As COVID-19 spreads, commodity markets rumble
The images are stark. Smogless skies over Los Angeles. A drop in air pollution over northern Italy that’s so sharp it can be seen from space. Emissions from vehicles in…
Mongabay’s 20 most popular environmental stories for March 2020
Mongabay's traffic has continued to grow despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, with readership surpassing 12 million monthly pageviews for the first time. While COVID-19 stories have performed well for Mongabay…
COVID-19 disrupts a major year for biodiversity policy and planning
2020 was shaping up to be a good year for global policy on biodiversity. With momentum building from dire reports on biodiversity loss and climate change, policymakers were set for…
Audio: The links between COVID-19, wildlife trade, and destruction of nature with John Vidal
On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with acclaimed environmental journalist John Vidal about the coronavirus pandemic's links to the wildlife trade and the destruction of nature. Listen…
Ending illegal deforestation is good for our health (commentary)
When threatened, the pangolin — also known as the scaly anteater — curls up into a ball, hiding its head and face under its tail. While helpful in the short…
Idea that electric cars might produce as much emissions as fossil-fueled vehicles ‘essentially a myth’
Electric cars are intended to help mitigate the climate impacts of the transportation sector, which is responsible for about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But since electric vehicles, in…
Shell of bioluminescent shrimp not only glows but detects light
Surrounded by darkness, many deep-sea creatures emit light to help find prey or avoid predators. Scientists have long known that small organs called photophores are responsible for this bioluminescence. Now…
Tree plantations are not a climate solution (commentary)
It’s such a simple idea: plant a tree, let it grow, and each year it will capture more and more carbon from the atmosphere. This is the logic behind a…
In reporting on COVID-19, the front line is the screen in front of you (Commentary)
Every day for the past week or so, I have woken up only to find a daily dose of more than 300 messages on my mobile phone. Piled up overnight…
Study finds that sea turtles might be eating plastic because it smells like food
In late 2018, researchers announced that they had found synthetic particles like microplastics in the intestinal tracts of every single sea turtle they’d studied in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans…
This solar-powered device aims to clean 1,000 rivers. Will it work?
BOSTON/JAKARTA — It had rained all morning across Jakarta on the first Tuesday in February. The rivers in the Indonesian capital quickly filled up, carrying all kinds of debris toward…
Conservationists set the record straight on COVID-19’s wildlife links
The World Health Organization has categorized the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic in light of its spread around the world. Ever since the first cases emerged in the…
Brazil sets record for highly hazardous pesticide consumption: Report
Continued deregulation and fast tracking of new products under President Bolsonaro have helped secure Brazil’s place as the world’s largest user of very toxic pesticides.
US economy will take biggest hit if we continue with business as usual: report
New research finds that if humans carry on with business as usual and the environmental degradation that results, we will pay a steep price — quite literally. Researchers with WWF,…
Leaders on the cutting edge of conservation recognized on International Women’s Day
A list of 16 leaders doing impactful global climate change work are being honored ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8. The list was published by the Global…
Audio: Shah Selbe on how open source technology is creating new opportunities for conservation
On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with Shah Selbe, an engineer and technologist who founded Conservify, a conservation tech lab that uses open-source technologies to empower local…
Our 15 most popular conservation stories for February 2020
February 2020 set a record in terms of traffic across Mongabay.com and Mongabay.co.id, averaging 369,000 visits per day. Below are the 15 news.mongabay.com stories that racked up the most traffic…
Climate fix? ‘Fertilizing’ oceans with iron unlikely to sequester more carbon
It’s a beguiling proposition: pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by supercharging populations of microscopic, carbon-munching marine phytoplankton through the relatively simple and inexpensive process of adding iron to…
Predators disproportionately impacted by human land use changes, study finds
New research looking at whether particular types of wildlife are more affected than others by habitat loss determined that predators are the most impacted, as was expected — but the…
Bid to get ‘aquatic wild meat’ off the menu and under protection
Scientists and conservationists have long expressed concern about the consumption of bushmeat, mindful of its impact on wildlife and human health. Yet the marine equivalent has received relatively little attention,…
