Ecology29
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Crossing Boundaries for the Environment
It is not the concept of a borderless nature that should serve as a model to facilitate cross-border dialogue and cooperation. Rather, it is that nature’s systems are interconnected and their borders are open to exchange.
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An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?
The tropics are already hot, and they’re getting hotter as global temperatures rise. A new study offers a glimpse into how seriously a couple more degrees could disrupt the region’s ecological map.
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A New Park Rises From an Old Garbage Dump: Parks as Critical Elements of Urban Infrastructure
New York’s Freshkills Park may be a tough sell for those of us who remember the huge landfill that used to be there. But anyone born in the 21st century will not associate that space with garbage, and over the next half century it will become of increasing importance to the development of Staten Island…
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New York City’s Bag Fee and the Circular Economy
While the reduction and eventual elimination of fossil fuel use is a key element of such an economy, so too are the public policies and public-private partnerships needed to collect and reuse discarded products and packages. Bag bills and bottle bills can help develop these capacities. In most of the United States, these ideas have…
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The 2 Million Year Melee: Neanderthals vs. Humans
Given their adaptation to cold climes and their advanced, albeit under-appreciated, skills, how were Neanderthals beaten out by their human counterparts? The answer lies in a combination of culture and genetics that enabled the successful radiation of humans.
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Meet Pepperoni the Robin, and Friends
Natalie Boelman and colleagues are tagging American robins near Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada, as the birds migrate north to nesting grounds. In a recent blog post for NASA, she put up videos about their work. You can watch some of them below, or go to the blog page at NASA’s Earth Observatory to see and…
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Migration Mysteries of the American Robin
Ecologist Natalie Boelman is headed back to the far north to study birds—this time to the town of Slave Lake, in northern Alberta, Canada, to track the migration of American robins. She will have some schoolchildren in New York remotely helping her as she and her colleagues get to work.
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The Presidency and Sustainability
The president’s accomplishments are particularly noteworthy given the toxic political environment he must operate within. Flint, Michigan’s water crisis provides an example of how partisan politics is dominating federal environmental policy.
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Navigating Governments’ Obligations in the Context of Land Investments
How should governments address the concerns of their citizens tied to land investments? And do their legal obligations constrain their options for doing so? These are increasingly complicated, and pressing, questions.
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More
