Week ending Friday, October 16, 2020


‘Dying’ Arctic

Researchers returning from the world’s most ambitious study ever of the North Pole say they found proof that the Arctic Ocean “is dying,” due to unprecedented warming and the melting of the polar ice cap. A team of several hundred scientists from 20 countries say they found during their 389-day Arctic mission that the North Pole is surrounded by “badly eroded, melted, thin and brittle ice.” The mountain of data they collected will take up to two years to analyze and may help to predict conditions up to 100 years in the future. The team from the German Alfred Wegener Institute’s Polarstern ship says the results will...

Notice of intent to sue for giraffes; suit planned for wolverines

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a notice of intent to sue the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to act after announcing that giraffes may deserve protection from extinction under the Endangered Species Act.

According to the Center, giraffe populations are down 40 percent due to habitat loss, civil unrest and poaching for the international trade in bone carvings, skins, and trophies.

The U. S is a top importer of those trophies and products.

The Center and its allies petitioned for protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2017 and followed up in 2019 with a lawsuit.

When USFWS said...

Watersheds around New Mexico will benefit from five new projects approved for funding through the New Mexico Environment Department’s nonpoint source pollution program. The majority of surface water quality problems identified in New Mexico are caused by nonpoint source water pollution, such as rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground and depositing pollutants into rivers, lakes, and wetlands. More information on these projects is available below and at env.nm.gov.

These projects are federally funded through the Clean Water Act and require at least a 40 percent match of the total project cost, either as cash or in-kind services, at the state or local level. Besides...

The impact of the changing climate on lives and livelihoods on Youtube

ALBUQUERQUE — The Land Witness Project was conceived from a desire to learn about the ways the changing climate is affecting New Mexico’s lands and people now and in the future. It seeks to deepen scientific understanding with stories that clarify what is at stake for us as individuals and communities.

The purpose of the project is to illuminate neglected personal accounts of rural New Mexicans facing challenges and how they are responding with positive individual and community actions.

“It is our hope the stories will stimulate meaningful conversations and reimagine how we live and work, free from blame...