Heat stress is causing desert bird populations to collapse
As the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada becomes hotter and drier, birds need more water to stay cool. Species that can’t get enough water are rapidly declining in this…
How cities can lead the fight against climate change using urban forestry and trees (commentary)
After the United States pulled out of the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement, combating climate change at local scales in the U.S. has become increasingly important to meet greenhouse gas (GHG)…
Agroforestry program in Appalachia receives $590,000 in federal funding
Appalachia is home to some of the most biodiverse temperate forests in the world, and it has a deep history of harvesting species like American ginseng for personal use and…
In a season of wildfire, three strategies that work (commentary)
Over the past few days, the Kincade Fire has burned nearly 75,000 acres in Sonoma County, California, forcing 180,000 people to evacuate. Miles away, the Getty Fire burned through more…
Indonesia re-exporting illegal waste to other countries, report finds
JAKARTA — Indonesia earlier this year condemned the practice of wealthy countries sending it their waste, but is now doing the same by shipping that same waste to other countries…
Research points to low forensic capacity to tackle timber fraud in U.S.
A recent study suggests that a lot of fraudulently or inaccurately identified wood turns up in products on the U.S. market and that inspectors’ capacity to root out these issues…
Rare songbird recovers, moves off endangered species list
The recovery of a rare bird species that was close to extinction five decades ago is now being heralded as a conservation success story. The Kirtland’s warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii), also…
Food is biggest stumbling block on zero-waste nature tour
While guests on a recent tour through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA ate dinner in the lodge, an unexpected guest joined the group: a five-gallon green compost bucket where…
The climate crisis and the pain of losing what we love (commentary)
The natural world that many of us knew as children is slipping away as the environmental crisis escalates and native species we adored move on or perish; while world leaders dither.
‘From possibility to certainty’: Climate strikers seek action to avert disaster
NEW YORK CITY — Climate change continues to pose an existential threat to many low-lying Asian and the Pacific island countries, with rising seas putting people’s lives, livelihoods, environment and…
As climate crisis deepens, wildlife adapts, maybe with lessons for us
Recent studies of Twitter posts have shown that people can be quick to shrug off extreme weather as normal. However, researchers are also finding that some wildlife — maybe better…
‘Full-blown crisis’: North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds since 1970
Bird populations are crashing in North America. And it's not just the rare and threatened species that are disappearing — even the common, seemingly widespread backyard birds like sparrows, warblers…
All set to strike: Students, youths and activists clamor for climate justice
NEW YORK — Today marks the start of protests across the planet as millions witness the youth-led climate strike demanding governments take urgent and transformative action on climate change. Young…
Why I support the California Tropical Forest Standard (commentary)
The Amazon is a rich, beautiful, and magical place. I’ve visited this vast region on several occasions to learn about the indigenous communities who live there and protect it, and…
UN and policymakers, wake up! Burning trees for energy is not carbon neutral (commentary)
Subsidizing burning wood for energy as having zero emissions puts us at risk of overshooting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.
Companies sourcing beef, leather from China exposed to Brazil deforestation risk, researchers say
Major retailers and manufacturers of cattle products who source materials from Brazil may be using beef and leather linked to deforestation, an analysis of trade data by NGO Global Canopy…
Hawaii braces for potential mass-coral bleaching event
Coral reefs in Hawaiian waters are facing the prospect of another major bleaching event as ocean temperatures rise above the norm. “We found the first signs of [coral] bleaching off…
A family’s commitment: 30 years of the Goldman Environmental Prize (commentary)
One morning in the late 1980s, San Francisco businessman and philanthropist Richard Goldman was reading a newspaper article about the latest Nobel Prize winners. At the time, Goldman, an avid…
Audio: Environmental justice and urban rat infestations
Today we speak with Dawn Biehler, an associate professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, whose research focuses on the history and public health impacts of rats and other…
New toolkit identifies multiple species from environmental DNA
Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and CALeDNA have developed a toolkit designed to quickly identify the species in a biological community by simultaneously analyzing the environmental…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- On anniversary of nun’s murder Amazon land rights activists at high risk
- Iran upholds heavy sentences for conservationists convicted of spying
- Two deaths trigger alarm at Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
Indonesias forest guardians
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
Amazon infrastructure
- BR-319 illegal side road threatens Amazon protected area, indigenous land (commentary)
- Barrage of mining requests targets Brazil’s isolated indigenous peoples
- Database offers new details on the dams that hold mining waste
Asian rhinos
- Indonesia-WWF split puts rhino breeding project in Borneo in limbo
- Indonesian officials wield sharia law in defense of Sumatran rhinos
- Love triangle complicates efforts to breed Sumatran rhinos
