Earth Wise

Complex ecosystems often create complex interrelationships between animals.  One of the more surprising ones is that between waterbirds and alligators in the Florida Everglades. It turns out that alligators like to hang out near the nests of birds like egrets, ibises, and herons – which is no big surprise.  However, the birds actually prefer to […]

Plastics are the ubiquitous workhorse material of the modern economy.  Their use has increased 20-fold in the past half century, and production of plastics is expected to double again in the next 20 years. According to Eco Watch, the average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic every year.  In total, we toss out […]

Spring is the time of the great monarch migration when the butterflies leave their wintering grounds in Mexico and head north to Canada.  As we have been saying for quite some time, fewer and fewer butterflies have been making the trek each year.  Twenty years ago, a billion monarchs swarmed the winter site in Mexico.  […]

We recently highlighted how safe drinking water is in short supply.  According to research published in the journal Science Advances, at least two thirds of the global population – more than four billion people – live with severe water scarcity for at least one month every year.  And 500 million people around the world face […]

As the climate warms, all sorts of things are happening in the environment.   We know about shrinking ice caps, retreating glaciers, strange winter weather, and so forth.  But there are other things that may happen that are unexpected and puzzling. One of these is that bison in North America are likely to shrink as the climate warms.  […]

The Interior Department has recently defined a “Wind Energy Area”, consisting of about 81,000 acres, located 11 miles south of Long Island.  The designation is a first step to opening up the acreage for large-scale, competitive wind energy leasing through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. New York could become one of the first Atlantic […]

Most people listening to this have seen a saltwater aquarium before, and many of those likely owned one at some point.  Maybe you still do.  The bright coral and even brighter fish can be found in offices, restaurants, hotels, and homes all over the world.   But National Geographic recently highlighted how bringing a bit of […]

Food shortages have always been a challenge for the Inuit and other aboriginal people in the Arctic, because they depend on subsistence hunting and fishing, which often means living life on the edge. However, the recent dramatic changes in the weather in the Arctic have created unprecedented problems for indigenous peoples. The decades-long trend of […]

The biggest Internet companies have been embracing renewable energy for years now.  The company that bought the largest amount of clean energy last year was Google, which has three times the renewable capacity of the next biggest user.  Other familiar names in the top ten companies in total wind and solar capacity include Amazon, Facebook, […]

The number of African rhinos poached in 2015 set a new record, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.  Some 1,338 were killed, which is the highest level since the current poaching crisis began in 2008.  Since that time, nearly 6,000 African rhinos have been killed. Extensive poaching for the illegal trade in […]