Rhett Butler

About

Founder of Mongabay.

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806 stories
Austin and his technician, Nathan Tang, searching the sand dunes for insects at Death Valley National Park

California’s grand insect census

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Oct 2025
A representation of a bisected nautilus.

Supporting journalism: The catalytic role of independently verified information (commentary)

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Oct 2025
Christmas Island shrew

In memory of the Christmas Island shrew

Rhett Ayers Butler 24 Oct 2025
Clearing of peat forest in Indonesia's Riau Province. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Forest Declaration Assessment reveals a forest paradox

Rhett Ayers Butler 22 Oct 2025
Chris Allnutt at the Heiltsuk First Nations' Koeye Lodge. The dogs are bear dogs to warn and protect the youth if there is a Grizzly bear coming into the camp. Image by Jens Wieting

Chris Allnutt, negotiator who helped protect the Great Bear Rainforest, died on September 21st

Rhett Ayers Butler 22 Oct 2025
Starling Murmuration. Image by Rhett Ayers Butler

Trust-based philanthropy: Lessons from MacKenzie Scott and Laurene Powell Jobs (commentary)

Rhett Ayers Butler 20 Oct 2025
Tony James. From the Stabroek News Facebook page.

Chief Kokoi, defender of the Rupununi, died on October 12th

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Oct 2025
Mamai Lucille William. Photo courtesy of the North Pakaraimas District Council

Mamai Lucille Williams, a quiet symbol of dignity amid destruction, has died, aged about 93

Rhett Ayers Butler 16 Oct 2025
Aloyce Mwakisoma. Photo by Andrea Bianchi

Aloyce Mwakisoma, keeper of forest knowledge in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, has died at 45

Rhett Ayers Butler 15 Oct 2025
Coralscape in Komodo, Indonesia. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Protecting Earth’s oldest data system: the case for biodiversity

Rhett Ayers Butler 14 Oct 2025
Akhyari Hananto. Courtesy of Hananto

Connecting Indonesia’s environmental stories to millions

Rhett Ayers Butler 13 Oct 2025
Blue dart frog (Dendrobates azureus).

The bias in saving nature: How conservation funding favors the familiar

Rhett Ayers Butler 13 Oct 2025
Redwoods in California. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler.

Supporting frontline leadership in a time of crisis (commentary)

Rhett Ayers Butler 12 Oct 2025
Diane Keaton from her Instagram account.

Diane Keaton, actress and animal advocate, has died, aged 79

Rhett Ayers Butler 12 Oct 2025
Giant monkey frog in the Western Amazon. Image by Rhett Ayers Butler

The hidden environmental cost of psychedelics

Rhett Ayers Butler 11 Oct 2025
Denica Riadini-Flesch in Indonesia. Photo by Muhammad Fadli / National Geographic

Regenerative fashion initiative in Indonesia wins 2025 Pritzker Environmental Genius Award

Rhett Ayers Butler 9 Oct 2025
Willie Shubert in Madagascar with lemurs at a rehabilitation center. Note: visitors are not permitted to touch lemurs, but lemurs do as they please. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Building a global newsroom for a planet in crisis: A conversation with Willie Shubert

Rhett Ayers Butler 7 Oct 2025
Tony Pritzker speaking at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) gala. Courtesy of IoES.

Tony Pritzker’s patient strategy for the planet

Rhett Ayers Butler 6 Oct 2025
Jane Goodall in Japan in June 2023. Photo taken by Kaori Nishida

Jane Goodall quotes: Words from a reluctant global icon 

Rhett Ayers Butler 3 Oct 2025
Koala in captivity. Image by Till Niermann.

Australia to create a national park for 12,000 koalas

Rhett Ayers Butler 3 Oct 2025
Cultivated meat taco produced by Ivy Farm. Photo courtesy of Ivy Farm

Protein for a crowded planet: An interview with the Good Food Institute’s Nigel Sizer

Rhett Ayers Butler 2 Oct 2025
Courtesy of the Jane Goodall Institute

How to carry Jane Goodall’s light forward

Rhett Ayers Butler 2 Oct 2025
Jane with Uruhara pant-hooting, 1996. Photo by Michael Neugebauer

Jane Goodall (1934–2025): primatologist, conservationist, and messenger of hope

Rhett Ayers Butler 1 Oct 2025
Jane Goodall in 2024. Courtesy of the Jane Goodall Institute.

Jane Goodall, primatologist who taught the world to hope, has died at 91

Rhett Ayers Butler 1 Oct 2025
Redwood forest in California. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Conservation in a hotter world

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Sep 2025
Lions in South Africa. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Counting kings: How annual lion surveys reveal the health of Africa’s protected areas (commentary)

Jon Ayers 29 Sep 2025
Banner image: Arturo Gómez-Pompa. Courtesy of Universidad

Arturo Gómez-Pompa, biologist who revealed the human history in “virgin” forests, has died, aged 90

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Sep 2025
Hema Sane. Image courtesy of Vision Publications

Hema Sane, botanist who lived without electricity, died on September 19th

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Sep 2025
Rainforest in Sulawesi. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Harrison Ford says his generation “kicked the can down the road” on the environment

Rhett Ayers Butler 23 Sep 2025
Consumed book cover

Consumed by convenience: The culture of disposability

Rhett Ayers Butler 22 Sep 2025
Sumatran rhino. Image by Rhett Ayers Butler

Navigating conservation’s crisis (commentary)

Rhett Ayers Butler 21 Sep 2025
Rainforest in the Western Amazon. Image by Rhett Ayers Butler

Setting the record straight on Jurisdictional REDD+: The case of Brazil

Luiza Muccillo, Daniel Nepstad, Ronaldo Seroa da Motta, Monica de los Rios, Thuanny Vieira 21 Sep 2025

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