Natural Resources

"An exploding population of hard-to-eradicate “super pigs” in Canada is threatening to spill south of the border, and northern states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana are taking steps to stop the invasion."

"The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is taking action to end the use of M-44 devices that deliver sodium cyanide on public land. This decision would build on existing limitations in several States and extend across all public lands managed by the BLM."

"Hotshot fire crews work on the front lines of the biggest wildfires in the American West. We rode along with them."

"Deep inside a forest in Oregon’s Willamette River Valley stands a dead “Tree of Life.” Its foliage, normally soft and green, is tough and brown or missing altogether."

"In a dark, unexplored layer of ocean, a hidden cache of fish might play an unexpected role in our climate’s future. It seems like a bad time for a new fishery."

"A treasure trove of metal is hiding at the bottom of the ocean. Potato-size nodules of iron and manganese litter the seafloor, and metal-rich crusts cover underwater mountains and chimneys along hydrothermal vents. Deep-sea mining companies have set their sights on these minerals, aiming to use them in batteries and electronics. Environmentalists warn that the mining process and the plumes of sediment it would dump back into the sea could affect marine life."

"Mining the critical minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries could threaten local water supply and Indigenous culture."

"Monsoon rains have finally passed and floods blocking the lone dirt road have retreated enough for a small truck to climb these Himalayan foothills to a gurgling spring. It spews water so fresh that people here call it nectar."