John Cannon

Climate or biodiversity? Global study maps out forestation’s dilemma Planting trees is a vital strategy to combat both climate change and the biodiversity crisis. As forests grow, they sponge carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide renewed habitat for…

My latest for @mongabay.com: Planting trees helps fight climate change & restore biodiversity. But a new study finds that land-intensive carbon removal projects like reforestation or bioenergy crops often overlap with global biodiversity hotspots.

Big biodiversity goals run up against small funding realities Mexico’s sundry landscapes have few parallels. Straddling the northern boundary of the Tropic of Cancer, the country boasts low-lying deserts and humid rainforests, scrubby chaparral and tangled…

My latest for @mongabay.com: The 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework Fund is helping channel resources to nations & Indigenous communities, but funding is still far short of what’s needed. #Biodiversity #Conservation

Risk-taking comes earlier in chimpanzees than in humans, study finds Chimpanzees appear to be the biggest daredevils when they’re infants. Humans tend to take more chances and put themselves in the most danger in adolescence, so the expectation has been that…

Wild chimps are boldest in infancy, not adolescence like humans, according to a recent study. Young chimps take the biggest physical risks in trees, then mellow with age, hinting that human caregiving may delay risk-taking. Read more from @mongabay.com.

Earth Rover Program seeks to track the world’s soil health With a synchronized tap from run-of-the-mill hammers on metal plates resting on the ground, researchers kneeling in nine fields across four continents believe they’ve hit upon more than just the earth...

The Earth Rover Project is focused on assessing soil health and providing the data -- and perhaps one day the actionable advice -- that could help farmers around the world. More from @mongabay.com:
news.mongabay.com/2026/01/eart...

Ditches on peatland oil palm plantations are an overlooked source of methane: Study The water-filled ditches that laced through the oil palm plantation in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, nagged at Kuno Kasak when he saw them in 2022. He knew that these canals,…

Drainage ditches in peatland oil palm plantations are an overlooked climate threat. New research shows these water-filled channels emit outsized amounts of methane, meaning emissions from drained peatlands may be far higher than previously estimated. Read more from @mongabay.com:

‘The bargain of the century’: An economist’s vision for expanding clean energy access in Africa Many observers see industrialization as the key to boosting clean electricity access for people living in Africa and across the Global South. They argue that building up economies with industry will…

Clean energy access in Africa could be central to “the bargain of the century.” Economist Fadhel Kaboub says it’s not just about tech, but jobs, industry and fairness. Read more from @mongabay.com:

10 notable books on conservation and the environment published in 2025 The year 2025 might be seen as one of backsliding when it comes to tackling the environmental crises that face our planet. Political leadership in places like the U.S. and elsewhere chose to throw…

The past year has seen climate backsliding, rising fossil fuel support and stalled protections. But @mongabay.com's annual book list highlights changemakers confronting hard truths and turning hope into action for people, wildlife and the planet. Read more:

Researchers find concerning gaps in global maps used for EUDR compliance A recent scientific review of forest maps used to ensure compliance with the European Union’s Regulation on Deforestation-free products, known as the EUDR, suggests that most may over- or…

Satellite maps will be a critical tool for compliance with the EU's deforestation regulation (EUDR), set to go into effect at the end of 2026. But analyses show gaps in what's available, making the use of other tools necessary. More from @mongabay.com

‘The perfect ingredients’: WRI Africa deputy director shares vision for the continent’s energy transition The quest to bring energy to Africans who need it often centers on the relatable electrical needs that arise in the home: lighting, phone charging, and a connection to what’s going on in the broader…

Amid discussions of the energy transition in Africa at #COP30, WRI's Rebekah Shirley discusses what it will take to expand energy access across the continent. More @Mongabay.com

What does the just energy transition mean for Africa? When two Mongabay reporters visited the village of Lukwangulo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they encountered a reality that’s common in many parts of rural Africa: Families spend valuable time…

The energy access gap for millions of Africans has sparked calls for a “just” energy transition that expands renewable energy without unfairly burdening people, communities or countries. Read more in my latest piece for @mongabay.com as #COP30 begins in Brazil.

Opinion | The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions

Interesting perspective from @nytimes.com centering on recent events in Sierra Valley near my home:

The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...

Much of the habitat of whitebark pine, an iconic, high-elevation tree species in western North America, won't be suitable by 2050, says a new study. The new maps the authors produced will help guide ongoing restoration efforts. More from @mongabay.com: buff.ly/YmC5KDw

‘We can have abundant rivers and wildlife’: Director of ‘The American Southwest’ on new film At its roots, The American Southwest, from Fin and Fur Films, is a natural history documentary. “I’m a wildlife guy,” says director Ben Masters, who founded Fin and Fur in 2012. His infatuation with…

The American Southwest, a new film that traces the path of the Colorado River, is now available to stream. Read my interview with director Ben Masters, now up at @mongabay.com:

Warmer climate could slash threatened whitebark pine territory within decades: Study Hotter and drier conditions could whittle away 80% of land where whitebark pine grows by the middle of this century, according to a recent study. Scattered across the highest parts of the Rocky Mounta...

Some media exposure for our new paper on whitebark pine.
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Thanks to @mongabay.com journalist @john-cannon.bsky.social for the great reporting.

