Why “Jaws” Was So Terrifying, According to the Guy Who Co-Wrote It
Zanuck/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMA When Steven Spielberg’s Jaws premiered on this date 44 years ago, on June 20, 1975, it was a booming success: In the first weekend, it grossed $7 million—adjusted for inflation, that’s a whopping $33 million. The film would go on to inspire a wealth of pop culture moments: a Saturday Night Live skit…
NOAA Is Looking for Beaches to Hold 70 Rotting Whale Caracasses. Any Volunteers?
This story was originally published by HuffPost and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Local organizations have struggled to dispose of 70 dead gray whales that have washed up along America’s West Coast. Now, a federal agency is turning to private property owners for help. The tragic die-off is the highest in 20 years. Scientists believe most…
There’s So Much Plastic in the Environment That Bees Are Making Nests Out of It
Sean Gallup/Getty This story was originally published by Atlas Obscura and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Last summer, scientists in South America were studying the impact agricultural practices have on the surrounding ecosystems, and specifically how natural areas and fields are pollinated as a result of their proximity to one another. In the midst…
Microplastic Is Ruining the Beauty of Monterey Bay
Eva Hambach/AFP/Getty This story was originally published by Wired and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. California’s Monterey Bay is one of the more pure, more dynamic coastal ecosystems on Earth. Otters—once hunted nearly to extinction—float among towering kelp forests, which themselves have rebounded thanks to the booming otter population’s appetite for kelp-loving sea urchins.…
Mexico’s Monarch Butterflies Are in Grave Danger. Scientists Are Moving an Entire Forest to Save Them.
Monarch butterflies on a rock at the El Capulin Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Macheros, Mexico.Richard Ellis/ZUMA Welcome to Recharge, a weekly newsletter full of stories that will energize your inner hellraiser. See more editions and sign up here. Tree by tree, Mexican scientists are planting the first stages of a new forest in the mountains…
Killing Migratory Birds Has Been a Crime for Decades. Not Anymore.
Zach Gibson/Getty Images This story was originally published by Reveal and is shared here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Under Republican and Democratic presidents from Nixon through Obama, killing migratory birds, even inadvertently, was a crime, with fines for violations ranging from $250 to $100 million. The power to prosecute created a deterrent that protected birds and enabled…