Study also says eating one serving of fish with PFAS could be equivalent to drinking contaminated water every day for a month.Continue readingFreshwater fish more contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’ than in oceans
Tag: biodiversity
Almost two-thirds of sharks and rays living on world’s coral reefs at risk, with 14 of 134 species reviewed critically endangered. “These sharks and rays have evolved over 450m…Continue reading‘Extinction crisis’ of sharks and rays to have devastating effect on other species, study finds
It’s lost 73% of its water and is unable to sustain some wildlife – and could soon negatively affect human health.Continue reading‘Last nail in the coffin’: Utah’s Great Salt Lake on verge of collapse
Fewer and fewer migrant species, which used to be seasonal fixtures, are flying to our shores as the climate crisis takes its toll on their habitat.Continue readingEmpty nests: why UK’s winter bird numbers are in sharp decline
Researchers say there has been a dramatic drop in particular in the number of female bears and cubs in Hudson Bay.Continue readingCanada polar bears declining at alarming rate, study finds
Scientists say loss may be as significant as ‘insectaggedon’ in terms of impact on soil, birds and ecosystems.Continue readingEarthworms may have declined by a third in UK, study reveals
Scientists behind car number plate study say ‘potentially catastrophic’ decline must be reversed.Continue readingFlying insect numbers plunge 64% since 2004, UK survey finds
Conservation groups warn not enough is being done to protect ecosystems as state government data shows more than 400,000ha of land was cleared in 2019-20.Continue readingCalls for tougher regulations as Queensland, Australia records highest rate of land clearing in country
Almost one fourth of Sweden’s last unprotected old-growth forest was logged between 2003 and 2019. At this rate, all of these ecologically unique and valuable forests will be lost…Continue readingStudy uncovers widespread and ongoing clearcutting of Swedish old forests
Scientists attempting to replicate a 1964 survey of freshwater bivalves in a stretch of the Thames near Reading found striking results, as native mussel populations had crashed by almost…Continue readingNative mussel numbers down almost 95% since 1960s
Illegal and unsustainable fishing, fossil fuel exploration, the climate crisis and disease are pushing marine species to the brink of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of…Continue readingMarine life hit by ‘perfect storm’ as red list reveals species close to extinction
At least 8 coalmining projects in Great Barrier Reef catchments and floodplains have been exempted from requiring environmental impact statements (EIS) by the Queensland government, with 6 already gaining…Continue readingCoal projects in Great Barrier Reef catchments approved without environmental impact statements
“At the moment,” writes Warren Hern, “we are the most misnamed species on the planet: Homo sapiens sapiens—’wise, wise man.’ Not.” Hern, 84, physician and adjunct professor of anthropology…Continue readingHumanity devouring itself and the planet
At the bottom of a crater in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20,000 people work at a cobalt mine, in shifts of 5,000 at a time.Continue readingDR Congo’s faltering fight against illegal cobalt mines
The heart-shaped Lake Eyre Basin covers about one-sixth of Australia. It contains one of the few remaining pristine river systems in the world. The Lake Eyre Basin is probably…Continue readingThe magnificent Lake Eyre Basin is threatened by 831 oil and gas wells, and more are planned
The stresses of warming temperatures and forest losses are driving dozens of species of monkeys and lemurs that normally shelter and feed high in the tree canopy to spend…Continue readingAnthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions driving monkeys and lemurs from trees to the ground
“We are getting hotter, drier summers and wetter winters and that is making trees more susceptible to disease. Climate change is already having some really significant effects”, said Rob…Continue readingDisease ravages UK’s fragile woodlands
Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in just under 50 years, according to a leading scientific assessment, as humans continue to clear forests, consume beyond…Continue readingAlmost 70% of animal populations wiped out since 1970, report reveals
Everybody likes trees. There is no anti-tree lobby. A global push to go beyond conservation of existing forests and start creating new ones goes back to 2011, when many…Continue readingPhantom Forests: Why Ambitious Tree Planting Projects Are Failing
Despite decades of social and environmental campaigns aimed at protecting the Amazon, the threats now are greater than they have ever been, thanks to the relentless expansion of activities…Continue readingLast stand in the Amazon
