By George Monbiot
This will not be an easy article to write. I am about to put down 1,200 words in support of a book that starts by attacking me and often returns to this sport. But it has persuaded me that I was wrong. More to the point, it has opened my eyes […] Read More »
By Martin Wells
The manifest good nature of dolphins, who have every reason to be leery of people (we swipe their fish, drown them in nets, and sometimes even shoot or spear them), is infectious. One can only hope that these occasional encounters do as much good for the dolphins concerned, because a dolphin […] Read More »
The spread of potent diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease is getting a boost from the loss of biodiversity, concludes a new study. But there is still a lot to be learned about the complex interplay between diversity, disease and habitat change, the researchers say.
In theory, biodiversity could play two roles in […] Read More »
Which nation is more sustainable: Albania or Angola? Before you place your bet, you might want to consult a new mathematical model that tries to improve efforts to grade countries on how they manage their resources for the long-term.
Although even experts don’t agree on exactly what “sustainability” means, there have been numerous efforts to […] Read More »
Fewer. Smaller. And things could get worse in a warmer climate. Those are just a few of the conclusions reached by a massive new study that tries to tease out the fundamental effects that industrial air pollution has on organisms and ecosystems – and some recommendations for better focusing future research.
For decades, ecologists have […] Read More »
It’s an argument oft heard in conservation circles: Endangered ecosystems are chock full of chemical compounds that could be the next big blockbuster drug — but these life-saving compounds are lost every time a species goes extinct. Estimating the financial value of biodiversity, however, has been a complicated calculation. Now, researchers have put a number […] Read More »
Cities are growing – and so too is the study of urban ecosystems. A hefty new review finds that, after decades of disinterest, ecologists are piling up new insights into how urbanization can influence everything from soil bacteria to bird calls. Now, studies of the “anthrome” – the human-dominated, or anthropogenic biome – are poised […] Read More »
The toll is horrendous. Each year, some 100 people – and 50 elephants – are killed in farmer-pachyderm clashes around some of Sri Lanka’s lush rice paddies. Now, two researchers are wondering if a rice “deodorant” could reduce the carnage.
The tiny island nation of Sri Lanka is home to 20 million people and about […] Read More »
Restoring urban streams bruised by decades of abuse is hard enough. Pulling off a restoration project that is backed both by informed, supportive neighbors and good science is even harder. But along College Creek in Ames, Iowa, researchers, government officials and local residents have teamed up to show just how it might be done.
A […] Read More »
Maybe sewage could offer salvation. Wetlands built to filter sewage and polluted runoff have become essential habitat for some of the world’s endangered waterbirds, but pose disease risks and other problems. Now, two recent studies offer some insight into the potential conservation promise – and peril – of artificial swamps.
One of the studies, published […] Read More »
It’s an old story: environmental protections laws enacted with the highest hopes end up entangled in lawsuits for years or even decades due to vague wording. But there may be a way to avoid the legal gridlock, argue two Australian scholars: Road test proposed rules in mock trials in “moot courts” before they get chiseled […] Read More »
Nobody’s against cleaner, greener neighborhoods. But some social scientists have worried that cleaning up could end up clearing out the poor residents who often live around polluted sites. Now, a study from Portland, Oregon looks for a link between gentrification and environmental clean-up.
Researchers have long documented the impact of LULUs — “locally undesirable land […] Read More »
For years, scientists have wondered whether it’s possible to turn the mosquito’s ability to spread malaria into a weapon against diseases that plague humans and wildlife. But no one had been able to genetically alter the insects to deliver vaccines—until now. A pioneering group of Japanese scientists has used mosquitoes to inoculate lab mice […] Read More »
Some researchers have argued that a warming world will favor the spread of parasites that cause malaria. But by examining the history of malaria distribution, a new paper in Nature finds that a few public-health strategies will do more than enough to counteract the coming malaria risk.
A team led by Peter Gething of […] Read More »
You already know your carbon footprint. How about your nitrogen footprint? Researchers have calculated how much nitrogen pollution is produced by the production of common foods. Ultimately, they hope the approach might help consumers curb nutrient pollution that is creating oxygen-poor “dead zones” in many coastal seas.
Over the past few decades, researchers have […] Read More »
