Natural Resources

"After wildland firefighter Ben McLane fought California’s deadliest fire, he started second-guessing his line of work. The November 2018 Camp Fire near Paradise had killed 85 and leveled 18,000 homes. McLane was used to hiking steep terrain and digging endless fire breaks. He was accustomed to the spectacle of entire hillsides of pine and fir aflame. He wasn’t used to this scale of devastation — or feeling he’d worked in vain. Meanwhile, he rarely saw his family, and couldn’t fathom affording a house. Was firefighting worth it?"

"On March 14, 2016, in the squid grounds off the coast of Patagonia, a rusty Chinese vessel called the Lu Yan Yuan Yu 10 was fishing illegally, several miles inside Argentine waters. Spotted by an Argentine coast guard patrol and ordered over the radio to halt, the ship fled the scene. The Argentinians gave chase and fired warning shots. Then the Lu Yan Yuan Yu 10 tried to ram the coast guard cutter, prompting it to open fire and sink the Chinese ship."

"The international agency charged with regulating seabed mining worldwide voted on Friday to replace its top executive, after accusations that the British lawyer running the agency was too closely aligned with the mining industry."

"Sea lions are stranding themselves on a long stretch of the California coast and showing signs that they may have been poisoned by a bloom of harmful algae, experts said Thursday."

"Recent glacier retreat across the Andes is unprecedented in the history of human civilization, according to a new study published in the Science journal on Thursday."

"In a rare rebuke to the industrial farm sector, the Michigan Supreme Court this week ruled that state environmental regulators have full authority to require livestock and poultry operations to improve their handling of billions of pounds of manure that contributes to contamination of waterways."

"Biden’s efforts to save mature trees are not getting enough Forest Service support, according to some conservationists"

"Researchers are restoring the Caribbean’s surprising, spiky custodians, which gobble up the algae smothering coral reefs."

"Scientists studying migrations, endangered species, and global change are placing tracking devices on thousands of animals that will be monitored by a satellite-based system set to launch next year. If successful, the project could help illuminate the planet’s nonhuman worlds."

"The birds were accidentally poisoned in India. New research on what happened next shows how wildlife collapse can be deadly for people."