Mongabay Reports: ‘Extinction denial’ is the latest anti-science conspiracy theory
Release Date: 08/19/2021
Speeding toward a solution: Can 'road ecology' save millions of animals?
Mongabay Newscast
Nearly a million animals are killed on roads every day. That's just in the U.S., and this is very likely an underestimate. “If anything, the number is probably quite a bit higher,” says Ben Goldfarb, environmental journalist and author of the new book "." The world is projected to build 25 million more miles of roads by 2050, so wildlife ecologists and engineers are searching for ways to integrate the needs of wildlife into their design. Goldfarb’s book offers a deep examination of some of the most fascinating, inspiring, but also tragic ways human societies develop infrastructure...
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Profitability and sustainability go together, Patagonia's advocacy director says
Mongabay Newscast
Traditional capitalism is not working for the planet or the public, and needs an overhaul, says Beth Thoren, environmental action and initiatives director at Patagonia. Where governments are failing to regulate, Thoren argues, corporations should be making the change anyway. “If we continue to live in a world where shareholder value is the only thing that is valued, we will burn up and die,” she says. She joins the Mongabay Newscast to detail Patagonia's business model—which gives its profit to environmental organizations—and shares how the company is making a push for other...
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Ecuadorian environmentalists win historic vote for Yasuní National Park
Mongabay Newscast
Ecuadorians have just approved a referendum to halt oil drilling in Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, which will prohibit further oil extraction. The "yes" vote effectively keeps its oil in the ground, so for the details we check in with staff writer Max Radwin who covered the news for Mongabay. Related to that is a recent legal victory in Ecuador's Andean region, another massively biodiverse area – not only in that country but for the entire planet – so we're re-sharing a discussion with associate digital editor Romi Castagnino that aired after the...
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Protecting the Amazon requires fresh thinking
Mongabay Newscast
Tim Killeen is a top conservation biologist and author whose book is a straight-shooting, non-naive dive into "everything you need to know about the Amazon if you want to save it," he says on this episode. With 30 years of experience living in the Amazon, his wealth of knowledge springs from having guided the first environmental impact study there, pioneering satellite mapping of deforestation with NASA, and traveling extensively throughout the region, so Killeen has unique insight into the drivers of – and solutions for – Amazon deforestation. On this episode he shares key insights from...
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XPRIZE-Rainforest finalists for $10m conservation tech award announced
Mongabay Newscast
Conservation technology such as drones, remote sensing, and machine learning plays a critical role in supporting conservation scientists and aiding policymakers in making well-informed decisions for biodiversity protection. Recognizing this, the XPRIZE Foundation initiated a five-year competition with the goal of developing automated and accelerated methods for assessing rainforest biodiversity. In this episode of the Newscast, Mongabay staff writer Abhishyant Kidangoor interviews Peter Houlihan, the executive vice president of biodiversity and conservation at the XPRIZE Foundation during the...
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Biological field stations are key to conservation but often 'invisible'
Mongabay Newscast
Field research stations are vital to rewilding and conservation efforts yet they’re often absent from global environmental policy, a Nature paper argues. Despite this lack of visibility and funding challenges, their impact is immensely beneficial in regions of the world such as Costa Rica: a nation that had one of the highest rates of deforestation in the 1980s and became the to reverse tropical deforestation. Joining the Mongabay Newscast to discuss the importance of field research stations --is wildlife ecologist and director of Osa Conservation, Andrew Whitworth. Related...
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Big problems and potential for great ape conservation
Mongabay Newscast
Great apes are facing a concerning future. If humans neglect to address climate change, they could lose up to 94% of their range by 2050. In the Congo Basin, a stronghold for great ape species, several challenges pose significant threats to their survival; national interests in exploiting natural resources, security issues in areas like the Albertine Rift, hunting activities, and the illegal wildlife trade all contribute to the severe predicament faced by these charismatic mammals. In this episode of Mongabay Explores, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Kirsty Graham, Terese Hart,...
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Can the boom in psychedelics boost Amazon conservation?
Mongabay Newscast
Famed ethnobotanist and conservation advocate, Mark Plotkin, joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss traditional ecological knowledge about the increasingly popular psychedelic and medicinal plants and fungi of the Amazon. He shares his thoughts on the value of this knowledge and how this cultural moment can be used to leverage conservation action. Plotkin is no stranger to conservation, having co-founded the Amazon Conservation team in the 1990s. Their Indigenous-led and managed conservation model, while considered pioneering at the time, is becoming more recognized as the ideal today. His own...
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The Boom: Amy Westervelt examines Guyana's massive oil project on 'Drilled'
Mongabay Newscast
"" is a true-crime podcast series from Critical Frequency and journalist, Amy Westervelt, examining the back-door dealings and environmental impacts of major fossil fuel projects. The latest season looks into what's happening between the South American nation of Guyana and oil giant Exxon Mobil. For this episode of the Mongabay Newscast we give you a look at the first episode of the 8th season of this critically acclaimed podcast series. You can listen to it here. to Drilled on the podcast provider of your choice. We also encourage you to listen to our previous Newscast interview...
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Mongabay Reports: Solutions abound for staying within this planetary boundary
Mongabay Newscast
"The planetary boundaries" is a concept that measures the point at which human impact on our Earth's natural systems goes beyond "safe operating grounds." Trespass that boundary, and we risk destabilizing other natural systems in a cascading effect. A recent study getting a lot of press nowadays indicates that we've passed 7 out of 8 of these thresholds already — of particular interest beside climate change is that experts announced we crossed the land use change planetary boundary last year, in large part due to forest loss. Globally we've lost 50% of our forest cover since the dawn of...
info_outlineThere’s a growing refusal by some to acknowledge the ongoing global extinction crisis being driven by human actions, conservation scientists say.
These views are pushed by many of the same people who also downplay the impacts of climate change, and go against the actual evidence of widespread species population declines and recent extinctions.
Listen to a September 2020 report published at Mongabay.com about this news via this episode of Mongabay Reports, which shares evergreen articles from Mongabay.com, read by host Mike DiGirolamo.
This episode features the popular article, "Biologists warn 'exctinction denial' is the latest anti-science conspiracy theory."
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