Conflicts between humans and wildlife are high in areas where cattle graze in lion territory. A new project seeks to minimize attacks on livestock by stamping eye patterns on the cows’ rear ends. (A lion will stop in its tracks if it thinks it has been seen). In a ten-week pilot study, the patterns successfully protected the “i-cows." Earth Touch News
Help Save Grizzlies
Tell the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that Yellowstone's iconic bears still need federal protection.
It fundamentally calls into question New York's existence. The water is coming, and the long-term implications are gigantic.
—Chris Ward, former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, discusses the alarming sea-level rise projections for New York City.
Large solar power systems—as opposed to rooftop units—are expected to account for 70 percent of the country's new solar capacity this year, with the number of installations even climbing in states without mandates that promote clean energy. Thanks to the technology's cost effectiveness, the price of sun-powered electricity is now similar to, and in some places cheaper than natural gas. Reuters
Farm runoff loaded with phosphorus triggers the harmful blooms, which create dead zones and contaminate drinking water. A new study finds that an increase in local crops sprayed with glyphosate—the main ingredient in Roundup—has boosted the amount of phosphorus that makes it into the lake. Ecowatch
A new analysis of the health effects of 257 of the EU's coal plants found that in 2013 the dirty fuel contributed to thousands of premature deaths and racked up 62 billion euros in medical costs. Huffington Post
Protect Marine Life
Urge NOAA to strengthen its plan to reduce industrial ocean noise.
Save Rhinos
Tell the king of Swaziland to drop his scheme to legalize the rhino horn trade.
Our forecast supports the suggestion that the Mauna Loa record will never again show CO2 concentrations below the symbolic 400 ppm within our lifetimes.
—Researchers writing in Nature Climate Change comment on the fact that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have passed the 400 parts per million milestone, and they're not coming back down any time soon.
The capital city, Nuuk, hit 75 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday —the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country in June. Greenland experienced record-high temperatures in April, too, when its ice melt season began about a month earlier than usual. Washington Post