Capitol Hill Briefing: A Q&A with Brian Richter

As the leading environmental publisher, Island Press is committed to spreading ideas that inspire change. Sometimes, that means taking those ideas straight to lawmakers. On February 8, Island Press partnered with Congressman Jared Huffman's office to co-sponsor a briefing on Capitol Hill on water scarcity and sustainable infrastructure.

From beavers to bettongs

Re-engaging nature’s ecosystem engineers In the gloomy pall of the advancing Anthropocene, it’s nice to hear good news now and again on the environmental front. And such is the case with the release of beaver families back in the wild in the UK.

Why Kill a Snow Leopard Conservation Ranger? Energy Sprawl and Land-Use Conflict

View from a mountain top in Khan Khentii Protected Area, Khuh Nuur, Mongolia. Photo © Nick Hall A mysterious and untimely death is not what first comes to mind when I think about wildlife conservation. But the death of conservation ranger Lkhagvasumberel (Sumbee) Tumursukh, who worked with the Mongolian Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation, is a mystery indeed.

Minding the Gap: Energy Sprawl and Access in India

Solar panels adjacent to an elementary school in Antelope Valley. © Dave Lauridsen for The Nature Conservancy On my very first trip to India I experienced some of its most iconic and most infamous sights – tigers and traffic.

Energy Sprawl

Growing energy demand could threaten 20 percent of the world's remaining natural land by 2030. But one TNC scientist has a vision for getting the energy we need without sacrificing nature.  

Let the National Monuments Hear How Much You Love Them

About half of all the all of the Sequoiadendron giganteum that exist on Earth reside in California’s Giant Sequoia National Monument. At Bear’s Ears National Monument in Utah, pre-Columbian petroglyphs and potsherds can be found tucked amid the high desert buttes. Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is a testament to how a forest battered by logging can regrow into a wet and wild home for moose, bear, and lynx. Wonderful places, all—and each of them under threat.   

A Day for the Birds

We revel in the glory of the African elephant, giant panda or Galapagos tortoise—the charismatic megafauna that gets most of attention, whether on television or at the zoo. But I think the group that deserves the award as the world’s number one animal group—perhaps we should call it the charismatic omnifauna—is the bird.
Photo Credit: Rockaway Youth on Banner by Flickr.com user Light Brigading

Environmentalist's Survival Guide to the Trump Administration

The environment is facing tough times in a Trump presidency. Within an hour of his inaguration, all mentions of climate change were removed from the White House website. Since then, key environmental regulations have been slashed, and a bill has been introduced calling for the abolishment of the EPA. So what's an environmentalist to do? Below, Island Press authors share their advice for agitating for action on climate change and continuing to push an environmental agenda forward in the face of an unsupportive administration. 

#ForewordFriday: Inspiring Conservationists Edition

In today’s divisive political climate, where meaningful change is often stalled by partisanship and bureaucracy, it’s easy to feel powerless in the face of environmental challenges like climate change, habitat loss, and disappearing species. But environmentalists are no strangers to opposition, and a look back at their stories may provide the inspiration needed to move forward. In Nature’s Allies, Larry A.

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