Science

17-year-old Kiwi shames world leaders into action at Rio

A few months ago, Brittany Trilford posted a homemade video of herself on YouTube, pleading with world leaders to save the planet. At Rio, she got the chance to deliver that speech in person, and the whole world was watching.

Greg Hanscom Culture

Did 350.org’s Twitterstorm to end fossil fuel subsidies work? Kinda

A storm of tweets cut through the Earth Summit cacophony for a brief moment Monday, but it also reignited old fights between rich countries and poor, and offered a reminder of just how far we still have to go.

Greg Hanscom Climate & Energy

For shame, America: Canadians dominate dubious awards in Rio

The United States, once a regular winner of the polluter-friendly Fossil of the Day Award, has fallen behind the pack, despite some pretty (un)impressive work at the Earth Summit.

Greg Hanscom Politics

Rio cycle: Canadian bikes to Earth Summit (with a little help from trains and buses)

Last January, sustainability planner Naomi Devine set out from Vancouver, British Columbia, planning to ride her bike to the Earth Summit in Brazil. It didn’t work out the way she imagined, but she still made the rest of us look like chumps.

Greg Hanscom Transportation

Rio-ality check: Can the Earth Summit be saved?

With just days to go before world leaders arrive in Rio, international talks are sliding toward the lowest common denominator. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Greg Hanscom Climate & Energy

Rio: Let’s unleash the power of people back home

Since the first Rio Earth Summit, the global environmental picture has gotten even more grim. Our mistake, argues longtime conservationist Spencer Beebe, was believing that top-down solutions could save the planet.

Spencer Beebe Cities

40 years of environmental diplomacy — what do we have to show for it?

On the eve of the Rio+20 Earth Summit, we look back at four decades of global conservation efforts and take stock of the successes and the failures. Well, mostly the failures.