Published by the World Wildlife Fund In a disturbing and growing new trend, Asian elephants of all ages are being slaughtered in Myanmar for their skin and other body parts. Elephant poaching rates since January have already surpassed the annual average for the country—in a country that has less than 2,000 wild Asian elephants, this is […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The seismic exploration permits it has proposed would authorize energy companies to blast Atlantic waters with air guns and harm marine mammals. Leo Francini/Alamy Stock Photo In a first step toward drilling off the Atlantic coast, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed to issue five permits—known as Incidental […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund We think approving the expansion of a massive new open pit strip mine in Utah, wedged between Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks, is a bad idea. You can read the details on why here. The point of this blog is lay out the history and timeline of […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed permits for large-scale seismic oil and gas exploration off the mid-Atlantic and south Atlantic coasts. This move overlooks the best available scientific evidence, which shows that noise from seismic airguns poses significant harm to marine mammals, and a wide array of […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund June is Orca Awareness Month, a time to show appreciation for our beloved orcas and to encourage a culture of stewardship to protect these majestic animals and their fragile habitat. Late last year, the Southern Resident orcas lost their long-time leader, Granny, who lived to be 105 years […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Smokey Bear’s northern pals are “polar” opposites when it comes to their ecosystem preferences. Yes, pun intended—Smokey Bear’s northern pals are polar bears! Black bears like Smokey and polar bears share a common ancestor that dates back to over five million years ago. Polar bears have an intense appetite, especially for seals. […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Welcome to our weekly Trump v. Earth column, in which onEarth reviews the environment-related shenanigans of President Trump and his allies. Shawn Thew/EPA/Newscom A Laughingstock President Trump announced on Thursday that the United States would begin the process to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement. In making his case […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy As we’ve learned, nowhere is immune to marine debris. From the sweeping vistas of Antarctica to the uninhabited island of Midway Atoll, ocean pollution is everywhere—showing that the consequences of trash extend far beyond what we see on our local beaches. But the big question is how? How does trash end up […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Pixabay The koala is a strong candidate for the most darling critter on earth. It has mad-scientist ear floofs, a dopey nose, and the rounded body dimensions of a teddy bear. But chlamydia is not cute. The contagious bacterial disease gums up the koala’s eyes with mucus, damages […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy The Trump administration’s newly proposed budget would cut nearly $1 billion from NOAA. Follow along with our “The More You NOAA” blog series to see how these cuts would impact the families and communities who rely on a healthy ocean. Then take action to tell Congress to say “No” to cutting NOAA. […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Is approving a massive new strip mine wedged between two of America’s most visited national parks a good idea? The odds are the Trump Administration will think it is. The mine in question sits near the Southern Utah town of Alton, a short distance from Bryce Canyon and […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund A budget that puts our health and environment last, reopening the door to highway pollution, and more attempts to squash progress on climate action. Scarlet Sails/iStock Presidents’ budgets are about values, putting money behind what matters most. And they lay out a vision for our country’s future. That’s […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Latin America Green News: Colombia grants rights to the Atrato River, Argentina’s nuclear deal with China, electric vehicles get a boost To get the weekly Latin America Green News blog delivered directly to your email, subscribe here. May 19 – 25, 2017 Conservation An estimated eight million tons of plastic […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Ed Dunens/Flickr Nearly 400 miles above earth, there’s a hunk of metal taller than an elephant and heavier than a rhino. It’s a privately operated satellite named WorldView-3 that’s been orbiting the planet every 97 minutes since 2014, taking tens of thousands of high-resolution pictures as it rips […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy It’s no secret we here at Ocean Conservancy love our shellfish! For many, oysters, clams, scallops and other bivalves say “home”—shellfish capture the flavors and smells of the coastal waters we love. More than just a fun-time food, shellfish have sustained our coastal communities by providing food and income for generations, from […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund President Trump’s proposed budget would threaten wildlife by opening up the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and gutting essential funding for species and habitat conservation across the country and around the world. Matthew Studebaker As predicted when the Trump administration released its […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The Trump administration released its more detailed budget proposal yesterday, following up on an outline that it announced in March. Even though its initial proposal appalled people across the political spectrum as a cruel attack on essential programs, the administration didn’t pay any attention. Yesterday’s version is just […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The Trump Administration’s 2018 federal budget proposal doubles down on attempts to weaken our nation’s ocean and coastal arm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with a dramatic cut of 16 percent from the enacted 2017 omnibus budget. Several NOAA divisions are recommended for slashing and important […]
Published by the Environmental News Service MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, May 23, 2017 (ENS) – “While wildlife keeps all of us alive, its future is squarely in our hands,” says John Scanlon, who heads the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES. “We alone will determine the fate of the world’s wildlife and in doing […]
Published by the World Wildlife Fund The village of Ak-Shyrak, Kyrgyzstan is special to Farida Balbakova. But just in her lifetime, the village has gone through enormous changes. In her youth, it was under Soviet Rule and all property was government-owned. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and Farida watched as her countrymen lost their livelihoods […]