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Holger Casselmann / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
The climate crisis has caused Japanese cherry blossoms to bloom in October and sped the arrival of spring in much of the U.S. But it turns out that humans aren't the only animals who can trick plants into flowering early.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Scientists have discovered that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees" target="_self">bumblebees</a> can cause plants to flower as much as 30 days ahead of schedule by biting their leaves.</p><p>"I think it's fascinating how much we still don't know about organisms that we think we know really well," study coauthor and ETH Zurich professor Consuelo De Moraes <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52759804" target="_blank">told BBC News</a>. "It absolutely increases our sense of wonder at the cleverness of nature in all its many forms."</p>
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<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8c2bff1db53183539dd61a18086f2683"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3z1OH_ebxrI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The discovery, published in <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6493/881" target="_blank">Science Friday</a>, was made by accident. One of De Moraes' students, Foteini Pashalidou, observed buff-tailed bumblebees making small slits in the leaves of greenhouse plants, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/05/bumblebees-bite-plants-flower-early/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> explained. However, the bees didn't appear to eat the leaf bits or bring them back to their nests.</p><p>The researchers did notice that the bees from colonies with less food were the ones most damaging the leaves, <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/hungry-bumblebees-make-plants-flower-early-cutting-holes-their-leaves" target="_blank">Science reported</a>. This led the scientists to wonder if the bees were trying to get the plants to flower early out of hunger, so they set up an experiment to test this hypothesis, as Science described:</p><blockquote>The researchers set up a greenhouse experiment with black mustard (<em>Brassica nigra</em>), a crop they had been studying. Ten plants were put in mesh bags with bumble bees that hadn't eaten any pollen for 3 days; they proceeded to nibble five to 10 holes in each plant. On average, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aay0496" target="_blank">those plants flowered after 17 days</a>; undamaged plants that had not been exposed to bumble bees took an average of 33 days, the researchers report today in Science. In a similar experiment, tomato plants sped up their flowering by 30 days.</blockquote>
<p>Further experiments confirmed that the behavior was motivated by hunger. Pollen-deprived bees cut four times as many holes in lab leaves as fully fed bees. Outside the lab, bees cut holes in plants on a rooftop garden in early spring, but stopped doing so as frequently once more flowers began to bloom. The researchers also observed leaf-biting in two wild species: red-tailed and white-tailed bumble bees.</p><p>"That was super exciting," De Moraes told Science.</p><p>While this behavior is new to scientists, we may have encountered its evidence for years without realizing it. </p><p>"You see these semi-circular sort of incisions, often in the leaf," coauthor Dr Nark Mescher told BBC News. "One of the students was saying that they were eating a salad the other day, and they saw that kind of damage on the leaf that was probably from a bumblebee."</p>
<p>Beyond its novelty, the finding has important implications for bumblebees' ability to adapt to the climate crisis, National Geographic explained. As warmer spring temperatures cause <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators" target="_self">pollinators</a> to awaken before plants flower, this activity could ensure early-rising bees find food. It might also help farmers increase human food supply if they can copy the bees' technique.</p><p>But so far the researchers aren't sure how the bees' trick works. Attempts to duplicate it in the lab by damaging leaves in similar ways were only partially successful.</p><p>"We really tried to replicate it with the best of our ability," De Moraes told BBC News. "It's possible that the bees also have some cue that they are providing to the plants that is specific to the bee. And that could be secretions that we don't know about, but it's something that we plan to investigate."</p>
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Cyclone Slams India, Bangladesh, Leaving 84 Dead and Millions Displaced During Pandemic
22 May
Climate
People make their way through uprooted trees and damaged power lines blocking a road in Taltala a day after Cyclone Amphan hit the city on May 21, 2020 in Kolkata, India. Samir Jana / Hindustan Times via Getty Images
At least 84 people were killed when Cyclone Amphan walloped India and Bangladesh Wednesday, bringing "war-like" destruction to the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal, The Guardian reported.
