Bird thought to be extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea

Zoe Sottile, CNN A bird thought to be extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea. https://ebird.org/species/phepig1 The black-naped pheasant-pigeon\ was documented by scientists for the first and last time in 1882, according to a news release from nonprofit Re:wild, which helped fund the search effort. Rediscovering the bird required… Read More Bird thought to be extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea

Saving the dragon’s blood: how an island refused to let a legendary tree die out

A unique species on Socotra in Yemen, famed for its bright red resin and umbrella-shaped crown, has been in decline for years. Now islanders are leading efforts to save it by Jess Craig The dragon’s blood tree is classified as a vulnerable species on the IUCN red list. Photograph: Neil Lucas Just after 4am on the… Read More Saving the dragon’s blood: how an island refused to let a legendary tree die out

Fossil fuel burning once caused a mass extinction – now we’re risking another

George Monbiot Budleigh Salterton, on the south coast of Devon, sits above the most frightening cliffs on Earth. They are not particularly high. Though you don’t want to stand beneath them, they are not especially prone to collapse. The horror takes another form. It is contained in the story they tell. For they capture the… Read More Fossil fuel burning once caused a mass extinction – now we’re risking another

Apocalypse in the rear-view mirror

Magdalena Taube Krystian Woznicki The planet, as authoritarian capitalism’s plaything, is subject to real-world economic-ecological downward spirals. And yet exorbitant space exploration projects continue to build escapist dreams on extractivism. And the threat of nuclear war continues to push at the limits of tenuous environmental stability. Earthrise reloaded When the Tesla Gigafactory opened in Brandenburg, Elon… Read More Apocalypse in the rear-view mirror

Sale of oil and gas permits casts shadow over world’s second-largest rainforest

Cassie Dummett Villagers in the Congo basin rely on the forest for food, medicine and spiritual wellbeing, but an auction of exploration rights could threaten that way of life West accused of double standards over oil and gas exploration in DRC “I have lived all my life in the forest; everything I do is in… Read More Sale of oil and gas permits casts shadow over world’s second-largest rainforest

Jair Bolsonaro’s assault on the Amazon rainforest

First posted January 2, 2019 NB: Two things arise from these and related developments for us to think about: 1./ The nation-state as an institution is detrimental for the health of the environment. Environment and ecological issues are global, but nationalism makes us think that natural resources like clean air, water and forests are somehow the… Read More Jair Bolsonaro’s assault on the Amazon rainforest

World’s central banks financing destruction of the rainforest

Andrew Downie in São Paulo Some of the world’s biggest central banks are unwittingly helping to finance agri-business giants engaged in the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon, according to a report published on Wednesday. The Bank of England, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are among the institutions that have bought millions of… Read More World’s central banks financing destruction of the rainforest

‘It’s a miracle’: Gran Abuelo in Chile could be world’s oldest living tree

John Bartlett 100ft alerce has estimated age of 5,484, more than 600 years older than Methuselah in California. In a secluded valley in southern Chile, a lone alerce tree stands above the canopy of an ancient forest. Green shoots sprout from the crevices in its thick, dark trunks, huddled like the pipes of a great cathedral… Read More ‘It’s a miracle’: Gran Abuelo in Chile could be world’s oldest living tree