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"Earth's amphibians - from the thorny spike-thumb frog to the red knobby newt, West African giant squeaker, ornate tree toad and fire salamander - are being pushed closer to the brink due to habitat destruction, disease and climate change, with 41% of species now threatened with extinction."
"In a new initiative announced on Tuesday, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is working with the nonprofit Revive & Restore and other partners to create a “genetic library” of the country’s endangered species—before it’s too late." "Biobanking enables researchers to preserve genetic diversity in wildlife by freezing and storing living cells."
"Hours after becoming the first House speaker in history to be ousted from the job, California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday night he would not try to retake the gavel."
"Madrid is hosting a conference with energy and climate ministers ahead of COP28, the UN climate summit, in Dubai. It comes as the European Union races to firm up a plan to cut harmful emissions."
"Arizona governor Katie Hobbs said this week her administration is terminating state land leases that for years have given a Saudi-owned farm nearly unfettered access to pump groundwater in the dry southwestern state."
"The unmistakable influence of the climate crisis helped cause New York City to be inundated by a month’s worth of rain within just a few hours on Friday, scientists have warned, amid concerns over how well the city is prepared for severe climate shocks."
"Abandoned farmland has been increasing, with a billion acres — an area half the size of Australia — lost globally. Ecologists are increasingly pointing to the potential of these lands and of degraded forests as neglected resources for rewilding and for capturing carbon."
"A new law will make it easier for provinces to cull wolf packs. Will they survive?"
"Aquaculture is bringing jobs and money to rural regions, but a huge escape of farmed fish in August could devastate local salmon populations".
"Mongabay’s Liz Kimbrough spoke with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns about his upcoming documentary, “The American Buffalo,” which premieres in mid-October.
The buffalo was nearly driven to extinction in the late 1800s, with the population declining from more than 30 million to less than 1,000, devastating Native American tribes who depended on the buffalo as their main source of food, shelter, clothing and more.
The film explores both the tragic near-extinction of the buffalo as well as the story of how conservation efforts brought the species back from the brink.
"The surprising history of cars in the U.S. offers hope for a shift toward more climate-friendly transportation options."
''Nicolas Tomasi has never laid eyes on it. He has worked these waters for years without seeing one but has heard the tales from old-timers — of a patient predator, hiding under the sand off this French island’s shores, waiting for the right moment to strike."
"The Biden administration has finalized national efficiency rules for residential gas furnaces affecting about a third of all US homes, updating a 36-year-old standard that effectively phases out older furnace models."
"Friday’s deluge was yet another reminder that little has been done to make basement dwellings safer, and that the risk for residents is only increasing."
"A new World Health Organization analysis suggests cholera is surging worldwide, with the number of cholera cases doubling from 2021 to 2022."
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