Natural Resources

"The heat, a new study suggests, makes for an ideal breeding ground for these eight-legged animals."

"Even bird enthusiasts will admit the southwestern willow flycatcher isn’t very flashy. But in studying the DNA of this brownish-olive songbird, scientists say they have found something remarkable: evidence that the endangered bird is adapting at the genetic level to climate change."

"The Texas ranch where Gilda Jackson trains and sells horses has been plagued by grasshoppers this year, a problem that only gets worse when the hatch quickens in times of heat and drought."

"Brazilian space research center INPE said on Wednesday that carbon emissions in the Amazon forest soared in 2019 and 2020 compared to the previous decade due to poor enforcement of environmental protection policies."

"The Department of Interior announced on Tuesday that it had reinstated Obama-era safety rules for offshore drilling that were created in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe that killed 11 people and fouled the Gulf of Mexico."

"Ecuadorean referendums to ban oil drilling in a part of the Amazon and mining in a forest outside Quito easily passed, drawing cheers on Monday from Indigenous leaders and environmentalists despite warnings from oil and mining groups about billions of dollars in lost income."

"Climate change is one of the top five drivers of extinction, but it’s not always a zero-sum game. In general, scientists expect species will have to move upward in elevation or latitude to cope in a warming world. However, in California, many animals have been adapting to their mutating environments in ingenious ways."

"Mexico introduced six new national parks and seven flora and fauna protection areas covering 17,918 hectares (44,276 acres) to be overseen by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp)."

"NOAA’s five-year plan to strengthen the domestic seafood market includes establishing dozens of open-pen fish farms up to three miles offshore. But some experts worry about the well-being of marine mammals, the expansion of dead zones from fish excrement, and infringement on wild fishing grounds."

"This summer a Tribal ceremony celebrated the return of sacred fish, lost for generations."