ScienceBiology

Camera Traps Show Invasive Coyotes Heading Toward South America

North American coyotes don’t live in South America, but new research suggests that could change, should deforestation in Central America continue. North and South America have a long history of exchanging animal and plant species, a process that began around 3 million to 4 million years ago, when the Panamanian Isthmus joined the two continents. … Continued

EartherClimate Change

As He’s Impeached, Trump Denies to Rally-Goers That He Always Has to Flush the Toilet 10 Times

As the House of Representatives voted 230-197 and 229-198 on mostly party lines to impeach Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on Wednesday night, Trump spent a good stretch of a rally in Battle Creek, Michigan waging his ongoing feud against water-conserving bathroom fixtures. Earlier this month, Trump used … Continued

Earther

Meet the Scientists Trying to Save Indonesia’s Critically Endangered Orangutans

If you were asked to list the skillset needed to work in orangutan conservation, you might not think to jot down accomplished marksman. But that’s high on the list of job requirements for a unique band of conservationists working in the forests of Borneo. “If you’re trying to tranquilize an animal that is some 30 … Continued

Tech NewsDecade's End

All the Species Declared Extinct This Decade

Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises, died in 2012. George’s story is the perfect extinction story. It features a charismatic character with a recognizable face, an obvious villain, and the tireless efforts of naturalists. The population of the Pinta Island tortoise species was decimated by whalers hunting and eating them during the … Continued

ScienceBiology

Scientists Sequence the Genome of America’s Famous Extinct Parakeet

Researchers have produced the first whole genome of the Carolina parakeet, a recently extinct parrot native to the United States. The bird’s DNA reveals that humans (and probably humans alone) brought about its abrupt extinction. The Carolina parakeet was one of only two parrots native to the U.S., but it went extinct in 1918, when … Continued

ScienceBiology

New NYC Law Would Require New Buildings to Have Bird-Friendly Windows

Today, the New York City Council passed one of the country’s most comprehensive bird-safe glass laws yet. The law, Proposed Initiative 1482B, requires any new construction and certain renovations to use bird-safe materials designed to prevent bird-strike deaths. Advocates for the bill hope it will lead the way for similar laws in other communities. “New … Continued

EartherConservation

The President Has Toilet Problems

President Donald J. Trump is having some toilet trouble—extremely normal toilet trouble that happens to all of us on a regular basis. Like how we sometimes have to flush 10-15 times before it all goes down, and that is totally due to wacko liberals demanding environmentally friendly toilets. At a roundtable at the White House … Continued

ScienceBiology

‘Lost’ Species of Mouse-Deer Spotted in Vietnam After 30 Years

Using dozens of motion-activated camera traps, conservationists in Vietnam have captured photographic evidence of the silver-backed chevrotain—an impossibly adorable deer-like creature that hadn’t been seen since 1990. “In an age of mass extinctions, confirming the survival of lost species provides rare second chances for biodiversity conservation,” opens a new research article published today in Nature … Continued

ScienceBiology

Tagged Russian Eagles Rack up Enormous Cell Phone Bill From Visits to Iran

A Russian research group ran out of money after the eagles they tagged flew out of range of cell service and then to Iran, resulting in tons of expensive text messages, according to a post on the Russian social media service VK. The trackers sent text messages back to the researchers, allowing them to determine … Continued

EartherConservation

Scientists Can Now See Stranded Whales From Space

Scientists have begun using satellites that can produce high-resolution imagery to monitor whale strandings from space, according to a new study. Back in 2015, Chile saw one of the largest mass mortality of baleen whales in recorded history, tallying at least 343 whales. But the remote location of the stranding meant that it went unreported … Continued

EartherClimate Change

In Unprecedented Move, London Police Ban Extinction Rebellion Climate Protests Throughout Entire City

Protests by climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has continued to roil cities around the world, including London. And after shutting down parts of Central London, police banned the group from conducting protests anywhere in the city on Monday evening. The move comes after eight days of protests centered on Trafalgar Square resulted in more than … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Advisory Board Members Axed by Trump’s EPA Are Preparing Their Own Pollution Report

Twenty experts who formerly served on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASC)—and who were canned as part of the Donald Trump administration’s plan to stock its panels with industry shills—met this week to continue their work independently, NBC News reported. The EPA is required to review particulate pollution standards every five … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Report Finds Nearly Two-Thirds of America’s Birds Vulnerable to Extinction From Climate Change

A new report has found that nearly two-thirds of America’s breeding bird species were moderately to highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Earth is warming, storms are getting stronger, native habitats are disappearing, and it’s mostly the work of humans. We already know that the country has lost nearly 30 percent of its … Continued

EartherConservation

Bow Down to Holly, Your Fat Bear Week Champion of 2019

All hail Holly, winner of Fat Bear Week 2019 as well as our hearts. After a week of head-to-head competition, finalists 775 Lefty faced off against 435 Holly in a battle to be named the fattest and fullest bear of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. And reader, the people have spoken. The park announced … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Trump Administration Takes the Axe to Federal Marine Life, Invasive Species Advisory Boards

Donald Trump’s administration is moving to kill off two federal advisory boards dealing with the protection of marine life and management of invasive species, the Hill reported on Tuesday. As of Tuesday, the government defunded both the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee (part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the Interior Department’s … Continued

Tech NewsBest of the Week

Area 51, Impossible Burger, and Duck Gifs: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Tomorrow marks the first day of fall 2019, though you’d be forgiven for not noticing in much of the country thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures predicted to extend into October through much of the nation (and, well, almost everywhere almost all the time now). And summer went out with a bang, with millions turning out … Continued

EartherClimate Change

19 Climate Change Activists Arrested for Drone Protest Against Heathrow Airport Expansion

UK police have now arrested at least 19 environmental activists who threatened to fly drones and disrupt air travel at Heathrow Airport in protest of the planned construction of a third runway at the UK’s main air hub, the Guardian reported on Saturday. The protesters are an offshoot of the Extinction Rebellion movement, which has … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Defender of Brazil’s Indigenous Tribes Murdered ‘Execution-Style’ in Amazon Town

Maxciel Pereira dos Santos, a veteran defender of Brazil’s indigenous people, has reportedly been shot dead in a remote Amazon town while riding his motorcycle. The BBC reports Santos was shot twice in the head while riding his motorcycle down the main street of Tabatinga, a Brazilian city near the border of Colombia and Peru, … Continued

EartherConservation

Noted Forest Management Expert Donald Trump Wants to Log World’s Largest Intact Temperate Rainforest

Donald Trump’s administration has turned its all-consuming maw to Alaska’s 16.7-million-acre Tongass National Forest, per a Tuesday report in the Washington Post citing three sources briefed on a plan to exempt the forest from logging restrictions imposed in 2001. As the Post noted, Tongass National Forest is the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest, and the … Continued

EartherConservation

New Survey Finds Hundreds of Endangered Bird Parts for Sale on Facebook

Hundreds of parts of the critically endangered helmeted hornbill appeared for sale on Thai-language Facebook groups, according to a new report. The helmeted hornbill is a large bird with a yellow, orange, and red helmet-like growth on its beak used like elephant ivory is for ornamental purposes. The bird is protected in all five countries … Continued