<p>The response to the storm, which made <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146749/amphan-batters-india-bangladesh" target="_blank">landfall</a> as the equivalent of a Category 2 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricanes" target="_self">hurricane</a>, was complicated by the spread of the new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>. While around three million people in India and Bangladesh evacuated to safety ahead of the storm, some villagers remained in place out of fear of contracting the virus in a crowded shelter, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/world/asia/cyclone-amphan-india-bangladesh.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>"At one end there is this small Covid virus that is terrifying people," West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in a video conference reported by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/world/asia/cyclone-amphan-india-bangladesh.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "This was another virus from the sky."</p>
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<p>Causes of death included felled trees, downed electrical wires and collapsed buildings. In Bangladesh, Khanat Begum and her 13-year-old daughter were killed when a gust of wind uprooted their neighbor's tree and dropped it on top of their house.</p><p>For the survivors, the storm also brought devastation. Hundreds of thousands of people saw their homes destroyed, according to The Guardian. This could enable the spread of the new coronavirus as people are forced to remain in shelters.</p><p>In Kolkata, home to around 14 million people, power was lost and many streets were <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_self">flooded</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-52749935" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. Banerjee said that two districts had been completely destroyed.</p><p>"We have to rebuild those districts from scratch," she said, as The Guardian reported: "Area after area has been ruined. I have experienced a war-like situation today."</p>
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<p>At least 15 people in the city were killed, The New York Times reported. All told, at least 72 people died in West Bengal and 12 in Bangladesh, according to BBC News.</p><p>Bangladesh evacuated more people ahead of the storm than India, at 2.4 million compared with around 660,000, The New York Times reported. But the country was still hit hard.</p><p>"Even by Bangladeshi standards, this was a powerful storm," <a href="https://www.savethechildren.net/" target="_blank">Save the Children</a> in Bangladesh Humanitarian Director Mostak Hussain said in a <a href="https://www.savethechildren.net/news/save-children-assesses-damage-india-and-bangladesh-wake-cyclone-amphan" target="_blank">statement</a>. "We've received reports that more than 5 million people were disconnected from the electricity grid for their own safety as winds of 150kph smashed into power lines, destroying homes and uprooting trees. In some of the worst-affected areas there was a tidal surge of nearly three metres, causing dams to overflow and submerging low-lying villages and crops."</p>
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<p>For a period Monday night, Cyclone Amphan became the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal, with winds of up to 165 miles per hour, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/19/asia/super-cyclone-amphan-india-banglash-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. It weakened before making landfall, bringing sustained winds of 105 mile-per-hour winds and a five meter (approximately 16 foot) storm surge, <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146749/amphan-batters-india-bangladesh" target="_blank">according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration</a>. But it was still the worst storm to strike Kolkata in 100 years, The Guardian reported.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1262448024346865665" id="twitter-embed-1262448024346865665" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1262448024346865665&created_ts=1589826038.0&screen_name=EricHolthaus&text=Just+in%3A+The+JTWC+has+upgraded+Super+Cyclone+%23Amphan+to+145kt+%28270kph%29.%0A%0AAmphan+is+now+the+strongest+cyclone+ever+r%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FxAF5sD3GCA&id=1262448024346865665&name=Eric+Holthaus" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="cf604a913975b2af1b18b4b7aae6e499"></iframe>
<p>It struck the same week as a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tropical-storm-intensity-climate-crisis-2646033123.html" target="_self">study confirmed</a> that the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> is making tropical storms more intense, increasing the chance that a cyclone develops into a Category 3 storm or higher by eight percent per decade since the late 1970s. Cyclone Amphan originally intensified after passing over water temperatures as warm as 88 degrees Fahrenheit, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/world/asia/cyclone-amphan-india-bangladesh-map.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. </p><p>"Sea surface temperatures are much warmer than normal in the Bay of Bengal right now," Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/weather/live-news/live-updates-cyclone-amphan-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">told CNN</a>.</p>
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Scientist Behind Florida’s Coronavirus Database Says She Was Fired for Refusing to Censor Data
21 May
Science
A photo illustration of Florida's widely praised COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
The scientist behind Florida's widely praised coronavirus dashboard was fired Monday because she refused to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen," she told CBS12 News Monday.
<p>Dr. Rebekah Jones' dismissal came the same day as much of Florida reopened for business, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/20/florida-scientist-dr-rebekah-jones-fired-refusing-change-covid-19-data-reopen-plan" target="_blank">The Guardian pointed out</a>, raising concerns about the data backing that decision.</p><p>"These allegations are disturbing," Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit which includes Palm Beach County, tweeted Tuesday. "Manipulating the data on Florida's COVID-19 dashboard could cost lives."</p>
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<p>Until May 5, Jones had been in charge of a team of data scientists and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> officials at the Florida department of Health who created and managed the publicly accessible database that reported COVID-19 cases, testing and deaths, <a href="https://eu.floridatoday.com/story/news/2020/05/18/censorship-covid-19-data-researcher-removed-florida-moves-re-open-state/5212398002/" target="_blank">FLORIDA TODAY explained</a>. The dashboard won wide praise, including from high-ranking White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx.</p><p>The first sign of trouble came over the last few weeks as the site had "crashed" and data had gone missing.</p><p>Then, Jones wrote an email Friday to members of the public and the media who had signed up for updates on the database, saying she and her office had been removed from control of the database as of May 5.</p>
<p>"I understand, appreciate, and even share your concern about all the dramatic changes that have occurred and those that are yet to come," she wrote. "As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it."</p>
<p>Then came the news that she had been fired from the Department of Health altogether, as she confirmed to <a href="https://eu.floridatoday.com/story/news/2020/05/19/florida-scientist-refused-manipulate-covid-19-data-and-fired/5219137002/" target="_blank">FLORIDA TODAY</a> Wednesday. According to the <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/05/19/florida-health-department-officials-told-manager-to-delete-coronavirus-data-before-reassigning-her-emails-show/" target="_blank">Tampa Bay Times</a>, she had been ordered May 5 to remove data showing when people showed symptoms or tested positively for the virus before a case had been announced after the information was requested by the media. She complied, but said it was the "wrong call." She was later given the option to resign with a settlement or be fired.</p><p>The spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Helen Aguirre Ferré, defended her firing in a statement to the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242851256.html" target="_blank">Miami Herald Tuesday</a>.</p><p>"Rebekah Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the department, including her unilateral decisions to modify the department's COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors," Ferré said.</p>
