The Center for Biological Diversity has published a first-of-its-kind comprehensive review of more than 4,000 native bee species in North America. The report indicates that more than half the species with sufficient data are declining. Nearly 1 in 4 is racing towards extinction due to increased pesticide and other factors. [1]
The serene, majestic bottlenose dolphins that swim off the Florida Everglades are contaminated with mercury – the highest levels ever documented in the entire species – and it’s killing them. And because the dolphins are a sentinel species that provide a glimpse into the health of both ecosystems and humans, the discovery means it’s likely that people living in the area are also affected. [1]
Majestic monarch butterflies cover the fir trees in the forests of Central Mexico every winter, but fewer of them have been calling these woods home, thanks mostly to humanity’s destruction of their natural environment. [1]
The number of monarchs have been dwindling for 2 decades, but the situation seems to have reached a tipping point this year.
Karen Oberhauser, co-chairwoman of Monarch Joint Venture, a national collaboration of 50 conservation, education and research groups, confirmed it, saying:
