More than 400 Added to Extinction List
Ring-tailed lemurs on Madagascar More than 400 plants and animals have been added to the “Red List” of species that are considered at risk of extinction…
Farewell to the Ancient Nautilus
They survived that Fifth Great Extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. They even survived the Fourth (Permian) Extinction that wiped out 90…
Reconciling Faith with Pessimism
Some noteworthy remarks by Chris Hedges on Bill Moyers weekly “Moyers and Company” show on PBS yesterday. They should resonate with any of us who are…
Bird Flu Outbreak in Hong Kong
Just as a team of Dutch researchers are pushing to publish the details of how they created an easily-transmitted mutation of the deadly bird flu virus, H5N1 has struck yet again in Hong Kong.
Infections Are Becoming Untreatable
In case you’ve missed it so far, this is Get Smart About Antibiotics Week. That means the Centers for Disease Control is trying to warn us all about the danger that’s posed by our growing resistance to antibiotics.
How Seven Billion Humans Leads to Mass Extinction
This week, the world population reached 7 billion people eking out a living. By the end of the century, it will top 10 billion. Overpopulation and overconsumption are the root causes of the environmental destruction of our planet.
When Will Flu Season Become Contagion?
As we encroach further into tropical rainforests, often laying them waste for commercial plantations, we come into closer contact with other animals carrying viruses and other pathogens against which we have no immunity.
Dangerous Pipeline Is Center Stage at Wall Street Protests
Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben has joined the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York City’s Washington Square Park.
Too Hot? Get Used to It!
Too hot? Too cold? Get used to it: this is what climate change is all about. The facts are now indisputable: The Earth is warming up, and we are largely responsible.
Ocean Life Facing Mass Extinction
“Over-fishing is now estimated to account for over 60 percent of the known local and global extinction of marine fishes,” said William Cheung, in a new study.
Polar Bear’s Longest Swim
A polar bear swims 426 miles non-stop for nine consecutive days in search of food – a record beyond anything ever seen or imagined. Why won’t the federal government list polar bears as endangered?
WikiLeaks Report on Bird Flu
One of secret cables published by WikiLeaks relates to plans regarding the possible spread of bird flu into the human population of New Zealand. Excerpts from…
Has the Aflockalypse Begun?
There are lots of theories about why birds have been falling out of the sky. But while it’s surely sad for the birds, what’s happening is small potatoes compared to what else is happening to animals around the nation and beyond
WikiLeaks: Dalai Lama Urges Focus on Climate Change in Tibet
The Dalai Lama tells the U.S. that climate change in the Himalayas is more urgent than his nation’s political concerns with China
Australia Flood Called Disaster of Biblical Proportions
Floods could last for at least another month. Water continues to rise in parts of the state, and the city of Rockhampton is almost entirely cut off, with roads impassable and the airport under water. Animals are stranded. The worst may yet be to come
No Bang, No Whimper, No Vote
Seven years later, climate bill collapses in U.S. Senate It took seven years for a fairly straightforward, not-very-demanding energy conservation bill to die in the Senate…
‘Massive’ loss in life-sustaining eco-systems
United Nations warns loss of natural environments is close to irreversible The world is moving closer to several “tipping points” beyond which some ecosystems that play a part…
New Concerns about Rising Sea Levels
Sea levels are rising in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java.…
The Great African Die-Off
In 35 years, populations of lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhinos have declined almost 60 percent on average. Why?
Extinction Rates Multiply
Humans wiping out species at 1,000 times the natural rate Eight years ago, world governments made a pledge to bring to a halt the catastrophic loss…