One, two, tree: how AI helped find millions of trees in the Sahara

In Malawi and other countries around the world, thousands of towns are not mapped. There is often no financial incentive to do so. However, unmapped areas face many challenges, especially because they are harder to reach after a natural disaster. Missing Maps is trying to help. The project holds map-a-thons in cities such as Beirut and London, and these events use the power of communities to map the world on a massive scale. Over 45,000 volunteers have mapped the homes of over 50 million people in less than three years.

Mosquito transmitted diseases are only becoming more prevalent due to climate change, posing a global health risk. Various methods are being tested such as genetic modification and gene drives, Project DiSARM-uses technology to map where to spray insecticide, and introduction of Wolbachia-a bacterial disease that decreases mosquitos' ability to reproduce-into the environment.

SAVE Brasil's Atlantic Forest of the Northeast Project endeavors to save endemic bird species from extinction by connecting fragmented forest patches through reforestation, private reserve creation, and bird-friendly agroforestry. Over 17 years of monitoring, bird diversity in Serra do Urubu has more than doubled from 105 to 287 species.

As a way to combat climate change, scientists are experimenting with genetically modified trees as a way to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to store in its leaves, roots, and trunk. The startup Living Carbon has genetically modified poplar and pine seeds in the ground and expect them to be ready by the end of the year. Some scientists are worried about how these trees can impact forest ecosystems, but they grow faster than normal trees, allowing them to study and assess the risks quicker.

Molly Burhans, a young cartographer and environmentalist, is using GIS technology to map out the Catholic Church’s global property holdings to encourage them to improve the environmental impact on the lands they own. Burhans’ organization called GoodLands has been working with various parishes and dioceses to help Church leaders — including Pope Francis — understand their vast landholdings. While finances and COVID-19 have impacted her progress, Burhans’ maps have been used for other purposes like mapping Catholic radio stations in Africa and tracking the whereabouts of priests accused of sexual abuse.

Canopy works to preserve the untouched Broadback Forest, which stores twice as much carbon as the Amazon and is central to the Cree Nation. The nonprofit works with 750 corporations, including fashion brands, commercial printers, and publishers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and eliminate sourcing from biodiverse, ancient, and endangered forests. They help source waste from grain and other food harvests for packaging, paper, and fabric production and enlist companies’ support of conservation initiatives. They also partner with other groups to lobby the government to protect the Broadback forest.

Identifying the metagenomic sequencing for new outbreaks of viruses can help to better assess how the virus is spreading, which in turn helps health officials figure out how to slow down the contagion. In the midst of a coronavirus outbreak, a tool that was first used to during the SARS outbreak is now being used to track Covid-19 in under-resourced places such as Cambodia.

A company based in Zurich pulls carbon dioxide from the air and turns it in to stone -- and you can subscribe to their services. The subscription program through Climeworks allows customers to sign up for different price levels in order to purchase the trapping of a certain amount of carbon dioxide per year.

Citizen, a crime-tracking app that first made an appearance in New York and California, has launched in Baltimore, Maryland, a city with a crime rate that has skyrocketed in recent years. Alerting community members to crime happening at specific locations via curation by city safety officials, the app aims to help people feel more informed and safer while complementing more traditional emergency services.

Researchers in Australia have discovered a way to capture CO2 from the air and turn it back into solid carbon. The new method uses liquid metal and electricity to process the CO2 and store it at room temperature – something that until now had not been possible. Scientists say it shows potential for large scale use – in combination with sustainable energy – as the world continues to grapple with the effects of climate change.