Stuart Pimm
This land is your land… and so, too, is the ocean
Posted by Stuart Pimm on February 26, 2010 By Stuart L. Pimm “This land is your land, this land is my land … ” According to Mary Turnipseed of Duke University’s Marine Laboratory, Woodie Guthrie got it wrong in 1940. What’s ours—as citizens and coastal residents–stretches well beyond “California and New York Island.” Two hundred miles out to sea, in fact. And her…
High-living pika can help us understand our climate fate
Posted by Stuart Pimm on February 5, 2010 By Stuart L. Pimm for NatGeo News Watch If you think small, furry rodent-like mammals are unappealing, then you have never met a pika! They look like very small rabbits, are often quite tame, and they are enormously endearing. They are usually stuffing their faces with vegetation. It’s also where they live that makes them so…
“Pleistocene Park” emerges from Patagonia’s rescued grasslands
Posted by Stuart Pimm on January 23, 2010 Conservation biologist Stuart Pimm reports from Patagonia near the tip of South America on how dedicated colleagues are re-wilding former sheep ranches. Their vision is to create a Yosemite-size national park that protects temperate grasslands for indigenous animals and plants. Culpeo fox photograph by Stuart L. Pimm By Stuart L. Pimm Special contributor to NatGeo News Watch Patagonia,…
As part of its target to cut emissions from land-use changes by 80 percent by 2020, Brazil aimed to reduce annual deforestation in the Amazon to no more than 7,000 square kilometres by 2013. Environment Minister Carlos Minc explained today that his country is four years ahead of schedule with that plan. By Stuart L.…
Finding orchids in Colombia’s other rainforest
Posted by Stuart Pimm on November 17, 2009 Colombia has made impressive progress in declaring a large part of its Amazon rain forest protected for conservation. But there’s another rain forest in Colombia, the Chocó, on the Pacific side of the country. This forest teems with even more species than in the Amazon forest, but it is not as well protected. Conservation biologist…
Exploration 101: The dream jobs begin with a slog
Posted by Stuart Pimm on October 25, 2009 Conservation biologist Stuart Pimm has a long and brilliant career as a scientist. Author of numerous research papers and books, he has given lectures in distinguished forums across the world. Yet he is never happier than as a teacher and mentor. In this blog entry Pimm addresses what it takes to be a young explorer in…
The call to boycott Madagascar’s rosewood and ebony explained
Posted by Stuart Pimm on October 6, 2009 Representatives of Malagasy civil society, conservation and development organizations and the international community issued a statement today lamenting the ongoing destruction of Madagascar’s last fragments of forest for the illegal harvest and export of precious woods. Consumers of rosewood and ebony products are asked to check their origin, and boycott those made of Malagasy wood.…
Better REDD than dead when it comes to climate change
Posted by Stuart Pimm on September 28, 2009 Swapping field clothes for a suit and tie, conservation biologist Stuart Pimm attended a United Nations event last week on forests and climate change. He was among world leaders and distinguished thinkers and activists invited to publicly express their commitment and support for the role of forests as an option to mitigate the emissions of carbon dioxide into…
Pythons in Florida Everglades: Is the Snake Invasion Only Beginning?
Posted by Stuart Pimm on September 6, 2009 Pythons have invaded the Everglades, where they flourish in warm, wet habitat that has an abundant buffet of native species to feast on. The giant snakes were imported to North America as pets, but released or escaped into Florida’s wetlands they are proliferating, challenging alligators for the top of the food chain, and potentially positioning themselves to…
An Inordinate Passion for Tropical Moths
Posted by Stuart Pimm on August 3, 2009 National Geographic grantee Professor Roger Kitching wants to know how much less diversity there is in tropical rainforest that has been logged than in unlogged “primary” forest. He finds some clues from the moths he draws to his lamp, Stuart Pimm reports in words, images, and video from the field, deep in the Borneo jungle.…
Many Mammal Migrations Are at Risk of Extinction, Research Finds
Posted by Stuart Pimm on May 28, 2009 There’s an urgency to find quality food and water that forces many large mammals to migrate. A new study finds that human activities increasingly threaten their ability to do so. Photo of zebra migration by Stuart L. Pimm By Stuart L. Pimm for NatGeo News Watch Midnight and there’s no moon. The elephants moving near my…