<p>DeSantis later challenged the idea that Jones was the architect of the dashboard.</p><p>"She is not the chief architect of our Web portal. That is another false statement, and what she was doing was she was putting data on the portal, which the scientists didn't believe was valid data," he said in Orlando Wednesday, as <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/20/859741245/florida-governor-defends-firing-of-top-data-scientist?t=1590047160809" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>.</p><p>This contradicts Jones' account in an email to <a href="https://eu.floridatoday.com/story/news/2020/05/19/florida-scientist-refused-manipulate-covid-19-data-and-fired/5219137002/" target="_blank">FLORIDA TODAY,</a> in which she said she created two applications in two languages, four dashboards and six maps.</p><p>"I worked on it alone, sixteen hours a day for two months, most of which I was never paid for, and now that this has happened I'll probably never get paid for [it]," she wrote.</p>
<p>Her firing has raised alarms for scientists and Democratic politicians.</p><p>"When politicians censor scientists and manipulate the numbers, the rest of us suffer," Columbia University biologist Dr. Lucky Tran tweeted in response. "The only way we get out of this pandemic is with facts, and acting upon the best science we have."</p>
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<p>Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who represents the Tampa area, demanded answers from DeSantis, while state Senator José Javier RodrÃguez from Miami and chair of the Florida Democratic party Terrie Rizzo called for an investigation, according to NPR and The Guardian.</p><p>"Floridians must have confidence that critical public health information produced and published on behalf of the state is accurate, complete and reliable. It is especially important during this period of economic reopening that decision-makers in the private and public sector — whether they be leaders of institutions, employers or parents — have access to accurate information as they make decisions impacting the lives and livelihoods of our families and communities," Rodriguez said, as NPR reported.</p>
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Floodwaters flowing from the Tittabawassee River into the lower part of downtown Midland on May 20, 2020 in Midland, Michigan. Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate after two dams in Sanford and Edenville collapsed. Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
Around 10,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in central Michigan after heavy rain prompted what the National Weather Service called "catastrophic failures" at two dams.
<p>The Edenville and Sanford dams collapsed Tuesday night, threatening to drench the town of Midland, Michigan under nine feet of water, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-flood-michigan/michigan-governor-declares-emergency-after-dams-collapse-idUSKBN22W071" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_self">flooding</a> comes as Michigan suffers one of the nation's worst <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> outbreaks, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/us/michigan-flooding-dams-midland.html" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a>. It currently has 53,009 confirmed cases, according to <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University data</a> as of Thursday morning, the seventh highest total in the U.S.</p><p>"It's hard to believe that we're in the middle of a 100-year crisis, a global pandemic, and we're also dealing with a flooding event that looks to be the worst in 500 years," Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, as The New York Times reported.</p>
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<p>Much of the town of Midland, Michigan, which has a population of 42,000, was inundated with record flooding Wednesday, <a href="https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/aging-dams-changing-climate-a-dangerous-mix" target="_blank">Weather Underground reported</a>. The Tittabawassee River gauge at Midland measured a water level about one foot above the previous record of 33.89 feet as of 2 p.m. local time. The river was expected to crest in the afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service said.</p>
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<p>No deaths or injuries have been reported, according to The New York Times, but the event puts further pressure on residents and businesses already reeling from the impact of the coronavirus.</p><p>"It's disastrous," evacuee Sue Baranski from neighboring Sanford told The New York Times. "Between the devastation from the flooding and the virus and the small-business owners trying to make their way through that, it's just too much."</p>
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<p>The flooding is the result of two environmental crises and may be the author of a third.</p><p>First, there's the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>. Warming temperatures are expected to increase precipitation in northern midlatitudes and lead to more intense periods of rainfall in many places, including the U.S., as Weather Underground pointed out. In Michigan, this process is already underway. 2019 was its wettest year on record, and Midland is 1.35 feet of rainfall away from its wettest May on record. Its rainfall total for Monday and Tuesday was its third highest on record.<br></p><p>Then there's the state of one of the dams that failed. Federal regulators had warned for more than 20 years that the spillways at the Edenville Dam were not up to handling a major flood, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/20/politics/ferc-edenville-dam-midland-michigan-flooding/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. However, they waited more than 13 years to crack down on the private company that operated the dam when it failed to comply, finally revoking its license in 2018. Oversight of the dam also passed from the federal government to the state of Michigan that year. Whitmer has promised an investigation of dam operator Boyce Hydro.</p>
<p>"This incredible damage requires that we hold people responsible," Whitmer said, as <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/michigan-governor-warns-floods-peak_n_5ec569b6c5b6ea08c805eaeb?ri18n=true" target="_blank">HuffPost reported</a>. "This was a known problem for a while and that's why it's important that we do our due diligence and take action."</p><p>The flood also has the potential to cause lasting environmental damage as Dow Chemical confirmed Wednesday that flood waters were "commingling with on-site containment ponds," <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/20/859333402/catastrophic-dam-failures-in-michigan-force-thousands-to-evacuate" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>. The flood also reached a Superfund site caused by a Dow release of dioxins, according to CNN.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1262935856857395200" id="twitter-embed-1262935856857395200" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1262935856857395200&created_ts=1589942347.0&screen_name=meghanloisann&text=Midland%2C+Michigan+is+home+to+Dow+Chemical%2C+one+of+the+world%27s+largest+chemical+companies.+%0A%0ADow%27s+facilities+appear%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F468UwgO8UQ&id=1262935856857395200&name=Meghan+Schneider" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="089435121e83028de50619583832e24d"></iframe>
<p>"[T]this has the potential to be a major environmental disaster. Climate Power communications director Meghan Schneider tweeted.</p>
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Unused rental cars are stored in the parking lot of dormant Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on April 23, 2020. Clearer skies have followed coronavirus lockdowns around the world. Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The lockdowns imposed around the globe in response to the coronavirus pandemic led to a record drop in greenhouse gas emissions, according to research published in Nature Climate Change Tuesday.