When does beaver reintroduction make sense? This is the second installment of Mongabay’s coverage of beaver restoration in California. Read the first story. TÁSMAM KOYÓM, U.S. — “It’s a little wet!” Ben Cunningham shouted over his shoulder as…

The second of my two stories about beavers in California for @mongabay.com looks at the promise and perils of translocating beavers to parts of their former range in the hopes that they'll bring ecosystem benefits

Beavers restored to tribal lands in California benefit ecosystems This is the first installment of Mongabay’s coverage of beaver restoration in California. Read the second story. CHESTER, Calif. — The pictograph, an ochre-red outline with four paws and an…

Here's part 1 of my coverage of beaver restoration in California for @mongabay.com. Turns out, the recent releases wouldn't have happened without decades of effort from organizations, tribes and scientists.

Global CO2 storage capacity may be drastically overstated, study finds A new analysis suggests that the “prudent” storage available for carbon dioxide to head off further global warming is more limited than other recent estimates. Accounting for the risks associated…

Global CO2 storage capacity may be drastically overstated, study finds

My latest for @mongabay.com looks where we might find space to CO2 drawn from the atmosphere -- and where it might be too risky. Global CO2 storage capacity may be drastically overstated, study finds buff.ly/TQy2MNO

Old forests, new fires, and a scientific standoff over active management This is the second installment of Mongabay’s coverage of active management tools for forest fires. Read Part 1. Photographs of forests in the western U.S. from the mid-1800s show a starkly different…

My second article on active forest management for @mongabay.com digs deeper into the science around fires and forests, the legacies of logging and fire exclusion and differing conclusions about a way forward. Old forests, new fires, and a scientific standoff over active management

Fixing forests or fueling fires? Scientists split over active management This is the first installment of Mongabay’s coverage of active management tools for forest fires. Read Part 2. On Sept. 8, 2020, a brush field in southern Oregon, in the northwestern U.S., caught…

Here's the first article of two looking at the diverging views on what humans' role in managing forests should be, and how we can coexist with fire in a warming world. For @mongabay.com. Fixing forests or fueling fires? Scientists split over active management

Will we still eat beef in 50 years? When drought became a perennial visitor to the Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado in the late 1990s, Steve Wooten remembers telling his family, “We got to do something different.” Between 1997 and 2003,…

My latest piece for @mongabay.com looks at the future of beef production and whether regenerative grazing can limit the industry's environmental impacts.

Fixing forests or fueling fires? Scientists split over active management On Sept. 8, 2020, a brush field in southern Oregon, in the northwestern U.S., caught fire. Over the next week, “walls” of flame tore through the towns of Talent and Phoenix in the Rogue River Valley.…

Wildfires have gotten worse in the western U.S., and around the world. That’s driven a push to use tools like thinning and controlled burns to reduce risk and restore natural fire patterns.

But some scientists warn that too much intervention can harm ecosystems, especially old-growth forests.

Third manta ray species confirmed in western Atlantic There’s a third species of manta ray gracefully gliding through the seas, a recent study has confirmed. Researchers have named the newly described species, found in the western Atlantic, Mobula yarae…

There’s a third species of manta ray gracefully gliding through the seas, a recent study has confirmed.

Researchers have named the newly described species, found in the western Atlantic, Mobula yarae after Yara, a water spirit from Indigenous Brazilian mythology.

I covered a study for @mongabay.com looking into why deforestation has slowed in Indonesia and the Brazilian Amazon. The researchers found that strong political will played a big role and is often driven by public pressure and international diplomacy. buff.ly/IZPSnBN

U.S. federal agency clears ways for deep-sea mining — and companies are lining up This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. On June 25, the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), a department with...

BOEM has rolled out policy changes to fast-track deep-sea mining in U.S. waters — and companies like Impossible Metals, Wetstone, Odyssey Marine Exploration and Transocean are now actively engaging with the agency.

@mongabay.com @pulitzercenter.bsky.social
news.mongabay.com/2025/07/u-s-...

U.S. Federal Agency Clears Ways for Deep-Sea Mining — and Companies Are Lining Up The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) recently announced rule changes that would accelerate deep-sea mining in U.S. waters. The move includes shortened environmental review timelines and....

The U.S. recently announced rule changes that would accelerate deep-sea mining.

Experts warn that the rapid push to open the outer continental shelf to mining is potentially harmful to deep-sea ecosystems.

Story by ORN Fellow @elizabethalberts.bsky.social ‬for @mongabay.com. bit.ly/44TVMl8

Challenges persist in TMC’s bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in internati...

TMC’s deep-sea mining push is moving ahead, but critics warn of legal fights, ecological damage, and global backlash. Its ties to controversial past ventures like Nautilus & DSMF raise even more red flags. @mongabay.com @pulitzercenter.bsky.social #DeepSeaMining news.mongabay.com/custom-story...

Challenges persist in TMC’s bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in internati...

@mongabay.com has also revealed that key figures behind TMC—including former Nautilus execs—are now leading a new Texas-based venture: American Metal. Formed in 2025, it’s promising “sustainable” deep-sea mining for the U.S. market. @pulitzercenter.bsky.social news.mongabay.com/custom-story...

Banks bet big on fossil fuels, boosting financing in 2024, report finds Financing for the fossil fuel sector from the world’s largest banks surged in 2024 to $869 billion, according to a recent report by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and other environmental groups. ...

Banks bet big on fossil fuels, boosting financing in 2024, report finds - @john-cannon.bsky.social @mongabay.com

news.mongabay.com/2025/06/bank...

PNG PM Marape rejects deep-sea mining even as provincial authorities try to revive project This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. NICE, France — James Marape, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, voiced his g...

"We don’t want any deep-sea mining in Papua New Guinea,” PM James Marape told me at UNOC. But in the province of New Ireland, a seabed mining project appears to be going forward. Read my collab with @john-cannon.bsky.social on @mongabay.com news.mongabay.com/2025/06/png-...