Environment
Archive
Should Portland have drained its reservoir after a drunk, 21-year-old man peed in it?
Tim DeChristopher, the 29-year-old Utah activist who disrupted a 2008 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oil-and-gas auction, received his sentence yesterday: two years in federal prison, three years supervised release, and a $10,000 fine. That’s about what his supporters, who packed the Frank E. Moss U.S. Courthouse in Salt…
Alexis Martinez works with the Loro Parque killer whale Kohana. On December 24, 2009, Martinez was killed by another Loro Parque killer whale called Keto. Click here to read The Killer in the Pool, Tim Zimmerman’s story about killer wale attacks.
On December 24, 2009, a 6,600-pound orca killed trainer Alexis Martínez at a marine park in the Canary Islands. Two months later, trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by an orca at SeaWorld Orlando. With the OSHA trial on trainer safety at SeaWorld Orlando starting September 19, Tim Zimmermann asks: Should Martínez’s death have served as a warning about the lethal potential of killer whales being trained for our entertainment?
Outside contributor Thayer Walker went down to an out of the ordinary wildlife refuge in Bolivia, where he walked a jaguar on a leash. Watch NPR’s new hit show, Snap Judgment, with host Glynn Washington…
As the Las Conchas fire ravages parts of the Santa Clara Pueblo reservation, Lieutenant Governor Joseph B. Tafoya sits down to talk about the damage
The brief but terrifying history of the Las Conchas forest fire, from flash point to nuclear scare
Picture courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service Summer is fire season in the southwest, and we're getting pounded. This year, half a dozen wildfires have ravaged over 1,300 square miles—an area nearly the size of Rhode Island—in New Mexico and Arizona alone. Two blazes are burning…
On July 30th we reported a story on the dangers of the Las Conchas fire. In that story we mentioned the possiblity that the fire could burn nuclear waste stored in and around Los Alamos National Labs. A 2002 report by the New Mexico Environment Department identified many of the…
IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT tells the remarkable story of the rise and fall of the Earth Liberation Front, a group of radical environmentalists, by focusing on the transformation and radicalization of one of its members. ifatreefallsfilm.com…
In January 2001, the Earth Liberation Front burned own the main offices of Superior Lumber in Glendale, Oregon. This exclusive clip examines the after effect of that fire. For more on the movie If a Tree Falls, go to http://www.ifatreefallsfilm.com/…
With shark attacks up 25 percent, 2010 was a terrifying year to be in the water. Scientists say the spike was an anomaly. But there are questions afloat about the practice of chumming, in which cage-diving skippers use a stew of blood and guts to lure the predators in close. JOSHUA HAMMER plunges in at South Africa’s False Bay, epicenter of an industry some cri
On June 26, 2011, a massive blaze, likely triggered by a utility line, swept across New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains. It consumed 43,000 acres in the first day alone. We arrived in nearby Los Alamos, the nation’s premier nuclear research laboratory, the following day. Both the lab and the town of…
Map of Las Conchas It’s been reported a few times that the Las Conchas fire—a 60,000-acres-plus rager currently threatening Los Alamos, New Mexico, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Bandelier National Monument—was probably caused by a…
I've spent too much time in front of the computer, sitting at the minituare aqua-green cafe table that overlooks my block, cold beer in hand, gazing at the Documerica photos that grace the National Archives' Flickr pages. The bright reds and oranges of the desert rocks, the…
Tim DeChristopher has to wait just a little longer to learn his fate. Yesterday, the Justice Department announced that DeChristopher, the Salt Lake City-based activist who disrupted a federal oil and gas auction in December 2008 by bidding $1.8 million on parcels of land in eastern Utah, would be sentenced…
Our panel runs down the challenges, including the unwaveringly white face of adventure media
In 1999, Camille Seaman gave up her seat on a one-hour flight from Oakland to L.A. and scored a round trip ticket anywhere in the world. She chose Alaska. Once there, she decided to walk from a coastal town named Kotzebue across the ice…
A bird's eye view of drilling's effect on the Western landscape.
Here’s a cool behind the scenes video from Murray Fredericks on shooting timelapses in Greenland. Picked up from a Renan Ozturk tweet. –Joe Spring@joespring…
This is the American West--when you're hanging out of a tiny plane with the doors pulled off, holding a 20-pound camera and looking for the truth.
