Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Access to Urban Woodlands Linked With Lower Use of Antidepressants

 

at 8/26/26 6:43am

A study from Scotland found that living near an accessible urban woodland significantly lowered the likelihood of being prescribed antidepressants.Read more on E360 →

— Bomb Fishing Is Wreaking Havoc on Indonesia's Coral Reefs

 

at 8/25/26 4:26am

Fishers operating off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, are detonating more than 8,000 underwater explosives each year, researchers estimate. The practice is turning picturesque coral reefs to “rubble.”Read more on E360 →

— One of the World's ‘Most Wanted’ Lost Fish Is Rediscovered

 

at 8/24/26 6:29am

On a vast network of rivers flowing through the jungles of Papua New Guinea, researchers have rediscovered the spinach pipefish, a relative of the seahorse, which had not been recorded in more than 40 years. The fish has long been sought after by conservationists, who feared it had gone extinct.Read more on E360 →

— Rising CO2 Speeds the Growth of Grasses on the African Savanna

 

at 8/21/26 6:58am

On the arid African savanna, grasses are growing faster than they were a generation ago, boosted by rising levels of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. That is the finding of a new study that warns that faster growth could fuel larger wildfires and alter the distribution of wildlife.Read more on E360 →

— Filipino Cacao Growers Learn to Live With a Hotter Climate

 

at 8/20/26 3:16am

In “Chocolates Melting Away” — the First-Place Winner of the 2026 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — Breech Asher Harani explores how cacao growers in the Philippines are developing new techniques to protect their crops from increasingly turbulent weather. Read more on E360 →

— A London Scheme to Cut Car Pollution Restored Lung Growth in Children

 

at 8/19/26 3:41am

A controversial scheme aimed at slashing car pollution in Central London was a boon to children in the area, whose lungs grew faster after the program was launched, researchers found.Read more on E360 →

— Collapse of Atlantic Currents Could Drive a Surge in Warming

 

at 8/18/26 6:56am

A vast system of Atlantic currents appears to be weakening, and scientists say its collapse could lead to dramatic cooling in northern Europe. A new study suggests an additional risk: a surge in warming across the rest of the globe.Read more on E360 →

— So Far This Year, China Has Wasted Enough Clean Energy to Power Mexico

 

at 8/17/26 7:36am

China is leading the world on renewable energy, last year installing more wind and solar capacity than every other country put together. But its buildout has unfolded at such a ferocious pace that China is now generating much more electricity than its power grid can handle, meaning that huge amounts of clean power are going unused.Read more on E360 →

— In Australia, a Home Battery Boom Has Helped Cut Wholesale Power Prices in Half

 

at 8/14/26 7:58am

A little more than one year ago, Australia rolled out a program to heavily subsidize home batteries, part of a larger effort to make use of the huge volumes of solar energy that were going to waste. On Friday, officials announced that more than 500,000 batteries had been installed under the plan, helping to slash wholesale power prices roughly in half.Read more on E360 →

— A Bicycle Journey Across Brazil to Find a Vanishing Savanna

 

at 8/13/26 2:56am

In “Here There Was Cerrado” — the Second-Place Winner of the 2026 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — Natascha Otoya shows how industrial farms are plowing up the Brazilian savanna, changing the flow of water, and skewing human memory of the landscape.Read more on E360 →

— Amid Drought, Hundreds of French Rivers Are Drying Up

 

at 8/12/26 7:23am

An ongoing drought in Europe has sapped French rivers. Officials say that 43 percent of small waterways in France have been partially or completely dried up.Read more on E360 →

— As Deforestation Falls in Brazil, It Surges in Neighboring Bolivia

 

at 8/11/26 6:31am

As Brazil cracks down on the illegal clearing of forests, farmers and ranchers are moving into Bolivia, helping to fuel a wave of deforestation in a country where land is cheap and enforcement lax. Read more on E360 →

— Last Month Was the Hottest July on Record for the World's Oceans

 

at 8/10/26 6:32am

Oceans globally recorded their hottest July ever last month, according to a new analysis. The severe ocean heat was evident around Europe, which is coping with a scorching summer.Read more on E360 →

— Mountain Lions Are Keeping Deer Off the Road, Study Finds

 

at 8/7/26 3:13am

Mountain lions in Washington state may be cutting down on traffic accidents by scaring deer away from roads, new research finds.Read more on E360 →

— For America’s Rarest Wildlife, Survival May Hinge on a Single Word

 

at 8/5/26 11:46pm

For 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has defined "harm" as not just injury to individuals but to the habitat on which they depend. By narrowing that definition, the Trump administration is leaving hundreds of species at risk of extinction.Read more on E360 →

— Who Gets to Decide the Fate of a Pristine Alaskan Rainforest?

 

at 8/5/26 6:56am

In "Land Less" — the Third-Place Winner of the 2026 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — filmmaker Alexi Liotti follows the activists fighting a bill that would transfer thousands of acres of Alaskan rainforest to five Native corporations, opening the land to logging.Read more on E360 →

— The World Adds a Third Terawatt of Solar Power

 

at 8/4/26 6:30am

In March, the world passed a major energy milestone, adding its third terawatt of solar power. Increasingly, poorer countries are leading the shift to solar, analysts say.Read more on E360 →

— In an Already Broiling Summer, El Niño Is About to Turn Up the Heat

 

at 8/3/26 7:16am

El Niño is expected to intensify in the weeks ahead, fueling more severe heat across the globe, according to the U.N. World Meteorological Organization. The forecast comes as blistering heat shatters temperature records from Europe to Asia.Read more on E360 →

— Abandoned Study of Australian Ash Trees Challenges Case for Clearcutting

 

at 7/31/26 7:04am

A landmark study of the towering ash trees that grow in the mountains of Victoria, Australia, which was launched in the 1980s, boosted arguments for clearcutting the iconic trees. But when scientists returned to the site years later, they came to a much different conclusion.Read more on E360 →

— ‘Wastelands’ No More: India Charts a Future for Its Grasslands

 

at 7/30/26 4:07am

Since the colonial era, India has regarded its native scrublands and savannas as little more than degraded forest. Now, amid a growing recognition of rangelands globally, officials are working to map the nation's ailing grasslands, with a view to restoring these vital ecosystems. Read more on E360 →

— Fatal Detonation of WWII Explosive in Indonesia Linked to Illicit Fishing

 

at 7/29/26 7:25am

In May, a group of fishers on the Indonesian island of Biak were dismantling an unexploded shell left over from World War II when the device went off, reportedly killing seven people and injuring 19 others. Officials have concluded that the fishers were harvesting materials from the shell for use in blast fishing.  Read more on E360 →

As of 8/26/26 10:36am. Last new 8/26/26 8:05am.