endangered species

Endangered Species 101: Everything You Need to Know

Endangered Species 101: Everything You Need to Know

Quick Key Facts The Endangered Species Act To understand what “endangered species” means, it’s important to unpack the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which followed the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the first piece of federal endangered species legislation. Enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1973, the ESA states that the federal government has a […]

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    ‘We’re Wiping Out One of the World’s Oldest and Toughest Creatures’: Green Groups Urge Endangered Protections for Horseshoe Crabs

    ‘We’re Wiping Out One of the World’s Oldest and Toughest Creatures’: Green Groups Urge Endangered Protections for Horseshoe Crabs

    Horseshoe crabs have been on Earth for more than 450 million years — since before the dinosaurs. They are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crustaceans and can live as long as 25 years. Despite having lived through ice ages, the breaking apart of the continents and many other geological and atmospheric changes […]

    Environmental Groups, Oil Industry File Separate Legal Challenges to Biden’s Offshore Drilling Plan

    Environmental Groups, Oil Industry File Separate Legal Challenges to Biden’s Offshore Drilling Plan

    Legal petitions have been filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by environmental groups and oil and gas interests challenging the Biden administration’s plan to offer additional Gulf of Mexico drilling leases. The congressionally mandated five-year plan includes three sales — the least number being offered since 1980, reported […]

    Mexico’s Maya Train Project Threatens Vulnerable Ecosystems, Including Ancient Caves

    Mexico’s Maya Train Project Threatens Vulnerable Ecosystems, Including Ancient Caves

    Mexico’s 966-mile Yucatán Peninsula Maya Train rail project — Tren Maya — is causing concern because of the potential for harm to environmentally sensitive areas like an ancient ecosystem of thousands of subterranean caves. In late 2023, a southeastern portion of the train service connecting Cancún opened, with the government announcing the remaining routes would […]

    Climate Change Will Harm Older Elephants the Most, With Major Impacts on Ecosystems, Study Finds

    Climate Change Will Harm Older Elephants the Most, With Major Impacts on Ecosystems, Study Finds

    A first-of-its-kind study by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) has found that older elephants will have less chance of survival as the climate warms, and this will reverberate throughout the surrounding landscape. The research team has developed models for potential mitigation scenarios, which have already […]