<p>The researchers found that daily emissions fell by 17 percent during the height of quarantine measures in early April when compared with the same time in 2019, the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/-/covid-19-crisis-causes-17-drop-in-global-carbon-emissions" target="_blank">University of East Anglia (UEA) reported</a> in a press release.</p><p>"Globally, we haven't seen a drop this big ever, and at the yearly level, you would have to go back to World War II to see such a big drop in emissions," UEA professor of climate change science and lead author Corinne Le Quéré told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/carbon-emissions-dropped-17-percent-globally-amid-coronavirus-n1210331" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "But this is not the way to tackle <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a> — it's not going to happen by forcing behavior changes on people. We need to tackle it by helping people move to more sustainable ways of living."</p>
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<p>The research is the first major study of emissions this year, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/19/lockdowns-trigger-dramatic-fall-global-carbon-emissions" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, though the International Energy Agency <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/greenhouse-gas-emissions-coronavirus-lockdowns-2645880717.html" target="_self">projected</a> a record 8 percent decline in emissions for 2020. Because it is not possible to measure the change in carbon dioxide emission directly, since the gas remains in the atmosphere for such a long time, researchers instead relied on data for on-the-ground indicators like traffic, energy usage, flights and manufacturing, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/carbon-dioxide-emissions-pandemic/" target="_blank">Wired explained</a>.</p><p>That data also revealed the major drivers of the emissions decline, the UEA press release explained. The drop in ground transport, such as cars, was responsible for 43 percent of the decline, while declines in industry and power together accounted for another 43 percent. While air travel was majorly impacted by the pandemic, it only accounted for 10 percent of the emissions drop because it is only responsible for three percent of emissions overall.</p>
<p>The data was gathered from 69 countries responsible for 97 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. At the height of the global response, areas responsible for 89 percent of emissions were under some kind of lockdown. On average, countries saw their emissions fall 26 percent. In the U.S. and the UK, emissions fell by a third, Wired reported.</p><p>While these numbers are dramatic, they also illustrate the challenges involved in lowering emissions enough to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.</p><p>"This is a really big fall, but at the same time, 83% of global emissions are left, which shows how difficult it is to reduce emissions with changes in behaviour," Le Quéré told The Guardian.</p>
<p>She also pointed out to Wired that the 17 percent drop at the height of confinement measures only returned emissions to 2006 levels.</p><p>"So this is really showing just how much emissions are increasing through time every year. This incredible drop in emissions only takes us back 14 years," she told Wired.</p><p>What happens next will depend on political decisions and how soon lockdown measures are lifted, the press release explained. If they are lifted fully by June, emissions for the year will fall four percent. If some restrictions are in place all year, they will decline by seven percent. That is around the yearly decline needed to meet the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a> climate goals of limiting global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.</p>
<p>"We would have to have the same speed of reduction that's happening in 2020 every year for the next decade," Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at the University of California, Berkeley who was not involved with the study, told NBC News.</p><p>The researchers called on governments to craft economic recovery plans that encouraged the systemic changes that will ultimately make sustainable emissions declines possible.</p><p>"The extent to which world leaders consider climate change when planning their economic responses post COVID-19 will influence the global CO2 emissions paths for decades to come," Le Quéré said in the press release.</p><p>For example, governments could follow the lead of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/milan-car-limit-coronavirus-2645805180.html" target="_self">Milan</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/car-free-zones-london-2646014436.html" target="_self">London</a> in reopening cities in ways that prioritize walking and cycling over driving. Le Quéré suggested to Wired that governments stimulate the economy by directing money towards electric cars.</p>
<p>One positive development is that people around the world now have an illustration of what emissions reductions make possible.</p><p>"The most obvious change was the beautiful blue skies we saw from India to Indiana," study coauthor and Stanford University Earth system science professor Rob Jackson told NBC News. "People can relate to that more than abstract discussions about greenhouse gas emissions — you could just see that skies were clear."</p>
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A container of Johnson's baby powder made by Johnson & Johnson. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its iconic but increasingly controversial talc baby powder in the U.S. and Canada, the company announced Tuesday.
