Scientists closely monitor the last member of a species. Is there space in a creature’s DNA to consider the prospect of no tomorrow?
nature
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Bounty of the Bone Pile
Butchered whales lure polar bears and tourists to a coastal Alaskan town. So far, so good. Sort of.
Posted inArts & Culture, Nonfiction, Quotes
Searching for the Lost on Public Land
At Outside, the disappearance of a teenage runner in Colorado brings up the question: Who searches for the people who disappear on American public lands?
Posted inEditor's Pick
How a stressed woman found solace through looking at birds
In this interview, author Kyo Maclear talks of birds and bird-watching as an “ode to the beauty of smallness, of quiet, of seeing the unique in the ordinary,” “in an age in which bombastic noise often triumphs over quiet contemplation.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
When the National Bird Is a Burden
The bald eagle has long been a symbol of pride and freedom in the United States. But for one family farm in Georgia, it’s a real nuisance.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Hermit Who Inadvertently Shaped Climate-Change Science
Billy Barr moved into a remote part of the Rocky Mountains in search of solitude over 40 years ago. To avoid boredom, he documented snow levels, animal sightings, and the date flowers first bloomed. “…collectively his work has become some of the most significant indication that climate change is rearranging mountain ecosystems more dramatically and […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
How to Talk about the Weather Like a Newfoundlander
In Canada’s most easterly province, volatile weather conditions and cultural isolation produced a fascinating vocabulary to describe the natural world.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Are We in a New Era of ‘Re-Wilding’?
The contrasting conditions of the resurgent Föritz and the depleted forests of Albania are a microcosm of the planet. We are living in the Anthropocene, a time when human activity, more than anything else, shapes the earth’s climate and ecosystems. Our hunting, fishing, deforestation, overgrazing, and pollution have created a period of mass extinction the likes of which haven’t occurred since the dinosaurs. E. O. Wilson, the preeminent biologist and conservationist, predicts we could lose half of all species on the earth by the end of this century.
Posted inUncategorized
Scientists are trying to uncover why some people are better able to recover from trauma than others: After Ebaugh crawled up the rocky riverbank, a truck driver picked her up, took her to a nearby convenience store and bought her a cup of hot tea. Police, when they arrived, were sympathetic and patient. The doctor […]