Some of the world’s biggest central banks are unwittingly helping to finance agri-business giants engaged in the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon. The banks buy corporate bonds issued by…Continue readingWorld’s central banks financing destruction of the rainforest
Nearly half of the planet’s bird species are in decline, according to a definitive report that paints the grimmest picture yet of the destruction of avian life. The State…Continue readingHalf of world’s bird species in decline as destruction of avian life intensifies
In 2014, Los Angeles cut its annual carbon emissions by 43% and saved $9 million in energy costs by replacing the bulbs in more than half of the city’s…Continue readingHow an effort to reduce fossil fuel use led to another environmental problem: Light pollution
The waters of the EU are in a “dismal” state, with only a third of fish populations studied in the north-east Atlantic considered to be in good condition, according…Continue readingEU slammed over failure to protect marine life from ‘destructive’ fishing
Out of 26 countries, Indonesia accounted for 58.2% of the tropical deforestation directly caused by industrial mining activities. The data covered 26 countries representing 76.7% of the total tropical…Continue readingIndustrial mining in Indonesia accounts for 45% of global tropical deforestation
Smoke from hundreds of wildfires has darkened skies over the Alaskan interior this summer with the state experiencing its fastest start to the fire season on record amid hot…Continue reading‘Nothing left to burn’: Wildfires blaze through the Arctic
Avian flu is a highly pathogenic strain of the H5N1 virus. Since its early detections in poultry and wild birds in the spring of 2021, this new strain has…Continue readingA new strain of avian flu is decimating wild birds. Humans should worry
One argument against deep seabed mining is the existence of previously unknown species in the deep sea, including the recently discovered pom-pom-like Biremis spaghetti worm and the delightfully weird…Continue readingTwo-year countdown for deep seabed mining
The number of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon hit a nearly 15-year high this week, according to official figures that provided the latest warning on the advancing destruction…Continue readingBrazil records worst day for Amazon fires in 15 years
A giant, gentle sea creature that belongs to the manatee family is now “functionally extinct” in China with no sightings recorded since 2008, a new study said. The dugong,…Continue reading‘Charismatic’ dugong sea mammal declared functionally extinct in China
Researchers found that a typical forest fire season now burns 3 million more hectares (7.4 million more acres) than in 2001. Forest fires accounted for a quarter of global…Continue readingForest fires burn twice as many trees as two decades ago
An international team of researchers looked specifically at 25,000 species, including fish, bacteria, plants and protozoans living in the top 100 meters of the world’s oceans. They found that…Continue reading90% of marine species at risk of extinction by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed
Bumblebee populations have dropped throughout the United States and Europe as Earth has heated up. Research from 2020 found that the number of areas populated by the insects had…Continue readingBumblebee species stressed by climate change
Forest fires supercharged by climate change are burning twice as much global tree cover as 20 years ago. The equivalent of 16 football pitches are now lost every minute.…Continue readingClimate change driving unprecedented forest fire loss
The reputed home of the biblical Garden of Eden, Iraq’s swamplands have been battered by 3 years of drought and low rainfall, as well as reduced water flows along…Continue readingIraq’s Garden of Eden now ‘like a desert’
Forests from the Arctic to the Amazon are transforming at a “shocking” rate due to the climate crisis, with trees advancing into previously barren tundra in the north while…Continue readingGlobal heating has caused ‘shocking’ changes in forests across the Americas
Nearly every sea turtle born on the beaches of Florida in the past four years has been female. The spike in female baby turtles comes as a result of…Continue readingGlobal heating means almost every sea turtle in Florida now born female
The eastern two thirds of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet so large that if it melted the sea would rise by 52 meters (170 feet). An estimated…Continue readingTroubling new research about East Antarctica
The hippopotamus is one of the world’s heaviest land animals; males can weigh as much as 1,800kg, and they are often found in large groups. The animals are especially…Continue readingCall for hippos to join list of world’s most endangered animals
