Chaco Culture National Historical Park is one of the most important archaeological and cultural sites in North America. Built over a thousand years ago, it was the ceremonial, economic, and administrative heart of the ancient Pueblo world. It remains a sacred ancestral homeland for Pueblo peoples, the Hopi, and the Navajo Nation. Chaco’s massive great houses, some rising five stories high with hundreds of rooms, were engineered with extraordinary precision and aligned to the sun, moon, equinoxes, and solstices. Roads stretched for miles across the high desert, connecting ceremonial centers, trade networks, and communities across the Southwest. Today, Chaco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the largest collections of ancestral Native sites in North America. In 2023, the federal government established a 10 mile protective buffer zone around Chaco to prevent oil and gas leasing near this sacred landscape for the next 20 years. The Trump administration, through the Department of the Interior, is now attempting to allow new oil and gas leasing within that protected buffer zone, effectively rolling back the safeguards put in place to protect Chaco and surrounding public lands. This move has sparked strong opposition from tribal leaders and members of Congress, including Melanie Stansbury, who argue that opening the area to drilling would violate the intent of the buffer zone and threaten one of the most sacred Indigenous sites in North America. Tribal leaders have been clear. Chaco Canyon is not for sale. Protecting Chaco is not just about preserving ancient structures. It is about respecting living cultures, sacred landscapes, and thousands of years of Indigenous history that continue to matter today. #ChacoCanyon #ProtectChaco #SacredSites #IndigenousRights #PublicLands #EnvironmentalJustice #NativeAmericanHistory #StopDrilling

In this conversation, Ashley Schaeffer Yildiz discusses the significant impact of factory farming on climate change, public health, and social justice. As the Agriculture and Climate Finance Program Manager at Friends of the Earth, she highlights the role of multilateral development banks in financing industrial livestock production and the urgent need to shift towards sustainable food systems. The discussion covers the environmental consequences of factory farming, case studies of specific projects, and the strategies employed by activists to combat these practices. Ashley emphasizes the importance of community engagement and the potential of agroecology as a solution for a more equitable food system. ‪@FriendsoftheEarthInt‬ Takeaways: Factory farming is a major driver of climate change. Multilateral development banks are funding industrial livestock production. Animal agriculture generates more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation. Factory farms contribute to deforestation and biodiversity loss. Public health is at risk due to factory farming practices. Community engagement is crucial in resisting factory farming. Agroecology offers sustainable solutions for food production. Activism can influence the decisions of financial institutions. The majority of meat and dairy products come from factory farms. There is a growing global movement against factory farming. Keywords: factory farming, climate change, multilateral development banks, environmental justice, sustainable agriculture, animal welfare, food systems, agroecology, social justice, public health

Madagascar: A World Apart: The Climate Guru Megadiverse Countries Series Episode 2 Madagascar is one of the most extraordinary places on Earth - a true world apart. In this episode, Brent the Climate Guru explores why this island, separated from Africa by 250 miles of open ocean and millions of years of evolution, has become one of the planet’s most important megadiverse hotspots. With 90% of its species found nowhere else, Madagascar is home to: • Over 100 species of lemurs • Two-thirds of the world’s chameleons • Hundreds of endemic reptiles, frogs, butterflies, insects, and plants • The smallest chameleon on Earth and the giant (now-extinct) elephant bird • Entire ecosystems shaped by isolation, evolution, and deep cultural history We dive into the island’s: • Ancient geologic origins • Unique species and bizarre evolutionary paths • Human arrival and the extinction of giant lemurs & elephant birds • Ongoing threats from poverty-driven deforestation, slash-and-burn farming, and the illegal wildlife trade • The Malagasy people’s blended heritage from Southeast Asia, Oceania, and East Africa • Current conservation efforts - national parks, mangrove restoration, community-led eco-solutions, and global NGO partnerships Despite losing 90% of its forests, Madagascar still holds some of the rarest species and ecosystems left on Earth. This episode highlights both the urgency and the hope: how local communities, scientists, and conservation groups are fighting to protect a place that exists nowhere else in the natural world. 🌍 Watch to learn why protecting Madagascar matters - for biodiversity, for climate resilience, and for the future of irreplaceable life on our planet. #Madagascar #ClimateGuru #Documentary #Biodiversity #ClimateChange #Conservation #MegaDiverseCountries #Lemurs #WildlifeConservation #EnvironmentalEducation #NatureDocumentary