Environmental News

A curated set of environmental news stories brought to you by the Gottlieb Native Garden team.

300 goats are chewing their way through Rancho Palos Verdes, and that’s a good thing

The goats are expected to remain throughout June.

Are tourists ruining California? This account is trying to stop risky and illegal behavior

In response, someone created an Instagram account, initially called @bigsurhatesyou to shame visitors’ inconsiderate behavior in the Big Sur area.

Rare sight of black swans, native to Australia, spotted in Rainbow Harbor

They are typically owned by collectors, fanciers, breeders, aviaries, estates that keep them as ornamental birds. They are a restricted species in California that need a permit to possess.

Sustainable Guitars – Giving Back To The Trees And Communities That Helped Create Music

The Ebony Project, a marriage between business, local communities and researchers, has now produced nearly 4,000 new ebony saplings (Diospyros crassiflora Hiern) in the Cameroon region of the basin – approaching an initial goal to plant 15,000 trees.

As UN warns of widespread extinction, California is already losing species

A new United Nations report warning of a global extinction crisis identifies three parts of the world in particular danger: South America, Africa and parts of Asia.

Why California Oaks Are Important

Due to competition with non-native ground covers and with pressure from predators (such as gophers, turkeys, deer, and cattle), many types of oaks—like blue oaks in Northern California and Engelmann oaks in Southern California—are not regenerating (creating viable, long-lived oak seedlings) in the wild.

How Last Year’s Massive Woolsey Fire In Southern California Impacted Wildlife

The Woolsey Fire in Southern California destroyed hundreds of human homes and devastated the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area – a critical wildlife habitat.

Economics can help us protect the world’s wildlife

One major challenge today is how to protect biodiversity. Across the world, scientists tell ­­us the diversity and abundance of life on earth is declining. Economics can help us understand why these losses are happening and figure out how to reverse these losses.

A new effort to save birds pinpoints in amazing detail where they fly

For years, as California’s Central Valley grew into the nation’s leading agricultural corridor, the region gradually lost almost all of the wetlands that birds, from the tiny sandpiper to the great blue heron, depend on during their migrations along the West Coast.

The real renewable energy storage solution

Right here at UC Irvine, we’re doing a little science experiment that could make a big difference for countries around the globe as they look for ways to replace fossil fuels and stop climate change. This experiment is focused on how to store extra solar energy.