Climate Change Series

The digital economy's environmental footprint is threatening the planet

Dec 09, 2019 04:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology Nature

Modern society has given significant attention to the promises of the digital economy over the past decade. But it has given little attention to its negative environmental footprint. Our smartphones rely on rare earth...

Invasive grasses are fueling wildfires across the US

Dec 04, 2019 12:20 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The Santa Ana winds that help drive fall and winter wildfires in California have died down, providing welcome relief for residents. But other ecological factors contribute to fires in ways that scientists are still...

Climate Change Series

Did people or climate kill off the megafauna? Actually, it was both

Dec 04, 2019 12:12 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Earth is now firmly in the grips of its sixth mass extinction event, and its mainly our fault. But the modern era is definitely not the first time humans have been implicated in the extinction of a wide range of...

Australia's threatened birds declined by 59% over the past 30 years

Dec 03, 2019 14:11 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Australias threatened birds declined by nearly 60% on average over 30 years, according to new research that reveals the true impact on native wildlife of habitat loss, introduced pests, and other human-caused...

The bizarre and ecologically important hidden lives of mosquitoes

Dec 03, 2019 03:38 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Mosquitoes. Hordes of them, buzzing in your ear and biting incessantly, a maddening nuisance without equal. And not to mention the devastating health impacts caused by malaria, Zika virus and other pathogens they...

Students become school boiler-room sleuths to assess climate change risks

Dec 03, 2019 03:33 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

​In the fall of 2012, New York City received the brunt of an unprecedented storm. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, also referred to as Superstorm Sandy, the stock market closed for two days. Some of the citys subway...

Colombia: being an environmental activist in some countries is much more dangerous than in others

Dec 03, 2019 03:26 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Climate change, plastic pollution, rising sea levels environmentalists in developed countries are calling for action on the planetary emergency. But when environmentalists are brave enough to speak out in places like...