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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

Mary Catherine O'Connor

Mary Catherine O'Connor is an independent journalist based in California

June 2017

  • Every time we wash our clothing the synthetic fibers the are comprised of leach into our waterways, rivers and oceans.

    Invisible plastic
    Invisible plastic: microfibers are just the beginning of what we don’t see

    Mary Catherine O'Connor
  • The Majestic Yosemite Hotel

    This land is your land
    As Trump moves to privatize America's national parks, visitor costs may rise

May 2017

  • The polluted Tiete river in Pirapora do Bom Jesus, 40km north-east of Sao Paulo in Brazil. It is estimated that a single fleece jacket can release a million fibers in a single washing.

    The new blueprint
    Will clothes companies do the right thing to reduce microfiber pollution?

    Synthetic fibers are polluting the world’s oceans – but a new report shows how apparel companies have been far too slow to respond. Can they change their ways?

February 2017

  • trash

    The new bottom line
    Only 14% of plastics are recycled – can tech innovation tackle the rest?

  • Guppy Friend 2

    The new bottom line
    Microfibers are polluting our food chain. This laundry bag can stop that

January 2017

  • Patagonia and Black Diamond have called on the outdoor industry to block efforts by political leaders in Utah to transfer or sell federal land to states.

    Values-led business
    Patagonia, Black Diamond take on Utah officials over public land rights

    The outdoor industry is leading the fight to protect America’s public lands from being developed for gas and oil

November 2016

  • illegal fishing

    The new bottom line
    The latest weapon in the fight against illegal fishing? Artificial intelligence

    A $150,000 reward is up for grabs for any data scientist who can write code for facial recognition software that can pinpoint illegal catch on fishing boats

October 2016

  • Journalists taste test the plant based hamburgers during a media tour of Impossible Foods labs and processing plant in Redwood City, California, U.S. October 6, 2016. Picture taken October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

    Values-led business
    We sent a vegetarian to see if meatless burgers can convert carnivores

    Mary Catherine O'Connor
    The Impossible Burger is making a big impression on foodies, chefs and vegetarians, but can it find its way onto the McDonald’s menu?

August 2016

  • Bird Woman Falls, Glacier National Park, Montana.

    The new bottom line
    Ditch the car: how to visit America's national parks without the congestion

    Traffic congestion has become part of the experience of visiting popular national parks in the US. Now, more parks are beefing up their public transport options

May 2016

  • Shen Lain Cheng, a 79-foot fishing boat from Hong Kong-based Luen Thai Fishing Ventures, plies the waters off Palau in the Pacific, home to about 60% of the world's tuna catch. On this day, the boat is also a lab for an experiment, funded by The Nature Conservancy, to try a new sets of fishing hooks designed to reduce bycatch – species that are caught unintentionally and illegal to keep, such as sharks and reef fish.

    The new bottom line
    A sustainable fishing experiment in the Pacific – in pictures

  • High-grade tuna fetches top dollars, around $2,800 wholesale, particularly in Japan, where the fish feeds an appetite for sushi.

    The new bottom line
    Off the hook: can a new study in the Pacific reel in unsustainable fishing?

March 2016

  • Dead Tree, Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, Yellowstone, Wyoming, USA<br>D66YGY Dead Tree, Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, Yellowstone, Wyoming, USA

    The new bottom line
    Can you put a price on nature? A Californian nonprofit thinks it can

    Chemical giant Dow is testing new software that crunches data to help assign monetary value to the natural world and calculate the environmental impact of its work

August 2015

  • Cecil the lion

    Inside the complicated world of online wildlife trafficking

    You’ve heard of Cecil’s dentist killer, but for many other lions, elephants, rhinos and tens of thousands of other exotic animals, internet marketplaces like eBay and Craigslist are the biggest threa

June 2015

  • Thousands of one-use plastic bags are left hanging on trees year-round in the Los Angeles River channel, after being washed by rains from streets and storm drains. California is hoping to tackle so-called “biodegradable” plastic waste by banning bioplastic microbeads.

    California considering banning biodegradable microbeads from personal care products

    The state is considering a bill that would prohibit microbeads, even if they’re made from bioplastic, eliminating a longstanding loophole

April 2015

  • Arctic Glacier Reflected and Melting in Svalbard

    A Norwegian company's plan to make ice cubes out of glaciers unsettles some

    A tiny coastal town in Norway is about to become home to an ambitious enterprise that will turn a diminishing glacier into a high-end cocktail cooler. Is there cause for alarm?

January 2015

  • burned koala mittens

    Thanks, everyone, but the koalas have enough mittens now

    Everyone loves animals in little outfits. But couple that with an environmental campaign and you have an unstoppable craft monster

October 2014

  • Mark Browne

    The science behind sustainability solutions
    Inside the lonely fight against the biggest environmental problem you've never heard of

    An ecologist has released an alarming study showing that tiny clothing fibers could be the biggest source of plastic in our oceans. The bigger problem? No one wants to hear it

September 2014

  • dowsing

    California water witches see big business as the drought drags on

    Dowsers, sometimes known as ‘water witches,’ are in high demand in drought-stricken California, where four dry years find farmers taking desperate measures

August 2014

  • Terracycle

    Five sustainable boondoggles: greenwashing all the way to the bank

    From SeaWorld’s “Cup That Cares” to an underground beer fridge – these products are trying to tout green creds that may not exist
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