Wildlife Conservation

To say Lake Erie is a part of me is a gross understatement. So I was mortified three years ago when I saw images of toxic algal blooms fouling the waters off the shore of Toledo. The people there lost their drinking water for days.

Leaders from some of the biggest businesses in the country gathered in LaGrange City Hall on Thursday to discuss the creation of what will be the biggest industrial park in the southeast in terms of size, employees and investment in the community. “There are a hundred manufacturers in Troup County that operate in this park, and we have more Fortune 500 companies operating here than anywhere in the U.S.”

A little-known fact about the Canadian 25 cent coin, is that the animal on the “tails” side is in fact not a moose, but a caribou! Caribou (also known as reindeer), are an integral part of Canadian indigenous heritage, as well as northern ecosystems. These members of the deer family were once one of Canada’s most widespread wildlife species. Today their numbers have significantly diminished, some herds by more than 90%. Climate change, increased habitat development, and poor land use planning have contributed greatly to the caribou’s steady decline. Most Arctic caribou are migratory, which poses challenges for habitat conservation when coupled with mining exploration and development.

The Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange is an innovative market-based program dedicated to restoring and conserving high-quality monarch habitat on America's private working lands. It’s been dubbed an ‘Airbnb for butterflies’ because it’s the only program of its kind that can open the vast untapped potential of large-scale farms and ranches to make habitat available for monarchs at an unprecedented scale and pace.

Smithfield Foods, a global food company that is also the world’s largest hog producer and pork processor, is the first food company to participate in the program, contributing $300,000 to restore key prairie habitat for monarchs in Missouri.

Thirteen organizations spanning 42 counties in North Carolina and South Carolina will receive more than $900,000 in new grants from Duke Energy's Water Resources Fund to support environmental and wildlife programs.

Last October, five Xylem volunteers from Chile, Germany, Sweden and the United States spent five days exploring the water environments of South Florida and collaborating with groups working to protect these unique environments. Activities were conducted in partnership with EarthEcho International, one of Xylems’ global nonprofit partners.

Ishmael’s compelling opening – TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.

National Geographic recently hosted an “Evening of Exploration” at the Natural History Museum in London, the biggest event the organization has ever held in Europe. The gala was an opportunity to celebrate National Geographic’s 130 years of groundbreaking storytelling with National Geographic Explorers, National Geographic leaders, and luminaries from across Europe and Africa.

Why does biodiversity matter? The answer is because the African elephant isn’t unique. Countless species on Earth form an integral and necessary part of their ecosystems.