Conservation News ~ 20 December 2019

• As Australia bakes, a marine heatwave of historic scale is killing sea animals
• Hundreds of dead sharks found trapped in massive floating ‘ghost net’
• Largest private giant sequoia grove for sale
• Success as 178,500 Tricolored Blackbirds are saved by Audubon
• Costa Rica lists the Hammerhead Shark as Critically Endangered
• Mountain Gorilla census reveals further increase in numbers, over 1600
• Three pangolin species closer to extinction
• Climate change has cut Australian farm profits by 22%a year over past 20 years
• US among top 10 countries for pollution-related deaths
• The world’s oldest forest has 385-million-year-old tree roots
• Philippine coastal town leads war against plastic trash
• Malaysia to let RSPO publish oil palm concession maps
• Central American countries pledge to protect Mesoamerica’s 5 great forests
• As pesticide approvals soar, Brazil’s tapirs, bees, other wildlife suffer
• Microplastics may be a macro problem for the US Great Plains
• Women from the Xingu Territory unite against threats from Brazil’s administration
• Hundreds of Bald Eagles soar above Lake Pend, Oregon
• Fighting to save an endangered ape, Indonesian activists fear for their lives
• Researchers discover three new species of extinct South American Marsupials
• Nigeria to be ready for oil decline, says environment minister
• New Mexico officials ask for Endangered Species Act probe
• Delaware Firefly, Gulf Coast Bee move toward Endangered Species protection
• Arhuaco community of Colombia allows scientists to photograph lost toad
• Grizzly Bear lawsuit settlement requires a look at lower 48 states
• Sri Lanaka’s Sinharaja rainforest reserve to be quadrupled in size
• Big step in producing carbon-neutral fuel – silver diphoside
• A Philippine conservation park juggles funding needs with animal welfare
• EU officials say biomass burning policy to come under critical review
• Tanzania creates 1st national giraffe conservation plan
• New freshwater fish named for Thai conservation visionary
• New species of bobtail squid discovered
• Superglue plant and miracle berry among 2019’s new finds
• Scientists discover cheaper way to make hydrogen out of water
• Degraded soils mean tropical forests may never fully recover from logging
• Sweet potato can warn neighbors of insect attacks
• In Colorado coal towns, the next generation is turning to solar
• Neutrons optimize high efficiency catalyst for greener approach to biofuel synthesis
• Hunters secure conservation win in year-end legislation
• Feral horse numbers gallop past 25,000 in the Australian Alps
• Light pollution lures nighttime pollinators away from plants
• Goldman Sachs and Liberty Mutual beef up fossil fuel lending policies
• Thousands of exposed ‘penis fish’ washed up on a beach in California
• New species of/ shark discovered in deep sea
• Scientists develop liquid fuel that can store the sun’s energy for up to 18 years
• Discovery reveals tractionless motion is possible
• 33 bear deaths in 2019 marks ‘average’ human-bear conflict season in Yukon
• Senate confirms unqualified industry shill to run fish and wildlife service
• Peru creates new conservation area to protect glaciers from extractive operations
• Officials push for Northern Corrido through Red Cliffs tortoise habitat
• In mineral-rich Chhota Nagpur plateau, a new frog species sparks interest
• Longest climate talks end with compromise deal, no decision on carbon markets
• Ecuador forest hidden in the clouds is home to tiny endangered bird
• Indonesia nabs 2 suspected smugglers of Leopard, lion cubs
• Aldi pledges 100% compostable or recyclable packaging by 2025
• Researchers in Iceland can turn CO2 into rock
• Hunters who killed research elephant lose licenses
• Scientists find one billion year old fungi, earth’s oldest
• SUK researchers discover two new species of begonia in Western Ghats
• Scientists call for a complete ban on glitter
• Murders of indigenous leaders in Brazil Amazon hit highest level in two decades
• Kenyan police arrest suspects with 73kg of ivory
• Bhutan wins recognition for tiger conservation efforts
• New rodeo ants discovered riding other ant species near downtown in a Texas city
• New species of orchid found in Western Ghats
• Mediterranean pen shell listed as critically endangered
• Land purchased near Alabama Toyota plant will preserve habitat for endangered fish
• Peatlands are crucial carbon sinks but they are not on the map
• Australia’s bushfires have emitted 250m tonnes of CO2, almost half of Australia’s annual emissions
• Whitetip sharks declared critically endangered but gain no protections in Pacific
• Brazil’s official presence at COP25 diverges widely from its public persona
• Indonesia to revive idle shrimp farms to boost fisheries and save mangroves
• Indonesia’s fires burned mostly abandoned and degraded land, not forests
• Indonesia dam raises questions about UN hydropower carbon loophole
• Zoo Atlanta welcomes new species
• Pope presses anti-nuke, environment in call for peace message
• Harvest mice found thriving 15 years after reintroduction efforts
• Eight-year-old climate activist climbs lamp post to protect outside COP25
• Dozens of states want to keep America’s broken climate promise
• US Fossil Fuel subsidies exceed Pentagon spending