A win for Joshua trees, Ad and PR firms exposed, babies pooping microplastics, and a guide to factory farming…

[View in your browser]( [ecowatch]( Top Posts [ ​In Today's Eco Update - Joshua Trees one step closer to federal protections. - Ad and PR firms exposed for helping Big Oil. - Babies pooping a startling amount of microplastics. ​ And a guide to understanding factory farming. [post_image]( ['Groundbreaking' Win as Court Rules USFWS Can't Ignore Climate Impacts on Joshua Tree]( A federal court in Los Angeles this week ruled that under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the law when it failed to list the Joshua tree as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act — a decision that the Biden administration has continued to defend. The U.S. District Court in the Central District of California said in its [ruling]( on Monday that the USFWS now has one year to reconsider its decision and must take into account all scientific evidence, including climate change models, when deciding whether the Joshua tree should be protected under the ESA. WildEarth Guardians — which first filed a petition to ensure the tree was protected in 2015 and launched a legal challenge after the service declined to list the species in 2019 — [called]( the ruling "groundbreaking" and "a monumental step forward for the Joshua tree." [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png]( [twitter]( [linkedin]( [email](mailto:?subject='Groundbreaking' Win as Court Rules USFWS Can't Ignore Climate Impacts on Joshua Tree&body= [post_image]( [Top Ad and PR Firms Exposed for Helping Big Oil Greenwash Their Climate Destruction]( On the heels of congressional Democrats [calling]( the heads of fossil fuel companies and industry lobbying groups to testify about their role in spreading climate disinformation, campaigners [published a report Tuesday]( exposing the contributions of major advertising and public relations firms. The aim of Clean Creatives' report, as its introduction explains, was to "document the many known relationships between PR, advertising, and other creative agencies and fossil fuel companies that are responsible for climate change, and compare holding company pledges for climate action with their work for polluting clients." [Unveiled]( last year by the nonprofit Fossil Free Media, the Clean Creatives campaign [pressures]( ad and PR agencies to ditch clients fueling the climate emergency. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png]( [twitter]( [linkedin]( [email](mailto:?subject=Top Ad and PR Firms Exposed for Helping Big Oil Greenwash Their Climate Destruction&body= [post_image]( [Babies Are Already Pooping Plastic, Study Finds]( Babies haven't spent a lot of time on the planet, but apparently it's still enough time to be exposed to lots of [plastic](. A new study published in [Environmental Science and Technology Letters Wednesday found]( an average of 36,000 nanograms of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics (MP) per gram of infant feces, compared to 2,600 nanograms for adults. "Our study suggests that infants are exposed to higher levels of MPs than adults," the authors wrote. [Microplastics]( are what happens when plastics break down in the environment into bits less than five millimeters long, [Wired explained](. They have been found everywhere from [Mount Everest]( to the [ocean floor]( but the researchers wanted to test exposure in infants. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png]( [twitter]( [linkedin]( [email](mailto:?subject=Babies Are Already Pooping Plastic, Study Finds&body= [post_image]( [Factory Farming: Everything You Need to Know]( [Factory farming]( is a type of [farming]( in which [animals]( are raised and crowded together in close quarters. The animals are referred to as livestock and the farms are also [called]( concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Ultimately, it is a form of [intensive agriculture]( a type of [agriculture]( designed to produce the highest possible yield per unit of land. Intensive agriculture stands in contrast to extensive agriculture, which is what you probably think of when you imagine a small, family farm. Extensive agriculture uses fewer inputs, such as human labor and basic machinery like tractors, and takes advantage of the soil's natural fertility. For animal raising, an example of extensive agriculture is pastoral production, in which animals are grazed outdoors for their entire lives or herded by nomadic farmers. Because it is designed to maximize productivity, intensive agriculture requires many more inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and often leads to the clearing of more land through deforestation. In the case of animals, this means raising more in less space. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png]( [twitter]( [linkedin]( [email](mailto:?subject=Factory Farming: Everything You Need to Know&body= All rights reserved. [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( {EMAIL} [Update Profile]( [about our service provider]( Sent by contact@ecowatch.com