More than 80% of the world’s people say they belong to a religious group. Now, a survey of religious affiliations in 125 nations with important biodiversity “hotspots” suggests that the faithful could become important partners in building support for conservation.
“Although some religious doctrines have been questioned over their exploitative approach to the living world, […] Read More »
Things are changing along the Ituxi River, a waterway that leads deep into one of the remotest parts of Brazil’s Amazon forest. Once, the river was “highly populated,” a villager told researcher Luke Parry. But “today it has ten times fewer people than before.”
It was a story that Parry, then an environmental […] Read More »
By Eric Wagner
The View from Lazy Point
A Natural Year in an Unnatural World
By Carl Safina
Henry Holt, 2011
A few years ago, a cottage near Montauk on Long Island finally became so shabby that, as Carl Safina puts it, even he could afford it. Safina’s books tend to be about wanderers, be […] Read More »
By Bucky McMahon
IT’S 5 A.M., THE TREMULOUS HOUR, and I’m reading by lamplight at the tiny hotel-room desk when the predawn adhan, the Muslim prayer song, begins. The five-times-daily serenade, beautifully sung, is one of my favorite things about Malé, capital of the Maldives. That and the absence of dogs, which are banned […] Read More »
What is it about certain anniversaries that make them sweeter than others? Perhaps it’s being able to look back with a sense of satisfaction—while looking ahead with enthusiasm.
Ten years, 40 issues, and hundreds of stories later, the magazine can happily reflect on both. Our recipe? Exploring environmental topics from novel angles, using cutting-edge […] Read More »
Mention “bushmeat hunting” or “invasive species” to a typical conservation biologist, and you’re likely to hear groans. Both threaten ecosystems around the world. In Brazil’s massive Pantanal wetland, however, the two problems are adding up to a conservation solution, researchers report in the journal Oryx. It’s an unexpected story involving war, pigs and a collection […] Read More »
Bad news, it’s said, races round the world before good news rises from its bed. But if conservation researchers want to protect biodiversity, they’ll need to do a better job of delivering news that builds hope, two researchers argue.
“Much excellent research has emphasized the severity of threats facing biodiversity,” Stephen T. Garnett of Australia’s […] Read More »
One fig tree sprouted from the 14th floor of an apartment house. Others clung to sheer facades, creating a kind of vertical urban oasis. Overall, a recent survey spotted nearly 700 trees and shrubs naturally sprouting from buildings in busy Hong Kong. The results highlight the unusual urban “forests” that have found a way to […] Read More »
Advocates often tout the advantages of solar energy for poor people living in developing nations. Even a rudimentary panel wired to a light bulb, for example, can bring light to villages far from the closest electric line. A new study from the island nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG), however, reveals how even well-funded efforts […] Read More »
Milk. New greenhouse gases. Exotic earthworms. Those are just a few of 15 emerging issues that could have a substantial impact on conservation this year, according to a recent “horizon scanning” exercise.
Last year, more than 150 scientists and specialists were asked to identify one to four issues that “might affect species, ecosystems, or regions […] Read More »
Things are changing along the Ituxi River, a waterway that leads deep into one of the remotest parts of Brazil’s Amazon forest. Not long ago, the river was “highly populated,” a villager told researchers. But “today it has ten times fewer people than before.”
It was a story the researchers heard often in 2007, as […] Read More »
It’s a long-running debate in certain circles: Does having the ballot benefit the bees and the butterflies? Or would a dictator do a better job of protecting the environment? Now, two researchers throw a new view into the mix with a study of the links between democracy and deforestation.
“The field of deforestation has proven to be […] Read More »
“Parasite” shouldn’t be a dirty word. That’s the plea from two biologist who find that conservation textbooks largely ignore one of Earth’s most common – and influential – life forms.
Word experts say we can thank the Medieval French for coining “parasite,” which – roughly translated – means “one who eats from another’s table.” Today, […] Read More »
It’s an old saw among officials responsible for protecting everything from porcupines to penguins: “We don’t manage wildlife, we manage people.” Now, researchers in New Zealand have put a neon twist on preventing people from bugging wildlife. They found that simply placing a volunteer wearing a bright orange vest at a waterfall frequented by fur […] Read More »
Environmentalists have never been very good at predicting the apocalypse, but that doesn’t keep us from trying. Such was the case in 1968, when Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb. Seven years later, he warned that hundreds of millions of people would starve due to widespread famine and that society would enter a “genuine […] Read More »
