In Africa, how trees can help both climate and incomes
In this edition: Morocco's lessons on climate-smart agriculture; managing dams gets tougher as more precipitation falls as rain not snow; the great bird count.
What we're writing
Farming a warmer planet
Fatima Ait Moussa, in the photo above, looks at cosmetics and oil products made from argan-tree nuts at her women’s cooperative in Morocco. Africa holds lessons for how "climate-smart agriculture" can help the world respond to warming temperatures, in this case one tree at a time. // Zack Colman
Oroville message: As climate shifts, so will water strategy
Recent safety concerns at the Oroville Dam in California centered on engineering and maintenance, as the lake poured into an emergency spillway and caused worrisome erosion. But the incident is also a reminder that dams face new challenges in managing water in an era when rains can be heavier, and less precipitation is falling as snow. // Zack Colman
Wanted: participants for national bird count this weekend
The Great Backyard Bird Count runs from Feb. 17 to Feb. 20, with citizen-scientists (that could be you!) invited to go outside and identify all of the birds they see, for as little as 15 minutes, and report them at the bird count website. This year's count comes as new research highlights the risks of climate change for birds and animal species in general.) // Story Hinckley
What we're reading
Carbon reduction? May depend on how you count.
A Massachusetts plan aims to cut the state's emissions, but critics say it could divert electricity production to less efficient power plants outside the state. // The Boston Globe
The unequal impacts of extreme weather
Flooding in a Texas county underscores that climate change isn't just an environmental issue – it’s also about social justice. // Yale Climate Connections
Bright future seen for solar power
A look at today's technology ... with a nod also to ancient Greek reliance on the sun. // Ars Technica
Graphic: The United States of oil and gas
Texas is big on this map, but so are gas-rich Appalachian states. // The Washington Post
What's trending
Scott Pruitt confirmed to head EPA
"To Republicans, Pruitt represented in a nominee exactly what the EPA needs: A leader who will roll back Obama’s aggressive environmental agenda and give states more power to enforce environmental laws. Democrats ... pushed to delay his vote pending the release of emails between [Pruitt's Oklahoma] attorney general’s office and industry." // Timothy Cama, writing in The Hill
Arizona plant a test of Trump’s support for coal
"The president of the Navajo Nation—whose reservation is home to both the plant and the coal mine that serves it—says his tribe opposes the plant’s closure and the loss of 800 jobs that depend on it. Now, he is calling on Mr. Trump to act on his promise to save the ailing U.S. coal industry...." // Amy Harder writing in The Wall Street Journal
Sea ice around Antarctica hits record low
"We've always thought of the Antarctic as the sleeping elephant starting to stir. Well, maybe it's starting to stir now." // Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, quoted by Reuters
'Sell by' changes could cut food waste
"Where manufacturers now use any of 10 separate label phrases ... they’ll now be encouraged to use only two: 'Use By' and 'Best if Used By.' " // Caitlin Dewey, writing in The Washington Post