Japan's living fossils, more deforestation in the Amazon, saving the coral reefs...

[View in your browser]( [ecowatch]( Top Posts [ In Today's Eco Update​ - There is a living fossil in Japan. - Amazon deforestation. - Saving the coral reefs. And a guide for composting in your own apartment (if you're into that). Also, a ghost credit explainer from Unearthed. – summaries below written by [Angely Mercado]( [post_image]( [There is Somehow a Living Fossil in Japan]( Scientists have rediscovered a relationship that has not been observed in more than 270 million years just off the coast of Japan. The efforts behind the discovery were led by University of Warsaw geology professor Mikołaj Zapalski, who recorded examples of non-skeletal corals growing on sea lilies, or crinoids. During the Paleozoic era, corals commonly grew out of sea lilies, which enabled corals to extend across the seafloor. However, that symbiotic relationship disappeared from the fossil record and there was no evidence afterward that other sea species carried on the relationship until the recent discovery. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=There is Somehow a Living Fossil in Japan&body= [post_image]( [More Deforestation]( Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged this past April which ended a streak of three months where forest clearing had been lower than the prior year. The spike in deforestation occurred despite a pledge from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to rein in deforestation. According to data released last week from Brazil's national space research institute INPE, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon amounted to 581 square kilometers last month, a 43% increase over April 2020. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=More Deforestation&body= [post_image]( [Last Hope for the Reefs]( A new study published in the [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday,]( warned that unless we drastically reduce [greenhouse gas emissions]( soon, the world's [coral reefs]( will stop growing by the end of this century. The study also analyzed how the world's reefs would fare under a low, medium and high emissions scenario. There are two major ways that the climate crisis and high emissions hurts the growth of coral reefs. First, the increase of carbon dioxide in the ocean causes [ocean acidification]( which makes it harder for corals to form calcium carbonate skeletons. Secondly, warming ocean temperatures means a higher risk of [coral bleaching]( when corals expel the algae that give them food and color. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Last Hope for the Reefs&body= [post_image]( [How to Compost in Your Apartment]( While tossing orange peels and coffee grounds in the garbage might seem inconsequential, sending [food waste]( to landfills has a real impact on [climate change](. When trapped without air, decomposing food in landfills produces [methane]( a greenhouse gas that's at [least 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide]( in the short term. As much as we try to [cut down on food waste in our kitchens]( there will always be leftover banana peels, apple cores and other things that can't be used – much of which can be diverted from landfills by composting. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=How to Compost in Your Apartment&body= [ ​The Carbon Scam Britaldo Silveira Soares Filho was on a boat on Brazil's Rio Negro river the first time he was asked to help rubber-stamp a carbon offsetting project. The professor and expert in deforestation modelling spent three days on the boat in 2007 — along with an array of other academics focused on the Amazon rainforest — tasked by a Brazilian NGO with examining the science behind a forest conservation programme. Later, in an office in São Paulo, he decided he didn't want his world-leading software used for the project or others like it. To this day airlines hope backing schemes like this will help them hit climate targets. "It's a scam," he said. "Neither planting trees nor avoiding deforestation will make a flight carbon neutral." Fossil fuels have long been the cheapest and most efficient way to fuel planes, and sustainable fuels that can be used at scale are still a long way off. But the aviation sector, which has [pledged to cut emissions in half]( by 2050, while still allowing more and more people to fly, desperately needs to find ways to reduce its carbon footprint quickly. Increasingly airlines are turning to offset programmes to help achieve this — including reduced deforestation projects where companies buy carbon credits from projects that promise to preserve forests. Read the rest of the [story here](. All rights reserved. [facebook](  [twitter](  [instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( {EMAIL} [Update Profile]( [about our service provider]( Sent by contact@ecowatch.com