Threats

The myth of green hydropower

Large dams are disastrous for freshwater ecosystems. From preventing salmon migrations, to flooding niche river ecosystems, to blocking nutrient-rich sediment from getting downstream, hydropower is a catastrophe for wildlife. Yet currently, hydropower supplies more than half of our renewable energy. Isn’t cutting our dependence on fossil fuels worth the biodiversity cost of new dams? [...]

By Claire Adler|2024-09-20T10:55:06+00:00March 13th, 2023|Dams, Freshwater, Hydropower, Threats|Comments Off

Confronting chytrid: the fight to save the world’s amphibians

In the 20th century, a new infectious disease emerged and caused an unprecedented environmental catastrophe. Chytridiomycosis, a fungal skin infection, has compounded an amphibian extinction crisis driven by habitat loss, overharvesting and pollution, resulting in 40 per cent of amphibians being threatened with extinction. Today, over 20 years after the first chytrid fungus was [...]