The Environment This Month - June 2016

Welcome back for another round up for The Environment This Month. Let’s welcome June and the summer sun. It was a chilly and British May for me here in New York. I won’t complain, because it wasn’t snowing. Still, I could complain because this is all being caused by climate change and that’s seriously not good!

You’ll find, as I round up environmental news from around the web for June, that climate change is topping the list of concerns for very good reasons. No longer are we facing denial, but that has been replaced by legislators and officials dragging their feet and using the term to leverage their own interests. That said, we shouldn’t ignore other issues that are affecting our environment. There are enough of us that we could split into groups and get all the work done. Unfortunately, the guilt inducing call of the day is “Everybody suddenly gives a shit about x-issue but if it happens over here on this other issue, they don’t care.” STOP SAYING THAT! We really do have enough attention span and human resources to deal with all of these things effectively.

Let’s get started with one that is near and dear to my heart…

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Five conservation groups on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Idaho seeking to stop a federal agency from killing wolves in the state until a new environmental

Environmental groups challenge federal wolf killing in Idaho | Wyoming News | trib.com

Well, that didn’t take long. Back to your regularly scheduled Climate Change feed, beginning with some more government shenanigans…

The environmental groups and foundations said the request was unreasonably broad, violated their rights to free speech and free assembly, and interfered with their right to petition government officials.

Environmental groups reject Rep. Lamar Smith’s request for information on ExxonMobil climate case – The Washington Post

The big business of black market trade has always delved into the sale of things that are not just illegal but rare and precious. All those strides we’ve made toward making certain products illegal have sent their sellers underground. For example, tusks and tiger penis are hot items still, despite every proof to the contrary of why people want to own these items. Tiger penis has never made a man virile, but desperation and wealth make a bad mix. Too much money and excessive pride also create a bad mix that results in dead animals and precious resources horded in museum like homes dotting the world…

On World Environment Day, the UN warns that criminals are robbing the Earth’s resources faster than previously believed.

UN: Rising environmental crime threatens our societies – AJE News

And my sarcastic side wants to follow that up with, do they carry their ill-gotten-gains home in paper or plastic? Oh, come on! How long has it been since this has plagued you? Still too soon?

Paper or Plastic? For better or worse, that familiar refrain for choosing a grocery bag may be changing.

Paper or plastic? An environmental movement wants to nix the latter

A form of pollution that goes largely disregarded of is light pollution. Did you know that the night sky we see, no matter how stunning, isn’t the clear night sky our ancestors just a few decades ago saw.

More than 99 percent of the people living in the U.S. and Europe look up and see light-polluted skies, according to a new atlas of artificial night sky brightness.

Light Pollution Hides Milky Way From 80 Percent Of North Americans, Atlas Shows : The Two-Way : NPR

This is why I love science. No matter how bleak our future, science finds a way to help, and it gives us hope and a means to change this around. Check this article on coral health out…

Some coral reefs are thriving and scientists say they may guide efforts to curb threats such as over-fishing and climate change which are blamed for widespread global declines.

Coral ‘bright spots’ offer clues to protecting threatened reefs | Reuters

And, the NY Times, which I like to call a subsidiary of the Clinton Campaign (LOL), is late to the chat on this one. Certainly, that’s not always a bad thing, as they can sit back and do their homework. Thus, in this case, the NYT is worth a look.

Scientists are racing to understand the bizarre reproduction rites of coral as declining water quality and climate change devastate reefs worldwide.

In Secrets of Coral Spawning, Hope for Endangered Reefs – The New York Times

Last month I shared an article about China’s changes on environmental standards, and it looks like they’re outpacing expectations…

A series of ambitious environmental policies that invest in natural capital are improving services provided by China’s ecosystems, such as flood control and sand storm mitigation, according to research conducted by an international team of scientists.

China’s environmental conservation efforts are making a positive impact, Stanford scientists say | Stanford News

Sad news arrived in my inbox midmonth from the EDF…

The Bramble Cay Melomys has become extinct, Australian scientists say. Photograph: Queensland government

Watching Springwatch or Attenborough isn’t enough: the manmade extinction of the Bramble Cay meloymys shows we need a far greater connection with nature

Climate change has claimed its first mammal species. Is the hedgehog next? | Hugh Warwick | Opinion | The Guardian

But, there is hope the little BCM will show up again one day. Just because no one is observing them currently, doesn’t mean they are absolutely gone, just really super threatened, to the point there are so few they’re defying detection. For instance…

It’s estimated 99 per cent of all species that have ever existed on Earth are now extinct, but for some, the term is revoked after being rediscovered decades – or even centuries – later. The red-faced liocichla