As a child, the movie The Butterfly Effect left me with a disturbing and ingrained idea: that a minimal, almost invisible gesture could completely alter the course of a life. Years later, this chaos theory is glimpsed, not in the wings of a butterfly, but in the red and black body of a queen ant.
Rarely in recent decades have reservoirs been as full and overflowing as this spring. According to the latest data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (Miteco), aquifers are very close to their maximum capacity. Reserves are only 16% – 9,000 cubic hectometers – away from reaching full capacity. In a climate not altered by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, these figures would guarantee a long period of wet soils. However, on a planet warming to record levels, the abundant and concentrated rains of recent months do not shield the country from suffering a drought.
The demonstration of intelligence that Verónica, a Swiss Brown cow specimen, showed in January made the scientific community reflect. Verónica became the first cow recorded using a tool: a stick that allowed her to reach parts of her body she could not scratch. Researchers from the National Institute for Agricultural Research, Food, and Environment of France observed the phenomenon and considered studying the memory of cows. Specifically, whether they could “discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar faces.”
The baby anteater “Womble” is getting used to its new environment and receives help from the zoo keepers when eating.
The doctrine of climate justice is gaining ground in the world of international politics. And in this case, hand in hand with a small island state in the Pacific, Vanuatu. The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted on Wednesday, May 20, in favor of an agreement to implement strong measures to mitigate climate change, despite diplomatic efforts by the United States to have the measure withdrawn. The resolution was driven by Vanuatu and twelve other countries and seeks to implement the obligations for States established last year by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding climate change.
The Spanish population is subjected to extensive exposure to pesticides through food. 46% of the foods analyzed in the official program contain residues of at least one pesticide, a percentage that reaches 69.5% in the case of fruits and 38% in vegetables.
With its characteristic black and white fur, the first giant panda born in Indonesia is growing and thriving ahead of its public debut this month.
The traditional saying blesses the goodness of everything that comes “like May rain,” but it does not clarify what happens when the water arrives in the form of snow. And that is what has happened in the Vall d’Aran, which this advanced spring Friday has woken up under a white blanket.
For weeks, Germany has closely followed the story of a humpback whale trapped in shallow waters of the Baltic Sea. This Saturday, that story reached its most awaited moment: the animal, nicknamed “Timmy” or “Hope,” was finally released into the North Sea in a complex operation that combined technique, private funding, and remarkable public anticipation.
The most emblematic bird of New Zealand, the kiwi, has returned to inhabit the hills of Wellington after more than a century of absence thanks to an ambitious citizen initiative. The so-called Capital Kiwi Project, driven by neighbors, scientists, and indigenous communities, has managed to reintroduce 250 specimens in the surroundings of the capital, in an unprecedented effort to recover local biodiversity.