Açaí has long been consumed by locals in the Amazon region, but as global interest in this berry increases, more resources are required to produce it. A new study in Biological Conservation has found that the increase in açaí palm agriculture is causing biodiversity loss by changing plant life and important estuarine forests in the […]
Harpy eagles are the largest eagles in the Americas and one of the largest eagle species in the world, with adult females weighing as much as 22 pounds. But these massive birds are running out of room and food, a study published in Scientific Reports Wednesday has found. These apex predators are extremely vulnerable to […]
By Brett Wilkins Researchers at the University of Leeds in Britain published new research Tuesday — World Rainforest Day — showing that massive swaths of the eastern Amazon are at risk of severe drying by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced. Analyzing the results of 38 known Amazon climate […]
Aptly called, “Earth’s lungs,” the planet’s two largest swaths of rainforest, in Amazonia and Africa, suck up 15 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions produced by humans. These ecosystems are essential for carbon sequestration and therefore curbing climate change, and while the Amazon rainforest has been the subject of mountains of research, scientists are just […]
During 18 months, Mongabay investigated allegations challenging the “sustainable” status of the Brazilian palm oil supply chain, revealing impacts including deforestation and water contamination, and what appears to be an industry-wide pattern of brazen disregard for Amazon conservation and for the rights of Indigenous people and traditional communities in northern Pará state. In this behind-the-scenes […]
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged during the month of April, ending a streak of three consecutive months where forest clearing had been lower than the prior year. The rise in deforestation came despite a high-profile pledge from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to rein in deforestation in Earth’s largest rainforest. According to preliminary deforestation alert […]
About 66 million years ago, a 12-km asteroid struck Earth. The massive heat and impact likely triggered tidal waves and clouded the skies with ash, The Washington Post reported. Scientists estimate that up to 75 percent of all life on land went extinct, including the dinosaurs. The space rock that triggered that mass extinction event […]
The Amazon rainforest likely emits more greenhouse gases than it absorbs, a first-of-its-kind study has found. The study, published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change on Thursday, is the first to consider emissions other than carbon dioxide, such as methane from floods and cattle, and black carbon from forest-clearing fires. “Cutting the forest is […]
By Jessica Corbett New data from a Norwegian nonprofit is generating fresh concerns about humanity’s destruction of the natural world, revealing Monday that people have ravaged about two-thirds of original tropical rainforest cover globally. The Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) analysis found that human activities including logging and land-use changes—often for farming—have destroyed 34% of old-growth […]
568k 
233k 
41k 
Subscribe 
