The sensational human drama of “Tiger King” dramatically downplays how tigers are harmed by unregulated captive breeding in unaccredited zoos. Source: https://www.livescience.com/tiger-king-big-cat-conservation.html
Tag: conservation
Google Data Centers’ Secret Cost: Billions of Gallons of Water
To meet surging demand for online information, internet giant taps public water supplies that are already straining from overuse. From a report: In August 2019, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association built a 16-foot pyramid of jugs in its main entrance in Phoenix. The goal was to show residents of this desert region how much water they each use a day…
What is the gegenschein?
The sun’s counterglow – or gegenschein – is kind of a stargazers’ legend. What is it, and how can you see it? Erwin Matys and Karoline Mrazek of Project Nightflight explain. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/definition-what-is-the-gegenschein…
Top tips for feeding wild birds
It’s OK to feed wild birds. Here are some tips for doing it the right way from a wildlife ecologist. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/top-tips-feeding-wild-birds…
Melting Glaciers: Effects on the Environment, Humans, and Biodiversity
Recently, the temperature in the Arctic appears to have hit a new continental high, close to 70 degrees. That’s leading to continued melting of glaciers in the Arctic and around the world. But how will that impact the world’s ecosystems? Dr. David Hik is an Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science as well as […]
The post Melting Glaciers: Effects on…
A Trump Insider Embeds Climate Denial in Scientific Research
An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change — including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial — into the agency’s scientific reports, the New York Times reported Monday, citing internal documents. From the report: The misleading language appears in at least nine reports, including environmental studies…
New Neanderthal bones found at famous Shanidar Cave
The newly found bones were close to the site of the famous ‘flower burial’ in Shanidar Cave, which overturned notions of Neanderthals as brutish subhumans and suggested they buried their dead. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/new_neanderthal_bones_shanidar_cave…
Car ‘Splatometer’ Tests Reveal Huge Decline In Number of Insects
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Two scientific studies of the number of insects splattered by cars have revealed a huge decline in abundance at European sites in two decades. The survey of insects hitting car windscreens in rural Denmark used data collected every summer from 1997 to 2017 and found an 80% decline in abundance. It also…
Save the giants, save the planet
Protecting large animals such as elephants and whales, and large plants like the sequoias, has a disproportionate positive impact on the health of the planet and resilience to climate change. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/why-to-conserve-large-animals-trees…
Great Backyard Bird Count begins on Valentine’s Day
Show your love for birds by joining the 2020 Great Backyard Bird Count. It is free and easy to participate in this 4-day event. Find out how here. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/register-participate-great-backyard-bird-count…