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Brazil's Forest Fund Faces Slow Takeoff at COP30 Despite Initial Support The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), Brazil's major climate finance initiative, attracted $6.7 billion in sponsor capital at COP30 - well below the initial $25 bill...
Data centers are notoriously water-intensive facilities. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that in 2023, data centers in the U.S. consumed around 17 billion gallons of water for their operations. However, this direct on-...
This Shrub Thrives in Death Valley's Scorching Temperatures. Where Do Its Heat-Tolerant Superpowers Come From? Death Valley is one of the most extreme places on Earth, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 120°F and less than 2 inches of r...
Finding Fly Agaric in the Forest It was an early autumn morning, and the mist was rolling across Dalby Forest, making everything slightly damp. Eleven-year-old Mia loved this time of year in the woods, with the decomposing leaves creating that fa...
A tender and poetic moment unfolds as a butterfly flutters gracefully beside a gorilla's face, its golden hues mirroring the warmth in the animal's eyes. That's how Nature Photographer of the Year Chairman Tin Man Lee artfully described the Animal Po...
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Bearing Witness to Indonesia's Environmental Challenges: Sapariah Saturi Indonesia's environmental issues often feel too vast to take in at once. A nation said to have more than 17,000 islands, it contains the world's third-largest tropical rainf...
Formula One is a fast-paced motorsport, with multi-million-dollar cars reaching speeds over 210 miles per hour on twisting tracks. Even the pit crews operate at lightning speed, completing a full tire change in just two seconds. For the Oracle Red Bu...
Scientists Discover Three New "Pinocchio Chameleon" Species Researchers have uncovered that the chameleon species Calumma gallus from eastern Madagascar is actually composed of three distinct species, thanks to a new study led by German herpetolo...
After a lengthy hiatus, the Cheez-It mascot Prince Cheddward is making a triumphant return just in time for bowl season. The beloved mascot, known for his regal appearance and signature swagger, is ready to revel in a homecoming celebration built for...
Exploring the Archives of Jay Gorney Modern Art Jay Gorney Modern Art was a seminal New York gallery that operated for nearly 15 years, showcasing the work of some of the most influential artists of the 1980s and 1990s. Though the gallery's contr...
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Researchers from the Forest Restoration Research Unit at Thailand's Chiang Mai University (FORRU-CMU) have discovered a surprisingly simple and creative innovation that could significantly improve the success of forest restoration projects in the tro...
Traffic-Stopping Reindeer and Roaming Giraffes Reindeer Halt Traffic in Scotland Reindeer from the Cairngorms herd stopped traffic on the road near Aviemore, Scotland, after snow and ice warnings came into force across the UK. The animals, fo...
A recent study published November 19 in Trends in Biotechnology reports that scientists used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to improve how efficiently a fungus produces protein while also lowering the environmental footprint of that production by as ...
Beavers have recently enjoyed a makeover as ecological heroes. Their dams and ponds, once destroyed as a pesky source of flooding, are now hailed as water-cleansing oases that do everything from harbor fish to buffer the landscape from wildfires. Ho...
Two new studies suggest that the semi-aquatic rodents provide food and habitat for bats and pollinator insects within their engineered ecosystems :focal(3000x2000:3001x2001)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7f/...
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Inside California's Race to Document Its Insects: A Conversation with Chris Grinter Christopher C. Grinter has spent much of his life surrounded by insects, though not in the way most people imagine. As Senior Collection Manager of Entomology at ...
Congo Basin countries have announced the launch of a payments for environmental services (PES) initiative at the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil. The goal is to encourage practices that protect and restore forests. The financial mechanism, sup...
For Sharks on the Brink of Extinction, CITES Appendix II Isn't Protective Enough Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, with approximately one-third of all species assessed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List. The...
The reFocus Awards celebrate photography from around the world. Among the many stunning images they share, we've chosen to highlight their animal photos, which show the beauty and diversity of life. From playful pets to wild animals, each photo captu...
'The perfect ingredients': WRI Africa deputy director shares vision for the continent's energy transition The quest to bring energy to Africans who need it often centers on the relatable electrical needs that arise in the home: lighting, phone ch...
