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1146 stories
When U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in late 2025 and dismissed climate change as a "con job", the scientific community reacted with alarm. Months earlier, The Guardian had reported that his anti-climate agen...
Climate change, including high temperatures and heat waves, poses serious risks to the environment, food systems, and human health. New research now suggests it may also lead to delays in early childhood development. The study, published in the Jour...
Female Galápagos Birds Flaunt Their Sexual Partners. The Males Don't Seem to Mind. A Galápagos bird species is stunning behaviorists with their "freewheeling" lifestyles. Described in the journal PLOS One, female Nazca boobies (Sula granti) will ...
The planet has been flipping between two main modes of carbon recovery depending on the state of coral reefs, new research suggests :focal(597x336:598x337)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/0b/9a/0b9ab0d9-7b43-4...
In mid-November, members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians were called in to salvage the remains of a beached humpback whale on the central Oregon coast. The young whale, estimated to be around two years old, was found stranded on November...
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A new 'fairy lantern' species is found at a Malaysian picnic site In November 2023, naturalist Gim Siew Tan chanced upon an unusual plant with whitish-peach flowers growing near the buttress of a tree at a popular picnic site in Hulu Langat Fores...
Forget every notion you have about national parks. We are not trekking on dusty trails or climbing ancient granite cliffs. We are going to a place where the very earth is an illusion, a magnificent trick of nature. Welcome to Keibul Lamjao, the world...
New Underwater Acoustic Camera Identifies Individual Fish Sounds Fish have been discovered to make sounds for more than 2,000 years, but they have largely gone unheard by humans. While a typical coral reef may be home to dozens of fish species, i...
Light-filled Apartment-style Tiny House Built for Coastal Living The Urban Park Max 37 by Tru Form Tiny is a spacious and light-filled tiny house designed to withstand the elements of coastal living. With a length of 37 ft (11.2 m) and a width of...
Rabbit-sized, nocturnal and elusive, the greater mouse-deer (Tragulus napu) hadn't been seen in Singapore for more than 80 years. Researchers long presumed it was locally extinct. However, in 2008, researchers confirmed sightings of the pint-sized ...
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The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), the world's top decision-making body on the environment, opened its seventh session in Nairobi on Monday. The assembly aimed to take action on critical environmental challenges, despite deep geopolitica...
"People bathe in the river, they eat from the river — they live, dance and sing there," says Dora Agudelo Vazquez. "Their whole lives are bound to the river." Agudelo Vazquez, one of the guardians of the Atrato River, is sitting on a park bench in th...
Above the bustle of east London, the white storks will soon return. As part of an ambitious rewilding effort, these charismatic birds will be reintroduced to the UK capital next year, joining beavers in Eastbrookend Country Park. "It's thrilling," s...
Australia's Bold Move to Ban Kids Under 16 from Social Media Starting this week, on December 10th, Australia will become the first country to ban all children under 16 from having social media accounts. This sweeping law covers popular platforms ...
Norway Pauses Deep-Sea Mining for Four Years Norway has made a policy U-turn, closing the door to deep-sea mining in its waters until at least 2029. On December 3, Norway's five political parties supporting the new government debated the fiscal b...
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Africa's Stakes in Global UN Environment Talks in Nairobi From Dec. 8-12, Kenya will host delegates from governments, civil society, industry and scientific agencies for the United Nations Environment Assembly at a time of profound environmental ...
71 Hilarious Animal Names Found On 'Petfinder' That Take Creativity To A Whole New Level (New Pics) Adopting a pet in need is one of the most meaningful decisions a person can make. But choosing the perfect name for your new furry (or scaly) frie...
Scientists involved in a new deep-sea research effort report that a recent mining test unexpectedly led to the discovery of large numbers of previously unknown species living 4,000 meters (13,123-feet) below the surface. Their findings indicate that...
Cristina Gallardo, 39, a Devoted Guardian of Spain's Wild Places, Lost to a Fall The cliffs above Cala de Moraia are steep and inaccessible. To most people, the terrain would signal danger rather than duty. But dangerous places often shelter life...
Thousands of visitors have been flocking to Twycross Zoo in Warwickshire, England, to see their dazzling holiday spectacle called "Lanterns Of The Wild" since it opened on November 14. The stunning display is illuminated by more than 2,000 hand-craft...
