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In other news: Environmental stories from around the web, November 16, 2018

  • There are many important conservation and environmental stories Mongabay isn’t able to cover.
  • Here’s a digest of some of the significant developments from the week.
  • If you think we’ve missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.

Tropical forests

The biggest flooring retailer in the United States is buying from a Brazilian firm that sells illegally harvested tropical timber, according to a new investigation (Timber Leaks).

Wildlife face a gantlet on a Brazilian highway (The New York Times).

Wood for construction related to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo is not from illegal sources, Japanese authorities say (Straits Times).

Deforestation in the Amazon was up nearly 50 percent during Brazil’s recent presidential election (Folha de Sao Paulo).

Liberia’s forestry department gets a fleet of new vehicles through REDD+ funding (Liberian Observer, Front Page Africa).

Tanzania’s government has removed a ban on hunting for trophies and bushmeat in what authorities say is a move to help wildlife conservation (The East African).

A controversial advertisement for the U.K. supermarket chain Iceland that links rainforest destruction and the loss of orangutan habitat to palm oil production has been deemed too political to air (Scitech Europa, The New York Times).

Forest fragmentation tinkers with the interactions between some tree species and their “natural enemies,” recent research has found (Science Daily).

A new study shows that tropical trees are colonizing higher-altitude climes, perhaps pushing them toward extinction (Phys.Org).

Researchers demonstrate the underrated importance of the Guiana Shield rainforest in South America in regulating the climate and water dynamics (Physics World).

Other news

Crab fishers have brought a lawsuit against fossil fuel companies, claiming they “knowingly” contributed to global warming (The Guardian).

A decline in fertility in male insects following heat waves may help explain the drop in insect numbers (The New York Times).

A problem with the way researchers handled data led them to walk back recent claims that the oceans are heating up more quickly than we thought (The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times).

No U.S. president has interfered with the independence of science more than Donald Trump, a group of scientists argues (The Atlantic).

The U.S.’s soil and forests could stockpile enough carbon to offset carbon emissions from transportation, new research has found (The New York Times).

Miners take aim at the resources held in the deep ocean (The Economist).

Scientists in India say they’ve found a new species of parasitic wasp (Times of India).

Birds in conservation areas adapt better to climate change, a new study has found (Science Daily).

Could the gourmet brand model — think Champagne from France — help producers become more sustainable? (Business Green).

Endangered North Atlantic right whales should be recovering faster, but threats from humans are pinning their numbers down (NOAA Fisheries).

Forests next to streams hold their own in terms of carbon sequestration compared to tropical and temperate forests (Science Daily).

Electric school buses offer an opportunity to cut emissions, but with a high price tag (The New York Times).

The current pace of clean energy development, fast though it is, won’t be enough to stave off climate change (The New York Times).

A fact check of President Trump’s claims about California’s current bout of fires (The New York Times).

Yellowstone, the U.S.’s first national park, is changing (The New York Times).

Four conservation scientists could face the death penalty in Iran over espionage charges (Science Magazine).

Banner image of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, by NASA (Joshua Stevens) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). 

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