EPA appeals W.Va. coal mine ruling

The EPA finally got around to saying no to a mountaintop removal coal mine and then a judge twists it all around. Meanwhile, the damage continues and continues and certain politicians can  only carp about jobs. Pretty damn sad. You can read about the EPA’s latest decision right here.

Bark beetle kill leads to more severe fires, right? Well, maybe

That’s the headline over this High Country News article. All of us who are advocating for an end to the emission of greenhouse gases should read and consider this piece. And that would include conservationists in the Adirondacks as well as conservationists and naturalists and birders in southeastern Arizona.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker: A conservation success story (maybe)

The Virginian-Pilot, the paper that serves Norfolk and the surrounding metropolis in southeastern Virginia, offers this nice article in today’s edition highlighting the success of conservation biologists in helping grow a colony of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, a federally listed endangered species.

Global warming threatens pine forests, forcing rethinking of mitigation strategy

Maybe our planet has already past the tipping point. Given the headlines of recent days, particularly this one, it’s hard to argue otherwise. Let me know what you think. Scientists know that global warming will reshape pine forests. What they don’t yet understand is which trees are best poised to survive under these changed conditions and how they can help them adapt in the decades to come.

Why wild nature always wins in the end

Tell that maxim to certain politicians and you’re greeted by a grin of absolute ignorance.And don’t even try to convince the pol that our natural heritage should be preserved, not mined as a “natural resource.” Read more right here.

Canned hunting gets even more ghoulish

Read this sad tale from Louisiana and decide for yourself what metaphor best fits the storyline. Ghoulish? You bet

Making fracking safer?

This editorial is on the mark when it comes to things like water pollution. But it misses entirely a huge issue circulating around the industrialization of the American landscape, especially in Pennsylvania: The fragmentation and outright destruction of wildlife habitat. It is little wonder why forest-interior songbird species like the Wood Thrush are in population trouble when their habitat is continually beaten up by developers, road builders and natural gas drillers.