From cryosphere to blogosphere, sea ice enthusiasts track Arctic melt
To some, watching sea ice melt — each floe dissolving slowly away into the Arctic Ocean — might seem the cold-weather equivalent of watching paint dry. But for the roughly…
Arctic News
As Arctic sea ice shows record decline, scientists prepare to go blind
In March 2017, when Arctic sea ice is typically at its maximum winter extent, circling U.S. satellites recorded an extent of just 5.57 million square miles — the lowest maximum…
Microalgae genes help them adapt to harsh oceans, other species less lucky
Picture the blue whale, the largest known animal ever to have lived. This endangered mammal can grow up to 30 metres (about 98 feet) and weigh 173 tonnes; it has…
Top 10 HAPPY environmental stories of 2016
As always, Mongabay covered a mix of environmental stories this year. While some species went extinct, several new species were discovered. Some forests were wiped out, but others were restored. Below, we take a look…
Sea ice extent tumbles around both poles in November
Water and air temperatures and shifts in wind patterns conspired to hold down sea ice extent, setting record lows for the month of November in both the Arctic and the…
400-year-old Greenland shark might be oldest vertebrate on Earth
Greenland sharks, living in the cold, deep waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, are one of the largest sharks in the world -- they can grow up to…
The ‘raven’ whale: scientists uncover new beaked whale
If humans need a reminder of our collective ignorance about the natural world than here’s a really good one: scientists believe they have discovered a new species of whale. You…
From buying tech to building it
WildTech asks Dr. Henrik Rasmussen of Savannah Tracking about shifting careers from biologist to engineer.
New dams may expose Canadian seafood consumers to higher levels of neurotoxin
Native people have lived along what is now Canada’s rugged north Atlantic coastline for thousands of years, fishing and hunting marine mammals for sustenance. New research in the Proceedings of…
Shell ends Arctic oil bid
il company Shell announced today that it will seal and abandon its exploration well in the Chukchi Sea, and will end its controversial quest for oil in Alaskan waters. The…
Surprise! Animals are active and plentiful during harsh, dark Arctic winters
Winters in the Arctic are long, cold and dark. Nights can last for many days — sometimes even months — plunging some areas into long periods of unbroken darkness. While…
Arctic sea ice reached fourth lowest extent on record this summer
Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum on September 11 this year and scientists say it appears the accelerated pace of sea ice decline has continued into 2015. According to…
Linking environmental and animal movement data sets: how the Movebank Env-DATA System helps to explain snowy owl foraging behavior
Researchers used this free online platform to better understand effects of climate and other environmental data on animal movements and predator-prey interactions.
Arctic countries prohibit commercial fishing in North Pole
On July 16, all five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean — the United States, Norway, Canada, Denmark, and Russia — signed an agreement that prohibits commercial fishing in the international…
Arctic Ocean acidifies, threatening food web and major fisheries
Scientists collected water samples to measure ocean acidification in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas on two research cruises aboard the US Coast Guard cutter Healy. Photo credit: Jeremy Mathis…
U.S. gov’t gives conditional approval for offshore Arctic drilling
Chukchi, where the proposed exporatory drilling is to take place, is home to about 2,000 polar bears. The species is currently declining as global warming melts the sea ice on…
The great Arctic decline: another sea ice record broken
Polar bear and cub. Declining sea ice has made it more difficult for some polar bear populations to find enough food and rear cubs. Photo by: Scott Schliebe/USFWS. Every winter,…
Arctic upheaval: new book outlines challenges at the top of the world
Chukotkan dancers. Subsistence hunting will be increasingly difficult for the Inuit who depend on marine mammals in the Arctic to provide them with food and materials for clothing. Photo by:…
The only solution for polar bears: ‘stop the rise in CO2 and other greenhouse gases’
Steven Amstrup will be speaking at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on October 11th, 2014. In 1773, an expedition headed by Constantine John Phipps, the Second Baron…
Throng of 35,000 walruses is largest ever recorded on land, sign of warming arctic
No longer able to find sea ice, walruses turn to land to rest, breed, give birth A mass of thousands of walruses were spotted hauled up on land in northwest…
‘We will win this war’: Yeb Saño speaks out on global warming
Yeb Saño joins Greenpeace Arctic voyage to underline severity of climate change, has hope cooperative efforts can reduce impact Ahead of the upcoming Climate Change Summit to be held in…
Scientists can now accurately count polar bears…from space
Polar bears are big animals. As the world's largest land predators, a single male can weigh over a staggering 700 kilograms (about 1,500 pounds). But as impressive as they are,…
Climate change’s ominous secret
Climate change is happening and humans are causing it, primarily from the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by burning fossil fuels. This much we know. The "secret" comes from…
31 activists arrested attempting to stop Arctic oil from docking in Europe
Dutch police arrested 31 Greenpeace activists today, who were attempting to block the Russian oil tanker, Mikhail Ulyanov, from delivering the first shipment of offshore Arctic oil to the European…
From seals to starfish: polar bears radically shift diet as habitat melts
One of the most iconic species of the ongoing climate change drama, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have dropped in numbers as their habitat melts, with previous estimates forecasting a further…
Apocalypse now? Climate change already damaging agriculture, acidifying seas, and worsening extreme weather
It's not just melting glaciers and bizarrely-early Springs anymore; climate change is impacting every facet of human civilization from our ability to grow enough crops to our ability to get…
Europe votes for an Arctic Sanctuary
Yesterday, the European Parliament passed a resolution supporting the creation of an Arctic Sanctuary covering the vast high Arctic around the North Pole, giving official status to an idea that…
Ocean acidifying 10 times faster than anytime in the last 55 million years, putting polar ecosystems at risk
An assessment of ocean acidification, presented at the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw in November 2013, starkly concluded that acidity is on track to rise 170 percent by the…
Alaska roasting: new NASA map shows the Final Frontier in grip of January heatwave
Temperatures in Alaska from January 23-30, 2014 as compared to same period average from 2001-2010. Image by: NASA. Alaska got California weather at the end of January, as displayed by…
Shell drops plans to drill in the Arctic for now
Facing plunging profits, Royal Dutch Shell has announced it will cut exploration and development funding by nearly $10 billion this year, including halting their long-suffering plans to drill in the…
Predator appreciation: how saving lions, tigers, and polar bears could rescue ourselves
Lioness feeding. Photo by: Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson. In the new book, In Predatory Light: Lions and Tigers and Polar Bears, authors Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, Sy Montgomery, and John…
Underestimating global warming: gaps in Arctic temperature data lead scientists and public astray
Thickly packed sea ice in the Arctic from a photo taken in 1949. One day thick, stable sea ice in the Arctic will likely be a thing of the past…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- First-ever assessment highlights threats to Atlantic cold-water corals
- Major coral loss in Vietnam’s first marine protected area: Study
- When heat waves hit, clownfish shrink to survive, study finds
- Samoa’s new marine spatial plan protects 30% of the country’s ocean
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- Indigenous Amazonians win landmark ruling against mercury pollution in Colombia
- Indigenous Bajo suffer child deaths & toxic sludge amid green energy push
- ‘Colombia’s Amazon peoples provide solutions’: Interview with José Homero Mutumbajoy
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