<p>The announcement comes as the company faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers who say the product was contaminated with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/asbestos" target="_self">asbestos</a> and caused them or their loved ones to develop cancer, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-babypowder-idUSKBN22V32U?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1HfUTODSZrfmj0qHPRt2WqNj5q58hMe7ApEaQ2YfF3cYJBGicpAIRfsiI" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. Johnson & Johnson continues to insist the product is safe, but a 2018 Reuters investigation <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/johnsons-baby-powder-asbestos-2623643052.html" target="_self">found</a> that the company had known its talc products sometimes tested positive for asbestos since at least 1971 and had failed to inform the public.</p><p>"It means no more little girls are going to go through what we went through," Krystal Kim, who was part of a victorious lawsuit against the company in 2018 after developing ovarian cancer following a lifetime use of the baby powder, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/business/johnson-baby-powder-sales-stopped.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR0uzUgZqUqB-xFaeKz1d9eUGW74R3RfmbKLdraU4w5YVXr0z__fLK2-tTI" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "This stops now. That monster is off the shelves."</p>
<p>Because talc and asbestos sometimes occur side by side, it is possible for talc to be contaminated with asbestos during the mining process. Thousands of women who used the product sued after developing ovarian cancer, which was linked to asbestos in 1958. A smaller number developed mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer often connected to asbestos. In October 2019, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/johnson--johnson-baby-powder-recall-asbestos-2641053013.html" target="_self">company recalled</a> 33,000 bottles after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found trace amounts of asbestos in one of them. Also in 2019, the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/oversight-subcommittee-s-year-long-investigation-leads-to-johnson-johnson" target="_blank">began</a> a 14-month investigation that showed Johnson & Johnson knew about the asbestos risks for decades.</p><p>"Today, in a major victory for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a>, Johnson & Johnson's asbestos-containing baby powder finally will be taken off store shelves," Subcommittee chair Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said in a statement.</p>
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<p>Johnson & Johnson continues to maintain that its product is safe, but blamed negative publicity for a drop in sales.</p><p>"Demand for talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising," the company wrote.</p><p>The company said it made the decision after it had paused shipping certain items in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. It said its current inventory of the powder would be sold, but no more would be produced for U.S. and Canadian markets. In the U.S., the product contributed only around 0.5 percent of the company's Consumer Health business.</p><p>Johnson & Johnson will continue to sell the product in other countries and to defend its safety in court.</p>
<p>Cornstarch baby powder, which the company developed in 1980 as an alternative once concerns of asbestos contamination were raised by health advocates, will continue to be sold in the U.S. and Canada, according to The New York Times.</p><p>Consumer advocates welcomed the news, but pointed out that Johnson & Johnson isn't the only company whose talc products pose a health risk.</p><p>"It's good news that Johnson & Johnson will soon end the sale of talc-based baby powders in the U.S. and Canada," <a href="https://www.ewg.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Working Group</a> (EWG) senior vice president for government affairs Scott Faber <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/major-win-consumers-johnson-johnson-ends-sale-talc-based-baby-powders?utm_campaign=EWG+Content&utm_content=1589935453&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR25bsStfQ_-Ciwc8pZnAlsUNIkqY3EB_G3fhFXPlvpJFXp1eWonwb8FHyw" target="_blank">said</a> in response to the news. "Now other companies need to follow their lead."</p>
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<p>Just last week, the EWG found asbestos in two talc Jmkcoz eyeshadow palettes. Asbestos was also found in Claire's cosmetics in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/claires-cosmetics-test-positive-for-asbestos-fda-warns-2630826087.html" target="_self">March</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/asbestos-claires-cosmetics-2638757734.html" target="_self">June</a> of 2019.</p>
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Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks on the coronavirus outbreak on March 12. SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Image
If elected president in November, Joe Biden will ax the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
<p>The long-delayed pipeline, which would carry around 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada to the U.S., was <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/breaking-president-obama-rejects-keystone-xl-pipeline-1882117930.html" target="_self">first rejected by the Obama administration</a> when Biden served as vice president. However, President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/state-department-approve-kxl-2326597009.html" target="_self">revived</a> it when he took office, and the Biden campaign had so far been silent on what Biden would do about the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> project if he defeats him. That silence ended Monday.</p><p>"Biden strongly opposed the Keystone pipeline in the last administration, stood alongside President Obama and Secretary Kerry to reject it in 2015, and will proudly stand in the Roosevelt Room again as President and stop it for good by rescinding the Keystone XL pipeline permit," Biden campaign policy director Stef Feldman wrote in a statement to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/18/biden-white-house-keystone-xl-permit-265041" target="_blank">POLITICO</a>.</p>
<p>In a fuller statement reported by CBC News's Katie Simpson, the Biden campaign used the occasion to criticize the Trump administration's attitude towards <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/science" target="_self">science</a>.</p><p>"He reversed our decision to not permit the Keystone pipeline without any further process or review, and contrary to the science and now his Administration and its allies are even using the coronavirus pandemic as cover for a stealth attack on environmental protections that keep us safe," the campaign wrote. "That denial of science ends on day one of a Biden presidency."</p>
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<p>When President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline in 2015, he did so partly because it would contribute to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, making him the first world leader to reject a major fossil fuel project for climate reasons. Biden reportedly opposed the project as early as 2013, saying he was "in the minority" of those in the administration who did, according to <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/18/joe-biden-campaign-said-he-would-rescind-keystone-pipeline-permit/5216015002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY</a>.</p><p>However, as a candidate, Biden did not join other primary contenders like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in signing the activist-supported "<a href="http://boldnebraska.org/democratic-presidential-candidates-sign-nokxl-pledge-to-stop-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-on-day-one-if-elected/" target="_blank">NoKXL Pledge</a>" to revoke the pipeline's permit on day one of their presidency.</p><p>His announcement Monday was met with enthusiasm by pipeline opponents.</p><p>"When Biden wins, KXL is finished, dead in the water, stake-in-the-heart dead," chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and longtime anti-pipeline activist Jane Kleeb said in an email to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/biden-kxl-1.5574515" target="_blank">CBC News</a>. "Biden just provided the last nail in the KXL pipeline coffin."</p>
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<p>Pipeline owner TC Energy did not respond immediately to POLITICO's request for a comment, but Biden's position could be a major hurdle for the project, which just <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-construction-montana-2645658110.html" target="_self">started construction in April</a>. There is no way the project, which is expected to take two years, will be complete before the November presidential election, according to CBC News. The pipeline also hit another legal roadblock this spring when a federal judge in Montana <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-waterways-endangered-species-2645978077.html" target="_self">revoked</a> a key permit it needs to cross streams.</p>
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Scientist Xinhua Yan works in Moderna's lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Feb. 28, 2020. David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe via Getty Images
A coronavirus vaccine tested on human volunteers appears to be safe and produce antibodies against the virus, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company Moderna announced Monday.
