Conservation (Page 12)

Protecting natural resources—from sea to sky—is about much more than planting a few trees.

Latest in Conservation

Children playing in polluted sand in front of AES Gener thermoelectric plant in Chile

For years, Chile exploited its environment to grow. Now it’s trying to save it.

Fish kill in Lake Merritt, Oakland, California, from algae bloom seen from above

California’s mega algae bloom is like a ‘wildfire in the water’

By Emily Harwitz / High Country News

Biofuel is a ‘renewable’ resource, but climate change could soon limit its potential

Biofuel is a ‘renewable’ resource, but climate change could soon limit its potential

By Carla Delgado

a schematic of a satellite beaming down to a dish to study the ocean floor

The centuries-long quest to map the seafloor’s hidden secrets

By Bill Gourgey

A blue whale near Sri Lanka and a container ship.

World’s largest shipping company reroutes ships to protect world’s largest animals

By Laura Baisas

Hawaii’s prolonged drought is pushing native species to the brink

Hawaii’s prolonged drought is pushing native species to the brink

A cooked lobster claw.

Eating sustainably may mean skipping the lobster for now

By Laura Baisas

A bluefin tuna swimming in the open ocean.

Where food is scarce, ocean predators find snacks in swirling eddies

By Laura Baisas

In a rare, fatal shark attack, tourist killed in the Bahamas

In a rare, fatal shark attack, tourist killed in the Bahamas

By Laura Baisas

a pile of plastic trash with an emphasis of a gray crate filled with other plastic items including a black plastic eel trap

A close look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch reveals a common culprit

By Lauren J. Young

Full-grown bison standing in a prairie full of yellow goldenrod wildflowers

Bison are bringing biodiversity back to Kansas prairie land

Blue-throated macaws are making a slow, but hopeful, comeback

Blue-throated macaws are making a slow, but hopeful, comeback

By Laura Baisas

Coast of Lake Superior

The untouched ‘wilderness’ of the Great Lakes is an illusion

By Dave Dempsey

European red fox crouched on concrete and looking directly into the camera

Can invasive species ever be ‘good’?

After 75 years, an extremely rare sea turtle returns to Louisiana

After 75 years, an extremely rare sea turtle returns to Louisiana

By Kris Millgate/Field & Stream

Tropical Fish on a coral reef and Doublebar bream.

For marine life to survive, we must cut carbon emissions

By Laura Baisas

Parasitic fungi bursting from a fly's back in macro

These thoughtful nature images were captured by scientists in action

By Popular Science Team

High Line elevated walkway and forest in Manhattan, New York City

4 ways the Inflation Reduction Act invests in healthier forests and greener cities

A scuba diver takes a step into the ocean.

A diver’s guide to a more sustainable scuba adventure

By Carla Delgado

High-tech buoys with underwater microphones could save sperm whales from ship collisions

High-tech buoys with underwater microphones could save sperm whales from ship collisions

By Claudia Geib / Hakai Magazine

Best reef-safe sunscreen sliced header

Best reef-safe sunscreens

By Suzie Dundas

a black woman in a stanford baseball cap stands in the hatch of a submersible about to load

Meet the marine geologist mapping the deepest point on Earth

By Tatyana Woodall

American beaver swimming with head out of water

Wolves and beavers can have magical ecosystem effects—if they have space to thrive

Kids with long frizzy brown hair birdwatching with binoculars from a duck blind

How to become a citizen scientist—and when to leave it to the professionals

By Bridget Reed Morawski

A rare and multicolored sea slug has been recorded in UK waters for the first time.

This dashing tropical sea slug just showed up in the UK

By Sara Kiley Watson

a vibrant orange and black monarch butterfly perched on a purple flower

The monarch butterfly is scientifically endangered. So why isn’t it legally protected yet?

By Lauren J. Young

Scientists are reconstructing what ancient whales saw to look into the past

Scientists are reconstructing what ancient whales saw to look into the past

By Jason P. Dinh / Hakai Magazine

Rio Grande silvery minnow endangered fish on black background

An endangered fish’s story follows the vanishing waters of the Rio Grande

a white lab rat held in a gloved hand

These sterile mice have been modified to make rat sperm

Iberian lynx licking its lips in captive breeding program

The curious case of an endangered wildcat and a disappearing fruit tree

Farmers and scientists unite to save the home of an endangered salamander

Farmers and scientists unite to save the home of an endangered salamander

By Lourdes Medrano/Undark

Great white shark breaching while trying to bite a seal

Great white shark sightings are up in the US, which is kind of good news

Plastic floating in the sea

Plastic garbage in the sea is a life raft for pathogens

By Michael Allen / Hakai Magazine

Baby orca next to adult in the Salish Sea near Washington

A baby orca sparks a glimmer of hope for an endangered group of whales

Fish poop could help coral reefs.

