A new way of seeing species extinction, and humans’ impact on other mammals
Some species count more than others in our ‘evolutionary history’ — should we save them first?
Environment
Restocking wolves on Isle Royale raises questions about which species get rescued
Restocking wolves on Isle Royale is the first time that the National Park Service has intervened in a designated wilderness area to manipulate a predator-prey relationship.
New outlook on global warming: Best prepare for social collapse, and soon
Key trends are accelerating, with major catastrophes in less than 10 years, a British sustainability expert says.
From trade wars to climate change, farmers’ prospects are increasingly dire. Can tech provide the solution?
In St. Paul, tech entrepreneurs shared their big plans to “disrupt” the food system. A day later in Minneapolis, farmers painted a darker picture.
Lawsuit over environmental trust fund may have implications for Legacy Amendment money
The lawsuit — over the Legislature’s use of money from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund — also serves as a warning to lawmakers to stay away from other constitutionally dedicated funds for the environment.
Great reads on algal poison factories, American climate refugees, and more
A Minnesota transplant in a South Carolina lab untangles natural toxins more deadly than sarin gas.
Minnesota has convened yet another panel on wild rice. Can it actually get anything done?
In many respects, 2018 was a long and winding road back to square one for Minnesota’s wild rice standard.
Climate has national parks heating up, drying out faster than the rest of U.S.
Among the threatened namesake features: the alpine ice sheets of Glacier National Park, the giant yuccas at Joshua Tree.
Why a clean water rule may — or may not — be a big issue in Minnesota’s First Congressional District
GOP candidate Jim Hagedorn is touting the Trump administration’s rollback of a 2015 update to the Clean Water Act — despite the fact that the big topic among farmers is Trump’s trade war.
A terrific book on Great Lakes water conflicts gets a timely, thorough update
Much has happened in the first decade of an eight-state compact, but coy grabs and secretive practices haven’t ceased.
What the Trump administration’s latest decision means for the future of mining near the Boundary Waters
For advocates, the decision to end an Obama-ordered environmental study was both predictable and shocking.
Copper-nickel? The data say it’s bad economics
There is a remarkable amount of economic data and research suggesting that a new mine will not bring the economic benefits that its supporters believe.
Edible urban weeds found to be safe, healthful, abundant — and they’re free
Can it really be safe to forage for leafy greens that grew in a stew of industrial pollution? Yep.
Bringing parks to people: a Q&A with new Regional Parks Ambassador Amanda Lovelee
“The main goal of this position is to bring parks to people and to make sure that everyone has access.”
Dinosaur extinction, wolf restoration, gorillas in decline: a few great reads
Renegade researchers, “the nastiest feud in science,” and how people compete with apes for water in Rwanda’s changing climate.
After 13 years, a global team conquers the ‘Mt. Everest of plant genomics’
The wheat genome has finally been mapped in sufficient detail to enable more rapid and robust genetic tinkering — perhaps on a track that could head off mass starvation in coming decades.
Tons of plastic trash enter the Great Lakes every year – where does it go?
One recent study found microplastic particles — fragments measuring less then five millimeters — in globally sourced tap water and beer brewed with water from the Great Lakes.
August 20, 1904: The day a cyclone slammed Waconia
The storm damaged much of the town, and five people were killed.
The West’s wildfire season of 2018 is shaping up to be another really bad one
Meanwhile, new research into downwind smoke from western wildfires suggests Minnesota gets more than its share.
The battle over ‘Losing Earth’: Why a new history of climate inaction has inspired so much pushback
Was there really such broad consensus on what had to be done to address climate change? Was the marquee failure all that pivotal?