Glenn Scherer

Email address

About

Glenn is a journalist and editor whose writing about the environment has appeared on ScientificAmerican.com, Salon.com, Grist.org, DailyClimate.org, and in more than 150 U.S. newspapers. He has worked as a researcher and speechwriter for TV journalist Bill Moyers, and co-founded Blue Ridge Press in 2007, a nationally syndicated environmental commentary service published in 550 of the nation’s newspapers which has reached more than 90 million readers.

RSS

1219 stories

Dove Lake beneath Cradle Mountain in Tasmania’s highlands, where cool, ocean-influenced conditions have helped slow the pace of climate change across the landscape. Image by Stefan Lovgren.

Long dubbed a ‘climate refuge,’ warming Tasmanian forests need our help

Stefan Lovgren 12 May 2026

Awareness of leopard cats is generally low across their range, as they are small, difficult to spot, and are sometimes mistaken for domesticated cats or leopard cubs.

Asia’s mainland leopard cat is abundant but still cloaked in mystery

Annelise Giseburt 11 May 2026

Burned-over forest in the Brazilian state of Acre, one of the epicenters of deforestation in the Amazon.

Deforestation and warming could push Amazon to tipping point by 2040s: Study

Sean Mowbray 7 May 2026

During prolonged floods, many residents of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta are unable to grow and harvest crops. NGOs have stepped in to help with basic food supplies and cash during times of crisis. Image courtesy of Anh Duong Community Development and Support Center.

The world’s great deltas are sinking — and with them, a global food system

Petro Kotzé 6 May 2026

The Golden dorado (Salminus brasiliensis), a powerful migratory freshwater fish native to the Pantanal and Paraná River Basin, shown here being held by researcher Zeb Hogan. Highly prized by recreational anglers and important to commercial fisheries, the species has declined in parts of its range due to dam construction.

Migratory freshwater fish are in trouble: Will we act in time to save them?

Stefan Lovgren 1 May 2026

Wind farm off Pingtan Island in Pingtan county, Fuzhou, China. Image by Kilian Murphy via Unsplash.

Offshore wind’s clean energy potential remains largely untapped, say experts

Sean Mowbray 27 Apr 2026

An Atlantic Forest frog, Dendrophryniscus haddadi. Amphibians are susceptible to habitat split due to its negative impact on their life cycles, but the researchers note that such impacts (including microbiome changes) likely apply to numerous other species in wide-ranging ecosystems.

Linking habitats strengthens wildlife microbiomes, helps fight disease: Study

Sean Mowbray 23 Apr 2026

The King River enters Macquarie Harbour, where decades of mining have contributed to contaminated sediment buildup at the river’s delta. Image by Stefan Lovgren.

In Tasmania, the mines have closed but the rivers remember

Stefan Lovgren 16 Apr 2026

The cerulean warbler, a near-threatened species, breeds in North America and migrates thousands of miles to winter in the Andes Mountains of South America. It also makes stopovers all along the way. Image courtesy of Luke Seitz via Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Americas flyways atlas maps the routes of 89 at-risk migratory bird species

Adam Litchkofski 16 Apr 2026

Sunset over the tropical Pacific Ocean off Hawai‘i. The new study points to the climactic interconnectivity of the world’s warming oceans, where humid heat waves often originate, and faraway terrestrial landscapes, where humid heat waves can threaten public health.

Tropics take the brunt as hotter oceans drive large-scale humid heat waves: Study

Adam Litchkofski 10 Apr 2026

Palm trees, which make up 20% of the trees in the Amazon, grow mixed among various tree and grass species in the southern Peruvian Amazon lowlands of Manu National Park.

Novel research finds unexpected climate resilience in up to 36% of Amazon forest

Justin Catanoso 10 Apr 2026

A chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is weighed at a live poultry market in West Harlem as a customer stands nearby. The stacking of live animal cages allows bodily waste to drop into the cages below, facilitating disease spread. Image by Cate Twining-Ward.

Avian bird flu surges in New York urban wildlife, increasing disease concerns

Cate Twining-Ward 7 Apr 2026

Muskoxen on Ellesmere Island. As a species, muskoxen have been around for a million years and are often called “ice-age survivors.” Though they have one of the lowest levels of genetic diversity of any mammal, the full suite of immune-related genes are intact in the species, says muskox expert Anne Gunn.

