Moratorium on deep-sea mining, EPA protects Bristol Bay, Chinese solar panels banned, world's coral reefs mapped, natural ways to keep pests out…

[View in your browser]( [ecowatch]( Top Posts [ ​In Today's Eco Update - 'Momentous' moratorium on deep-sea mining - Biden's EPA blocks gold mine to protect Alaska's Bristol Bay - U.S. officials block import of Chinese solar panels - First-ever high-res map of the world's coral reefs And a look at natural ways to keep pests out of your home. [post_image]( ['Momentous' Moratorium on Deep-Sea Mining Adopted at Global Biodiversity Summit]( A vote overwhelmingly in favor of placing a moratorium on deep-sea mineral mining at a global biodiversity summit this week has put urgent pressure on the International Seabed Authority to strictly regulate the practice. The vast majority of governments, NGOs, and civil society groups [voted in favor]( of the moratorium at the world congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature on Wednesday, after several conservation groups lobbied in favor of the measure. Eighty-one government and government agencies voted for the moratorium, while 18 opposed it and 28, including the United Kingdom, abstained from voting. Among NGOs and other organizations, 577 supported the motion while fewer than three dozen opposed it or abstained. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject='Momentous' Moratorium on Deep-Sea Mining Adopted at Global Biodiversity Summit&body= [post_image]( [EPA Moves to Protect Alaska's Bristol Bay, Blocking Major Gold Mine]( Conservationists, local tribes, and commercial fishers celebrated on Thursday the Biden administration's move to permanently protect Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed from the proposed Pebble Mine and similarly destructive projects. "Placing a massive mine at the headwaters of the world's greatest, most productive wild sockeye salmon fishery has been a terrible idea from the start," [said]( Kristen Miller, acting executive director of Alaska Wilderness League, "and today's administrative decision and its commitment to following science and protecting clean water is directly attributable to the decadeslong, tribal-led effort to protect Bristol Bay." [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=EPA Moves to Protect Alaska's Bristol Bay, Blocking Major Gold Mine&body= [post_image]( [Chinese Solar Panels Banned Due to Forced Labor Concerns, Could Delay Biden’s Clean Energy Agenda]( U.S. officials are blocking the import of [solar panels]( from China they believe may have been produced using forced labor. Experts warn the move may slow President Biden's push for more [renewable energy]( projects. Industry executives and analysts said solar panels from at least three Chinese companies have been targeted in recent weeks and several product detentions were confirmed by Customs and Border Patrol, [The Washington Post]( reported. According to [CNN]( China's Xinjiang region has evolved over the last two decades into a major production hub for solar panel parts supplying the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the report [In Broad Daylight: Uyghur Forced Labour and Global Solar Supply Chains]( published in May of this year by Sheffield Hallam University suggested that much of the work to put together those parts might rely on forced labor. The companies have been exploiting the region's Uyghur population and other ethnic and religious minorities to produce goods for the global supply chain of solar panels, the report said. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Chinese Solar Panels Banned Due to Forced Labor Concerns, Could Delay Biden’s Clean Energy Agenda&body= [post_image]( [First-Ever High Resolution Map of World’s Coral Reefs Is Complete]( A unique partnership has produced the first-ever high-resolution satellite map of the world's shallow [coral reefs](. The [Allen Coral Atlas]( announced its completion Wednesday as a tool that policy makers, conservationists and the general public can use to understand and preserve the world's reefs at a time when they are under increasing threat from the [climate crisis]( and coastal development. "We're trying to create a kind of moral mirror that we hold up to humanity," Andrew Zolli, vice president of sustainability and global impact at Planet, the company that provides the satellite images for the project, said in a press conference. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=First-Ever High Resolution Map of World’s Coral Reefs Is Complete&body= [post_image]( [13 Natural Ways to Keep Pests Out of Your Home]( With fall fast approaching, outdoor critters seeking to regulate their temperature are trying their best to get inside. Ants, spiders, moths, mosquitoes, fruit flies, stink bugs, termites, silverfish, and ladybugs – to name a few – can easily make their way into homes, and once they've settled in, it's often hard to [get them out](. Chemical insect solutions are bountiful, but have a range of dangerous consequences for human health and the environment. [Insecticide exposure]( is linked to respiratory and neurologic symptoms, disruption to hormonal balances, and both birth defects and compromised immune systems in infants. These chemicals also impact local ecosystems and destroy delicate balances within food chains; they often kill non-target species as well, and [contaminate the air, water, and soil](. As pesky as flies and ants are, it's important to keep them out of our homes [through natural means]( to protect both ourselves and the environment. Here are a few ways to deter and eliminate pests in your home without reaching for chemicals. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=13 Natural Ways to Keep Pests Out of Your Home&body= All rights reserved. [facebook](  [twitter](  [instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( {EMAIL} [Update Profile]( [about our service provider]( Sent by contact@ecowatch.com