20,000 Species at ‘High Risk’
June 5, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Part of a larger graphic by the New York Times and the International Union for Conservation of Nature Nearly 20,000 species of animals and plants around the globe are considered high risks for extinction in the wild. That’s according to the most authoritative compilation of living things at risk — the so-called Red List maintained [...]
How Earth Recovered from an Earlier Extinction
May 29, 2012 by Michael Mountain
How long might it take to recover from the Sixth Great Extinction that scientists tell us is now underway? The most well known extinction event was the one that brought an end to the reign of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. That was the Fifth Great Extinction.
Little Bat, Big Problem
January 19, 2012 by Michael Mountain
It’s five years since white-nose fungus, the disease afflicting little brown bats, was first identified. Last May, reacting to the fact that these bats are a critical link in the ecosystem, pollinating crops and controlling insect populations, especially those that threaten to wipe out entire forests, a national rescue plan was launched.
How Seven Billion Humans Leads to Mass Extinction
November 1, 2011 by Michael Mountain
This week, the world population reached 7 billion people eking out a living. By the end of the century, it will top 10 billion. Overpopulation and overconsumption are the root causes of the environmental destruction of our planet.
Deep Thoughts
September 2, 2011 by Michael Mountain
Three and a half billion years ago, as a huge moon circled much closer to Earth than today, raising enormous tides of scalding water, and in a poisonous atmospheric mix of methane gases, something amazing, mysterious, but perhaps entirely common happened: Life appeared.
Flying High
April 30, 2011 by MichaelMountain
Deep in red rock country, just to the north of the Grand Canyon, an egg has just hatched, and today a California condor chick is 1 week old. It’s cause for celebration.
Elephant for Lunch
April 26, 2011 by MichaelMountain
Elephants are already under threat of extinction in Africa. Now the Zimbabwe government has announced that elephants will be killed to provide better lunches for criminals in prison.
Facing Extinction but Not Endangered
April 22, 2011 by MichaelMountain
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can declare animals to be at risk of extinction, but doesn’t have the resources to make them be officially endangered.
French Hamster Sets Wheels of Justice Spinning
March 30, 2011 by MichaelMountain
Endangered wild hamsters face extinction in France. One man’s crusade to save them has taken his case to the European Court of Justice.
Study Raises Specter of Mass Extinction
March 8, 2011 by MichaelMountain
A new study of the effects of climate change on life all across the planet reaffirms that we are heading toward the mass extinction of species.