These Scientists Saw COVID-19 Coming. Now They’re Trying to Stop the Next Pandemic Before It Starts.
PREDICT team members sample wildlife in the field in Sierra Leone.Simon Townsley/PREDICT For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.This piece was originally published in Grist and appears here as part of our Climate Desk Partnership. It was late one night in January 2009, and Jonathan Epstein was standing on…
Superheroes and Accountable Leaders Are in Short Supply. So 4 Kids Decided to Invent Them.
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Welcome to Recharge, a weekly newsletter full of stories that will energize your inner hellraiser. See more editions and sign up here. As school closures sweep the world and affect more than 55 million US students, kids are finding creative ways to…
Farmers on Remote Island Fight Food Insecurity With Their Flock
A little goat.Paul Zinken/Zuma For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.This piece was originally published in Canada’s National Observer and appears here as part of our Climate Desk Partnership. Goats are an overlooked tool in the arsenal for rural, isolated communities to improve their resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic,…
The Surprising History of the Wildlife Trade That May Have Sparked the Coronavirus
A rescued young Sunda pangolin takes his first tentative steps after being released back into the wild. ZUMA For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.This story was originally published by the Food and Environment Reporting Network. For the past 40 years, the Chinese government has promoted the wild…
Trump Has Been Very Bad for Vulnerable Animals. The Administration May Finally Have to Change Its Behavior.
A northern spotted owlRobin Loznak/ZUMA In the past three years, the Trump administration has targeted rules and regulations critical for wildlife survival from every angle: It has stripped long-standing protections and instituted new hoops to jump through in the name of economic growth. It has made it easier for polluters to dump pesticides in lakes and rivers. It…
Car ‘Splatometer’ Tests Reveal Huge Decline in the Number of Insects
A truck driver cleans dead bugs off his windshield at a truck stop in Baytown, Texas. Brett Coomer/AP This piece was originally published in The Guardian and appears here as part of our Climate Desk Partnership. Two scientific studies of the number of insects splattered by cars have revealed a huge decline in abundance at European sites…