Natural Resources

"The blue crabs crossed the Atlantic as stowaways, and with no natural predators they’re overtaking Italy’s marine ecosystem."

"A company developing an industrial-scale solar panel array on Badger Mountain in Eastern Washington has paused permitting activities on the project amid concerns about impacts to Indigenous cultural sites." "The decision comes after an investigation by High Country News and ProPublica found that a land survey funded by the developer omitted more than a dozen sites of archaeological or cultural significance."

"Earth’s warming could trigger sweeping changes in the natural world that would be hard, if not impossible, to reverse."

"An Australian start-up is hoping fungi can pull carbon dioxide from the air and stash it underground. It’s one of several ventures trying to deploy the superpowers of soil to slow global warming."

"The world is currently seeing the fastest-spreading, largest-ever outbreak of H5N1, a highly contagious, deadly strain of avian influenza. Scientists say this virus now presents an existential threat to the world’s biodiversity, with the risk to humans rising as it continues to leap the species barrier, reaching new host species."

"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."

"In a decision that could end a years-long battle over commercial extraction of water from public lands, the U.S. Forest Service has ordered the company that sells Arrowhead bottled water to shut down a pipeline and other infrastructure it uses to collect and transport water from springs in the San Bernardino Mountains."

"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."