Fish poop might help fight coral reef bleaching

By Derek Smith / Hakai Magazine

red panda sleeping on branch

We don’t have a full picture of the planet’s shrinking biodiversity. Here’s why.

By Sara Kiley Watson

Caribou peeking over horizon

Climate change is forcing massive wildlife migrations towards the poles

By Benjamin von Brackel

Forest with mountain and sunset in background.

Why you can’t put a price on biodiversity

By Sara Kiley Watson

fin-whales-drake-passage

An Antarctic feeding frenzy means good news for vulnerable fin whales

By Corinne Iozzio

Red fox with eyes closed and teeth bared

Can I have a pet fox?

By Dan Nosowitz

Fat baby seal looking at the camera

Facial recognition works on seals. No, really.

By Sean Mowbray / Hakai Magazine

shark-near-florida

Sharks are learning to love coastal cities

By Corinne Iozzio

Compostable plastic cups found in garbage.

Single-use plastic is on its way out of national parks. But why is the pace so glacial?

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Firefly or lighting bug display in summer in a forest clearing

The land of lost fireflies is probably a humble New Jersey bog

By Maddy Lauria

Boat leaving cruise ship on the ocean.

Care about the planet? Skip the cruise, for now.

Farmer holding freshly harvested carrots.

The EU’s plan to halve pesticide use is ambitious, but realistic

By Sara Kiley Watson

A night photo of a log with a bobcat in the background.

Watch bobcats, bears, and even birds use fallen logs as bridges

By Philip Kiefer

Satellite images of the milky seas

We’re getting closer to understanding why the sea sometimes glows

By Sam Keck Scott / Hakai Magazine

Colorful mantis shrimp with giant eyes that have color vision on black background

Do animals feel pain? Science author Ed Yong says that’s the wrong question.

By Philip Kiefer

A firefighter stands holding a canister of gasoline in a snowy forest looking out over burning piles of underbrush.

Why the US Forest Service paused prescribed burns—a key wildfire prevention tool

By Philip Kiefer

Microplastic pellets on the beach.

Horrific blobs of ‘plastitar’ are gunking up Atlantic beaches

By Sara Kiley Watson

Starfish spawning in water

8 award-winning photos of nature’s stranger things

By Stephanie Stone

A piping plover shorebird walks on sand, with tawny feathers on his back, a white stomach, a black band of feathers on his neck, and a green band on his ankle

Remembering Monty and Rose, the Chicago shorebirds that became the face of a movement

Activists in Indigenous clothing and with no pipeline signs protesting Line 3 on a bridge in Minnesota

States and tribes could soon regain the power to fight against projects that pollute

By Kristine Liao

Iceland topography from above

Google Earth Engine is taking its closest look yet at how landscapes are changing

By Charlotte Hu

Ocean simulator in giant saltwater tank at the Scripps Institute in San Diego, California. A Scripps researcher in a checkered shirt adjusts the settings on a computer with a COVID mask around his elbow.

A 120-foot-long ocean simulator is now making waves across the seven seas

By Avery Schluyer Nunn

A baby sea turtle on a beach near some sea turtle tracks, and some people in the background.

Safely share the beach with endangered sea turtles this summer

By Alisha McDarris

Jars containing various materials from battery recycling.

The race to close the EV battery recycling loop

Carmakers are pouring billions into producing EV batteries

Carmakers are pouring billions into producing EV batteries

By Bradley Brownell

firefighter in a field

A network of 1,000 cameras is watching for Western wildfires—and you can, too

By Colleen Hagerty

Seashore in Chile.

Climate change is making the ocean lose its memory. Here’s what that means.

By Sara Kiley Watson

A photo of algae in a lake in Central Park.

A climate adaptation experiment is taking place in one of NYC’s biggest parks

By Danielle Renwick / Nexus Media News

Aerial view of high chimney pipes with grey smoke from coal power plant. Production of electricity with fossil fuel.

Greenhouse gases, sea level rise, and ocean acidification all broke records in 2021

Photo of Fungi Tremella Mesenterica in a forest

Earth would be unrecognizable without fungi

By Matt Kasson, Et al. / The Conversation