Biodiversity

"The Supreme Court on Monday morning grappled with a dispute in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana over whether oil and gas companies can move a lawsuit seeking to hold them responsible for damage to the Louisiana coast to federal court."

"The House passed a final spending bill on January 8 with deep cuts to the Department of the Interior. While the bill holds steady the budget for the National Park Service, it cuts the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing budget by 44 percent, bringing it to 2004 levels. The legislation will now head to the Senate where it is expected to pass."

"When the chills, body shivers, and pounding headache first hijacked my system, I was 30,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, midway through a 14-hour flight to Manila in the Philippines."

"Every animal with a brain needs sleep — and even a few without a brain do, too. Humans sleep, birds sleep, whales sleep and even jellyfish sleep."

"A court invoked Ecuador’s rights of nature laws in halting a highway project to protect the Jambato harlequin toad, requiring the government to prove construction won’t drive the species to extinction."

"One of the world’s rarest whale species is having more babies this year than in some recent seasons, but experts say many more young are needed to help stave off the possibility of extinction. The North Atlantic right whale’s population numbers an estimated 384 animals and is slowly rising after several years of decline."

"Scientists warn that a proposed expansion of Port Everglades could cause unprecedented damage to corals in the U.S., including some of the only remaining endangered staghorn corals that survived a record-breaking heat wave."

"Pacific Grove is known as ‘Butterfly Town USA’ for its role as an overwintering spot. As the insect’s population plummets, residents are coming to its rescue"

"Some of the world's largest soybean traders are preparing to break their agreement to curb deforestation of the Amazon rainforest to preserve tax benefits in Brazil's top farm state, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters."