Latest News
Elephant poachers kill vultures, too. -
Poachers poison elephant carcasses to kill the scavengers, preventing them from circling overhead and alerting rangers to the illegal activity. With seven species declining by 80 percent or more in just three generations, African vultures are in no shape to suffer such assaults. Quartz
A Dutch court orders the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions. -
Environmental campaigners successfully argued that the Dutch government is obligated to protect its citizens from climate change. In a case that may set a precedent for other countries, the court ruled that the Netherlands' plan to reduce emissions by 17 percent won't cut it. Instead, it must lower them 25 percent by 2020. BBC
New research suggests that air pollution ages the brain. -
Yet another study has found a connection between decreased white matter and exposure to PM 2.5, fine particulate matter that can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream. New York Times
Vicuña poaching is on the rise in South America. -
The price of the soft wool from this endangered Andean camel has skyrocketed in Europe and Asia. The poaching not only threatens the vicuña but also the livelihoods of indigenous groups who herd and shear these animals without killing them. Los Angeles Times
23,000 species are threatened with extinction. -
In the latest update to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, 14 species moved into the "Critically Endangered" category. The IUCN lists no new species as extinct, but a recent study found that the extinction rate over the last century has risen significantly. New Scientist
We can save tens of thousands of American lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars, annually in the United States by the end of this century, but the sooner we act, the better off America and future generations of Americans will be.
—EPA administrator Gina McCarthy discusses the findings of the agency's new report on climate action, which was released today