The Bloom — environment

  There’s a lot to love about the transition from winter to spring and then spring to our beloved summer. For many of us, it’s the moment when cold and snow and worse are replaced by warmth and sun and a lot to look forward to. And one of the things we look for most are the songbirds that return to our neighborhood trees. They’ve been missed, and we wonder: Where did they go in the first place? Would you believe coffee farms? Over 40 species of migratory songbirds—everything from warblers and Orioles to tanagers and thrushes— love coffee as...

Let’s start the new year by being adults and facing a certain situation squarely: coffee making isn’t quite yet the most sustainable proposition on Earth. We may love it dearly (oh, yes) but like our favorite crazy relative, it’s got some issues. Take, for example, all those grounds. After their sweet perfect essence is artfully extracted, there’s very nearly as much as there was, to begin with. At home, we can compost these tiny piles of sweetly roasted heaven and feed our lawns and gardens with what comes. But what if, say, you’re a big happy coffee company making cold...

Can any of us imagine a coffee-less world? Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement means we won’t have to imagine it at all. Left unchecked, rising global temperatures will guarantee that coffee disappears in our lifetime. Increasing heat will prevent coffee plants from growing in the places they call home. Extremes of drought and rain will batter those crops that struggle to remain. And the range of coffee rust fungus and pests like the coffee berry borer will explode to finish the job. It’s already happening. Coffee harvests are already declining. Supplies are falling. Prices are rising. We are facing a...