A team of researchers have found that the global forest area has declined by 81.7 million hectares from 1960 to 2019, equivalent to an area of more than 10%…Continue readingNew study finds global forest area has declined by 81 million hectares from 1960 to 2019
Mangroves are enormously valuable coastal ecosystems. Healthy mangrove ecosystems not only buffer shorelines against rising sea levels, but they also provide valuable protection against erosion, abundant carbon sinks, shelter…Continue readingClimate change killed 40 million Australian mangroves in 2015. Here’s why they’ll probably never grow back
In the last two years, fires have consumed nearly 20% of them, according to the Forest Service. In Kings Canyon, hundreds of giant sequoias have burned to death —…Continue readingGiant Sequoias Are Built to Withstand Fire, But Not These Fires
The 127-gram hatchling was found lying on its back in a rockpool near Sydney’s Tamarama beach. It was missing one of its four flippers, had a chip in another,…Continue readingTurtle pooed ‘pure plastic’ for six days after rescue from Sydney beach
Illegal ivory poaching once posed a significant threat to Kenya’s elephants. But now the giants of the animal kingdom are facing an even bigger risk: climate change. As Kenya…Continue readingClimate change is killing more elephants than poaching
The health of Australia’s environment is poor and has deteriorated over the past five years due to pressures of climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and mining. The…Continue readingAustralia State of the Environment Report
At a sprawling landfill near Madrid, hundreds of white storks dodge garbage trucks as they look for scraps of food among the mountains of multicoloured garbage bags. The birds…Continue readingStorks give up migrating to live on landfill in Spain
In 2015, French oil giant TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, to drill…Continue readingOil drilling to go ahead in Ugandan park despite threat to nature
The migratory monarch butterfly, a North American icon with a continent-spanning annual journey, now faces the threat of extinction. Thursday’s decision by the International Union for Conservation of Nature…Continue readingWhy monarch butterflies, now endangered, are on the ‘edge of collapse’
No organism on Earth is known to live as long as the Great Basin bristlecone pine. The oldest documented tree, a well-hidden specimen nicknamed “Methuselah,” after the long-lived biblical…Continue readingScientists rush to save 1,000-year-old trees on the brink of death
Salmon famously travel hundreds of miles upstream to reach their home waters to spawn, but climate change is shrinking their destination. A new study offers high-resolution details on how…Continue readingClimate change is shrinking and fragmenting salmon habitat
Millions of native animals, including wallabies, green rosellas, cockatoos and wombats have been killed in Tasmania, Australia, under property protection permits. In Tasmania, landowners can obtain property protection permits…Continue readingMillions of native animals killed under Tasmania’s property protection permits
One of the world’s biggest gliding mammals – the once common greater glider – has been pushed closer to extinction and is now officially endangered. The nocturnal marsupials, which…Continue readingGreater glider now endangered as logging, bushfires and global heating hit numbers
Unless urgent action is taken, emissions are expected to cause the planet to continue heating rapidly over the next few decades, prompting the global average temperature to overshoot the…Continue readingEven temporarily overshooting 2°C would cause permanent damage to Earth’s species
Scientists have been able quickly to prove that record-breaking temperatures are no natural occurrence. A study published last month showed that the south Asian heatwave was made 30 times…Continue readingBurning planet
Scientists estimate that Australia’s east coast estuaries are warming four times faster than anywhere else in the world. Prof Maria Byrne from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science says…Continue readingExperts warn the NSW South Coast marine environment is undergoing a ‘dynamic state of change’
Land clearing in New South Wales (NSW), Australia continues to exceed the long-term average. 51,400 hectares (127,012 acres) of woody vegetation was cleared across the state in 2020, a…Continue readingEmissions warning: calls to stop ‘skyrocketing’ land clearing in NSW
When the U.S. Forest Service started an intentional fire in the Santa Fe National Forest in early April, the aim was to reduce the risk of a destructive blaze.…Continue readingForest Service says it failed to account for climate change in New Mexico blaze