EartherConservation

Some National Parks Reopen as Others Prepare for Cleanup Following Chaotic Shutdown

After President Donald Trump agreed to temporarily reopen the government, the National Park Service on Friday announced that some parks that remained closed during the 35-day shutdown would once again open to welcome visitors. The Associated Press reported that hundreds of parks will be “reopening on a rolling schedule,” with the National Park Service also … Continued

Tech News

Brazilian Mining Disaster Leaves Dozens Dead, Hundreds Missing After Waste Dam Collapses

Authorities said this weekend that the death toll from an industrial disaster in Brumadinho, Brazil in Minas Gerais state has climbed to at least 34, with some officials saying that the true toll could reach the hundreds, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. That’s a sharp increase from a prior count of 11 deaths … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Key U.S. Law For Protecting Endangered Species Does a Damn Good Job, Study Finds

If you have flippers and spend time gliding through U.S. waters, there’s at least one reason to celebrate today. New research suggests that more than three quarters of marine mammal and sea turtle populations listed under the Endangered Species Act have significantly rebounded following listing. The study highlights just how successful the ESA has been … Continued

Earther

The 20-Year Quest to Track Down Every Bird-of-Paradise Species Before They Vanish

Edwin Scholes has taken dozens of bush plane flights, helicopters and boat trips, and spent countless hours hauling gear up muddy mountains in New Guinea, for nothing more than a song and dance. Sometimes, he only manages to capture a few seconds of footage of the rainforest performances he seeks before his subjects become spooked, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

A Man O’ War ‘Epidemic’ Is Sweeping Australian Beaches, and It Won’t Be the Last

Jellyfish and their relatives are taking over, man. Over the weekend, things got real weird off the coast of Queensland, Australia, where more than 2,600 people received treatment for stings from bluebottles, also known as the Indo-Pacific Portuguese man o’ war. These colonial critters have caused some 13,000 stings in the past week, reports the … Continued

EartherConservation

Iguanas Reintroduced to the Largest Galapagos Island After Nearly 200 Year Absence

In 1835, Charles Darwin documented the presence of iguanas on Santiago island, the largest in the Galapagos archipelago. It probably never dawned on the pioneering naturalist that he would be the last scientist to do so. Invasive species wiped the island clean of iguanas—an ecological void that’s now been filled thanks to an ambitious restoration … Continued

ScienceBiology

Japanese Sushi Magnate Kicks Off 2019 by Ridiculously Overpaying for Bluefin, Regretting It

A Japanese restaurateur set a record on Saturday by paying nearly $3.1 million (333.6 million yen) for a massive, 613-pound Pacific bluefin tuna at the first auction of the year of Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, and almost immediately conceded that perhaps he should not have paid that much, Reuters reported. Sushizanmai chain owner Kiyoshi Kimura—who … Continued

Earther

Ryan Zinke Scribbles About His Public Lands Legacy as National Parks Devolve Into Chaos

Wednesday is scandal haver Ryan Zinke’s last day as Secretary of the Interior. And it looks like his last official tweet will be the perfect memorial to his utter lack of self awareness. The tweet features a photo of Zinke’s farewell note that looks part serial killer, part mixtape written in barely-legible red marker on … Continued

ScienceBiology

Dozens of Stranded Sea Turtles Rescued After Indonesian Tsunami

Volunteer rescuers working on beaches along Sundra Strait have rescued more than 30 stranded sea turtles, following the Indonesian tsunami that has killed hundreds of people, the Guardian reports. On December 22, Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau island volcano triggered a massive landslide, generating a tsunami that killed at least 430 people. With nearly 160 people still … Continued

EartherConservation

Eastern Lowland Gorillas Heading Towards ‘Genetic Meltdown’

Eastern lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have endured dramatic population declines in recent decades, leading to a startling lack of genetic diversity and a slew of harmful mutations, according to new research. By comparing the genomes of living eastern lowland gorillas, also known as Grauer’s gorillas, with genomes derived from museum … Continued

Tech News

Japan Says It Will Withdraw From IWC and Resume Commercial Whaling

Japan announced this week it will be splitting from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in order to renew its commercial whaling practices. The announcement comes after years of Japan exploiting a loophole in IWC’s international moratorium on whale killings, and after the IWC declined to approve its bid for commercial whaling, the Wall Street Journal … Continued

ScienceBiology

Despite Risks From Poachers, a Rare Albino Orangutan Is Released Back Into the Wild

A rare and particularly striking albino orangutan who was rescued from villagers in Borneo last year has been released back into the wild following successful rehabilitation. The 5-year-old female seems fit and ready to tackle the demands of forest life, but poaching remains a primary concern. Alba, as she’s been named, was rescued in early … Continued

EartherEnergy

California Regulators Vote to Require All Transit Agency Buses Produce Zero Emissions by 2040

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has ordered the state’s bus agencies to switch to entirely emissions-free vehicles within 20 years, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sunday, as part of a larger overall push to push back against Republicans’ efforts on the national front to undermine state emissions regulations. The policy is the first … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Ryan Zinke Will Be Drilling Oil Fields in Trump Official Heaven Now

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke—who, when he’s not wearing ranger hats backwards and insisting he’s a geologist has worked diligently to undermine environmental policies and rack up ethics scandals—is out, Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday. Zinke will depart at the end of 2018, the president wrote. Like former Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, Zinke is … Continued

ScienceBiology

World’s Oldest Wild Bird Just Laid Another Dang Egg

The world’s oldest wild bird, Wisdom the Laysan albatross, has once again returned to her breeding grounds, and she has laid another egg. She is at least 68 years old, but doesn’t look a day over 6. Laysan albatross are sea-faring birds found in the northern Pacific Ocean that breed in the northwestern Hawaiian islands, … Continued

Earther

Genius Ryan Zinke Calls Congressman Who Will Likely Be Future Oversight Chair a Drunk

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke—a man who wears ranger hats backwards and spreads conspiracy theories about how “radical environmentalists” are responsible for wildfires when he’s not destroying public land protections and calling for more drilling—just accused a sitting congressman of alcoholism in retaliation for writing that Zinke should resign. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, the top Democrat … Continued

EartherConservation

International Auction Houses Sotheby’s, Bonhams Say They’ll Stop Selling Rhino Horn

International auction house Sotheby’s has canceled an upcoming sale of rhino horn artifacts in Hong Kong and joined other companies like Bonhams in saying they will no longer list any goods containing rhino horn for sale regardless of its origin, Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday. Three lots of antique rhino horn scheduled to be sold … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Hawaii’s National Park Is Re-Opening After the Eruption of a Lifetime

Kilauea volcano has quieted down considerably since August, and recovery efforts are now in full swing. That includes a major milestone coming up on September 22, when the National Park Service (NPS) is set to re-open parts of the colossal Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has been closed since shortly after the multi-month eruption began … Continued

EartherConservation

Huge, Maybe Ineffective Pollution Scooper Launches Towards Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Dutch nonprofit Ocean Cleanup deployed a 2,000-foot-long, $20 million unmanned boom designed to gather some of the Pacific Ocean’s massive amounts of plastic garbage from San Francisco Bay on Saturday. But it’s not clear the plan will work, the New York Times wrote. According to the Times, the buoyant structure is currently being hauled … Continued

EartherConservation

Cute Blue Bird From Rio Now Believed to Be Extinct in the Wild

Anyone who’s seen the funky movie Rio knows of the Spix’s macaw, the beautiful and goofy blue bird thought to be among the last of his kind in the film. While the character Blu succeeds in saving his species by falling in love and ultimately becoming a father, the reality isn’t nearly as sweet. The … Continued