In midsummer, fires were burning on both sides of the Methow River.Air quality was bad enough to make national news. In better times, Central Washington’s Methow Valley is a destination for world-class climbing, hiking and skiing. It’s remote. It’s beautiful. But like much of the West, it’s increasingly aflame.
On Aug. 20, for the first time, Gina McCoy and her husband, Tom McCoy, fired up a machine they believe offers a chance to reduce catastrophic wildfires in their valley — while simultaneously combating climate change and providing local jobs that help keep forests healthy.
Through C6 Forest to Farm, a nonprofit they founded last year, the McCoys plan to accelerate forest restoration by creating a…
Animals are increasingly “shapeshifting” because of the climate crisis, researchers have said.
Warm-blooded animals are changing their physiology to adapt to a hotter climate, the scientists found. This includes getting larger beaks, legs and ears to better regulate their body temperature.
When animals overheat, birds use their beaks and mammals use their ears to disperse the warmth. Some creatures in warmer climates have historically evolved to have larger beaks or ears to get rid of heat more easily. These differences are becoming more pronounced as the climate warms.
If animals fail to control their body temperature, they can overheat and die. Beaks…
Anti-abortion rights demonstrators gather in the rotunda at the Capitol while the Senate debated anti-abortion bills in Austin, Texas in March.Jay Janner/AP
DALLAS — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday defended a new state law banning most abortions that also does not provide exceptions for cases of rape or incest, saying it does not force victims to give birth even though it prohibits abortions before some women know they’re pregnant.
Abbott, a Republican, added that Texas would strive to “eliminate all rapists from the streets” while taking questions during his first press conference since the law took effect last week.
The comments drew new criticism from opponents of the Texas law that is the biggest curb on abortion in the U.S. since they were legalized a half-century ago, prohibiting abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, which is usually around six weeks. Though abortion providers in Texas say the law is unconstitutional, they say they are abiding by it.
“His comments are confusing to me because they certainly do not seem to reflect the realities of this law,” said Amy Jones, the chief executive officer of the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center.Article continues after sponsor messagehttps://e66f7db2e799d892f24b4937323ae5dc.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Recent surveys by the U.S. Department of Justice found that most rapes go unreported to police, including a 2019 survey that found about 1 in 3 victims reporting they were raped or sexually assaulted.
Abbott signed the measure into law in May. Although other GOP-led states have passed similar measures, they have been blocked by courts. Texas’ version differs significantly because it solely leaves enforcement to private citizens who can sue abortion providers who violate the law.
“Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them,” Abbott said.
Jones said Abbott’s statements were both confusing and disheartening. She said she’d “like to hear more” from Abbott on his statement on eliminating rape.
“Certainly it is in our mission statement to work to end sexual violence, that is why we exist, but we are also very aware that that is an aspirational goal that yes, we do believe that this is a preventable crime, but it if it were that easy, rape would no longer exist,” Jones said.
The Justice Department has said it will not tolerate violence against anyone who is trying to obtain an abortion in Texas as federal officials explore options to challenge the law.
Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is predicted to reduce both genetic diversity and gene flow in ice-dependent species, with potentially negative consequences for their long-term viability. Here, we tested for the population-genetic impacts of reduced sea ice cover on the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) sampled across two decades (1995–2016) from the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, an area that is affected by rapid sea ice loss in the Arctic Barents Sea. We analysed genetic variation at 22 microsatellite loci for 626 polar bears from four sampling areas within the archipelago. Our results revealed a 3–10% loss of genetic diversity across the study period, accompanied by a near 200% increase in…
The 2021 season is coming after a record breaking season where the state was 1,184 bears harvested. A typical year sees numbers close to 700 or 800 bears. That is what Timmins said he is expecting this year.
“Last year, we did see about a 15% increase in license sales, which we kind of attributed to the COVID pandemic,”…
A man preparing for hunting season with friends was found dead near his tree stand Saturday, a half mile from a main road, according to an Upstate coroner.
Sep 6, 2021
ABBEVILLE COUNTY, S.C. —
Abbeville County Coroner Dr. Mark Dorn said Robert Morgan, 70, of Taylors, was found dead by someone in his hunting club just before 1 p.m.
Dorn said the person from the hunting club called 911 immediately after finding the body in the area of Highway 71 and Circle B Drive.
The area is so remote, it took 10 to 15 minutes to reach the body on ATV, Dorn said.
Morgan was on the property preparing his deer stand and surrounding area for the upcoming hunting season, the coroner said.
Investigators are working a second UTV accident and death in two days in Rowan County.- Advertisement –
A post on the county coroner’sFacebookpage says Morehead 911 received a call around 8:20 p.m. Sunday from a family member reporting an accident on Old House Creek in Morehead involving a side-by-side.
Investigators says 78-year old Bobby Tackett had been deer hunting on a family member’s property. They say Tackett was on his way out of the woods operating his side-by-side when he lost control of the vehicle. Investigators say it appears the UTV made a sharp turn, throwing Tackett.
Investigators say a family member witnessed the accident and called for help. The Elliottville Volunteer Fire Department, Morehead & Rowan County EMS and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Department responded to the accident scene, according to the social media post.
Tackett was rushed to St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead…
News of dead prairie dogs found in traps by Santa Fe Place mall is a really big issue, bigger than most might think. These incidents are regrettable reflections of general human attitudes and conduct in the face of a mounting environmental catastrophe placing us at the center of decision-making that will affect the outcome of all life on Earth.
Prairie dogs are native wildlife, and wildlife populations are in steep decline as a swollen and increasing human population wreaks havoc on the planet’s life-supporting ecosystems. Here in the Southwest, our megadrought (directly linked to anthropogenic climate change) has forced some state agencies charged with managing wildlife to deliver water to animals for use at remote, artificial watering holes. A slump in deer survival rates prompted the Utah Wildlife Board…
Scientists have uncovered a fascinating new insight into what caused one of the most rapid and dramatic instances of climate change in the history of the Earth.
A team of researchers, led by Dr. Sev Kender from the University of Exeter, have made a pivotal breakthrough in the cause behind the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) – an extreme global warming event that lasted for around 150 thousand years which saw significant temperature rises.
Although previous studies have suggested volcanic activity contributed to the vast CO2emissions that drove the rapid climate change, the trigger for the event is less clear.
In the new study, the researchers have identified elevated levels of mercury just before and at the outset of…
Updated: 6:20 PM EDT Sep 5, 2021Infinite Scroll Enabled
Exposing the Big Game 