Biodiversity

"Along any busy roadway, the remnants of car exhaust hang in the air, among them nitrogen oxides and ozone. These pollutants, which are also released by many industrial facilities and power plants, float through the air for hours to years. Scientists have long known that these chemicals are harmful to human health. But now, a growing body of evidence suggests that these same pollutants also make life harder for insect pollinators and the plants that rely on them."

"Dozens of tree planting campaigns are launched in different countries annually to help suck CO2 out of the air. But often, there is no real climate benefit. What is going wrong and how can it be done better?"

"Perched on a nest atop a green navigation marker in Maryland’s Harris Creek, the osprey glared, spread its wings and started hopping as a boatload of people drew near."

"On the whooshing Watauga River, excavators claw at the remains of Shulls Mill Dam, pulling concrete apart piece by piece and gradually opening a waterway kept in check for nearly two centuries."

"Patsy Hirsch and her husband moved to an Elgin subdivision nearly three decades ago, drawn by a backyard thicket of oak, hickory and cherry trees so dense the canopy blotted out the sun."

"Ocean temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef are now the hottest in at least 400 years and are an “existential threat” to the planet’s unique natural wonder, according to new scientific research."

"Less than half of stunned or injured birds survive a collision with a window, research has found, pushing up estimates that more than 1 billion birds may die each year from flying into buildings in the US."

"A first-of-its-kind project brings down a dam with an eye toward a vulnerable salamander"

"Scientists believe artificial light may be affecting natural ecology of plant life by creating extended photosynthesis"

"Peru’s reclusive Mashco Piro ethnic group recently used bows and arrows to attack loggers suspected of encroaching on their territory in the Amazon, according to a regional Indigenous organization."