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| Raphael Barbar / 2021 Sony World Photography Awards |
Some items that have been sitting in the "in box" and some articles from today's conservation news clippings.
Just discovered and already endangered:
A 38-foot-long (11.5 meters) whale that washed ashore in the Florida Everglades in January 2019 turns out to be a completely new species. And it's already considered endangered, scientists say.
The discovery, detailed Jan. 10 in the journal Marine Mammal Science, also means that there are fewer than 100 members of this species living on the planet, making them "critically endangered," according to a statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
At least the newly discovered Rice's whales don't face extinction anonymously.
For nearly three decades, the region has been stuck in unending litigation and spiraling costs as salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers decline toward extinction. But in a sweeping $34 billion proposal from an unlikely source, at an auspicious moment, comes a chance for a fresh start.
Could Congressman Mike Simpson, a Republican from a conservative district in eastern Idaho, have launched a concept that will forever alter life on the Columbia and Snake — and finally honor tribal treaty fishing rights in the Columbia Basin?
A Republican suggesting doing the right thing for both conservation and tribal rights. Truly a "man bites dog story."
Will humans and Los Lobos share the land?
Mexican wolves help balance the entire ecosystem. They keep populations of both its prey and competitors — like pumas and coyotes — in check. And the remains of the animals they feed on in turn nourish scavengers, microorganisms and plants.
But the old enmity between "el lobo'' and the farmer hasn't gone away — particularly as wolves circle villages, venturing within a kilometer (0.6 miles) of human homes. Which is why the initiative is working to educate people about the benefits their canine neighbors bring, and encourage cattle breeders in particular to welcome them back.
46 wolves have been released and 35 are currently living in the wild.
The fracking boom has received broad support from politicians across the aisle in Appalachia due to dreams of enormous job creation, but a report released on February 10 from Pennsylvania-based economic and sustainability think tank, the Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI), sheds new light on the reality of this hype.
The report looked at how 22 counties across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio — accounting for 90 percent of the region's natural gas production — fared during the fracking boom. It found that counties that saw the most drilling ended up with weaker job growth and declining populations compared to other parts of Appalachia and the nation as a whole.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like the Australia-based company Sun Cable. Not only are they developing the “world’s largest solar farm and battery storage facility” – consisting of some 15,000 hectares of photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 10GW, as well as a 33 GWh battery storage facility. But they are also planning to dedicate a good chunk of that capacity (3GW) to offering dispatchable power that’s transported from Australia’s Northern Territory along a 4,500-kilometer high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) transmission system across the ocean to Singapore. If all goes well, by 2027 the project could be supplying as much as 20% of Singapore’s electricity needs and helping it to wean itself off from expensive natural gas imports.
Sure roof-top solar makes us feel good, but imagine what a solar/battery facility that takes up 58 square miles (150 km2) can do to make the planet feel better.
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