Environment

In the long arc of conservation, recovery is often slow enough to be mistaken for stasis. Populations dwindle, habitats shrink, and the work of reversal depends less on moments of triumph than on decades of patient observation, persuasion, and persistence. Progress is recorded not in headlines but in ledgers: nests counted, territories mapped, landowners convinced, protections negotiated. For much of the late 20th century along the rivers and marshes of the Chesapeake Bay, that work took place i

Held up as a case study for successfully transitioning away from fossil fuels, Uruguay now generates up to 98% of its electricity from renewable energy. The country offers lessons in energy sovereignty and the importance of community engagement in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. — Generating 98% of its electricity from renewable sources, Uruguay’s rapid adoption and expansion of sustainable sources of energy has been lauded internationally as a model for transitioning national power sys

Youth-led environmental groups are increasingly aligning with immigration rights activists, arguing that combating authoritarianism is essential to addressing the climate crisis.

Extreme weather events are growing more frequent and intense. Will FEMA be around to help affected communities?

Scientists at the Hanford Site in Washington are using vitrification to transform hazardous nuclear waste into stable glass, reducing its volume and improving storage safety.

Federal regulators are moving to add microplastics to a list of drinking water contaminants marked for research, funding and possible regulation in the future.

A new health study found that adults exposed to PFAS-contaminated drinking water in Michigan showed a weaker immune response after COVID-19 vaccination.

Some environmentalists question using plastic to address rising temperatures.

As a row crop farmer in St. Joseph, Missouri, Joe Lau said he’s noticing more extreme weather these days.  Warmer seasons throughout the year. Quarter-inch predictions of rain stamped out by storms that bring 3 inches. Increased pressure from pests on his corn. He’s also noticed that spring is coming earlier.  The USA National Phenology Network shows that this year spring arrived three to five weeks earlier than the average between 1991 to 2020 in much of the central U.S. and two to three

High up in the Amazon canopy, camera traps have recorded the entire breeding cycle of red-and-green macaws in Peru’s Madre de Dios region. Researchers watched these birds team up to defend their nest, raise a chick, and face rivals — all from a single artificial nest box. As natural nesting spaces are lost to logging, this success shows that artificial nests can help protect wildlife, though not all species benefit equally.This article was originally published on Mongabay

An Interior Department proposal would cancel BLM grazing leases for American Prairie's buffalo in Montana, but it could affect tribal and private herds across the West.By Blaine HardenPHILLIPS COUNTY, Mont.—The American buffalo—those ornery, hairy prairie beasts that reign as the official mammal of the United States—have joined wind turbines, electric cars and climate researchers in the cross hairs of the Trump administration.

The courts will decide if the first “climate superfund” law in the nation survives, a likely years-long battle. Vermont towns, meanwhile, must figure out how to pay for infrastructure that extreme weather won’t destroy.By Dana Drugmand, Nathaniel EisenRUTLAND, Vt.—Eighteen years after the first “climate tort” lawsuit was filed, no U.S. plaintiff has collected damages for the harms of global warming. Now, Vermont’s different legal strategy to make fossil fuel companies pay is facing its first rea

Go behind the scenes with managing editor Jamie Smith Hopkins and investigative reporter Katie Surma as they discuss how the Shuar people in Ecuador are combining ancestral knowledge and modern science to protect their forest from a Canadian mining giant.By Katie SurmaIn the copper-rich mountains of southeastern Ecuador, residents working as “paraecologists” are documenting the biodiversity of their territory – home to endangered species, waterfalls, and medicinal plants – not simply for the rec

Extreme heat kills more people in the U.S. each year than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined. But how can we address a seemingly natural force? Heat can often seem solely weather-related, with policies trying to find a solution through temperature metrics, cooling technologies, and alerts. However, a new report from the Vanderbilt Cultural Contexts of Health and Wellbeing Initiative (VU-CCH) suggests that extreme heat is not just a climate issue, but also a social one.

It's a well-established fact that forests and water are deeply connected. For decades, paired-watershed experiments—a scientific method for evaluating land-use impacts on water quantity or quality—have shown that when we lose forests, the total amount of water flowing through our rivers tends to rise.

Researchers are weaving Native practices with western methods to revive ecosystems and reclaim food sovereignty“I’m a glorified clam counter.”So said Marco Hatch, a marine ecologist at Western Washington University and an enrolled member of the Samish Indian Nation. Hatch has been conducting surveys of mollusks growing in and around clam gardens in the Pacific north-west, as he collaborates with seven Indigenous communities to build or rebuild these rock-walled, terraced beaches once created and

Five “missing” bird species — not seen, heard or documented in the wild for a decade or more — were “found” in 2025, according to the 2026 annual update to the Lost Birds List. It’s a tally of species that haven’t been photographed, recorded or their genetic footprint detected for more than a decade. Another extraordinary rediscovery came earlier this year: A bird “missing” for 94 years was documented in Chad. With the new changes, the overall number of “lost” birds, as defined in a 2022 study,

On March 31, the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to move its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah. It will also close or repurpose all nine of its regional offices, create 15 state offices, and shutter research and development facilities in more than 30 states. According to a news release, the plan is intended to make the agency more “nimble, efficient, [and] effective.” Forest Service leaders told staff on a call after the announcement that no changes will be made to

This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including new data on the rapid growth of renewables and a controversial panel’s vote to facilitate the Trump administration’s expansion of drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico. — Listen to Earth.Org’s new podcast, Earth Radio. Join our host Rebekah Hendricks every week for a 5-minute, ad-free roundup of the world’s most important climate stories. New episodes available every Saturday at 8

Researchers studying the crustacean’s early life cycles find clues that can help the fishery that depends on them plan for a warmer future.By Nicole WilliamsCurt Brown spent his childhood harvesting lobsters along the coast of Maine. As an adult, he went on to earn a Master of Science from the University of Maine, observing the very waters where he spent years fishing for the crustaceans.