May 17, 2012
Africa is at a crossroads. The continent is currently home to a billion people, most of whom are directly dependent on local ecosystems for their survival. Yet as global demand for food, water and energy continue to surge, much of the pressure to provide these resources rests on Africa, which holds more than half of the planet’s available arable land.
On top of existing challenges, Africa is poised to triple its population by the end of this century. Yet the continent’s rich natural...
April 24, 2012
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A farm volunteer clears the oilseed radish cover crop to prepare garden beds for spring planting. (© Mandy Morgan)
April 19, 2012
Children in Tanzania. (© Benjamin Drummond)
For those of us who have made...
April 18, 2012
California has long had the reputation for being one of the U.S.’s most beautiful and environmentally-conscious states. This week, as leaders in business, government and the environmental movement gather in southern California to discuss sustainability at Fortune Brainstorm GREEN, we’re bringing you a series of blogs spotlighting the natural beauty of the California coast — seen through the eyes of photographer and...
April 9, 2012
On CI’s Marketing + Communications team, we are always looking for new ways to illustrate how people need nature to thrive, a concept that is the cornerstone of all our work. This year, inspired by the annual Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest, we invited our staff to submit dioramas showing the connections between humans (er, Peeps) and the natural world.
The contest’s 16 creative entries came from staff in six...
April 1, 2012
March 28, 2012
You may not have heard of the tonka bean, but you’ve probably smelled it. This “bean” — actually the seed from the Dipteryx odorata tree — contains signature notes of caramel, almond and vanilla, making the tonka bean a popular ingredient used in luxury fragrances such as Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum, Karleidoscope by Karl Lagerfield and Shine by Heidi Klum.
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March 19, 2012
A worker in Chiapas, Mexico rakes coffee beans as part of the drying process. (© Cristina Mittermeier)
When it comes to...
March 6, 2012
CI and partners recently received a generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create the Africa Monitoring System, a new initiative which aims to monitor ecosystems, agriculture and livelihoods in five regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Alex Awiti, an ecosystems ecologist based at Nairobi’s Aga Khan University, will be...