wildlife

By Angie Turner, Keele University; Eleanor Harrison, Staffordshire University; and Zoe Robinson, Keele University | – Liz Truss, the new UK prime minister, isn’t a fan of solar farms. In 2014, when she was environment secretary, she described rows of panels arranged in a field to capture energy from the sun as a “blight on […]

Climate Crisis

Protecting Biodiversity – and making it Accessible – has paid off for Costa Rica

The Conversation

By Alejandra Echeverri Ochoa, Stanford University and Jeffrey R. Smith

Climate Crisis

Coral reefs are dying as climate change decimates ocean ecosystems vital to fish and humans

Juan Cole

By Sam Purkis | – The Chagos Archipelago is one of the most remote, seemingly idyllic places on Earth. Coconut-covered sandy beaches with incredible bird life rim tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles from any continent. Just below the waves, coral reefs stretch for miles along an underwater mountain chain. It’s a […]

Climate Crisis

California’s latest offshore oil spill could fuel pressure to end oil production statewide

The Conversation

By Charles Lester | – An oil spill first reported on Oct. 2, 2021, has released thousands of gallons of crude oil into southern California coastal waters. The source is believed to be a leak in an underwater pipeline connected to an oil drilling platform 17.5 miles offshore. Oil has washed ashore in Huntington Beach […]

CO2

Ecological Disaster at Huntington Beach as Oil Spill Threatens Marine Life, Wetlands, Tourism Industry

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Drilling for oil in the ocean off California’s pristine beaches is about the stupidest and most evil human activity you can think of. Oil is leaky and gets spilled into the ocean, harming the environment. But if it gets delivered without incident to the refinery and is made into gasoline […]

Climate Crisis

Why our climate emergency is forcing conservationists to be more ambitious: by moving threatened species to new pastures

The Conversation

By Sarah Elizabeth Dalrymple | – ( The Conversation) – As climate change brings record droughts and floods, extended fire seasons continue to make headlines, and the role of humans in this terrible situation is now undisputed, institutional change has been slow and unsteady. In particular, conservationists have been wary of pointing to climate change […]

Climate Crisis

Whodunnit?: Hundreds of Thousands of Birds fell out of the Sky in Southwest and now we Know Why

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 horror film, The Birds, our avian cousins abruptly and for no apparent reason turned hostile and began attacking humans. It is based on a story by Daphne du Maurier. I fear that in 2020, humans turned the tables on a vast scale. In August, masses […]

Environment

These are the plastic items that most kill whales, dolphins, turtles and seabirds

The Conversation

By Lauren Roman, Britta Denise Hardesty,Chris Wilcox, and Qamar Schuyler | – How do we save whales and other marine animals from plastic in the ocean? Our new review shows reducing plastic pollution can prevent the deaths of beloved marine species. Over 700 marine species, including half of the world’s cetaceans (such as whales and […]

Climate Crisis

Live fast, die small: how global heating is simplifying the world’s ecosystems

The Conversation

By Miguel Lurgi | – Global warming is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity worldwide. As temperatures increase, many species are forced to move to new habitats, like fish fleeing warming waters. While the fish have to adapt to new conditions elsewhere, it’s the effect that their departure has on other species that unpicks […]