Conservation
Nature relies on a rich diversity of organisms to keep it in balance. Conservation plays a key role in ensuring that environmental equilibrium is preserved. Learn about the solutions spearheading our efforts to promote biodiversity, safeguard vital ecosystems, and protect endangered species.
How birdwatchers are incentivizing habitat conservation in Alaska
Alaska is world-renowned in specific tourism sectors—namely those related to rail, ship, and cruise lines. However, there is a thrumming ecotourism industry that has been overlooked: birdwatching. Back in 2019, the US was home to 12.82 million birdwatchers. In 2020 this number jumped to Read More...
In a world-first Brazil rules that Paris Agreement is a Human Rights treaty
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 Parties at COP21. The overarching goal is to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius, and ideally keep it only to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In a world-first, the supreme court of Brazil has declared that the Read More...
Pocket gophers: the only other mammal that farms
Farming has been an integral part of the long story of the development of human society. Some mark the beginning of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent in 8500 BC as the start of human civilization. It’s with this in mind that we think of farming as an entirely human job, but that’s not true. Read More...
Eating less meat could help oceans and waterways by reducing nitrogen
It’s difficult for us to consider the long-term, downriver consequences of the simplest of our actions. It isn’t because we’re indifferent; it’s because there are several complicated results to everything we do. Take eating too much meat. When our bodies have more protein than they need, Read More...
UK scientists plan to use contraceptives to curb invasive gray squirrels
In the late 19th century, gray squirrels were introduced to the United Kingdom from the United States. Since then, the gray squirrel population has exploded in the UK to the detriment of the county’s woodlands. These squirrels strip the bark of trees to get at the sap beneath, and British forests Read More...
Largest number of fin whales seen feeding together in over 50 years
Fin whales are the second-largest in the world, growing up to 85 feet (26 m) long and 160,000 pounds (72.3 metric tons). In 1976, the numbers of these magnificent giants in the Antarctic were dangerously low, caused by human commercial hunting practices. This caused a ban on commercial whaling to Read More...
This UK-based project maps England’s hidden ancient trees
An impressive project taken up by researchers at the University of Nottingham is revealing the secret hiding places of England’s ancient and veteran trees—and it turns out that the country is hosting ten times as many as experts had thought. Conservationists compare the researcher’s Read More...
To ecologists’ surprise, toads can climb trees
Toads were always known as terrestrial creatures, spending their time on both land and in water… until now. To ecologists’ surprise, a group of volunteers surveying dormice and bats in trees made the accidental and unexpected discovery that toads also dwell in trees. How did they discover Read More...
Scientists clone first mice from freeze-dried skin cells
Even before Jurassic Park, many have fantasized about cloning endangered animals. Science fiction made this seem too simple, easily copying a complex creature from recovered DNA. Now, that fantastical process is not so far off. Researchers have cloned the world’s first mice from freeze-dried Read More...
Humpback whales share songs from different regions
Humans aren’t the only species that trade music and songs. Other intelligent animals can communicate complicated messages, like ravens and ants relaying to each other that there’s food or danger and where to find it. As it turns out, though, some species can also communicate, and share like Read More...