Conservation News ~ 15 January 2021

• ‘There is no vaccine for climate change,’ U.N. environment chief says
• Deforestation spurred by road project creeps closer to Sumatra wildlife haven
• Sumatran rhino conservation inspires a thriving creative economy
• Group to sue interior secretary for delaying protection of spotted owl, other species
• Cocaine production driving deforestation into Colombian national park
• 63 tonnes of ‘ghost gear’ removed from Atlantic Ocean in 2020: Fisheries Department
• "Will Senate Wins Unlock Biden's 100% Clean Energy Agenda?"
• "Second-Warmest Year on Record Cost the World $210 Billion"
• Multiple Tribes Protest Drilling Of 5,000 Oil And Gas Wells In Wyoming
• "Inside Clean Energy: The Energy Storage Boom Has Arrived"
• "Garland Would Bring Rare Environmental Chops as Attorney General"
• "Cutting Concrete’s Carbon Footprint"
• Radar Technology That Could Revolutionize Hurricane Forecasts Unfunded
• Want To Save B.C. Salmon? Bring Back Indigenous Fishing Systems: Study
• "EPA Chief To Visit Costa Rica As Administration Winds Down"
• Namibia sees steady downward trend in rhino and elephant poaching
• Researchers develop new system for measuring ship-generated underwater noise
• WWF outlines drone guidelines for conservation
• $95 Billion Damages: US Saw Record Year For Climate-Driven Catastrophes
• "2020 Ties 2016 as Hottest Yet, European Analysis Shows"
• ‘Red Flag’: How An Ethanol Plant Is Dangerously Polluting A US Village
• "Exxon Mobil Is Twisting Itself in Knots to Justify Pumping Even More Oil"
• "Trump Moves To Loosen Mining Regulations, Approve Projects As He Exits"
• "Inside the C.I.A., She Became a Spy for Planet Earth"
• Climate Hitting Colorado River 'Incredibly Fast And Incredibly Hard'
• "Oil Companies Stockpile Drilling Permits, Challenging Biden On Climate"
• "Trump Environmental Record Marked by Big Losses, Undecided Cases"
• Prince Charles Urges Businesses To Sign Pledge To Put Planet First
• Six rangers killed in deadly militia attack in DRC’s Virunga National Park
• Paper giant APP failing its own sustainability goals, report alleges
• Award-winning Thai community continues the fight to save its wetland forest
• The gorilla troop at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19
• "50 Countries Vow To Protect 30% Of Land And Sea By 2030"
• "Dirty Air And Lost Pregnancies In South Asia"
• "Interior: Bernhardt OKs Contentious BLM Law Enforcement Reforms"
• "Top Senator Warns Banks: 'Account For Climate'"
• "Here's What Might Be In Biden's First Climate Order"
• "Insect Populations Suffering Death By 1,000 Cuts, Say Scientists"
• Texas Eye Tougher Rules On Chemical Tanks To Prevent Explosions, Spills
• "What We’ve Lost: The Species Declared Extinct in 2020"
• "A Lost Decade: How Climate Action Fizzled in Cascadia"
• Someone Wrote ‘Trump’ On A Manatee. Feds, Florida Are Investigating
• "Michigan Plans To Charge Ex-Gov. Snyder In Flint Water Probe"
• "Apache Group Sues Over Land Swap For Arizona Copper Mine"
• "Deflect And Obstruct: How Interior Ducked House Oversight"
• "A Late Burst of Climate Denial Extends the Era of Trump Disinformation"
• "Sage Grouse Review Done, But Scant Time For Trump’s Changes"
• "Great Lakes: Enbridge To Defy Mich. Order To Halt Pipeline Flow"
• "Climate: Trump EPA Aims To Tie Biden's Hands With Rulemaking Surprise"
• Climate Scientists, Mothers, Urge Americans To Act
• Trump Admin Slashes Critical Habitat For Northern Spotted Owl
• "17 States Sue EPA For Declining To Tighten Air Pollution Standards"
• How Trump Admin’s Climate Denial Left Its Mark on The Arctic Council
• "Climate Crisis: Record Ocean Heat In 2020 Supercharged Extreme Weather"
• Coalition Calls On Biden To Impose National Moratorium On Water Shutoffs
• Wildfire Smoke Causes Up To Half Fine-Particle Pollution in Western U.S.
