News of plastic-eating enzymes and insects has been making headlines in recent years. Take, for example, fungi that digests plastic in coastal salt marshes, or the greater wax moth caterpillar that can live on polyethylene in its larval stage. However, to utilize these plastic-eating organisms, scientists would need to be able to breed them in […]
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 […]
For the first time, India has completed a survey of snow leopards, finding an estimated 718 cats living in the country. Snow leopards live in a harsh environment, high in the Himalayas. That has long made it difficult for scientists to study these animals, let alone complete a thorough survey. The first-ever Snow Leopard Population […]
Like with so many products, staring at the shelf of chocolate chips and baking bars can be overwhelming. What are the “right” labels to pay attention to: “Certified Compostable,” “Direct Trade” or “Fair Trade?” Does higher price mean better wages for the workers that produced it? Cacao is produced in humid regions near the equator […]
Marine heat waves (MHWs) are prolonged periods of ocean warming that can significantly affect coral reefs, fish, kelp forests and other marine life. A new study led by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has found that MHWs are changing the communities of microorganisms that make up the foundation of the oceanic food […]
Voters in Paris approved an increase in parking fees for SUVs In a referendum on February 4. Vehicles weighing over 1.6 metric tons will have hourly parking fees tripled as the city seeks to become a more bikeable and pedestrian-friendly. The passed proposal also comes ahead of the 2024 Olympics to be held in Paris. […]
Sea otters started recolonizing their former habitat in a central California coastal estuary several decades ago, and erosion has since slowed by as much as 90 percent, according to a new study. Elkhorn Slough is an estuary dominated by salt marshes. Its marsh edges and creek banks had suffered from erosion, but when the sea […]
Quick Key Facts What Are ‘Wetlands’? A wetland is exactly what it sounds like: ground that is covered by or saturated with water for all or part of the year. The water that makes a wetland can come from a variety of different sources, including ocean tides; freshwater sources like lakes, rivers, or ponds; underground […]
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 […]
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