Warming climate and winter ticks decimating moose populations – ‘There has absolutely been a tremendous decline’

By Kevin Williams 7 June 2015 BROWNVILLE, Maine (Al Jazeera) – Chris Read is the owner of the Gunsmoke Lodge in Brownville, Maine, and, along with many of his patrons, is a lifelong hunter of Maine’s wildlife, including moose. But these days, he is worried. Though the state’s last official count of its moose population, […]

Graph of the Day: Drivers of declines in status for pollinator birds and mammals

10 February 2015 (Conservation Letters) – Drivers of declines in status for pollinator birds (1988-2012) and mammals (1996-2008). ABSTRACT: Biodiversity is declining, with direct and indirect effects on ecosystem functions and services that are poorly quantified. Here we develop the first global assessment of trends in pollinators, focusing on pollinating birds and mammals. A Red […]

Lake Baikal ‘seriously ill’: World’s deepest lake suffers alien algae, record water-level drop

13 March 2015 (RT) – The shores of Lake Baikal in Siberia, the world’s largest body of fresh water and popular tourist destination, are covered with rotting algae dangerous to its unique ecosystem. Baikal is getting increasingly contaminated by spirogyra, which could pose a threat to the purity of its waters. Spirogyra is not native […]

As wildfires worsen in the U.S., calls for change in tactics – ‘Over the past decade, wildfires have increased in size and intensity, and the fire season now extends 60-80 days longer than historic averages’

By Alan Neuhauser 5 November 2014 (U.S. News & World Report) – Smokey Bear may not know the half of it. As one of the longest and costliest wildfire seasons in U.S. history comes to a close, a new study asserts the way we’ve been attempting to prevent forest fires is “simply wrong.” “We don’t […]

Nitrogen runoff from Hawaii cities and farms causing lethal sea turtle tumors – ‘We’re drawing direct lines from human nutrient inputs to the reef ecosystem, and how they affect wildlife’

By Kati Moore30 September 2014 DURHAM, N.C. (Duke Environment) – Pollution in urban and farm runoff in Hawaii is causing tumors in endangered sea turtles, a new study finds. The study, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PeerJ, shows that nitrogen in the runoff ends up in algae that the turtles eat, promoting the […]

Global warming accelerates death of forests in U.S. West – ‘The wildfires, infestations, and heat and drought stress are the symptoms; climate change is the underlying disease’

By Trevor Hughes10 September 2014 DENVER (USA TODAY) – The iconic pine and aspen forests of the Rocky Mountains are dying off at an alarming rate thanks to conditions exacerbated by climate change — drought, insect infestations and wildfires — a new report says. Colorado alone could lose 45% of its aspen stands over the […]

What you need to know about the coming jellyfish apocalypse

By James West30 June 2014 More than 50 million Americans swim in the oceans every year (there are actual government surveys of such things). So if your summer plans involves stripping down and bathing in the sun and salt water of your dreams, read on, intrepid beach-goer. There’s something gooey and stingy that’s loving warm […]

Drought threatens grazing on U.S. land – Federal land can’t continue to support livestock and wildlife – ‘To be honest with you, I think our way of life is pretty much going to be over in 10 years’

By Julie Cart15 June 2014 Snake River Plain, Idaho (Los Angeles Times) –  There’s not much anyone can tell Barry Sorensen about Idaho’s Big Desert that he doesn’t know. Sorensen, 72, and his brother have been running cattle in this sere landscape all their lives, and they’ve weathered every calamity man and nature have thrown […]

Disappearing puffins, stray whales, invading sailfish: The North Atlantic is in a bad way, and here’s why

By Rowan JacobsenMay/June 2014 Issue (Mother Jones) – The new poster child for climate change had his coming-out party in June 2012, when Petey the puffin chick first went live into thousands of homes and schools all over the world. The “Puffin Cam” capturing baby Petey’s every chirp had been set up on Maine’s Seal […]

Tree-killing beetles attacking California's forests – ‘We have no known treatment. We have no capacity to fend it off.’

7 June 2014 (CBS News) – Southern California is already plagued by a crippling drought and wildfires. Now you can add a legion of seemingly unstoppable beetles to the list of threats facing the region’s forests. They’ve already invaded hundreds of tree species, and they are showing no signs of slowing down. “We have lost […]

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