How artificial intelligence can help beavers fight floods, droughts and wildfires

A few years ago, a couple of Google employees reached out to a Minnesota scientist with an unusual proposal: What if they could teach computers to spot beaver habitats from space?  “They wanted to know if I thought it was possible to find beaver wetlands from aerial imagery myself, and then if that could be … Read more

The environmental costs of EV batteries that politicians don’t tend to talk about

Along with the massive recent manufacturing investments in electric vehicle (EV) technology and talks of a greener, decarbonized future, there are some not-so-green problems.  In its latest New Energy Finance report, Bloomberg News predicts there will be some 730 million EVs on the road by 2040. The year before, Bloomberg predicted half of all U.S. vehicle sales would be battery electric by 2030.  … Read more

UK Government Says Nature Fund Added Over 2,500 Green Jobs to the UK Environment Sector

The UK government has released a new report on how its nature fund has helped the UK economy by generating more jobs and helping people connect with nature. The Department for Environment revealed that the £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund created over 2,600 jobs and helped 400,000 people connect with nature through 150 projects. … Read more

Lakewood apartment project at edge of Belmar Park faces opposition

A raft of ducks perched and waddled on the frozen surface of a pond at Belmar Park on a recent fall morning — foreground bustle for a double-crested cormorant rookery located on a small island just offshore. This 132-acre park in the middle of Lakewood, Colorado’s fifth-largest city, is tagged as a “hotspot” on eBird.com, … Read more

Why Africa’s Mount Kenya risks becoming as polluted as Kilimanjaro, as access to its peaks is made easier for visitors

None of us has succumbed to altitude sickness but members of the few climbing parties below us don’t seem to have been so fortunate; some are throwing up violently. A morning view of Nelion, the second highest peak of Mount Kenya at 5,188 metres, from Point Lenana. Photo: Kang-Chun Cheng It takes nearly three days … Read more

Why do these mosquitoes keep perching on the nostrils of frogs who want to eat them?

As It Happens6:28Why do these mosquitos keep perching on the nostrils of frogs who want to eat them? John Gould had been snapping pictures of mosquitoes on frogs for years before he noticed a trend — the bloodsuckers always seem to land right on the amphibians’ noses. “You would think that a frog would be … Read more

Bear euthanized after Imperial Oil unintentionally bulldozes den

A black bear has been euthanized after its den was “unintentionally bulldozed” by Imperial Oil, the province’s energy regulator told CBC News. The incident occurred on Dec. 6 near the Kearl oilsands project in northern Alberta, according to the company. Imperial Oil spokesperson Lisa Schmidt said in a statement that a contractor was building a drill pad in a previously cleared area … Read more

India has adopted a holistic approach towards conservation: Environment min at COP28

India has adopted a holistic approach towards conservation for which it has not just focused on reducing emissions to tackle temperature rise, but are also working towards arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration and enriching biodiversity, Environment minister Bhupender Yadav said on Saturday during global climate talks COP28. Delivering a statement at the Mangrove Alliance … Read more

Glacier melt opens up new territory for salmon — and mining

A new paper published in Science says that as glacier ice melts, new land and rivers are being revealed in the ice-covered transboundary region shared by northern B.C., Alaska, and the Yukon.  The peer-reviewed paper was a collaboration among researchers from Simon Fraser University, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs’ Office, the University of Montana Flathead Lake … Read more

‘A story of hope’: Scientists find elusive golden mole for the 1st time in 87 years

As It Happens6:12Scientists find elusive golden mole for the 1st time in 87 years When a group of conservation scientists set off in search of a long-lost species of South Africa moles in 2021, their colleagues warned them not to get their hopes up. After all, the last time a scientist had seen a De … Read more