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So maybe they are musky, and maybe they are rat-like – These semi-aquatic rodents play important roles in some habitats, as their work creates the ideal flat nesting areas for certain birds and other creatures. Would you like to see your nature photo featured as the TreeHugger photo of the day? Join TreeHugger’s Reader Photo Pool on Flickr and add your pictures to the group.

Regarding climate change, UNICEF writes, "If global warming exceeds 4°C by the year 2100 in line with current projections, this would lead to devastating health consequences for children, due to rising ocean levels, heatwaves, proliferation of diseases like malaria and dengue, and malnutrition." Poor countries need to do more to ensure child health and survival, while rich countries' continued excessive carbon emissions threaten everyone. The only countries that are keeping CO2 emissions on target and landing within the top 70 countries (not ideal, but passable) on child flourishing measures are Albania, Armenia, Grenada, Jordan, Moldova, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Vietnam and Uruguay. The report calls for immediate action, including stopping CO2 emissions as soon as possible, creating new policies to work toward child health and rights, and tightening regulation of commercial marketing.

" He suggests that if every landowner converted just half of their lawn to productive native plant communities, we could transform more than 20 million acres of "ecological wasteland" into insect-supporting habitat. What to plant instead of a lawn Tallamy suggests removing invasive species, and then plant native plants that support the most insect species, he writes: "Homeowners in all but the driest areas of the country should plant oaks, Those who want meadows should be sure to have goldenrod, asters, and sunflowers. In general, native plants support the life cycles of 10 to 100 times more insect species than nonnative plants, and a few plants (such as native cherries and willows) serve as hosts for 10 to 100 times more insects than most other native varieties. In writing for Scientific American about American's obsession with lawns, Krystal D'Costa writes that, "Lawns are indicative of success; they are a physical manifestation of the American Dream of home ownership.

Coming to a backyard near you: Plant Prefab accessory dwelling units Coming to a backyard near you: Plant Prefab accessory dwelling units With aging baby boomers and young people who can't afford housing, there's going to be a huge market for these. Now the latest in building tech and smart home tech merge in the LivingHome 10 from Plant Prefab, a 496 square foot Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) that's "designed to provide affordable, sustainable rental units or family housing on existing single-family lots. I have often noted that I prefer dumb homes to smart homes, but a lot of these smart technologies are really useful for an aging population, many of whom might be living in these ADUs. Coming to a backyard near you: Plant Prefab accessory dwelling units With aging baby boomers and young people who can't afford housing, there's going to be a huge market for these.