Australian Koala Foundation declares koalas “functionally extinct”

By Christine Adams-Hosking 9 May 2019 (The Conversation) – Today the Australian Koala Foundation announced they believe “there are no more than 80,000 koalas in Australia”, making the species “functionally extinct”. While this number is dramatically lower than the most recent academic estimates, there’s no doubt koala numbers in many places are in steep decline. […]

Satellite view of forest loss in the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru, on 6 September 2018 NASA. Photo: Earth Observatory

Image of the Day: Satellite view of deforestation in Peru’s Madre de Dios region

By by Andrea Nicolau, Andi Thomas, and Leah Kucera 18 April 2019 (NASA) – Considered a hotspot for biodiversity, the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru is an exceptionally fertile landscape. Standing at the edge of the Amazon basin, Madre de Dios has a rich concentration of endemic species—plants and animals that are found nowhere […]

Abnormal high temperatures in Alaska disrupt isolated communities, upset subsistence hunting patterns, and cause deaths – “It’s hard to characterize this anomaly, it’s just pretty darn remarkable for that part of the world”

By Tim Lydon 29 May 2019 (Hakai Magazine) – Alaska in March is supposed to be cold. Along the north and west coasts, the ocean should be frozen farther than the eye can see. In the state’s interior, rivers should be locked in ice so thick that they double as roads for snowmobiles and trucks. […]

Last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia dies, eliminating chance of saving the species in the country

By Julia Jacobo 28 May 2019 (ABC News) – The last male Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia has died, eliminating the likelihood of saving the species in the country, according to animal conservationists. Less than 100 Sumatran rhinos are left in the world, according to the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA). They are scattered across the wild in Indonesia […]

A mother elephant and her baby are attacked by villagers with fire in India. Photo: Biplab Hazra / The Independent

Image of the Day: Mother elephant and her calf attacked with firebombs as deforestation drives them into the paths of humans

26 April 2019 (The Science News Reporter) – Due to the deforestation across India, numerous elephants can be seen wandering in the villages and communities. [Sadly, this is very common, cf. Photo of baby elephant on fire after being attacked by mob wins international award – “The calf screams in confusion and fear as the […]

Trump border wall to go up in national monument, wildlife refuge – Department of Homeland Security waives dozens of environmental and other laws

By Astrid Galvan and Nomaan Merchant 14 May 2019 PHOENIX (AP) – The U.S. government plans on replacing barriers through 100 miles (161 kilometers) of the southern border in California and Arizona, including through a national monument and a wildlife refuge, according to documents and environmental advocates. The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday again […]

Bloodshed looms in the Amazon unless Brazil government protects Indigenous peoples from illegal land seizures and logging – “Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and their land face enormous threats and the situation will soon become untenable in the dry season”

Bloodshed looms in the Amazon unless Brazil government protects Indigenous peoples from illegal land seizures and logging – “Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and their land face enormous threats and the situation will soon become untenable in the dry season”

7 May 2019 (Amnesty International) – There is an imminent risk of violent clashes in Brazil’s Amazon region unless the government protects Indigenous peoples’ traditional lands from increasing illegal land seizures and logging by armed intruders, Amnesty International warned today. Amnesty International recently visited three different Indigenous territories in northern Brazil where illegal intruders had […]

Only one-third of the world’s longest rivers remain free-flowing – Nearly 60,000 large dams exist worldwide, with more than 3,700 planned

Only one-third of the world’s longest rivers remain free-flowing – Nearly 60,000 large dams exist worldwide, with more than 3,700 planned

8 May 2019 (McGill University) – Just over one-third (37%) of the world’s 246 longest rivers remain free-flowing, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature. Dams and reservoirs are drastically reducing the diverse benefits that healthy rivers provide to people and nature across the globe. A team of 34 international researchers from McGill University, […]

Civilization destroying nature at rate “unprecedented in human history” – Up to 1 million species threatened with extinction, many within decades

Civilization destroying nature at rate “unprecedented in human history” – Up to 1 million species threatened with extinction, many within decades

6 May 2019 (IPBES) – Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was […]

Going 100 percent renewable power means a lot of dirty mining – “If not managed responsibly, this has the potential for new adverse environmental and social impacts”

By Naveena Sadasivam 17 April 2019 (Grist) – For more than a decade, indigenous communities in Alaska have been fighting to prevent the mining of copper and gold at Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and a crucial source of sustenance. The proposed mine, blocked under the Obama […]

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