"Abandoned farmland has been increasing, with a billion acres — an area half the size of Australia — lost globally. Ecologists are increasingly pointing to the potential of these lands and of degraded forests as neglected resources for rewilding and for capturing carbon."

"Arizona governor Katie Hobbs said this week her administration is terminating state land leases that for years have given a Saudi-owned farm nearly unfettered access to pump groundwater in the dry southwestern state."

"There’s a stretch of Kim Shade’s ranch in the North Dakota Badlands where he used to look for a peculiar long-billed bird from the seat of his saddle. Now, all he sees there is a road leading to an oil rig."

"Five people were killed in a multi-vehicle crash that included a tanker truck carrying a toxic chemical that spilled Friday night, triggering a large temporary evacuation near downstate Effingham. The truck was holding 7,500 gallons of anhydrous ammonia, of which about 4,000 gallons spilled, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency."

"President Biden on Tuesday vetoed a Republican-led attempt to ax endangered species protections for the long-eared bat and the lesser prairie-chicken."

"The US government’s own scientists on Thursday questioned whether corn-based ethanol is better for the environment than traditional petroleum-based fuels, nearly two decades after Congress first mandated its use."

"Almost 50 years ago, conservationists reintroduced white-tailed eagles to Scotland. It’s gone well. Some say too well."

"Fireflies — whose shimmering, magical glows light up summer nights — are in trouble, threatened by habitat destruction, light pollution, and pesticide use. With 18 species now considered at risk of extinction in North America alone, recovery efforts are only just beginning."