Human beings are doing unprecedented things to the Earth, which is sort of impressive when you realize that the planet has existed for more than 4.5 billion years. But that’s what happens when 7 billion people produce and consume …
Oceans
Turn It Down: How Human Noise Is Disturbing the Whales
The residents of California’s Santa Monica Bay have some rather noisy neighbors—and they’re not happy about it. That is the conclusion of a new study which shows that blue whales feeding off the coast of California stop …
Free Boris: Over 100 Beluga Whales Trapped in Russian Ice
Bad news for whales out of the Russian Far East: over 100 belugas are reportedly trapped in water between ice floes in the Chukotka region, cut off from the sea. Fishermen in the area—one of the poorest in Russia, bordering the …
Life in the Time of the Great Dying
Earth history is different from ordinary history: it’s much harder to nail down specific dates when everything happened millions of years ago and over huge, slow timescales. But it can be done, as shown by paleontologists who …
Study Shows that Bluefin Tuna Is Being Severely Overfished
There’s a reason why scientists like to refer to the bluefin tuna as the “tigers of the sea.” The fish can grow to as much as 1,500 lbs. (700 kg), and can swim over 40 mph. Scientists who’ve tagged bluefin tuna in the wild to track their movements are amazed at how far the fish can range, swimming from their breeding grounds in the …
Bad News for Coral Reefs: Toxic Seaweed Adds Another Threat
If you’re already daydreaming about your winter getaway to the tropics as the weather gets crisper and gloomier, consider adjusting your plans to include some swimming among the world’s coral reefs – not just because they offer an unparalleled panorama of underwater life, but also because they’re disappearing in the midst of …
Why the Future Belongs to Jellyfish
Jellyfish: they’re the worst. From the dollar bill-sized jellies that wash up along the New Jersey shore to the deadly box jelly—the most toxic creature on the planet—no one likes jellyfish. And the bad news is that they may be taking over: as we pull fish from the sea, the jellyfish are left to flourish. Overfishing, climate …
Study Says Sea Lice From Farmed Salmon Do Hurt Wild Fish—But the Debate’s Not Over
One of the hottest points of debate on aquaculture is the effect that farmed fish might have on their wild cousins. Fish raised in a major aquaculture operation live in close, sometimes cramped conditions that are nothing like the open ocean. As a result, they can become victims of disease and parasites—just as for centuries human …
How a Microbe in Humans Is Killing Coral
Usually infectious disease is a one-way street—and human beings are at the end. New viruses begin in wild animals—like monkeys or chickens—before they mutate and cross over to human beings. HIV, West Nile, SARS, H5N1, H1N1—just about every new infectious disease over the past several decades had its start in animals before …
The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Isn’t Quite Record Size—But It’s Still Huge
Hypoxia sounds like a treatment that pop stars would use to keep from aging, but it’s actually one of the most serious—if underreported and invisible—environmental threats in the world. Hypoxia occurs when coastal waters become overloaded with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus—often from sewage or fertilizer running off …