Things related to the web of life; ecology; wildlife; endangered species
"Environmental groups on Wednesday sued attempting to stop the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge in Texas, claiming it would worsen ecological risks to a Gulf Coast region already transformed by billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket operations."
“A new case of New World Screwworm was confirmed on Tuesday in a calf in La Salle County, Texas, bringing the total cases of NWS in the United States to six."
“The Trump administration agreed to strip endangered species protection from a lizard whose habitat overlapped the largest oil-producing region in the United States, settling a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.”
Massive kelp groves, little-noticed despite their proximity to populated coastlines or their importance to ecosystems and to us humans, face numerous pressures and a drastic decline. In “Forest of the Sea,” author David Helvarg dives into the subject, literally, to help reveal this unique undersea world. BookShelf contributing editor Jennifer Weeks has a review.
"As the Colorado River and its once massive reservoirs shrink from overuse and climate change, officials are faced with a decision that pits conservation against ratepayer costs for electricity."
"Democrats said Tuesday they intend to fight the Trump administration’s plan to eradicate a deep-ocean observation system critical to understanding climate change and marine ecosystems."
"Fewer than 100 Rice’s whales remain on Earth. Here’s what they sound like when they communicate. They live only in the Gulf of Mexico, where air guns firing sonic blasts are used to survey the ocean floor for oil and gas. The low frequency of the blasts overlaps with the frequency of the calls of the whales."
"Lax regulations and mismanaged applications in the US are to blame for the tons of nitrogen fertilizer that runs off into waterways each year and contributes to water and air pollution, cancer and environmental damage, according to a report released Monday."
"National Park Service officials repeatedly raised legal and environmental concerns over the Trump administration’s plan to lease public parkland, including the site of a professional tennis tournament, to a private operator widely expected to be the tournament’s operator, according to records reviewed by The Washington Post."
"In 1782, when the United States adopted the bald eagle as its national symbol, anecdotal accounts stated that the country may have had as many as 100,000 nesting eagles. By the mid-1900s, habitat destruction, illegal shooting, and DDT contamination had driven bald eagles near extinction."
