Category: Science

Eyes on the Horizon, All Hands on the Ramparts

February 20, 2014 | by: Mark Spalding | 1

20 scientists offer their take on the next big issues in conservation — from seaweed harvesting to resurrection science. The Conservancy’s Mark Spalding sums up the big picture.

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Sanjayan: The Art of Communication is Conservation’s Best Hope

January 30, 2014 | by: Peter Kareiva and David Banks | 2

Peter Karevia and David Banks pay tribute to former Conservancy lead scientist Sanjayan, who has just joined Conservation International, as a master communicator and advocate for innovative, people-relevant conservation.

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Cool Green Science: Year in Review 2013

December 30, 2013 | by: Matt Miller | 0

Thanks for making Cool Green Science one of the world’s most-read conservation science blogs — in just its first year! Here’s a look back at our most popular stories from 2013.

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Remembering Alfred Russel Wallace

November 7, 2013 | by: Craig Leisher | 3

Remembering Alfred Russel Wallace, co-discoverer of evolution and conservation great, on the centennial of his passing.

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New Science: Time to Step Away from the Ecological Footprint?

November 5, 2013 | by: Bob Lalasz | 2

How sustainably are we managing Earth? A new study co-authored by Conservancy scientist Peter Kareiva says we can’t even answer the question with the most commonly used metric.

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Star Spangled Science: Bouncing Back from Hurricane Sandy

October 31, 2013 | by: Christine Shepard | 0

Wanted: a PhD who can win a bar fight. That might seem like an unusual job qualification, but it came in handy when developing science-based responses to Superstorm Sandy.

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Shade Coffee: Not Just for the Birds

October 30, 2013 | by: Timothy Boucher | 8

When it comes to coffee, we not only need to think about who grows the bean, but also how and where it is grown. Shade coffee is worth the investment, says Tim Boucher.

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Meet the NatureNet Fellows: Wilfred Odadi

October 17, 2013 | by: Bob Lalasz | 0

He’s completed “some of the most detailed and extensive foraging ecology ever done on cattle in Africa.” Meet NatureNet Fellow Wilfred Odadi, and learn what his research means for people, rangeland management and wildlife in northern Kenya.

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Can Forest Carbon Markets Provide for a 40,000-Year-Old Culture?

October 7, 2013 | by: Matt Miller | 1

That’s a key question being answered by the Conservancy and partners as they work to protect the land of the Hadza, who have hunted and lived in this region for at least 40,000 years.

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Natural Intersection: Understanding and Conserving Alaska’s Estuaries

October 3, 2013 | by: Dustin Solberg | 1

Meet the estuary: where three powerful realms–river, ocean and land–meet. A new paper by Conservancy scientists classifies this important habitat, and helps conservationists better protect estuaries vital for both people and wildlife.

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Beyond Magic: Why SNAP Can Help Us Solve Wicked Problems

September 25, 2013 | by: Peter Kareiva | 2

The new Science for Nature and People collaborative has unprecedented power to address some of the world’s wicked problems, says Conservancy Chief Scientist and SNAP Acting Director Peter Kareiva.

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The World Famous Shrew-Eating Trout: An Update

September 18, 2013 | by: Matt Miller | 1

We’ve been inundated with questions about the shrew-eating trout featured in a blog published earlier this month. Get your questions answered, and more. (Including a fish that ate something even more disturbing).

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Is China’s Coastal Aquaculture Production a House of Cards?

September 17, 2013 | by: Craig Leisher | 0

No country exports more shrimp than China. Yet how sustainable is shrimp aquaculture production in China? Conservancy senior social scientist Craig Leisher looks to the literature for answers, and what he finds isn’t promising.

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Dragonfly Migration: A Mystery Citizen Scientists Can Help Solve

September 16, 2013 | by: Joe Smith | 4

A dragonfly holds the record for the longest insect migration. And yet dragonfly migration remains a poorly understood ecological phenomenon. Take note, citizen scientists: your observations can contribute significantly to our understanding of the species, and it’s importance to conservation. Break out your field guide and look around city park or backyard.

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The Cooler: Bob Paine Looks Forward

September 13, 2013 | by: Bob Lalasz | 0

Legendary ecologist Bob Paine — inventor of the “keystone species” concept as well as the “kick-it-and-see” school of ecology — gives a wonderful interview to the website Biodiverse Perspectives. Will nature become so diminished and boring in the future, he wonders, that ecology will go extinct?

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What is Cool Green Science?

noun 1. Blog where Nature Conservancy scientists, science writers and external experts discuss and debate how conservation can meet the challenges of a 9 billion + planet.

2. Blog with astonishing photos, videos and dispatches of Nature Conservancy science in the field.

3. Home of Weird Nature, The Cooler, Quick Study, Traveling Naturalist and other amazing features.

Cool Green Science is managed by Matt Miller, the Conservancy's deputy director for science communications at the Conservancy, and edited by Bob Lalasz, its director of science communications. Email us your feedback.

Featured Content

How Did the Brook Trout Cross the Road?
Road culverts may not be sexy, but they're a matter of life and death for native fish.

Editors’ Choice

Protecting a 40,000-Year-Old Culture
Can forest carbon markets provide a hopeful future for Tanzania hunter-gatherers?

Does Biodiversity Really Protect Us From Disease?
The idea has gone mainstream over the last year — but new scientific evidence might dash hopes that conservation could be directly relevant to human health.