2019 in line for second lowest Arctic sea ice extent record
High heat and conditioning throughout this year’s melt season put a hurting on Arctic sea ice, but it may still take big storms or more heat to break 2012 extent record.
July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth
In a press conference yesterday, UN secretary general António Guterres announced that July 2019 was the hottest month on record. Data for the month is still being collected, but July…
Protecting Antarctica beyond 2041: an interview with polar explorer Robert Swan
Explorer Robert Swan is the first person to walk to both the North and South Poles unassisted. Those expeditions inspired him to dedicate his life advocating for the protection of…
Indonesia’s president signals a transition away from coal power
JAKARTA — President Joko Widodo has reportedly expressed his intention to wean Indonesia off coal, in a move that runs counter to his own administration’s stated policy of increasing the…
Study examines how the Atlantic surfclam is successfully adapting to climate change
Global climate change poses a severe threat to marine life, but scientists have found at least one species that appears to be successfully adapting to warmer ocean waters. A recent…
Arctic in free fall: 2019 sea ice volume sinks to near record for June
A very hot Arctic spring has caused sea ice volume to fall rapidly to a new record, putting 2019 in position to challenge 2012 for lowest ice volume and extent this September.
Slight warming could be enough to heighten risk of malaria: Study
Climate change could shift the calculus for reining in malaria, according to new research that suggests that infectious parasites can develop in mosquitoes more quickly at lower temperatures than scientists…
As climate chaos escalates in Indian Country, feds abandon tribes
The climate crisis is bringing extreme storms, drought and temperatures to the High Plains, even as U.S. administrations from Clinton to Trump have withdrawn aid to reservations.
Altered fish communities persist long after reefs bleach, study finds
The bleaching of coral reefs could permanently change the composition of the fish communities that inhabit them, a new study has found. The research, published online June 18 in the…
Himalayan glaciers melting twice as fast in recent years, study shows
Himalayan glaciers, considered the “third pole” of the world because of the sheer volume of ice they hold, melted twice as quickly between 2000 and 2016 compared to 1975 and…
Carbon to burn: UK net-zero emissions pledge undermined by biomass energy
The UK and EU say they plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, even as both pursue plans to burn massive amounts of carbon-producing wood pellets.
Primates lose ground to surging commodity production in their habitats
The global trade of products that come at the expense of tropical forest is driving many primate species closer to extinction, a new study suggests. The research, published June 17…
Arctic sea ice extent just hit a record low for early June; worse may come
Though the trend can still change, Arctic sea ice extent could be on track for a record melt year, impacting the jet stream and bringing more extreme weather to the U.S. and world.
Chinese banks risk supporting soy-related deforestation, report finds
The homegrown banks that back the flood of soy into China have with little knowledge of the deforestation their funding is potentially supporting, according to the nonprofit CDP, an international…
How climate change could throw Māori culture off-balance
Many hundreds of years ago, the first Polynesian boats arrived on the shores of what is now known as New Zealand. In the vast blue of the Pacific Ocean, the…
The health of penguin chicks points scientists to changes in the ocean
It’s hard to imagine how the oceans might operate without the sway of human activity. The recent assessment by the U.N. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found…
Interest in protecting environment up since Pope’s 2015 encyclical
Just before Pope Francis released Laudato Si’, an encyclical, or formal letter from the pope, on the environment, on May 24, 2015, global concern for the environment seemed to be…
Extreme weather puts traditional livelihoods in peril in Sri Lanka, studies warn
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — For Nataraja Kumar, 47, a fisherman from Guru Nagar, a sleepy coastal village in Sri Lanka’s north, it’s no longer possible to continue with his traditional…
Climate change may make hurricanes and cyclones deadlier, study finds
Weeks after the deadly cyclone Idai tore through Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the human toll is still being tallied. Entire communities remain submerged, more than a thousand people lost their…
Climate change spurs deadly virus in frogs in the U.K.
Warmer temperatures are fanning the spread of a deadly disease in frogs, a new study has found. Teasing apart the complex dynamics of the effects of climate change on how…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- In Cambodia, a rare acquittal in a climate of danger for green activists
- On Peru’s border, the Tikuna tribe takes on illegal coca growers
- Peru: Invaders claim their first victim at the Macuya Forest Investigation Center
Indonesias forest guardians
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
- On the island of Java, a social forestry scheme creates jobs at home
- In Indonesia, bigger catches for a fishing village protecting its mangroves
Amazon infrastructure
- Yanomami Amazon reserve invaded by 20,000 miners; Bolsonaro fails to act
- Amazon infrastructure puts 68% of indigenous lands / protected areas at risk: report
- Amazon fish kill at Sinop spotlights risk from 80+ Tapajós basin dams
Asian rhinos
- Is the rhino horn trade a cartel? Economic analysis suggests it works like one
- Indonesia agrees to attempt Sumatran rhino IVF with eggs from Malaysia
- When it comes to captive breeding, not all Sumatran rhinos are equal
