"Pronatilism" Debunked!

Some misguided people, today, who may call themselves "pronatalist", and who look at future predictions of negative population growth (meaning that population will decrease in the future, instead of continuing to increase), and see this as a problem, are wrong or are not thinking clearly. Some of them may believe that African and Arab and Asian populations are in the process of "replacing" or at least are overtaking the Caucasian, European-based ethnicities that have traditionally been the majority of the population in countries like the US, the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; and they are right - this is indeed happening, as is the Hispanicization of the US population because of such massive immigration. And they are right to be concerned about this. In a century there may be no nations left on Earth where Caucasians of European ancestry are the majority of the population if immigration is not stopped. And this is a problem. There will be African majority countries, Asian majority countries, Arab majority countries, Hispanic majority countries, but there will not be any Caucasian of European ancestry majority countries left if we do not take action now.

Great apes tease each other just like humans do, says new study

[Scientists observed playful teasing in orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas.]

These apes can tell when humans don’t know something, study finds

[Nyota, one of three bonobos involved in the experiment]

Record January 2025 warmth puzzles climate scientists

Reuters Firefighter dressed in full protective clothing, including mask and helmet, with large flames covering the area behind him.

Last month's Los Angeles fires were one of the costliest disasters in US history

Last month was the world's warmest January on record raising further questions about the pace of climate change, scientists say.

January 2025 had been expected to be slightly cooler than January 2024 because of a shift away from a natural weather pattern in the Pacific known as El Niño.

Trees might not be acting in the way we thought - this forest fitted with pipes can tell us why

Thomas Downes A photo looking up at trees with sunlight peaking through (Credit: Thomas Downes)

By simulating the future atmosphere, scientists hope to understand whether trees will continue to act as the lungs of the planet.

"The oak is the queen of her domain," says Rob MacKenzie as he gestures towards a giant towering above us. This oak tree has stood in this very spot since long before he or I walked the Earth.

The Caribbean has been unusually warm. That’s not a good thing.

Will the recent trend toward a harsher climate continue?

In the tropical Caribbean Sea region, it’s typically warm and humid on land but rarely endlessly hot — relatively stable water temperatures promote conditions that don’t often change drastically day-to-day or even month-to-month.

But that climate norm has been turned on its head over the past two years, with record-breaking heat that ramped up in the spring of 2023 and has continued unabated since; conditions fueled by human-caused climate change. Many places including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and others in the archipelago set heat records in 2023 only to see them overturned last year.

An unusually powerful and resilient marine heat wave contributed to keeping the region toasty. But it wasn’t the only factor.

Vampire hedgehogs, pirate spiders and fishy fungi - the strangest new species of 2024

Alexei V Abramov A soft-furred hedgehog Hylomys macarong (Credit: Alexei V Abramov)

This creature's large fangs earned it the name Hylomys macarong, or vampire hedgehog – a new species of soft-furred hedgehog identified in 2024

Thousands of new species have been discovered by scientists this year – here are some of the weirdest.

Chlamydia could make koalas extinct. Can a vaccine save them in time?

Tiffanie Turnbull/BBC A drowsy koala wrapped in a towel and held by a vet

Joe Mangy is one of thousands of koalas treated for chlamydia each year

On the table, unconscious and stretched out on a pillow, Joe Mangy looks deceptively peaceful. The koala's watery, red-rimmed eyes are the only sign of the disease at war with his body.

Tubes snarl out of a mask covering his face as a vet tech listens to his chest with a stethoscope. He is not healing as well as they had hoped.

Illegal trade booms in South Africa's 'super-strange looking' plants

Thuthuka Zondi / BBC Succulents in flower in the Karoo - their shadows can be seen in the sun

A biodiversity hotspot in a remote part of South Africa has become the hub of an illegal trade in protected plant species, with organised crime groups capitalising on overseas demand.

"They've not just stolen our land or our plants, they've stolen our heritage as well," a livestock farmer angrily tells the BBC, as she expresses dismay at the social and ecological crisis that the poaching has caused.

Cal Academy Adds Over 100 New Species to the Library of Life in 2024

New species of sea slug, Bermudella lahainensis.

Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences have unveiled a list of all the new animal, plant and fungi species that they added to the Library of Life in 2024.

The new species include a pygmy pipehorse camouflaged in sponges found off the coast of South Africa, an edible and endangered Oaxacan dahlia that looks like a succulent, and 136 other fishes, leaf bugs, worms, sea slugs, spiders, ghost sharks and more.

These discoveries expand our understanding of Earth’s biodiversity. Below, KQED has compiled a list of some of the most eye-catching of the new plants and critters.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30

"Pronatilism" Debunked!