Canadian muskoxen hit by double punch of novel diseases and climate change

Ruth Kamnitzer 3 Apr 2026

Research finds that there are already places on Earth where it gets so hot and humid at times during the year that it’s unsafe for either younger or older adults to do more than lie down or sit outdoors. Photo by NOAA.

Global warming already impacts daily lives around the globe, study finds

Mike Gaworecki 30 Mar 2026

Research shows that a koala’s gut microbiome directly influences its diet limitations, determining the species of eucalyptus it can eat. Translocations and reintroductions should take this relationship into account, says Michaela Blyton. Image by Mathias Appel via Flickr (CC0 1.0).

Poop pills and gut microbes: Wildlife microbiome studies aid conservation

Sean Mowbray 26 Mar 2026

Researcher Lisiane Hahn and colleagues have tagged and released piraíba fitted with tracking devices, generating new data that reveal previously undocumented migrations of this South American species. Image courtesy of Lisiane Hahn.

325 Long-neglected migratory freshwater fish species need protection now: Report

Stefan Lovgren 25 Mar 2026

Should potentially harmful chemicals be appraised by class, not one at a time?

Liz Kimbrough 19 Mar 2026

Wood pellets for biomass energy. Image courtesy of Dogwood Alliance.

Forest advocates accuse EU energy firm of Dutch biomass certification fraud

Justin Catanoso 13 Mar 2026

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station.

Rush to put AI data centers in space poses poorly understood dangers

Sean Mowbray 11 Mar 2026

Synthetic polymers like plastics take centuries to fully decompose in the environment. In contrast, natural polymers like cellulose and DNA break down completely after use. Now, researchers have taken inspiration from nature to create strong, durable plastics that break down easily at the end of a product’s life.

Promising breakthrough creates plastics that self-deconstruct on cue: Study

Claire Asher 10 Mar 2026

Man spraying pesticides in woods. Image by Gilmer Diaz Estela via Pexels.

Nations not on track to meet UN 2030 pesticide risk reduction targets: Study

Mike Gaworecki 6 Mar 2026

Warming and farming hasten bird losses across North America, study shows

Bobby Bascomb 26 Feb 2026

Aerial view as a ship sails through the sea ice in the winter.

Petrostates stymie effort to rein in Arctic shipping carbon emissions

Sean Mowbray 23 Feb 2026

New study assesses geoengineering marine ecosystem risks, knowledge gaps

Ruth Kamnitzer 19 Feb 2026

Some forest restoration linked to short-term rise in zoonotic diseases

Bobby Bascomb 17 Feb 2026

A caddisfly in the Oligotricha genus.

Insects are moving pharmaceutical pollutants from rivers to land; risks unknown

Sean Mowbray 13 Feb 2026

Open burning of plastic in a community in Guiyu, China. This practice is fast becoming a common way to dispose of plastic and other waste.

Plastic household waste burned as fuel on rise in Global South, risking health

Sean Mowbray 5 Feb 2026

a newly hatched Rote Island snake-necked turtles (Chelodina mccordi) at the turtle survival center in South Carolina USA. Photo by Liz Kimbrough

The Turtle Bank: The last of these Asian turtle species find refuge in the Carolina pines

Liz Kimbrough 28 Jan 2026

Soil microbes. Invisible to the naked eye, microbial communities play a huge role in planetary processes, such as nutrient cycling, and are vital to ecosystem and human health.

IUCN launches group to conserve at-risk microbes vital to life on Earth

Sean Mowbray 21 Jan 2026

Overuse is pushing the world toward ‘water bankruptcy’

Bobby Bascomb 21 Jan 2026

Mosquitoes in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest prefer human blood

Bobby Bascomb 16 Jan 2026

Study co-lead author Luke Jeffrey climbs a tree in a melaleuca wetland forest to measure microbial community gas fluxes.

Hidden heroes: Australian tree bark microbes consume greenhouse & toxic gases

Ruth Kamnitzer 16 Jan 2026

1 2 3 … 39 Next »

News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

Yo Yaj at Songkhla Lake, Thailand

Model of Jiaolong submersible at the Five-Year Achievements Exhibition. Image by N509FZ via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Black-flanked Rock Wallaby (Petrogale lateralis) in Cape Range National Park, Western Australia, Australia. The Australian Government has classed this wallaby as endangered under the EPBC Act. Image by Dsyzdek (CC BY-SA 4.0)

you're currently offline