<p>The promising results are from Phase 1 of a clinical trial led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They have not been peer reviewed, and the vaccine now has to pass on to further tests of more people. But Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/18/health/coronavirus-vaccine-moderna-early-results/index.html" target="_blank">told CNN</a> that, if those studies go well, it could be ready by January 2021.</p><p>"This is absolutely good news and news that we think many have been waiting for for quite some time," Zaks said.</p>
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<p>The trial tested 45 people aged 18 to 55, according to Moderna and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/18/moderna-reports-positive-data-on-early-stage-coronavirus-vaccine-trial.html" target="_blank">CNBC</a>. Three groups of 15 received either a 25, 100 or 250 microgram dose two times, around 28 days apart. Participants who received the lowest dose produced antibodies comparable to those produced by people who recover from the virus, while those who received the medium dose produced substantially more antibodies than recovered COVID-19 patients.</p><p>What's more, the first eight participants to receive the low and medium doses produced neutralizing antibodies at levels comparable to people who have recovered from COVID-19. These are the kinds of antibodies that actually bind the virus and stop it from attacking other cells, CNN explained.</p>
<p>Data on neutralizing antibodies for the rest of the participants and any data for the highest dose was not yet available, according to CNBC.</p><p>So far, reported side effects have been mild. One of the volunteers in the low and medium dose groups experienced redness and soreness at the injection site on their arm, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/health/coronavirus-vaccine-moderna.html?campaign_id=51&emc=edit_MBE_p_20200519&instance_id=18599&nl=morning-briefing&regi_id=88631294&section=topNews&segment_id=28382&te=1&user_id=d8eb7cee9d3c5ab39515239b6ec54d19" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. In the high dose group, three participants experienced headaches, muscle aches and fevers that dissipated after a day. However, Zaks said the high dose would no longer be studied. This has less to do with its side effects than the fact that it is not needed to stimulate an immune response.</p>
<p>"The lower the dose, the more vaccine we'll be able to make," Zaks told The New York Times. "Demand is going to far outstrip supply so I think there is an ethical obligation to go with the lowest dose you can so you can make as much vaccine as possible."</p><p>Moderna's vaccine is one of more than 100 in development and one of eight being tested on humans, but it is the first to release data on a human trial, according to CNBC. It is necessary to develop multiple vaccines, The New York Times explained, because global demand is likely to far exceed what any one company can produce.</p>
<p>So far, the new coronavirus has sickened more than 4.8 million people worldwide and killed 318,833, according to Tuesday morning figures from <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a>. It has also caused global economic fallout as countries around the world have locked down to prevent its spread, and news of the vaccine helped Wall Street to have its best day in weeks Monday, according to The New York Times.</p><p>The Moderna vaccine, officially called mRNA-1273, uses genetic material called messenger RNA (mRNA). The New York Times explained how it works:</p><blockquote>The idea behind Moderna's vaccine is to inject the mRNA for part of the spike protein and have it slip into the cells of a healthy person, which then follow its instruction and crank out the viral protein. That protein should act as a red flag for the immune system, stimulating it to produce antibodies that will prevent infection by blocking the action of the spike if the person is exposed to the virus.</blockquote><p>Moderna has several mRNA vaccines in development, but none have yet gone on the market.</p><p>However, there is a broader question of how useful any vaccine will be against the new coronavirus, since scientists <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/get-coronavirus-twice-2645950946.html" target="_self">don't yet know</a> if a person who recovers from the virus is immune from getting it again, and therefore whether a vaccine will work.</p><p>"[T]he truth is, we don't know that yet," Zaks told CNN. "We are going to have to conduct formal efficacy trials where you vaccinate many, many people, and then you monitor them in the ensuing months to make sure they don't get sick."</p>
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A blue bee on a firebush in Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 10, 2016. Bob Peterson / CC BY 2.0
Scientists have "rediscovered" a rare blue bee that they feared was extinct.
