NPR reported
An underwater volcano in the Pacific Northwest is expected to erupt sometime this year for the first time in 11 years — and it could stir up lots of activity for marine life in the area.
Read on www.npr.org/2025/05/15/nx-s1-5398591/underwater-volcano-eruption-oregon
Posted in Environment | Tags: Underwater Volcano Eruption
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Posted in Birds, Photography
The Guardian reported
A radar image of a speed offender caught in central Switzerland last month has revealed that the culprit was not only a duck but probably a repeat offender, local authorities have said.
Police in the town of Köniz, near Bern, were astounded when they went through radar images snapped on 13 April to discover that a mallard was among those caught in the speed trap, the municipality said on its Facebook page at the weekend.
The duck was caught going 52km/h (32mph) in a 30-km/h zone, the post said.
Posted in Animals | Tags: speeding mallards
DeSmog reported
Half of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 came from just three dozen companies, according to a new report released today by the Carbon Majors project, with the list dominated by coal, cement, and oil producers.
Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco, the year’s worst offender, drove 4.4 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide pollution alone in 2023, the report found.
Five publicly-traded oil companies — ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP — combined to produce an additional 4.9 percent of the year’s global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, the report adds.
Read more Just 36 Companies Drove Half the World’s Climate-Altering Emissions in 2023: New Report – DeSmog
Posted in Uncategorized
Birdlife International reported
Only 8 out of 46 countries on track to meet anti-poaching pledge by 2030
Posted in Birds | Tags: Illegal Bird Killing
SF Gate Reported
This summer, the collection of five historic High Sierra Camps was supposed to fully reopen for the first time since 2018. Instead, amid staffing shortages and funding cuts, the posh backcountry stays will remain shuttered, according to an announcement on the park concessioner’s website.
Posted in Park | Tags: Yosemite High Country Camps, Yosemite National Park
Xerces Society reports
No Mow May seems like a simple thing: You leave your lawn mower in the shed for a month, flowers bloom, and happy bees forage.
Of course, it’s not quite so straightforward. The benefits from not mowing for a few weeks are limited. There is research that shows multiple species of bees do forage on dandelions and white clover, but let’s be honest, if all you’re doing is letting dandelions and other weeds bloom, that’s not good quality habitat—and any benefits will be canceled if you power up your mower and restart as if nothing has changed once June arrives. We can’t pat ourselves on the back and say, “Yay, we saved the bees.”
Read on xerces.org/blog/no-mow-may-easy-start-for-nature-friendly-yard-but-not-finish-line
Posted in Environment | Tags: No Mow May
University Cube reported
Archaeological findings in Honduras reveal avocados were domesticated over 7,500 years ago, highlighting early humans ecological ingenuity and sustainable forest stewardship, reshaping narratives of agricultural origins and innovation.
SF Gate reported
Park officials in the East Bay are warning residents of an increased chance of rattlesnake encounters as the weather starts to warm up for the season.
Read on www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/rattlesnake-advisory-bay-area-parks-20325182.php
Posted in Animals | Tags: East Bay Rattlesnake Advisory
Atlas Obscura reported
From bloodthirsty orchids to body-snatching pods, fictional flora are often symbols of societal fears.
Read story at What Stories of Scary Plants and Other Botanical Horrors Say About Us – Atlas Obscura
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Botanical Horrors, Scary Plants
SciTechDaily reported
The highest recorded elevations of Jeffrey pines provide new evidence of a warming climate in the High Sierra.
Read on scitechdaily.com/it-made-no-sense-scientist-discovers-californias-new-highest-tree/
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Highest Jeffrey Pine
More Than Just Parks reported
An in-depth introduction to the officials hell-bent on selling, drilling, and destroying America’s public lands.
Read story at Meet the 10 Worst Public Lands Villains—And the Damage They’re Doing Right Now
Posted in Environment | Tags: Destruction of Public Lands
ScienceDaily reported
Climate change poses a particular risk to pine trees growing in dry areas, a new study conducted in an urban recreational forest in Helsinki shows.
Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250227125247.htm
Posted in Environment | Tags: Climate change
The Guardian reported
A feasibility report using historical maps and ecological data is raising excitement: ‘It would be a slow process’
Read on www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/03/return-of-the-grizzly-california
Posted in Animals | Tags: Grizzly Bears
The Guardian reported
Melting glaciers have caused almost 2cm of sea level rise this century alone, a decades-long study has revealed.
The research shows the world’s glaciers collectively lost 6.542tn tonnes of ice between 2000 and 2023, causing an 18mm (0.7in) rise in global sea levels.
