Trees are Getting Shorter and Younger

The world’s collective forests have become shorter and younger overall in the past 50 years, according to a study published in the journal Science on Friday. This means that forests have less capacity to remove carbon from the atmosphere and are less hospitable to the many species that rely on them for shelter. Oh, and it’s going to get worse.

Earth’s Most Biodiverse Regions Are Collapsing

The tropics are the most biodiverse part of the world. Some tropical rainforests are home to more species than entire continents, and tropical coral reefs are believed to have the highest biodiversity of any marine ecosystem on the planet. But thanks to human action—specifically, the actions of the fossil fuel industry, Big Ag, and other planet-destroying corporations—those ecosystems are facing collapse.

Planet Earth Could Lose Two-Thirds of Wild Vertebrates by 2020

Populations of wild vertebrates are on track to fall 67 percent by 2020, according to a new report on the state of Earth’s ecosystems. It’s another stunning reminder of the scale of humanity’s impact on the planet, and a frightening glimpse into the realities of life in the Anthropocene.

There’s More Than One Species of Giraffe

It seems we’ve been wrong about giraffes since, well, forever.

A 400 Year-Old Shark May Hold the Cure to Aging

If you’re counting on technology to radically extend your lifespan, you’ll want to pay close attention to what’s happening with the Greenland shark. According to a new scientific paper, this mysterious deep-sea dweller can live up to 400 years, making it the longest-lived vertebrate on Earth.

OVER HALF OF ALL AMAZONIAN TREE SPECIES ARE IN DANGER

Ever since we were children, we’ve learned in grade school and from Ranger Rick about the cutting down of the rainforest. We learned that it’s bad—that lots of animals and trees are killed and people’s livelihoods are turned upside down. We’ve been told random facts and figures about how many acres are destroyed every second. We eventually start to become numb to it.

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IMPORTANT SOIL IS TO LIFE ON EARTH

When we think of biodiversity, usually our minds conjure up colorful lush images of plants and trees, bright amphibians, reptiles and fish, mammals, and brightly tinted birds on the wing. Maybe you even think of crazy looking insects. But what most of us don’t often think of when we think of biodiversity is the world beneath our feet, the teeming life below ground.

Lupe Fiasco – AUTOBOTO

Benny The Butcher – Bust A Brick Nick

Tory Lanez – Mucky James

Lupe Fiasco – 100 Chicagos

Sauce Walka – “Mirror Effect”

21 Savage – “No Debate” / “Big Smoke”

Flamingo at the Cincinnati Zoo

Mt. Gang Rinpoche (Tibet)

Smithsonian.com

Morning Hour

The first one

POLAR BEAR ON ICEBERG

Ibis Fight