<p>Until this spring, the "ultra-rare" blue calamintha bee (<em>Osmia calaminthae</em>) had only been observed in four locations in central Florida, and it hadn't been seen at all since 2016. So when <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/" target="_blank">Florida Museum of Natural History</a> research team Chase Kimmel and Jaret Daniels set out to document the bee's population status and habits, they weren't sure what they would find.</p><p>"I was open to the possibility that we may not find the bee at all so that first moment when we spotted it in the field was really exciting," Kimmel, a postdoctoral researcher, said in a museum <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/floridas-rare-blue-calamintha-bee-rediscovered/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
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<p>Kimmel first spotted the bee March 9, he told <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/16/rare-blue-calamintha-bees-spotted-lake-wales-ridge-florida/5207086002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY in an email</a>. Since then, he has spotted the elusive pollinator in three of its previous locations and six additiona locations, according to the museum.</p><p>The research could have important implications for the bee's chances of survival. Florida's State Wildlife Action Plan lists the bee as a species of greatest <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> need, and the study will help determine if it warrants <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections.</p><p>The bee is so vulnerable in part because it is thought to rely on a threatened plant called Ashe's calamint and live only in Florida's Lake Wales Ridge region, a hotspot of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> that the museum calls "one of the nation's fastest-disappearing ecosystems."</p>
<p>The ridge hosts so much unique life because, when most of Florida was underwater, it was raised above the waves in high sand dunes that acted like islands, giving isolated ecosystems a chance to flourish. Now, these habitats are islands of pine scrub in a sea of orange groves.</p><p>"It's one thing to read about habitat loss and development and another to be driving for 30-40 minutes through miles of orange groves just to get to a really small conservation site," Kimmel said. "It puts into perspective how much habitat loss affects all the animals that live in this area."</p>
<p>The bee also exhibits unique behaviors. It gathers pollen by bobbing its head side to side to collect it on its facial hairs. The very first time he saw the bee, Kimmel got a chance to see this in action.</p><p>"We observed a shiny little blue bee grabbing the flower and rubbing its head on the top portion of the flower two or three times before moving on to another flower," <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/16/us/florida-blue-calamintha-bee-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">Kimmel told CNN</a>. "In reading about this unique behavior we were pretty shocked to see it."</p><p>Kimmel and Daniels' research is set to last two years and determine the bee's feeding and nesting habits. So far, the team has found another plant the bee will use if it can't find Ashe's calamint.</p>
<p>The research has been hampered somewhat by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic, since travel restrictions mean Kimmel is in the field alone during the bee's flight season from mid-March to early May.</p><p>"It's a very time-limited flight. Now is when the bulk of that activity has to take place," Daniels, who is acting as Kimmel's adviser and is also the director of the museum's <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/index.php/mcguire/home/" target="_blank">McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity</a>, said in the press release. "Chase is doing a fantastic job and we're getting a lot of great data, but if it wasn't for the COVID-19 virus we would have had more people in the field, so it has definitely scaled back what we're able to do."</p>
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More than 700 New Yorkers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on April 18, 2019 to demand Governor Andrew Cuomo block the controversial Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline, which would carry fracked gas through New York Harbor. Erik McGregor / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images
New York state has rejected the controversial Williams pipeline that would have carried fracked natural gas from Pennsylvania through New Jersey, running beneath New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean before connecting to an existing pipeline system off Long Island.
<p>The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) <a href="https://www.dec.ny.gov/press/120414.html" target="_blank">announced</a> the decision Friday, arguing that pipeline construction would have harmed <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/water" target="_self">water</a> quality and threatened <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a>.</p><p>"New York is not prepared to sacrifice the State's water quality for a project that is not only environmentally harmful but also unnecessary to meet New York's energy needs," DEC spokesperson Erica Ringewald said in a statement <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2020/05/15/cuomo-administration-cites-new-climate-law-in-denying-controversial-new-york-new-jersey-pipeline-1284299" target="_blank">reported by POLITICO</a>.</p><p>The decision is a victory for grassroots activists who have long campaigned against the pipeline. After Oklahoma-based company Williams submitted its most recent application, New Yorkers sent in more than 25,000 comments opposing the pipeline in two weeks, <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bc942dbb10f255d8dde1e5c/t/5ebf10266fb5fa69a13fd327/1589579814146/%5BPRESS+RELEASE%5D+2020+Williams+NESE+Pipeline+Denial+With+Prejudice.pdf" target="_blank">according to the Stop the Williams Pipeline Coalition</a>.</p><p>"We know [New York State Gov. Andrew] Cuomo only did this because we pressured him to do so," anti-pipeline campaigner Lee Ziesche told <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cuomo-williams-pipeline_n_5ebdbe5dc5b6c9c1874157a6?ri18n=true" target="_blank">HuffPost</a>. "At the end of the day, he still needs to make a plan to get New York off of gas."</p>
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<p>The rejection comes a little less than a year after New York state passed ambitious <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grassroots-climate-campaign-new-york-2638905712.html" target="_self">climate legislation</a> requiring the state to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. That deadline is one of the reasons that NYSDEC rejected the pipeline, according to POLITICO.</p><p>"While the Department recognizes that many building assets in the State currently rely on natural gas for heating and other energy uses, the continued long-term use of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a> is inconsistent with the State's laws and objectives and with the actions necessary to prevent the most severe impacts from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a>," DEC wrote in a <a href="https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/permits_ej_operations_pdf/nesewqcdenial05152020.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> explaining its decision. "Without appropriate alternatives or GHG mitigation measures, the Project could extend the amount of time that natural gas may be relied upon to produce energy, which could in turn delay, frustrate, or increase the cost of the necessary transition away from natural gas and other fossil fuels."</p>
<p>NYDDEC also said that construction would disturb toxic sediments like copper and mercury and harm habitats like shellfish beds.</p><p>Williams disagreed with New York's assessment.</p><p>"We continue to believe that the fundamentals of our project align with New York's clean energy goals because it would have improved local air quality and, at the same time, supported economic development and led to lower heating bills," Williams said in a statement <a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2020/05/ny-rejects-controversial-pipeline-across-raritan-bay-nj-could-soon-do-the-same.html?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=NESE" target="_blank">reported by NJ.com</a>.</p><p>New York utility National Grid has argued that the pipeline is necessary to meet growing demand, according to HuffPost, but a study released in April by the <a href="https://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-proposed-nese-gas-pipeline-may-stick-nys-ratepayers-with-one-billion-dollar-cost/" target="_blank">Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis</a> found no evidence this was the case.</p>
<p>While the Williams pipeline, officially called the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline, has been rejected before by both New York and New Jersey officials, this rejection is more final, HuffPost explained. The previous rejection was without prejudice, meaning the pipeline owners were invited to reapply if they addressed environmental concerns. Friday's rejection was with prejudice.</p><p>"That's the end of the line," anti-pipeline campaigner and former NYSDEC regional director Suzanne Mattei told HuffPost. "A denial with prejudice means the department has determined the environmental impacts of the pipeline are unacceptable and that the company has not given it reason to believe that it can make changes to its proposal that would convert it into an acceptable proposal."</p><p>The project received yet another blow later Friday, when New Jersey also denied the pipeline the permits it would have needed to cross the state, NJ.com reported.</p>
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<p>"This month, new reporting from New York indicated that the energy needs proposed to be served by this project could be met through existing infrastructure, energy efficiency, and other means," the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said in a statement Saturday. "With no compelling public need demonstrated, and a denial issued by New York, DEP denied approvals for the project on May 15, 2020."</p>
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Trump Admin Denies Endangered Species Protections to Pacific Fishers Across Most of Their Range
15 May
Animals
A Pacific fisher. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Today is Endangered Species Day but the Trump administration isn't giving one imperiled critter much reason to celebrate.