The world’s glaciers lost an average of 273bn tonnes of ice every year – the equivalent of 30 years of water consumption by the entire global population.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Global Sea Level Rise, Melting Glaciers
The Kansas City Star reported
A snake in Papua New Guinea, fish in Brazil, an octopus in the Pacific and a fish in Argentina were recently discovered as new species in scientific papers.
Read on www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/world/article306080596.html
Posted in Animals | Tags: New Species
ScienceDaily reported
Why have some orchids stopped photosynthesis and become parasites feeding on fungi? Researchers found that in at least one species the transition may be driven by the opportunity — more than by the need — to do so.
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Parasitic Orchids
See upcoming events from the Friends of Inyo at Friends of Inyo Events
Posted in Uncategorized, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Friends of INyo
UC Berkeley reports Rausser College of Natural Resources
A new study co-authored by Environmental Science, Policy, and Management professor Miranda Redmond suggests that forests in the western interior of the United States are not regenerating fast enough to keep pace with climate change, wildfires, insects, and disease.
Posted in Uncategorized
NPR reported
Human eyes have only seen a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the areas of the world that are covered by deep water. Scientists want to change how they explore these regions.
Read on www.npr.org/2025/05/07/nx-s1-5387502/deep-seafloor-ocean-mapped-rhode-island
Posted in Environment | Tags: Unexplored Ocean Floor
See upcoming Theodore Payne Foundation Classes and Workshops at Theodore Payne Foundation Events | Eventbrite
Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden, Talks | Tags: Theodore Payne Foundation Events
EarthSky reported
In 2018, the Czech government proposed a project to create a dam on a river southwest of Prague. The intention was to revive the local ecosystem and protect the species that inhabit the river. However, bureaucracy paralyzed the project, and a colony of beavers, who do not care about paperwork, got to work.
In this way, a group of eight beavers built the dam their own way. That is, they simply used stones, wood and mud. What began as a small pond became a wetland that continues to grow thanks to the work of these rodents. Apart from being hardworking, they are also smart, as they chose the best possible location for their architectural masterpiece.
Read more and see photos at Beavers know better. They saved the Czech government $1 million!
Posted in Uncategorized
This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) was truly extraordinary! If you were able to join the GBBC this year, thank you for your contributions! An estimated 838,113 global participants counted birds between Feb 14 and 17 in over 200 countries. That’s almost 200,000 more people than last year. Together, we documented 8,078 of the world’s known species of birds (which is 158 more than last year!). Missed it this year? Join us next time! Next year’s count will be held February 13-16, 2026. Check out the 2025 results here.
Posted in Birds | Tags: 2025 Great Backyard Bird Count Results
To see the current schedule of upcoming events at Golden Gate Recreation Area go to See all upcoming events
Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Golden Gate Recreation Area Events
The Revelator reports
Climate change, drought, and fires — all caused or worsened by human activity — are rewriting the future of ancient Sonoran saguaros.
Read more at Saguaro Struggles: A Desert Icon Feels the Heat • The Revelator
Posted in Environment | Tags: Climate Chnage, Saguaros
See Upcoming Los Padres ForestWatch Upcoming Events at Home | Los Padres ForestWatch
Posted in Birds, Talks | Tags: Los Padres ForestWatch Upcoming Events
Earth.com reported
It seems unthinkable that anything could live after tens of thousands of years in hibernation. The discovery of a tiny creature in the Siberian permafrost has sparked conversations about how resilient life can be.
In a recent breakthrough, researchers determined that a worm which had been frozen for about 46,000 years had survived and remained alive.
Read more Frozen worm comes back to life after 46,000 years – Earth.com
Posted in Animals | Tags: Frozen worm comes back to life
See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events
Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
Xerces Society reported
Extreme fires across the west are becoming more frequent, more severe, and more extensive, as climate change and decades of fire suppression create the perfect conditions for these disasters. Extreme fires are an ever-increasing threat to human infrastructure and ecosystems across the west. However, it is important to recognize that these disasters are different from the fires that used to occur in western forests.
Wild fires, such as those started by lightning strikes, are indeed something that happens naturally in many landscapes, and historically were far less intense than modern fire disasters. In many ecosystems, plants and animals have adapted to fire and other disturbances, like floods, storms, and herds of grazing animals, as long as they aren’t too frequent or destructive. There are in fact several plants that have evolved specifically to grow in recently burned areas, leading to an ecosystem where occasional fires are actually beneficial!
Source: Burning for Butterflies: The Role of Fire in Western Forests | Xerces Society
Posted in Butterflies, Environment | Tags: Butterflies, The Role of Fire in Western Forests, Wildfires
Posted in Garden | Tags: Regional Parks Botanic Garden
Natural History Wanderings 