Environmental Studies

"At least 112 North American bird species have lost more than half their populations in the past 50 years, according to a new report published Thursday. Among the birds showing the steepest declines are Allen’s hummingbirds, Florida scrub jays, golden-cheeked warblers, tricolored blackbirds and yellow-billed magpies."

"The former congressman who drew scrutiny for anti-vaccine views did not appear to have the votes for confirmation amid a measles outbreak, according to people familiar."

"Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife."

"The Trump administration on Wednesday announced it will reconsider the reach of the nation’s bedrock clean water law and likely further limit the wetlands it covers, building on a Supreme Court decision two years ago that removed federal protections for significant areas."

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday began plans to lay off 10% of its current workforce, people inside and outside the agency said, with some of them requesting anonymity due to fear of retribution."

"Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, said the agency’s mission was to make it cheaper to buy cars, heat homes and run businesses."

Jack is a blue heeler mix and [Collette] Yee is his bounder, a term for people who work with conservation detection dogs at Rogue Detection Teams in Rice, Washington. Bounders and their dogs assist biologists in locating hidden, hard-to-find and invisible samples in the wild, from plants to pangolins to poop. And Yee and Jack proved to be the quite the duo."

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the nation’s premier agency for weather and climate science, has been told by the Trump administration to prepare to lose another 1,000 workers, raising concerns that NOAA’s lifesaving forecasts might be hindered as hurricane and disaster season approaches."

"Officials in the Western U.S. who warn the public about avalanches are sounding a different type of alarm. They say they’re worried that the Trump administration firing hundreds of meteorologists and other environmental scientists could hinder life-saving forecasts that skiers and mountain drivers rely on."