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Scientists Discover New Black, Glossy Snake Species Named After Steve Irwin The late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin has been an inspiration to countless animal lovers over the years. Researchers R.S. Naveen, S.R. Chandramouli, and Zeeshan A. Mirz...
$50,000 Anonymous Was a Woman Grants Go to Candida Alvarez, Park McArthur, and More Anonymous Was a Woman, a grant-making organization that provides funding to woman-identifying artists, has revealed 15 artists who will receive $50,000 grants thi...
Quantum Physicists Shrink and "De-Censor" DeepSeek R1 A group of quantum physicists at the Spanish firm Multiverse Computing claim to have created a version of the powerful reasoning AI model DeepSeek R1 that strips out the censorship built into ...
Can Mamdani Supercharge New York's Clean Energy Revolution? On a chilly September night in Brooklyn, a diverse crowd gathered in a church for the "People's Hearing for Public Renewables." Though Zohran Mamdani, the expected next mayor of New York...
One of the world's rarest birds, the Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi), has rebounded from near extinction after Indigenous communities on the Indonesian island of Bali committed to protect it under traditional laws. In 2001, just six Bali st...
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COP15 Accord is Crucial Step to Stem Biodiversity Loss Against a backdrop of a global biodiversity crisis, delegates from more than 190 countries today agreed on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse the loss ...
The peregrine falcon, with its striking slate-blue back and bright yellow feet, is one of the most widespread birds on the planet. These impressive raptors are renowned for their hunting prowess, capable of diving at lightning-fast speeds of over 200...
Patricia Wright, a pioneering primatologist, established the Centre ValBio research station in Madagascar and began her work there in 1986. As the person who first described the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) to Western science, her contrib...
Conservationists have discovered a previously unknown species of snake, slithering around one of Earth's most unique environments. In naming their new reptile, researchers decided to honor one of popular culture's most unique and beloved wildlife edu...
From Waffle Gardens to Terraces: Indigenous Groups Revive Farming Heritage in America's Deserts In 1985, with two young daughters and little money, Roxanne Swentzell, a Native American sculptor and ceramic artist, returned from her studies in Por...
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 →
Thanksgiving, a time of thanks and feasting, often comes with an unanticipated environmental cost. From extra food waste to increased carbon emissions, the holiday season may have a significant impact on our planet. However, choosing eco-friendly opt...
Scientists & Nuns Unite to Save Mexico's Rare Achoque Salamanders For the last 20 years, Dominican nuns in a Mexican monastery have cared for the largest known captive population of the critically endangered achoque salamander. Now scientists fro...
A morning mist hangs over the palm trees in Pasadena, California, as birds chatter and cars roar by on the streets. It's a scene that evokes a tropical island rather than a bustling city in northeast Los Angeles county. "It feels parrot-y," says Die...
Crafty Creations: 49 Impressive DIY Projects The world is full of talented, creative individuals who pour their hearts into unique DIY projects. From intricate embroidery to whimsical sculptures, these 49 impressive crafts showcase the incredible...
A Slowdown, Not Salvation: New Extinction Data Reveals State of Life on Earth For decades, biologists have warned that humanity is precipitating a sixth mass extinction. By some estimates, species are vanishing at up to a thousand times the natur...
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Animals survive in changing and unpredictable environments by not merely responding to new circumstances, but also, like humans, by forming inferences about their surroundings. For instance, squirrels understand that certain bird noises don't signal ...
Costume Art: Exploring the Bond Between Fashion and Visual Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute is set to open a groundbreaking exhibition called "Costume Art" in spring 2026. This exhibition will examine the deep connection bet...
Ethiopia to Host 2027 UN Climate Talks Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, is expected to be officially announced on Nov. 18 as the host city of the 2027 U.N. climate conference, or COP32. Backed by the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change...
Scotland has taken a significant step towards its goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, releasing a comprehensive draft climate action plan. The plan outlines the country's strategy to reduce emissions across transportation, ene...
Ryan Johnson has spent years thinking about solutions to make car-free living possible across the United States. Inspired by his travels to European cities, he co-founded Culdesac, a real estate developer dedicated to building walkable places, in 201...