Biodiversity & Conservation - Inside Climate News

When a Retired Scientist Suggested Virginia Weaken Wetlands Protections, the State Said, No Way

By Sarah Vogelsong — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

After the Supreme Court weakened federal protection of wetlands last year, a Trump transition team member from Fairfax County urged the state to follow suit. But Virginia’s top environmental regulator stood his ground.

By Sarah Vogelsong

A little over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the range of wetlands the federal government can protect, a Virginia board turned down a petition that would have similarly limited local officials from regulating certain wetlands within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Lithium Critical to the Energy Transition Is Coming at the Expense of Water

By Wyatt Myskow — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 18:45:00 +0000

A new study finds that the mining and processing of the metal critical to EV batteries and renewable energy storage projects depletes and contaminates surface water, often in already vulnerable communities.

By Wyatt Myskow

Lithium needed for batteries that power electric vehicles and store electricity from renewable energy projects is likely to deplete—and in some cases, contaminate—local water supplies, according to a new paper published this week.

Montana Is a Frontier for Deep Carbon Storage, and the Controversies Surrounding the Potential Climate Solution

By Najifa Farhat — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

The Big Sky State hopes to get federal incentives to store captured carbon under public lands, but for many residents near the project, the threat is greater than the opportunity.

By Najifa Farhat

A new project aims to take carbon dioxide pollution, likely from two natural gas processing plants in Wyoming, and store it thousands of feet underground beneath the wide-open prairies of southeastern Montana.

In Alabama’s Bald Eagle Territory, Residents Say an Unexpected Mining Operation Emerged as Independence Day Unfolded

By Lee Hedgepeth — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

Aside Lake Guntersville, bald eagles are royalty. But locals say a planned chert pit is already changing that status.

By Lee Hedgepeth

LANGSTON, Ala.—In a state-owned lodge atop Taylor Mountain in Lake Guntersville State Park, the walls are covered with paintings of bald eagles. Busts of the national bird carved in stone adorn end tables in the wood-paneled lobby.

Tribes and Environmentalists Press Arizona and Federal Officials to Stop Uranium Mining Near the Grand Canyon

By Noel Lyn Smith — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Activists hope to shut down an existing mine within a new national monument and to prevent the transportation of uranium on state and federal roads across Navajo Nation lands.

By Noel Lyn Smith

PHOENIX—Members of environmental groups stood together in the lobby of the Arizona State Capitol Executive Tower late last month to deliver a petition to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, requesting that she stop uranium mining activities near the Grand Canyon National Park.

How Good are Re-Planted Mangroves at Storing Carbon? A New Study Puts a Number on It

By Alexa Robles-Gil — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Forty years of data reveals that planted mangroves can reach about 70 percent of the carbon stocks in naturally occurring mangroves.

By Alexa Robles-Gil

Dark green mangrove forests grow along shores from Indonesia to South Florida, with roots tangling out of the water. Scientists have continuously marveled at their myriad abilities: to survive in saltwater, to bear the brunt of severe storms, to support reefs and fish and to absorb a tremendous amount of climate-warming carbon—three to five times more per acre than mature tropical forests.

As a Nevada Community Fights a Lithium Mine, a Rare Fish and Its Haven Could Be an Ace in the Hole

By Wyatt Myskow — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

The Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge has been called the “Galapagos of the Mojave Desert,” but nearby residents fear a proposed lithium mine’s impacts on the region’s water will hurt both the wildlife and their town.

By Wyatt Myskow

AMARGOSA, Nev.—Eight thousand years.

Jaguars, Macaws and Tropical Dry Forest Have a Right To Exist, a Colombian Court Is Told

By Katie Surma — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 09:10:00 +0000

The “rights of nature” lawsuit follows at least eight Colombian court rulings that have recognized the rights of ecosystems, including the country’s portion of the Amazon rainforest. But enforcement of those decisions has been lagging, and some activists face retaliation.

By Katie Surma

A new lawsuit asks Colombia to recognize that jaguars, military macaws and the nation’s tropical dry forest have legal rights to “life, health and integrity.”

The World’s Sharks Face a Gauntlet of Threats From Marine Heatwaves—and ‘Coldwaves,’ Scientists Say

By Kiley Price — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 19:42:04 +0000

Climate change is disrupting shark reproduction and development in a variety of ways, experts warn.

By Kiley Price

Over the last 450 million years, sharks have survived five mass extinctions, making them some of the oldest—and sturdiest—creatures still in existence today.

In the South, Sea Level Rise Accelerates at Some of the Most Extreme Rates on Earth

By Amy Green — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

The surge is startling scientists, amplifying impacts such as hurricane storm surges and nuisance flooding and testing mitigation measures like the Resilient Florida program.

By Amy Green

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—For most of his life, Steve Salem has led an existence closely linked with the rise and fall of the tides.