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Lemurs at Risk, Protectors Struggling Nearly four decades ago, Patricia Wright arrived in Madagascar to search for a lemur thought to be extinct. Not only did she find that lemur, but she also discovered a new species. This led to the creation of...
German Hairy Snails Disappearing from London's River Thames Meet the German hairy snail (Pseudotrichia rubiginosa): a tiny mollusk with a hairy shell that lives along the River Thames in England, among other places. Researchers believe that its...
5 Captivating Images from National Geographic's Pictures of the Year National Geographic's annual "Pictures of the Year" project showcases the most inspiring and thought-provoking images captured by the magazine's renowned photographers. This yea...
The 'Durham Cow' in Durham, England There are not many cities in the United Kingdom, let alone the world, that have as fascinating backstory to their origin than that of the northern enclave known as Durham. If one is to believe this incredible f...
PFAS contamination has become one of the most pressing environmental issues of the last decade. These chemicals appear in everything from non-stick pans and waterproof clothing to industrial firefighting foams. Over time, PFAS seep into rivers, lakes...
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Established in 1658, Deep Hollow Ranch is the oldest working cattle ranch in America. It originally served as a seasonal pasture for cattle and sheep who were driven to the tip of Long Island to graze on the maritime grasses each summer. Over the ce...
As the sliver of a new moon shines over Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu, millions of tiny orbs ascend from a reef and swirl in the water column. These spheres are bundles of coral eggs and sperm responding to lunar cycles and chemical cues in the water that tell...
Fish gills may inspire an unexpected solution to one of our biggest sources of microplastics. According to researchers at Germany's University of Bonn, taking a cue from the animals' filtration systems might help remove the vast majority of harmful p...
Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares his perspective on the pivotal decision to transition the organization's business model away from advertising. The transition in 2012 was a turning point for Mongabay. At the time, the advertising model was...
In 2010, heavy rainfall in Tennessee caused historic flooding that eroded farmland and deposited sandy soil, making it difficult to return to productive use. However, this decline in usefulness also presented an opportunity to restore the land to its...
Brightcast is dedicated to restoring faith in humanity by highlighting the progress, solutions, and kindness that often go unnoticed. We believe in a balanced worldview.
Read our full mission →
'We miss having a dog but it's the price you pay': the village that banned pets to save wildlife Bill Smart, a 77-year-old retired mechanical engineer, has never heard the term "solarpunk," but he says the definition fits his eco-community on Aus...
A brand new elephant calf made his grand entrance into the world at the Columbus Zoo on October 21. This baby elephant was a big boy, weighing in at 222 pounds at birth, and the zoo couldn't wait to show him off. They shared the first peek on October...
A Rare Bright Spot for Whales Populations of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), playful animals that resemble large dolphins, stretch across the Atlantic Ocean. Historically, commercial whaling targeted these animals, causing t...
Golf courses are often associated with environmental waste, not solutions. For example, the average 18-hole golf course in California guzzles up 90 million gallons of water per year - the equivalent of 136 Olympic-sized swimming pools. However, the...
Decades-old Palm Trees Bloom for the First and Only Time in Rio In Rio de Janeiro's Flamengo Park, towering talipot palm trees are flowering for the first and only time in their lives. These decades-old palms were introduced to the park by renown...
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Will NYC's Pension Funds Once Again Lead the Nation on Climate Change? Comptroller Brad Lander has proposed moving some of the city's enormous pension fund business from dirtier to cleaner money managers. If he gets the pension fund trustees to e...
For three decades, scientists have tracked Bonelli's eagles in southern Spain, home to much of the endangered European population of the massive bird. Despite facing numerous threats, including territorial conflicts, clashes with golden eagles, nests...
Each rocket launch sends valuable materials into the sky that cannot be recovered, while also releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases and chemicals that damage the ozone layer. A new paper published December 1 in the Cell Press journal Chem Circu...
Delegates at a global summit to update international wildlife trade rules have agreed on sweeping new protections for more than 70 shark and ray species. The move marks a significant step toward effectively tightening the legal trade in some of the w...
Farmers plant or preserve riparian buffers for various reasons, such as improving water quality, controlling erosion, or maintaining hunting habitat. Now, a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign underscores the benefits of ripari...