Many of the people likely to be on the front lines of a changing climate are indigenous. Already assaulted by centuries of colonialism and exploitation, many indigenous people must also now adapt to rising seas, warming temperatures, and other disruptions to natural systems. Conservation biologist Gleb Raygorodetsky has been traveling the world to document stories...
On Wednesday evening, Earth Day, the Goldman Environmental Prizes were celebrated in Washington, D.C., in the 26th annual recognition of some of the world’s most fearless grassroots campaigners. The six winners from around the globe each earned $175,000 and join a prestigious group of activists from 83 countries that have been named since 1989, in...
Did you know it takes 240 gallons of water to make a cell phone? Or 52 gallons to make an egg? The concept of such “hidden water” may seem unfamiliar to some, but it’s an important part of our impact on the planet, argues author Stephen Leahy in the recent book Your Water Footprint: The...
A friend of mine made the infographic below for Cheapflights.com. I thought the team did a nice job putting together what American travelers need to know to visit the Caribbean country, since President Obama lifted many restrictions last December. There are strict limits on how much liquor and cigars Americans can bring back, and not...
Do you know if your seafood dinner was caught and imported legally? Chances are good now that you wouldn’t be able to find out. But this week, a special task force of a dozen federal agencies released recommendations on how the U.S. can rein in illegal, or pirate, fishing and make seafood more traceable and sustainable....
I was speaking with an older gentleman the other day, and he told me one of the noticeable changes he’s seen over the past few decades is that a lot more people are using bicycles to commute to work, the store, friends’ houses, and otherwise get around town. Overall statistics bear this out, with ridership...
As an Indiana Hoosier, I was thrilled to learn of this new species: the Hoosier cavefish (Amblyopsis hoosieri). Described this week, the Hoosier is the first species of cavefish to be named in the U.S. in 40 years, making its entry into the pantheon of known creatures even sweeter. The small, blind fish can grow...
Today is World Penguin Day, and The Pew Charitable Trusts have released some videos to mark the occasion (top and below). They’ve also produced a quiz that asks users to find out their “penguin style.” What’s your penguin style? Also check out last year’s festivities and view penguin photos and photos of emperor penguins....
As scientists debate how the world’s ocean might be picked free of plastic trash (hint: no one knows), a European nonprofit is taking on the problem with humor. The group Seas at Risk has just released the video above to remind people that what we do on land can have an impact on the ocean. Seas...
“Dams represented a pivotal part of U.S. development, but like many things we took it too far,” Ben Knight says in the new documentary film DamNation. Knight narrated, edited, and co-directed the film, which takes a provocative look at the recent movement to remove old and outdated dams, to restore natural river systems. Produced by...
On March 11, an angler hooked a rare fish: a 300-pound albino blue marlin. The animal was released alive, and photos of the encounter may be the first recorded images of an albino blue marlin, according to the Billfish Report. It was about 1 pm, during a charter fishing trip on the 42-foot boat Spanish...
On March 11, an angler hooked a rare fish: a 300-pound albino blue marlin. The animal was released alive, and photos of the encounter may be the first recorded images of an albino blue marlin, according to the Billfish Report. It was about 1 pm, during a charter fishing trip on the 42-foot boat Spanish...
A remote, protected beach on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is a critical nesting area for “strange” birds called maleos and olive ridley sea turtles, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York. On February 23 on Sulawesi’s Binerean Cape, conservationists with WCS and local partner PALS (Pelestari Alam Liar dan Satwa, or Wildlife and...
A remote, protected beach on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is a critical nesting area for “strange” birds called maleos and olive ridley sea turtles, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York. On February 23 on Sulawesi’s Binerean Cape, conservationists with WCS and local partner PALS (Pelestari Alam Liar dan Satwa, or Wildlife and...
In the first of a new video series by The Pew Charitable Trusts, a scientist explains how he found a new species of walking shark off Indonesia. According to Pew: Scientist Mark Erdmann was participating in a nighttime scuba dive off the coast of Halmahera, Indonesia when he stumbled on a new species of walking...