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Ask the Conservationist

  • "Urban Forests & Climate Change" (November 2009)
    Can urban forests help sequester carbon and offset emissions? Find out what our climate and forest specialist has to say.

  • "Dams — the Good and the Bad" (October 2009)
    A kayaker in Chicago wants to learn more about dams and how they impact the environment. So, what's good and bad about them?

  • "Real Estate Agents — Friend or Foe to Nature?" (September 2009)
    A real estate professional from Mississippi wrote in asking how she can help protect important wetlands while serving her real estate clients at the same time.

  • "Why Do Nurseries Sell Invasives?" (August 2009)
    A reader suspects invasive species are being planted in a new development in his neighborhood. Which makes him wonder: Is there a way to keep nurseries and garden stores from selling invasives?

  • "How to Help Corals Survive Climate Change" (July 2009)
    One reader is concerned about the impacts of climate change on the world's center of coral reef biodiversity, the Coral Triangle.

  • "How to Be a Conservationist" (June 2009)
    We often get emails from students wondering how they can prepare for careers in conservation. Our lead scientist Sanjayan offers his "Top 10" tips for how to become a conservationist.

  • "Don't Feed the Cranes!" (May 2009)
    Sure, you know better than to feed wild animals — but what do you do when you see someone who doesn't?

  • "Cap-and-Trade vs. Carbon Tax" (April 2009)
    Cap-and-trade, carbon tax — almost every day a new story appears in the media debating the pros and cons of each. So which is better for reducing the impacts of climate change?

  • "Don't Invasives Have Rights, Too?" (March 2009)
    Like it or not, invasive species have weaseled their way into many ecosystems. Now that they're here, don't they deserve a shot at living?

  • "Why Not Reintroduce Species?" (February 2009)
    A reader wonders why conservationists haven't embraced the idea of reintroducing missing species to their former habitats.

  • "Changing Climate, Changing Habitats" (January 2009)
    How important is habitat conservation in the face of climate change? And are certain habitats more important to save than others, because they harbor more species?

  • "Trash in Our Oceans" (November 2008)
    What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? And what is being done about it?

  • "Invasives Double Whammy" (October 2008)
    Is the need to remove invasive species really driven by economics, not biodiversity? And aren't humans invasive anyway?

  • "Do Urban Parks Matter?" (September 2008)
    A reader from Mexico City wonders if urban parks have any environmental value.

  • "A Solar-Powered Problem?" (August 2008)
    Could collecting solar energy contribute to global warming by creating more heat on Earth?

  • "The Downside of Recycling?" (July 2008)
    Could recycled paper be putting timber companies out of business — and leading to habitat loss and fragmentation when timber lands are sold?

  • "Do Carbon Offsets Really Work?" (June 2008)
    The proliferation of voluntary carbon offset programs seems like a great way for individuals to help fight climate change. But do they really work?

  • "Does Extinction Really Matter?" (May 2008)
    Scientists estimate there could be between 5 and 100 million species on Earth. But do we really need all these species, or could we live without some of them?

  • "Clean the PB Jar?" (April 2008)
    Polish off a jar and you're left with a messy container that seems like it might take more of Earth's resources to clean than are saved in the recycling process. Patrick Gonzalez explores the environmental trade-offs of washing the peanut butter jar before recycling it.

  • "Fight Back with Roundup?" (March 2008)
    You probably already know about invasive plants and the damage they can cause to native biodiversity. But the question still remains, what to do about non-natives?

  • "Cat vs. Bird" (February 2008)
    What price does our love of pets take on the natural world?

  • "Real Estate and Conservation" (December 2007)
    News from the real estate world keeps getting worse. But could the downturn in the real estate market mean good opportunities for the Conservancy to make conservation purchases?

  • "Repel the Invaders!" (October 2007)
    You've probably heard about invasive plants — non-native species that are damaging native biodiversity. But what do you do when you find out some of these same species are infesting your own property?

  • "Please Conserve This Land!" (September 2007)
    You know this beautiful piece of land…just full of wildlife. But it's not part of a preserve — and it's threatened by development, recreation or other human activity. What do you do?

  • "Is New- or Old-Growth Better?" (August 2007)
    A new tree grows quickly — sequestering a lot of atmospheric carbon in the process. Would it be better to cut old-growth forests and replant the land with young trees as a way of combatting the potentially disastrous effects of climate change?

  • "A Tree for Every Baby" (July 2007)
    It's a beguilingly simple idea: Plant a tree for every human born as a way of reducing that baby's lifetime of carbon emissions — and, consequently, her impact on climate change. But would it work?

  • "How to Restore Tallgrass Prairie" (June 2007)
    Can you restore farmland to the tallgrass prairie that once dominated the Midwest?

  • "How Do You Become a Conservationist?" (May 2007)
    An astronaut, a fashion designer, the president of the United States...what did you want to be when you grew up? Conservancy Lead Scientist John Wiens tells two young people the best path to become a professional conservationist.

  • "The Human Factor" (April 2007)
    Once and for all — is it our fault, or nature's? Patrick Gonzalez of our Global Climate Change Initiative explains why greenhouse gas levels in the Earth's atmosphere are at historic highs...and why those records are largely the result of human activity.

  • "Controlled Burns and Airborne Mercury" (March 2007)
    How do you set a controlled burn near a forest? (And why would you want to?) And how does mercury — that stuff that used to fascinate you in chemistry class — get into the atmosphere, much less travel hundreds of miles?

  • "Climate Change" (February 2007)
    Patrick Gonzalez and Dominique Bachelet from The Nature Conservancy's Global Climate Change Initiative tell us how climate change will affect the U.S. heartland and what "migrating" habitats might mean for conservation.

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Ask the Conservationist
Scientist Alison Green surveys coral reefs in the Solomon Islands. Photo © David Wachenfeld/Triggerfish Images