Back in 2006, Dr. Charles Monnett published an article that included observations about polar bear deaths in the Beaufort Sea. In the report, co-authored with another scientist, Monnett reported seeing four dead polar bears in 2004. Monnett works for the federal government, and this month he was put on administrative leave while the government investigates "integrity issues" connected to that report. Administrative leave means he has to put all current research on hold. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a watchdog organization, has formally complained about the investigation. In its complaint, the group includes portions of an interview the Department of …

Start with this dam thing on the Great Works River.Photo: InAweOfGod'sCreationHere at Grist we love infrastructure, from fixing it, to expanding it, to coming up with creative ways to reuse it. Over at The Atlantic, writer Paul Greenberg (of Four Fish fame) touts another alternative: tearing it down. Specifically, Greenberg argues for dismantling the long-standing network of prominent river dams that have far outlived their usefulness. Throughout the United States, there are tens of thousands of dams that today serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Most of them were built on streams and rivers during the Industrial Revolution, providing mechanical hydropower …

One-third of the Chesapeake Bay is a dead zone this year. The Washington Post reports: Especially heavy flows of tainted water from the Susquehanna River brought as much nutrient pollution into the bay by May as normally comes in an entire average year, a Maryland Department of Natural Resources researcher said. As a result, “in Maryland we saw the worst June” ever for nutrient pollution, said Bruce Michael, director of the DNR’s resource assessment service. The dead zone could grow to be the largest ever. The way it works is that farm runoff leads to a bumper crop of bay …

Climate change isn't just killing polar bears, it's killing baby polar bears. YOU MONSTER. A study that tracked polar bears swimming long distances found cubs that swam more than 30 miles at a time were more likely to die than cubs that didn't. Baby polars have a hard time making those swims because: Like humans, they get water up their noses in rough seas. They haven't grown a very thick layer of insulating fat yet, so being in the cold water takes a toll. Their lack of fat also means they're not as buoyant as their parents and have a …

It's worth watching a guy scramble around in a Speedo to see this boatload of conservationists save a humpback whale caught in a net. If you don't want to sit through tense Speedo-clad net-cutting, though, you can skip ahead to about 6:30 and watch the newly freed whale repeatedly leaping into the air in what looks like a show of joy and gratitude.

This video is in Portuguese, so just mute it and cue up a bit of old Ludwig Van as you watch sneaky monkey thugs infiltrate a Brazilian home. With humans perpetually up in their business, monkeys in Rio de Janeiro are fighting back by turning to a life of crime. This is no casual looting, either -- it's a monkey mob. The housebreaking simians have a signaling system (mimicking birdcalls) and a thoroughly orchestrated plan of attack. They're not quite backflipping through radar beams, but it's close.  LIke most things (especially crime sprees!) this is probably humans' fault, not for …

Omega Protein, Inc. (a company you've never heard of) is quickly overfishing the Atlantic menhaden (a species you've never heard of). As a result, a number of fish that you have heard of -- striped bass, bluefish, tuna, dolphin, seatrout, and mackerel -- as well as the ocean ecosystem as a whole, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Long Island Sound (which you’ve heard of) are suffering. Menhaden are tiny, bony, oily fish that humans can't eat, but which, according to marine scientists, are "the most important fish in the sea." Menhaden are the main consumers of phytoplankton, and without them, …

Another point for dogs in eternal battle of cats vs. canines: While cats are bad for the environment, dog poop could help cut carbon costs. In Phoenix, a local dog park is trying to capture methane gas from dog waste and burn it in the park’s lamps. Dog owners scoop their pets' poop with biodegradable bags, dump it in a composter, and turn the composter's crank. Methane rises to the top of the barrel and is channeled into the lamps, where it generates light. The project will cost $25,000, but if that seems like an expensive way to power a …

So that's what was happening with all the bees! It wasn't cell phones (okay, it really wasn't) or pesticide. They were just all inside a truck. And now that truck has crashed on an Idaho highway, releasing 14 million bees to go make a giant vat of potato honey or whatever bees do in Idaho.  It took cleanup workers all day to get the honey from 400 overturned hives off the roadway. As for the bee escapees, many are still at large, ready to make a go of living on the lam, perhaps bringing new blood hemolymph to some hives …

Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed, and as young caterpillars, they eat the stuff. But humans like to have neat rows of corn and soybeans, and milkweed interferes with their field aesthetics. Which is more important? Doesn’t matter; humans have thumbs, agriculture, and industrial chemistry. Thus, 100 million acres of row crops are now milkweed-free; Monarch butterflies have fewer places to stash their young; and their population may be dwindling. Because farmers don't like milkweed, but everyone likes butterflies, insect experts are advocating for milkweed preservation efforts on conserved farmland or in personal gardens. This seems like a hard …