Rhett A. Butler

Rhett A. Butler

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About

Rhett Butler is the founder and CEO of Mongabay.

Rhett founded Mongabay out of his passion for wildlife and wild places.

He has traveled widely in the tropics and enjoys photography, hiking, and scuba-diving.

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Some background on Mongabay's origin:

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1776 stories

Amazon deforestation in Brazil plunges 31% to lowest level in 9 years

Rhett A. Butler 10 Nov 2024
Glaciers play an important role in the balance of water cycles and ecosystems. Although receding glaciers can degrade these systems, they also serve as an indicator of climate change. We can use Earth-observation satellite imagery to monitor and track glaciers from space. This Landsat 8 image shows glaciers surrounding Lake Sofron, Alaska. Blue areas indicate glacial extent; red areas indicate extensive moraine from glacier debris.

50 years of geographic insight: In interview with Jack Dangermond on Esri’s journey and the future of GIS

Rhett A. Butler 28 Oct 2024
Pine forest in California's Sierra Nevada. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Forests and the Fate of Civilizations: A Conversation with John Perlin

Rhett A. Butler 16 Oct 2024
Ryan Killackey

The life and legacy of Ryan Killackey, the filmmaker who rallied international support for Yasuni (Obituary)

Rhett A. Butler 9 Oct 2024
Rinnie and Gary Shapiro in a peat swamp in Central Kalimantan. Photo credit: Rod Brindamour.

Orangutan conservation and communication: Gary Shapiro’s half-century journey from zoos to the wilds of Borneo

Rhett A. Butler 8 Oct 2024
Green rice paddies in Udomxai province, Laos. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

Alan Dangour on reframing climate change as a health crisis

Matthew Boyer, Rhett A. Butler 24 Sep 2024
CO2e emissions between 1850-2018 imposed over warming stripes graphic depicting annual mean global temperatures (1850-2018, from World Meteorological Organization data). Credit for general concept of warming stripes: climate scientist Ed Hawkins, University of Reading. Data values are visualized using color rather than locations of points on a graph. Horizontal scale is time, from 1850 (left) to 2018 (right). Data is global (not for a locality). This is an early, original chart from Dr. Hawkins, and should not be updated as the years pass. Update: newer versions of the warming stripes under more permissive CC‑BY‑4.0 licensing available here: showyourstripes.info Date 4 December 2018 Source Hawkins, Ed

Action at Scale: Elizabeth Yee on The Rockefeller Foundation’s Climate Strategy

Matthew Boyer, Rhett A. Butler 9 Sep 2024
Event announcement. Goodall photo by Jeff Horowitz.

Jane Goodall is coming to San Francisco. Her event is sold out, but students can still get free tickets

Rhett A. Butler 30 Aug 2024
Mongabay logo

Mongabay at 25: A Reflection on the Journey and Future

Rhett A. Butler 24 Jun 2024
Wendy Schmidt explores Agog’s website in webXR as Amy Seidenwurm, chief of programs and strategy for Agog, looks on. Credit: Ben Gibbs / Agog

Using immersive media to strengthen support for the environment: An interview with Wendy Schmidt

Rhett A. Butler 17 Jun 2024
River in the Amazon rainforest. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Deforestation in Earth’s largest rainforest continues to plummet despite a rise in fires

Rhett A. Butler 15 Jun 2024
jane goodall at 90

Jane Goodall at 90: On fame, hope, and empathy

Rhett A. Butler 3 Apr 2024
Flying a drone in New Guinea. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

Mongabay Data Studio: Revealing nature’s hidden stories through data (commentary)

Rhett A. Butler 8 Mar 2024
Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) in a dry forest in Madagascar. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Beyond the myths: Anthropologist Alison Richard on Madagascar’s environmental realities and future

Rhett A. Butler 3 Jan 2024
Rainforest in Sulawesi. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

2024 outlook for rainforests

Rhett A. Butler 3 Jan 2024
Danilo Villafañe in the Sierra Madre in Colombia in 2010. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

Indigenous leader Danilo Villafañe dies at 49 in trying to save drowning women in Colombia

Rhett A. Butler 30 Dec 2023
Planet satellite images of the confluence of the Rio Negro and Rio Jufari near the border of the states of Amazonas and Roraima in Brazil taken in October 2023, revealing sandbars and exposed riverbed during the severe drought that affected large parts of the Amazon rainforest. Photo courtesy of Planet Labs.

The year in rainforests: 2023

Rhett A. Butler 29 Dec 2023
Wolf. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Wolves through the ages: A journey of coexistence, conflict, and conservation

Rhett A. Butler 11 Dec 2023
Petrel chick in the Galapagos. Photo credit: James Muchmore

How a group in Ecuador protects 10% of the world’s bird species

Rhett A. Butler 11 Dec 2023
Planet satellite image of the Anavilhanas Archipelago in the Rio Negro in Brazil in October 2023 during a severe drought. Courtesy of Planet.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon falls 22% in 2023

Rhett A. Butler 11 Nov 2023
This Planet satellite image shows how extreme drought in the Amazon has reduced the Rio Negro to a trickle. Image Ⓒ 2023 Planet Labs PBC

Despite severe drought, Amazon deforestation continues to slow

Rhett A. Butler 13 Oct 2023
Timber extraction in Sumatra. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Journalism’s role in the Nature Crime Alliance (commentary)

Rhett A. Butler 23 Aug 2023
Leonor Varela in Yasuni.

Actress Leonor Varela: This Sunday, Ecuadorians can vote to protect Yasuní and send a message to the world

Rhett A. Butler 19 Aug 2023
Monica Medina in the Democratic Republic of Congo traveling before she arrived at WCS. Photo credit: Justin Kenney

‘We must never assume that a healthy planet is automatic’ says WCS’s new CEO Monica Medina

Rhett A. Butler 25 Jul 2023

Targeting 3% of protected areas could accelerate progress on 30×30 goals, says Global Conservation’s Jeff Morgan

Rhett A. Butler 16 May 2023
Dax Dasilva. Photo credit: Monique Weston

We need to show that planetary wins are possible, says Dax Dasilva

Rhett A. Butler 24 Apr 2023
Rainbow over rainforest in Sumatra. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Accelerating biodiversity-positive impact: A conversation with Silverstrand Capital’s Kelvin Chiu

Rhett A. Butler 10 Jan 2023
Rainbow over oil palm plantations and forest in Jambi. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

What happened in the world’s rainforests in 2022?

Rhett A. Butler 29 Dec 2022
The Javari River where it forms the border between Brazil and Peru. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Cutting down the Amazon does not build prosperity for most Brazilians

Rhett A. Butler 29 Sep 2022
Apuí, Amazonas state. Greenpeace Brazil flew over the southern Amazonas and northern Rondônia states in Brazil to monitor deforestation and forest fires in the Amazon in July 2022. © Christian Braga / Greenpeace

Amazon deforestation on pace to roughly match last year’s rate of loss

Rhett A. Butler 12 Aug 2022
Scarlet macaws in flight over the Amazon rainforest in Peru. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay

‘Birds are messengers’: Q&A with BirdLife’s Patricia Zurita

Rhett A. Butler 10 Aug 2022
Karst mountain in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler

Helping empower the next generation of environmental journalists at Nature’s frontline

Rhett A. Butler 21 Jun 2022

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A hawksbill sea turtle in Grand Cayman, part of the Mesoamerican Reef.
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