In September 1969, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson developed the idea of Earth Day, a nationwide, grassroots demonstration that would take place in the spring of the following year. Everyone was invited to participate. “The response was electric,” he told Envirolink.com. “It…
Photo by Lauren Ross Photography Gretchen Bleiler has started her own personal crusade to address climate change. She spoke at an environmental conference recently to raise eco-awareness among college students, and she collaborates with her sponsors Oakley and…
Photo by Lauren Ross Photography Presenting the Olympian snowboarder’s advice on how to be green in your daily life. 10. Get a composter and let nature breakdown your compostable trash and use the remains as mulch for your plants. 9. Walk, skateboard, bike, car pool, or use mass…
Beginning April 16th, America's national parks are free. Saturday marks the beginning of National Parks Week, a week-long (April 16-24) celebration of America's 394 national parks, according to the National Park Service. This year's focus is “Healthy Parks, Healthy People” and the role…
Beginning April 16th, America's national parks are free. Saturday marks the beginning of National Parks Week, a week-long (April 16-24) celebration of America's 394 national parks, according to the National Park Service. This year's focus is “Healthy Parks, Healthy People” and the role…
The United States Congress has removed the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in two states, according the The New York Times. The action sets a new precedent that could introduce political influence…
The United States Congress has removed the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in two states, according the The New York Times. The action sets a new precedent that could introduce political influence…
Eye Candy TimeLapses – TimeLine bonus 1 from TimeLine on Vimeo. When sessions filming snowboarder Xavier de La Rue are over, cameraman Guido Perrini sets up his gear to get amazing timelapses. Here's a quick collection. Via:…
The Colorado River, Photo by Peter McBride As a boy growing up on a cattle ranch in Colorado, Peter McBride sat on the perfect perch from which to view the effects of water. From his haybine seat…
The Colorado River, Photo by Peter McBride As a boy growing up on a cattle ranch in Colorado, Peter McBride sat on the perfect perch from which to view the effects of water. From his haybine seat…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PimHez3mkoY%C2%A0 Results of a four-year study by researchers at the University of Colorado suggest that living at altitudes around 5,000 feet (Denver is 5,280 feet above see level) or higher might increase lifespan. The study, recently published in the…
Carpentry demonstration at Dickinson Plantation; courtesy of Delaware.gov America's “First State” is also the only state without a National Park Service site. Although Delaware's…
(Photo Trip Jennings) National Geographic explorers Trip Jennings and Andy Maser departed for the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday to begin their Elephant Ivory Project, an effort to curb poaching of African…
Viewing moose from your house can be a safe option. Courtesy of Flickr A woman in Alaska is home licking her wounds after a kicking scrape with a moose in downtown Anchorage, according to the Anchorage Daily…
Thermal image of Kilauea, showing the source of the flow. Courtesy of USGS.gov Although tsunamis produced by the earthquake in Japan have raised global concern for Pacific communities, the island archipelago of Hawaii is dealing with another natural inconvenience…
Courtesy of Flickr Founded in 2007, Green the Capitol was Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's initiative to make the U.S. House of Representatives a leader in sustainable business practices. Until…
Rafting Uganda's White Nile. Courtesy of Flickr Kayakers, paddlers, and boaters are mourning the loss of some of their African habitat. As of February 27, a section of the White Nile River in Uganda is closed to river traffic to make way…
Back in December 2008, before President Obama took over, Tim DeChristopher was attending the University of Utah and spending his free time at a Bureau of Land Management auction for oil and gas lease sales. To say…
Yogi bear was born in 1950 and weighs 490 pounds, at least, those are his vitals according to the Provo, Utah police records. The Utah County Sheriff's department apparently uses the name to show rookies how to book in their computer system. What they didn't account for was the record…
Courtesy of IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group A new study from the Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group of the IUCN reports that…
Courtesy of Flickr A Florida resident captured the death of a manatee on video, which can be viewed online at WSVN News. Lance Irvine, the owner of…
Courtesy of Flickr The 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand Tuesday morning has caused extensive damage to the country's longest glacier. The quake shook nearly 30 million tons of ice from the…
Yesterday, President Obama unveiled the America's Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations report, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.The AGO report focuses on connecting Americans with the outdoors and encourages active, outdoor lifestyles. Sally Jewell, president and…
Five to seven months without eating, drinking, urinating or defecating. It's not a punishment, it's hibernation, and bears do it every winter. Until now, however, little was known about the physiological changes that allow a bear to survive hibernation. A study released today by researchers at the University…
The Japanese whaling vessel Kyo Maru No. 1 on a whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Courtesy of IFAW The Japanese whaling fleet is leaving the internationally recognized Southern Ocean Sanctuary around…
ExxonMobil hopes to drive huge trucks full of equipment for the Alberta Tar Sands through the twisty mountain roads of Montana and Idaho—and the plan has two literary heavyweights, David James Duncan and Rick Bass, steaming mad.
