Endangered Species

THE JANUARY 2025 CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES ARE FULLY CONTAINED, BUT THEIR IMPACTS ON THE OCEAN ARE NOT

From an article by ANNA BAXTER on the OCEANA website:

In January 2025, a series of devastating wildfires hit Southern California. Lives were lost. Homes and businesses were destroyed. Families were displaced. The scale of the devastation is staggering. But the damage doesn’t stop at the shoreline.

This week, as Southern Californians are deluged with torrential downpours, harmful pollutants and toxic runoff from the fires could wash into local waters and put both marine life and local communities at risk.

Click here to read the full article.


Government will not protect endangered monarch butterfly

The monarch population has fallen by 75% percent in the past three decades.  Although monarchs qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act, federal officials say budgetary constraints cause them to ignore the butterfly in favor of higher-priority endangered species.  NY Times story here.

Organizations around the country are working to save the monarch butterfly.  Here are links to a few: Monarch WatchSave Our Monarchs Foundation,and the  Environmental Defense Fund.


Climate change causing huge loss in tropical insect invertebrate population

The Washington Post reports on a "hyperalarming" study showing dramatic loss of insects in pristine American tropical forest.  The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The Post story notes that 35% of the world's plant crops require pollination by bees, wasps and other animals, so that if pollinators go extinct so will many plant species.