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Circular EconomyApril 7, 2023

From ukuleles to reforestation: Regrowing a tropical forest in Hawai‘i

The Hawaiian Islands, one the world’s most far-flung island archipelagos, have become known as the extinction capital of the world. Ninety-five of their original 142 bird species have gone extinct since humans first arrived. With 11 more species now among the missing, it’s possible three-fourths of the islands’ birds are already gone. Scientists believe an additional 100 plants have gone extinct, with 200 plant species down to just 50 or so individuals in the wild. Invertebrates are in trouble too, but lack of baseline data makes it hard to know how many species have vanished. A [recent study](https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cobi.12565) hints at what’s likely been lost, cataloging the survival of only 15 land snails out of 325 species. To understand why Hawai‘i and other isolated islands have lost so much, one has to understand how island habitats work. The discipline of [island biogeography](https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Island_Biogeography.html), or insular biogeography, was a field greatly advanced in the 1960s by ecologist [Robert H. MacArthur](http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/mac-arthur-robert-h.pdf) and biologist [E.O. Wilson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilson). An insular environment is defined as an area of habitat suitable to a particular ecosystem, but surrounded by unsuitable habitat. This can be an island isolated by ocean, a mountaintop encircled by lowland, or wildland hemmed in by human-altered landscape (forest restoration in all three of these insular habitat types are explored in this Mongabay mini-series). But as the years went by, and the native plantings thrived, Kristen says the NGO has grown more confident, but there’s always more to learn. “I’ll never know everything [and] whenever we have different experts come and visit, they always teach us something new, but I do believe that we have probably a 90% grasp on what we’re doing.” These climate impacts could be expanded greatly if Saving Hawai‘i’s Forests is able to achieve its future restoration goals, or if it inspires similar projects across the Hawaiian archipelago.

Circular EconomyMarch 31, 2023

Researchers Discover Alarming Plastic Rocks on Remote Brazilian Island

Brazil’s volcanic [Trindade Island](https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2023/03/brazilian-researchers-discover-terrifying-rocks-made-up-of-plastic-debris-reports.html) has long captured the curiosity of scientists. However, the recent discovery of rocks composed of plastic debris on this isolated turtle haven is sounding the alarm. Melted plastic has merged with rocks on the island, which is located 708 miles from the southeastern state of Espirito Santo. Researchers believe this is a sign of humanity’s increasing impact on Earth’s geological cycles. Fernanda Avelar Santos, a geologist at the Federal University of Parana, described the [findings](https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/15/americas/brazil-terrifying-plastic-rocks-intl-latam/index.html) as “new and terrifying,” emphasizing that pollution has now entered the realm of geology. Santos and her team conducted chemical tests on the “plastiglomerates” – rocks consisting of a mixture of sedimentary granules and other materials bound together by plastic – to identify the type of plastics present. [According to Santos](https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/15/americas/brazil-terrifying-plastic-rocks-intl-latam/index.html), the pollution primarily comes from fishing nets, which are a prevalent form of debris on Trindade Island’s beaches. “The (nets) are dragged by the marine currents and accumulate on the beach. When the temperature rises, this plastic melts and becomes embedded with the beach’s natural material,” she explained. Trindade Island is one of the world’s most critical conservation areas for green turtles, or Chelonia mydas, with thousands arriving each year to lay their eggs. The island’s only human residents are members of the Brazilian navy, who maintain a base there and protect the nesting turtles. Santos revealed that the plastic samples were found in a permanently preserved area in Brazil, close to where the green turtles lay their eggs.