She bought a Maine island to stop clear-cutting; 90 years after Audubon opened its first camp there, the 330-acre sanctuary still trains conservationists
Deep in Maine’s Muscongus Bay, a 330-acre island covered in spruce trees has survived a threat of clear-cut logging and, 90 years later, continues to serve as an international training centre for environmentalists and bird researchers. Hog Island…
Terrorists planted a bomb beneath the Twin Towers years before 9/11. How a charred van brought down the conspirators
For three decades, the Twin Towers were among the most recognisable structures, not only in New York but in the world. They rose above Lower Manhattan and became a symbol of the city. Years before 9/11, the 1993 bombing was the Twin Towers’ first…
In 2014, Virginia removed a dam that had blocked migrating fish for over 70 years; nearly 130 miles of upstream spawning and nursery habitat reopened
For decades, a concrete barrier on Virginia’s Appomattox River stood between migratory fish and more than 120 miles of upstream habitat. In 2014, its removal changed that. The Harvell Dam in Petersburg was taken out as part of a collaborative restoration…
Michael Bloomberg was fired from a Wall Street bank after 15 years. He used his $10 million payout to build a $109 billion fortune and has given away $25.4 billion
Michael Bloomberg was 39 when his 15-year career at Wall Street investment bank Salomon Brothers came to an end in 1981. A general partner at the firm, Bloomberg left as Salomon was being acquired by Phibro Corporation and received about $10 million for…
In 1918, three Indiana brothers opened a bicycle and tire shop; 108 years later, the same family still runs it, with six employees retiring after 40+ years and tenures reaching 50 years
An Indiana tyre and bicycle business started by three brothers in 1918 is still operating under the same family ownership 108 years later. The business has also built an unusually loyal workforce, with several employees staying for more than four…
In 2021, a North Yorkshire estate began restoring 2,500 acres of intensively farmed land; four years later, 330,000 trees and 1,700+ species mark its comeback
Nature recovery at Broughton Sanctuary Four years after moving 2,500 acres of North Yorkshire farmland away from intensive farming, conservation teams at Broughton Sanctuary have recorded more than 1,700 species and planted 330,000 trees across the…
Celia Hunter flew a war-surplus plane to Alaska in 1947 and built a wilderness life near Denali; 54 years later, at 82, her final night was spent fighting to protect the Arctic Refuge
Celia Hunter flew a war-surplus plane to Alaska in 1947 and built a wilderness life near Denali Celia Hunter spent the final evening of her life writing urgent letters to US politicians, asking them to oppose oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife…
In 2023, Australia put a 330-square-metre floating wetland on a wastewater lagoon; two years later researchers found methane emissions had fallen by up to 66%
Floating wetlands slash wastewater greenhouse gas emissions Installing a floating wetland planted with native vegetation on an Australian municipal wastewater lagoon cut methane emissions by up to 66 per cent, according to the results of a two-year field…
Uruguay planted eucalyptus and pine forests across grasslands; 20 years later, scientists found rivers were carrying much less water
Across Uruguay, large areas of traditional grassland have been converted into managed forests, particularly plantations of fast-growing trees such as eucalyptus and pine. The change can bring economic benefits through timber production, but it also…
In 1952, Mary Tsingou programmed a Los Alamos experiment that helped change modern physics; her role was reduced to a footnote and took more than 50 years to receive proper credit
Mathematician and programmer Mary Tsingou Menzel When mathematician and programmer Mary Tsingou Menzel sat down in 1952 at Los Alamos National Laboratory to code a complex physics problem on one of the world’s earliest digital computers, she was breaking…