<p>The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced Thursday it would deny <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections to the weasel-like Pacific fisher throughout most of its West Coast range, only protecting a subset of its population in the California Sierras.</p><p>"The Trump administration's denial of protection for fishers is an unwarranted gift to the timber industry that ignores key science on these at-risk animals," <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> director Noah Greenwald said in a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-administration-denies-endangered-species-protection-for-pacific-fisher-across-most-of-species-range-2020-05-14/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "These awesome forest weasels face huge threats, including the logging of their old-growth forest homes, rodenticide poisoning and a warming world. They absolutely should have been granted much broader safeguards."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1260989956425687041" id="twitter-embed-1260989956425687041" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1260989956425687041&created_ts=1589478408.0&screen_name=CenterForBioDiv&text=BREAKING%3A+The+Trump+administration+just+denied+Endangered+Species+Act+protection+to+Pacific+fishers+across+most+of%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FqVVe936JKH&id=1260989956425687041&name=Center+for+Bio+Div" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="7d530010ff8b1747528da6e1e709d904"></iframe>
<p>Tens of thousands of Pacific fishers once lived in the woods from Southern California to British Columbia, but, beginning in 1900, their numbers started to decline as trappers sought them for their pelts and loggers destroyed their habitat, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fishers-endangered/u-s-denies-full-protection-for-pacific-fisher-relative-of-the-weasel-idUKKBN22R06U" target="_blank">Reuters explained</a>. In recent years, they have also been threatened by rodenticides used to protect illegal marijuana farms and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>There are now only two populations: 100 to 500 in the southern Sierra Nevadas and around 3,000 in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Studies have shown that they are genetically distinct, the <a href="https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/23439-u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-to-protect-the-southern-sierra-nevada-population-of-fisher-as-endangered" target="_blank">Sierra Sun Times reported</a>. It is the first and smaller of these populations that FWS <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-09153.pdf" target="_blank">announced</a> Thursday it would protect as endangered.</p>
<p>The Sierra population does face unique threats, <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-announces-endangered-species-listing-of-sierra-nevada-fisher" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife explained</a>. It was listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act of 2016 and is partly at risk from climate-related <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trees" target="_self">tree</a> loss. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">Wildfires</a> burn through its habitat, and a drought from 2011 to 2015 combined with warmer temperatures led to a rise in native bark beetles, which killed more than 130 million trees in the Sierra Nevada region.</p><p>FWS argued that the larger population did not need protection because it was not in danger of extinction, "nor likely to become so in the foreseeable future," Reuters reported.</p>
<p>The agency also determined that existing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> efforts were already ensuring the success of the northern population.</p><p>"Voluntary conservation efforts by state and private timber owners have contributed to the Northern California-Southern Oregon population of fisher appearing stable within a large range of suitable habitat," Paul Henson, state supervisor for the FWS Oregon office, told the Sierra Sun Times. "Over two million acres of private land have been enrolled under six conservation agreements protecting existing and promoting new fisher habitat, with three additional applications in process. The heavy lifting done by our partners greatly alleviates the need for regulation."</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> advocates disagreed.</p><p>"While the decision to list the Sierra Nevada fisher is a great step towards the recovery of this critically imperiled population, it is disappointing to see the West Coast population left without protections," Pamela Flick, California program director for Defenders of Wildlife, said in a press release. "Both populations face a wide variety of threats and need federal protections in order to survive and thrive."</p>
<p>Even this much protection has been the result of a long fight, as CBD explained:</p><blockquote>The Center for Biological Diversity, along with Sierra Forest Legacy, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and others first petitioned for endangered species protections for fishers in 2000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found they warranted protection in 2004, but that such protection was precluded by listing of other species. Following further litigation, the agency proposed protection for the fisher in 2014, but again reversed course in 2016 denying protection. Represented by Earthjustice, the groups sued and the decision was remanded resulting in the species again being proposed for protection in 2019 and then finally again partially denied today.</blockquote><p>Greenwald told Reuters that CBD was looking at Thursday's ruling to decide whether to bring another court challenge.</p>
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