Dung beetles, as their name suggests, make a living off other animals' waste. But in gathering excrement they help disperse seeds that have endured the journey through others' digestive tracts—playing an essential role in ensuring biodiversity in the tropics.
In parts of Europe, legend holds that white storks deliver babies and protect houses from fire. The birds are beloved by many Europeans who welcome the sight of the storks' massive nests—some of which are ten feet (three meters) deep and centuries old—on their rooftops, church spires, and neighborhood telephone poles.
Photo sensors dim lamps when sunlight is bright enough to read by. Conference-room chairs are made from recycled seatbelts. Water collected from the roof is used to flush toilets. Welcome to the Natural Resources Defense Council office in Santa Monica, California—named the greenest office building in the United States.
As trillions of cicadas infest large parts of the northeastern United States this summer, predators, from birds and snakes to moles and a specialized fungus, are poised to gorge on the insects. Researchers are studying how the cicada emergence impacts the life cycles of other species.
Everyone agrees that Earth's oil supply is limited—but just how close are we to running out? Some experts predict an irreversible shortage within a few years. But at least one analyst argues that new technologies and underestimated reserves mean that the sun is far from setting on the oil age.
Exporting ornamental fish for aquariums may generate billions of dollars for developing countries in the tropics. But whereas sustainable use of these resources may be of benefit to the health of these ecosystems, conservationists are increasingly concerned about exotic fish being dumped into the wild in the importing countries, where native species may be threatened.
To environmentalists, there is more than a kernel of truth in the catastrophic scenarios depicted in the upcoming summer
flick The Day After Tomorrow. Some activists hope
the movie, in which global warming
leads to a new ice age, will spark debate about the
environmental damage the Earth is suffering.
How not to become roadkill—it's one of the biggest challenges facing animals in North America, along with the issues of how to migrate or find a mate when a highway's in the way. Now animal overpasses are helping mountain lions, bears, and even salamanders safely across the road.
Poisoned by a painkiller, south Asian vulture species are on the edge of extinction. The only way to save them is to begin a 20- to 30-year captive-breeding program, say conservationists who are racing to get the birds into safekeeping.
During a recent one-day cleanup, volunteers in and around Washington, D.C., collected 162 tons of trash from the Potomac River watershed in three hours. Lined end to end, the trash—weighing about as much as 30 school buses—would stretch for more than three miles (five kilometers).
A dramatic rise in poaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Garamba National Park is threatening to destroy the last wild population of northern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), conservationists warn.
More than a millennium ago, fierce power struggles raged between Maya kings in the city of Waka, deep in the Guatemalan jungle. Today, the city is once again under assault, this time from drug smugglers, cattle ranchers, and the impoverished farmers they hire as arsonists.
Few shores are immune from the tide of plastic soda bottles, bags, cartons, and other trash floating on the ocean today. Now a new study suggests the problem runs deeper: Microscopic bits of plastic permeate the world's beaches and marine environment.
This Arbor Day—Friday, April 30, 2004—a clone of a tree planted by George Washington will be planted at a historic New York State farm. That same day, a clone of Washington State's tallest sycamore will be planted at George Washington's Virginia home, Mount Vernon.
Eighteen years ago today (2004), reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. The accident killed at least 30 plant workers, caused the hospitalization of hundreds of others, and exposed millions of people to harmful radiation. Yet today the true health costs of the nuclear disaster are still unknown.
