Dandelion News - June 8-14
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1. The world just gained a marine protected area the size of France
“The French Polynesian government announced that 520,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) of ocean surrounding the Austral and Marquesas Islands — two of the most biologically rich archipelagos on Earth — would receive the highest level of protection, where no mining, trawling or industrial fishing is permitted. [… These waters] host marine species found nowhere else on Earth, such as the Marquesan domino damselfish. They are also critical habitat for endangered sharks, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, as well as a key spawning ground for tuna.”
2. Minnesota now has a wind-powered green ammonia plant
“If the process can be scaled up, it could help ensure farmers have cheap, reliable fertilizer. […] As a stable, efficient carrier of hydrogen, the homegrown ammonia could eventually supply raw material for other types of fertilizers, transportation fuels, and high-temperature industrial processes like ironmaking. “It’s about 100 times cheaper to store and transport ammonia than hydrogen[….]””
3. A 5.3-million‑year‑old whale graveyard has been found on the floor of the Indian Ocean
“The site […] dates back more than 5 million years and is one of the deepest known whale-fall ecosystems in the world. [… It spans 746 miles and] contain[s] 476 whale fossils as well as five active whale falls[… which] were teeming with many strange-looking creatures, including jellyfish, brittle stars and bone-boring worms—many of which may be new to science, according to the researchers.”
4. Why Building Transmission Along Highways is Better for Birds
“[Audubon has] helped pass legislation allowing transmission lines to be built alongside highways in Minnesota, Colorado, and most recently Iowa. […] Utilizing existing corridors for new transmission lines is generally better for birds than building on previously undeveloped land, [because… since they] have already been cleared and managed for infrastructure like highways and railways, they reduce the risk of additional habitat loss and fragmentation.”
5. First Live White Abalone Found in 5 Years During Channel Islands Survey Sparks Hope for Recovery
“On May 12th, 2026, a research mission aboard the [NOAA] research vessel Shearwater identified a living white abalone as part of the Wanted Alive! White Abalone campaign that engages citizen scientists and recreational divers to record potential sightings of the creature. […] The team also successfully deployed the new eDNA sampler and collected samples for future analysis.”
June 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)
