In addition to our environment and climate change news briefs from the United Nations, India, Kenya, and Australia, here’s a sports victory that was years in the making.
1. United States
The U.S. women’s soccer team won equal pay with the men’s team. The settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation includes $22 million in back pay for female players, who have been more successful than the men’s team for years and during some periods brought in more revenue. The decision mandates equal pay for the World Cup as well, where bonuses have differed dramatically between men and women.
The agreement ended a six-year legal battle that at times seemed unlikely to succeed. U.S. Soccer prompted public outcry after arguing in proceedings that male players were more skilled and worked more demanding jobs than the women – a legal strategy it later abandoned. In 2020, a district judge ruled against the women’s team, stating the women had agreed to a different pay structure than the men. Advocates say this win sets a precedent for equal pay in sports and beyond. “There is no justice unless this never happens again,” said player Megan Rapinoe, a co-captain of the national team from 2018 to 2020. “This is the first step, not the last step.”
The Washington Post, ESPN
2. Kenya
Solar panels offer farmers in Kenya a way to reap the sun’s benefits twice by generating energy and protecting crops. High temperatures and light intensity can pose problems for agriculture in regions with limited rainfall, but agrivoltaics help solve those challenges by planting crops under the shade of solar panels. In initial tests at the Latia Agribusiness center in Isinya outside Nairobi, crops like cabbage, eggplant, and lettuce grew stronger and healthier beneath the panels than crops in control plots.
In East Africa’s first trials of agrivoltaics, solar panels were placed 10 feet above the ground, which leaves space for farmers to work comfortably below. The panels can be positioned…
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