• Fossil-Friendly Manchin To Head Senate Energy Panel As Dems Face Climate
• "Navajo Nation, New Mexico Reach Settlements Over Mine Spill"
• "Lyme Disease Much More Common Than Previously Thought, Study Shows"
• "Lawsuit Seeks More Protection For Endangered Right Whales"
• Europe’s largest bank suspected of greenwashing
• Tanzania to auction 30 ‘tourist hunting blocks in game reserves
• Humpback whale latest victim of Taiji fisheries
• LA County releases LA River restoration plan
• Scientists have identified the 100 largest companies extracting the majority of their revenues from the world’s oceans
• Defenders, Guardians and other organizations challenge nationwide wolf delisting
• Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur to be India’s first cheetah sanctuary
• Forest Defenders – a Panamanian tribe regains control of its lands
• Climate deniers shift tactics to inactivism
• World’s oldest known cave painting found in Indonesia
• Wildlife photographer promotes lion conservation with stunning portraits
• Eugene conservation group objects to plans for post-fire savage logging
• Scientists discover new ‘spectacular’ bat from West Africa
• CSULB President issues statement saying no building on Puvungna Land
• Nez Perce Tribe reclaims 148 acres of ancestral land in Eastern Oregon
• Earth to reach temperature tipping point in next 20-to 30 years
• Swedish postage stamp celebrates work of Greta Thunberg
• Most Europeans plant ot curb flying, eat less meat for climate, EU polls says
• Saudi Arabia is building a zero-carbon city in a 100-mile straight line
• Renewables produce more power than fossil fuels in Germany for first time
• New species of bark beetle is a master of disguise
• A new species of fruit fly named after Siruvani
• A single cat wiped out an entire colony of fairy terns
• Sharks born prematurely, weaker in warmer ocean temperatures
• World’s tallest trees bigger than thought
• Cherokee Nation establishes first hunting, fishing reserves
• Michigan plans to charge ex-Gov Rick Snyder in Flint water scandal
• Evidence of huntsman spider creating leaf trap for a frog found in Madagascar
• Environmental groups sue in bid to block EPA ‘secret science’ rule
• Guardians of Congo’s gorillas unbowed as ambushed colleague is buried
• Invasive brown tree snakes stun scientists with amazing new climbing tactic
• UK pledges $4billion to nature and biodiversity protection
• White House auctions Arctic refuge to oil drillers in last stroke against US wilderness
• Insect populations suffering death by 1,000 cuts
• 3 neon-green fluorescent geckos species discovered
• Prince Charles asks companies to join Earth charter
• Ocean acidification is transforming California mussel shells
• More than 50 countries commit to protection of 30% of Earth’s land and oceans
• US consumes more green energy than coal for first time since 1885
• Feds launch new assault on endangered species, public lands
• UN chief calls for urgent transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy
• Global heating could stabilize if countries go net-zero emissions
• A hi-tech eye in the sky lays bare Hawaii’s living coral reefs
• Scientists discover hundreds of deep-ocean reefs
• Paper giant APP failing its own sustainability goals
• Paris agrees to turn Champs-Elysees into ‘extraordinary garden
• As Enbridge to build line 3 Pipeline, resistance ramps up in the courts and on the ground
• For the first time, Starbucks takes on zero-waste construction
• Scientists discover slimy microbes that may help keep coral reefs healthy
• Adidas new vegan leather shoes will be made from fungi
• Six rangers killed in DR Congo’s Virunga National Park
• New wild mushroom named after Pauri in U’khand
• Elusive Catalina Island Shrew, feared extinct, spotted for 1st time in years
• First Philippine eagle bred in captivity dies
• Evidence of water movement found in meteorites that only recently fell to Earth
• Jungle cat observed for first time in northwestern Iran
• The platypus is now a threatened species in the Victoria, Australia
• Biden picks Mr. Monsanto Tom Vilsack to head the USDA
• Nearly 600 manatees died in Florida waters in 2020
• The US just got a new national park – and it’s a rock climbing and whitewater rafting paradise
• Gene editing of crops and livestock may soon be permitted in England
• Pesticide believed to kill bees in authorized for use in England
• Cameroon says elephants killed 10, leaving many homeless and hungry
• Indistrial agriculture threatens a wetland oasis in Bolivia
• Young killer whale rescued after stranding on Scottish beach
• New species, devil-eyed frog, and Satyr butterfly not seen for a century found in forests 30 years
• New species of recluse spider named for Leonard Cohen
• France plans mass duck slaughter as bird flu hits foie gras
• Pikas are adapting to climate change remarkably well, contrary to many predictions
• CO2 levels this year 50 percent higher than 19th century
• India’s leopard populations increases by 60% in 4 years
• Emmanuel Macron announces the One Planet summit biodiversity
• IUCN Green List hels Huangshan Scenic Area in integrated management of three UNESCO designations
• 843 nominations received from across 43 countries for the new International Ranger awards
• UK overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha becomes one of the world’s biggest sanctuaries for wildlife
• Quebec meets UN convention’s terrestrial protected area target of 17%
• Egypt’s Wadi El-Hitan nature reserve praised for good practice by IUCN