Nature & Wildlife
The continental United States and many global regions experienced their hottest summer on record in 2026, driven by human-caused climate change and an intensifying El Nino, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climate Report published on September 9, 2026. Average temperatures were roughly 3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century baseline.
Conservation
Wildfires are complicated. On one hand, they can be extremely destructive forces. On the other, they are natural events that certain animals and plants have evolved to depend on for ecological balance. And then, you have to add climate change into the equation.
Nature & Wildlife
More-than-human animals predate humans on Earth by approximately 500 million to more than 800 million years. While modern humans (Homo sapiens) have existed for only about 300,000 years, the first animal life (likely sponges) appeared in the ocean hundreds of millions of years prior to the human lineage.
Nature & Wildlife
Rain can be thought of as a common weather phenomenon, but it plays a vital role in keeping the Earth’s ecosystems running and our lives healthy. Whether it’s a mild drizzle or a heavy downpour, rain affects the environment, shapes landscapes and even influences our emotions. Rain, though, has some lesser-known and surprising facets.
Conservation
While wildfires and controlled burns (also known as prescribed burns) are both fires, they differ significantly in their impacts, management and origins. Wildfires are unplanned and unrestrained, often caused by natural events like lightning or human error—such as unattended campfires or discarded cigarettes—and they can cause extensive damage.
Nature & Wildlife
Glaciers are tremendous accumulations of snow, compacted by weight and turned to ice. They move with gravity due to their own mass, often carrying rocks and sediment debris with them.
Conservation
Yellowstone National Park is famous for its beautiful but harsh winters. Blanketed in snow, it exudes an almost mythical aura—even in the season’s common subzero temperatures there.
