Investments in renewables will overtake fossil fuels for the first time this year & more environmental news.

[View this email in your browser]( Friday, May 26, 2023 “I can’t imagine anything more important than air, water, soil, energy and biodiversity. These are the things that keep us alive.” — David Suzuki. ‘Clean Energy Is Moving Fast’: Investments in Renewables Will Overtake Fossil Fuels for the First Time This Year, IEA Says A new [report]( from the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that investment in [clean energy]( is “significantly outpacing” [fossil fuel]( spending and will surpass it this year, with [solar]( projects expected to exceed [oil]( production expenditures for the first time. [Read More]( Related: [Continued Rise in Carbon Emissions Offset by Renewable Energy Surge, IEA Says]( Nearly Half of Earth’s Animal Species Are in Decline, Study Finds In a study on more than 71,000 animal species around the world, researchers discovered that about 48% are declining. The research, led by Queen’s University Belfast, is one of the most comprehensive and alarming studies on biodiversity loss. [Read More]( Related: [Biodiversity: Everything You Need to Know]( How a Trainload of Toxic Chemicals Derailed Everyday Life in Ohio Every thirty minutes, a Norfolk Southern train passes through East Palestine. Three months ago, no one in this northeastern Ohio village of just under 5,000 people would have batted an eye at the sight of the long trains passing through. No one would have turned a head at the sound of the train’s whistle as it echoed up North Market Street and down South Market Street toward the farmlands and neighboring communities that surround the village. But now, three months have passed since a Norfolk Southern train derailed, spilling [20 cars’ worth of hazardous chemicals](. [Read More]( Related: [Toxic Train Derailment in Ohio Raises Questions About Rail Safety and Hazardous Chemicals]( U.S. States Agree on ‘Historic’ Water Sharing Deal to Prevent Colorado River From Drying Up Following months of talks concerning the severe drought conditions in the Colorado River Basin, the U.S. Department of the Interior has [announced]( that representatives from seven [Colorado River]( Basin states have agreed to the submission of a [proposal]( by representatives of three Lower River Basin states — California, Nevada and Arizona — to take billions fewer gallons of [water]( from the dwindling river. [Read More]( Related: [7 Colorado River States Miss Deadline for Water Reduction Plan]( Silvopasture Is an Ancient, Climate-Smart Farming Practice. Can the Farm Bill Help Spur Its Renaissance? On a clear morning in April, after milking his seven cows, Tim Sauder looked over the pasture where he had just turned the animals out to graze. Like many dairy farms, Sauder’s fields swayed with a variety of greenery: chicory, alfalfa and clover. But they were also full of something typically missing on an agricultural landscape — trees. Thousands of them. Between 2019 and 2021, Sauder planted 3,500 trees at Fiddle Creek Dairy, a 55-acre family farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife raise cows to produce yogurt, cheese and beef. Today, young willow, hickory, poplar, pecan and persimmon trees stud the pastures, and on a crisp spring morning, rows of honey and black locusts, bur and cow oaks, were beginning to leaf out, casting shadows on the long grass below. [Read More]( Related: [Regenerative Grazing 101: Everything You Need to Know]( Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, [sign up here]( or forward to a friend. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2023 EcoWatch, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for EcoWatch Top News of The Day Our mailing address is: EcoWatch 1122 Oberlin RoadRaleigh, NC 27605 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](