Yellowstone bison. Courtesy of Flickr Wildlife officials in Montana shot and killed an uncooperative female bison on Monday in the Gallatin Valley north of Yellowstone National Park, according to Reuters. The bison was one…
Photo courtesy of Flickr. The nonprofit ARC announced a winner yesterday for it's competition to design a wildlife crossing over I-70, near Vail and Breckenridge ski resorts, The New York Times reports. The area marks…
Courtesy of Orin Zebest on Flickr. As the national interest in hunting has waned and game habitat has become suburban development, government conservation efforts face budget crises, the New York Times reports. Hunting license sales and…
Now more than ever, the world could use some bright ideas. Like these.
Little Nemo is looking at you. (Photo courtesy of Shek Graham on Flickr.) The next time you go fishing, you might want to take a moment to consider how the fish feels before you bop one on the head or hook it through its gills,…
Courtesy of dobak on Flickr. Wolves in the Rockies will remain on the Endangered Species List despite growing controversy over their protection, the Associated Press reports. Negotiations between the Obama administration and lawmakers in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming…
Photo courtesy of Flickr. Tigers living in the wild could go extinct in 12 years if countries where they live neglect to take action to protect their habitats and fight poachers, The Huffington Post reports. A…
Photo Courtesy of Flickr Professional football has long been known as excessive: monstrous salaries, massive stadiums, and huge players. The Eagles took a step back today though, planning to offset their power consumption by installing 80 sprial wind turbines and some 2,500 solar…
Obsessive biologist Rick McIntyre has some peculiar ideas about America's most controversial predator.
Photo courtesy of [.ReStart.] on Flickr. A Minnesota family was driving to get pizza on Saturday when a deer came flying through the front window of their car, whacked family members in the face, then continued on through the back window,…
The climate cycle known as La Niña has remained steady through October, Surfersvillage Global Surf News is reporting. Characterized by below average surface water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, La Niña typically affects the western United States…
American Bison: A bovine mammal (Bison bison) of western North America, having large forequarters, a shaggy mane, and a massive head with short curved horns; a buffalo. If you were on the internet this week you probably saw the picture of the torn-up…
A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization casts a foreboding future for California’s National Parks, which could become poster children for the likely detrimental impacts of climate change. The study found that 10 parks in the state, including Yosemite, Death Valley, Redwood, Joshua…
Photo courtesy of Flickr A new species of monkey found in Mayanmar has an upturned nose that fills with water when it rains, causing it to sneeze, Science Daily reports. The new species, named Rhinopithecus strykeri, is better known…
Ever wondered what it takes to snap award-winning wildlife photography? So did the folks at New Scientist. They interviewed five photographers from this year's…
GardenFork's Eric Rochow shows you how to build your own bat house in a new video tutorial, posted at Wired Science. Yes, the end of October is rapidly approaching. And, let's be honest, if you…
Master all things meteorological with our expert primer on sun, wind, snow, and rain
Why are leading green groups like Patagonia offshoot Freedom to Roam still in bed with BP?
When minister and aid specialist James Gulley came home alive from the Haitian earthquake—barely, after an incredible survival ordeal in Port-au-Prince—he turned right around and went back. His son went, too, discovering the true power of a faith he'd never shared.
Running a DIY dog-rescue operation is never easy, but when you've got two dozen misfit animals under your care, you need a way to let off steam.
Photo courtesy of Flickr. Last night, divers from the European conservation organization The Black Fish cut the nets of six holding pens in Taiji, Japan, their Web site reports. The freed dolphins had recently been…
Courtesy of Edward Vielmetti on Flickr. Despite surpluses of dry grass across the West, the 2010 fire season so far has represented about a 20-percent decrease in the number of recorded fires and a 50-percent decrease in total acreage burned…
Courtesy of See-ming Lee on Flickr. A woman living near Frenchtown, Montana drove a bear from her threshold by hurling a 14-inch zucchini at its head, Fox News reports. The approximately 200-pound bruin was…
September 17 marks the sixth annual PARK(ing) Day, when people around the globe reclaim metered parking spaces as public spaces. According to Parkingday.org, the “project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted…
On Monday, the director of Utah's Division of Oil, Gas & Mining approved plans for the first commercial U.S. oil sands project, the AP reports. Director John Baza gave Canadian company…