Plant species that take root outside their normal range and spread aggressively are wreaking havoc in ecosystems worldwide. But specially trained detection dogs are on the job, following their noses to find the invaders so they can be eradicated. Contributor Nancy Castaldo reports on a demo of this conservation tool by a scent-savvy Lab and his devoted handler.
"As New York City endures its third heat wave of the year, a city councilman plans to introduce a bill this week that would require landlords to buy, install and maintain air-conditioning units or cooling systems for tenants during the summer, with fines of up to $1,250 per day for noncompliance."
"Coastal residents are conflicted over the planned location of a facility that advocates say will help launch Maine's offshore wind industry."
"The latest flooding in Vermont has added fresh urgency to concerns about the hundreds of dams in the state, a third of which are more than a century old."
"Mayor Adams’ proposed budget cuts may place an outsized burden on park conservancies and small volunteer groups. With less than 1 percent of the city budget spent on parks, they’re finding it harder and harder to keep up."
"Expanding the remaining patches may hold the key to ecological resilience in the centuries to come".
"Outside the steps of her South Bronx apartment, Jill Hanson is thinking about the lack of green spaces as another hot summer descends upon New York City. Her neighborhood, Mott Haven, is among 80 communities considered highly threatened by humidity and high temperatures under a new Heat Vulnerability Index developed by Columbia University and the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene."
Advertisement 
