Sometimes amidst all of the worrisome environmental news, it’s nice to be able to step back and just revel in beauty every once and awhile. So revel we shall in this time-lapse video showcasing the frozen winter forestland of Burleigh Falls and Fenelon Falls, Ontario, which was shot last month by Ben Lean.
In 1788 on this date, Massachusetts became our sixth “state” — it’s technically one of four commonwealths in the United States. Despite being one of America’s smallest states by land area, Massachusetts still boasts 11 national wildlife refuges, whose habitats include wetlands, forests, marshes, bogs and savannas. So much diversity in such a small place!
Today is World Wetlands Day. For more than a decade, countries around the world have celebrated wetlands on February 2 in remembrance of the 1971 signing of the Convention of Wetlands in Ramsar, Iran. Why do we celebrate wetlands every year? Where to begin? Wetlands is the broad term used to describe areas that often [...]
For years now, there have been studies and concerns about mercury levels in our oceans and bodies of water and how they affect aquatic life and consequently those of us that rely on fish and shellfish for sustenance — from children to birds and fish-eating mammals. But these studies hadn’t really examined mercury’s affect on [...]
As covered in the autumn issue of American Forests, tree rings tell compelling stories. Far from just revealing a tree’s age, they record natural events like volcano eruptions, the history of civilizations like the Roman and Aztec Empires and other moments in time. And, now, they make music. Yes, you read that right: music. German [...]
Bats. Such a simple word immediately evokes a few distinct images in my brain: running and shrieking humans being swarmed by the flying mammals, a certain playboy billionaire who likes to masquerade as one and some blood-sucking fiends of Transylvania. Unfortunately for our winged friends, false images like these mean that their vital role in [...]
Last week, NASA Earth Observatory released as series of maps showing the world’s forests, as mapped from three dimensions: area, density and height. Through the work of researchers, we have one of the largest, highest-resolution forest biomass maps ever. Pretty nifty, huh? It is, in terms of the research and technology that went into creating [...]
I love sports. All kinds, from the insanely popular — college football and basketball — to the fanatical — hi, MLS and NHL — to the not-for-everyone, but awesome — I’m looking at you tennis and cycling. Basically, if it’s a sporting event, especially live, I’m there. Also, there is lots and lots of waste, [...]
As we experience what I’m affectionately dubbing the dog days of winter — aka the unseasonably warm temperatures that much of the country has been experiencing of late — the news that some cold-loving flora may not survive the coming decades because of warming temperatures is hardly surprising, but still mightily depressing. According to researchers [...]
This week in history, five of our states officially joined the United States: Georgia (1/2/1788) Connecticut (1/9/1788) Utah (1/4/1896) New Mexico (1/6/1912) Alaska (1/3/1959). In celebration, I wanted to share some of the forested beauty that you can experience in each. Georgia Our fourth state contains two national forests: Oconee and Chattahoochee National Forests, which [...]
