Biodiversity

Things related to the web of life; ecology; wildlife; endangered species

Earth Has Lost 1/5 Of Wetlands Since 1700; Most Could Still Be Saved

"Like so many of the planet's natural habitats, wetlands have been systematically destroyed over the past 300 years. Bogs, fens, marshes and swamps have disappeared from maps and memory, having been drained, dug up and built on. Peatlands, a particular type of wetland, store at least twice the carbon of all the world's forests."

Source: The Conversation, 02/14/2023

Koalas, Under Pressure From Wildfires and Development, Are Beloved But Undefended

The cuteness of the fuzzy koala appears not to be winning it special protection in its native Australia, despite dwindling numbers, per a new volume on the endangered marsupial. BookShelf contributor Melody Kemp offers praise for “Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future,” with a review that begins amusingly with bodily functions but ends dispiritedly with yet more koala habitat lost to housing tracts and wildfire.

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"Biden and Lula Project Unity On Democratic Values And Climate Change"

"U.S. President Joe Biden met on Friday with Brazilian leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a reboot of relations between the hemisphere's two largest democracies after the end of Donald Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro's stormy rule."

Source: Reuters, 02/13/2023

SEJ Panel Gauges Issues in the Works in the U.S. West

As part of our 2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment special report, we’ve got highlights from last week’s reporter panel on the year ahead, led by #SEJ2023 conference co-chair Tom Michael (pictured, left). The focus was largely on the U.S. West, where challenges abound over issues like equitable siting of renewable energy infrastructure, regulating natural gas, managing wildfires and addressing the health consequences of climate-driven heat waves. Read our account, plus check out the full 2023 Guide.

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"Mexican Avocados Shipped For Super Bowl Named In Complaint"

"One year after the Super Bowl season was marred by a ban on Mexican avocado shipments, another threat has emerged: An environmental complaint that avocado growers are destroying forests that provide critical habitat for monarch butterflies and other creatures."

Source: AP, 02/10/2023

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