Author: Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters, Environment Correspondent WASHINGTON

  • 1872 mining law threatens Grand Canyon

    A U.S. law from the pick-and-shovel days of the Western frontier now threatens natural treasures including Grand Canyon National Park as mining claims on public lands proliferate, an environmental group said on Friday. The 1872 Mining Law, signed by President Ulysses S. Grant, allows mining companies — including foreign-owned ones — to take about $1…

  • Fewer penguins survive warming Antarctic climate

    Two of the most well-known penguin species in Antarctica — chinstraps and Adelies — are under pressure because a warmer climate has cut deeply into their main food source, shrimp-like creatures called krill. Fewer of the juvenile penguins survive what scientists call their “transition to independence” because there isn’t enough krill to go around, according…