Some ecological changes are easy to see. Wolves returned to Yellowstone and became an international story. Lake trout arrived in Yellowstone Lake and quietly reorganized an ecosystem. One became a symbol. The other remained largely invisible. My latest for Mongabay:

A bison stampede loses some of its luster amid roads, vehicles, fences, and tourists. A glimpse of an ancient spectacle in a thoroughly modern landscape.

The Everglades isn’t solving pythons. It’s learning them—while everything else is changing. New Essay: What Happens When an Ecosystem Has to Learn Too Fast

Florida has a python problem. BBC Wildlife says scientists may have found a “solution.” But when does reducing an invasive species become equivalent to reversing the ecological damage it has caused? A new essay tomorrow.

The system is trying to learn while the rules keep changing. New Essay Sunday: What Happens When an Ecosystem Has to Learn Too Fast

We ease the strain on the grid by destroying the environment.

I can’t imagine why. 🙄

The Surge in Commercial Real-Estate Deals Is Blowing Up Biodiversity

For those interested in the ramifications of El Niño in Western North America, a worthwhile listen. El Niño: What Could It Mean for the US and the World? I Global Climate S... youtu.be/qZFGvCgynok?is=DMZP… via @YouTube

Mountaintop removal. Garbage mountain creation. Geologically, it’s give and take. Ecologically, it’s take and take.

Bears, whales, sea turtles, albatrosses, shearwaters. All documented dying from our garbage. We throw things away. But there is no away. Global plastic waste projected to nearly triple by 2060, creating an increasingly dangerous world for everything.

Free recipes! Introducing The Climate Cookbook — delicious new ways to make the most of a warming planet. Bon appétit! New essay on Substack.

Just the thousands of organisms killed or displaced—and the people who advocate for them.

First we threw rocks. Then we set fires. Then we threw spears. Then we fired guns. Then we dropped bombs. Then we created AI. Two and a half million years of technological progress. The weapons change. The animal wielding them doesn’t.

The Sixth Mass Extinction began when a primate picked up a rock and realized it worked. Sometimes we go back to our roots.

Pangolins are among the most trafficked mammals on Earth. But wildlife trafficking affects more than 2,200 spices already considered threatened or Near Threatened. Apparently there is almost nothing alive that humans cannot turn into a commodity.