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Extinction threatens nearly 70 percent of the world's flowering plants. -

In an op-ed, professor Stephen L. Buchmann says it's time to take action to conserve native flowering plants. Habitat loss and degradation, along with the spread of invasives, are rapidly killing species we rely on for food, medicine, beauty, and more. New York Times

Nestle is still bottling water from drought-parched California. -

Environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service this week for allowing the company to divert water from San Bernadino National Forest on a permit that expired in 1988. The agency, the plaintiffs say, gets just $524 a year for Nestlé's use of the pipeline in question—less than the average Californian's water bill. Mother Jones

School districts in Oklahoma are running earthquake drills. -

Sooners and other Midwestern residents are preparing for the increased seismic activity from oil and gas drilling by participating in FEMA's "Great ShakeOut" earthquake drill today. Reuters

China declares a year-long ban on importing ivory hunting trophies. -

The new policy builds on an agreement to enact nearly complete bans on ivory imports and exports, which President Xi Jinping and President Obama announced last month. China is currently the world's largest market for poached ivory. Reuters

The boreal forest is in steep decline. -

The world's largest biome, which rings the top of the Northern Hemisphere, makes up a third of the planet's forest cover. But thawing permafrost, wildfires, insect outbreaks, industrial development, and shifting climate zones are all taking their toll on the ecosystem. Scientists say cutting global carbon emissions (and fast) is the only real fix. Yale Environment 360

Climate change is making spring come much sooner. -

A new study finds that by the end of the century, spring will arrive an average of three weeks earlier. That may sound like good news, but it could mess up the timing for all kinds of important interactions between plants and animals. Newsweek