Only a little more than one-third of the world’s 246 longest rivers remain free-flowing, drastically reducing the diverse benefits that healthy rivers provide to people and nature everywhere, according to a new study by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and partners. A team of researchers from WWF, McGill University, and other institutions studied about 7.5 million […]
This year’s Living Planet Report shows that populations of animals—including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians—plummeted by 60 percent between 1970 and 2014. But those living in freshwater are experiencing a far more drastic decline: 83% since 1970. It’s a sobering statistic and one tied directly to the ever-increasing pressures that people are putting on […]
The ailing orca whale J50 was declared “missing and now presumed dead” by the Center for Whale Research Thursday, after a three-day search by the organization in the waters between Washington state and Canada failed to locate her. She would be the third Southern Resident killer whale to die since June, bringing their numbers down […]
A dam collapsed in Myanmar’s central Bago region Wednesday following heavy monsoon rains, displacing tens of thousands and killing at least four, as AFP reported that ministry officials confirmed Friday. “According to the information we got as of this morning, four people were killed and three went missing during the floods,” Ministry of Social Welfare, […]
Flooding in India‘s southern state of Kerala has killed 39 and left more than 60,000 homeless as of Monday, The Times of India reported, in what India Today called the region’s “worst flood crisis” since 1924. Kerala, a popular tourist destination, has already seen heavy flooding this monsoon season, but the most recent inundation began […]
A dam in Laos collapsed Monday following heavy rains, killing 26, leaving thousands homeless and confirming worries expressed by environmental groups over the safety of hydroelectric development in one of Asia’s poorest countries, Al Jazeera reported. Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith told reporters Wednesday that at least 131 people are still missing after the Xepian-Xe […]
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives announced on Thursday a series of bills aimed at profoundly gutting the Endangered Species Act, including provisions making it almost impossible for imperiled species to gain protection and giving states that often oppose endangered species protection veto power over those decisions. In addition, the bills would turn over […]
Less than a year ago, scientists announced an exciting discovery—a new species of orangutan, called the Tapanuli orangutan, living in Batang Toru in Sumatra, Indonesia, The Conversation reported. But an article published in Current Biology Thursday has some sobering news for the newly discovered ape: The “critically-endangered species” is at serious risk for extinction. “This […]
A small group led by Republicans in Congress spearheaded a bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. If the bill becomes law, it could lead to the eventual extinction of wild salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers—iconic species in the Pacific Northwest that the federal government is required by law […]