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Alaska's yellow-cedar forests are slowly dying as climate change takes root.

Anthropocene

This Music Was Composed by Climate Change

Dying forests make magnificently melancholy listening

A late-18th century painting of George and Martha Washington with their adoptive children, George Washington Parke Custis and Nelly Custis, as well as one of their slaves.

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George Washington’s Biracial Family Is Getting New Recognition

The National Park Service is finally acknowledging the first president’s biracial family

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Mexican Police Raid Sawmills to Protect Monarch Butterfly Habitat

Federal authorities closed down seven illegal logging operations near the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán

Zut alors! Up to 36 tons of plastic debris is removed from the Seine each year.

Future of Energy

France Waves “Au Revoir” to Plastic Tableware

If it doesn’t come from biological sources, the country’s new motto is “just say non

Wild horses in Death Valley, California.

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A Brief History of America’s Complicated Relationship With Wild Horses

The iconic symbol of the Wild West has a tangled and controversial story

The hate crime that killed Matthew Shepard was the impetus for a new choral work.

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A New Choral Work Was Inspired by the Death of Matthew Shepard

“Considering Matthew Shepard” finds hope inside a story of hate

A harvest moon peeking through the trees on September 8, 2014.

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This Weekend’s Stargazing Triple Threat: Harvest Moon, Eclipse and Possible Supermoon

This will be the last harvest moon eclipse until 2024

No matter how you slice it, the most current Census Bureau income report is filled with juicy stats.

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Five Things to Know About the Most Recent Census Income Report

Income’s up, but the picture is more complicated than that

"Butterflies and caiman," by Mark Cowan. Special commendation: Butterflies suck the salt off of an Amazonian caiman's head.

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Royal Society Photo Contest Winners Capture Breathtaking Details of Our Rapidly Changing World

Winning photos capture moments of stark change in the natural world in the Royal Society’s second annual contest

Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic "V-J Day in Times Square" photo.

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The Woman in the Iconic V-J Day Kiss Photo Died at 92, Here’s Her Story

There’s more to the image than meets the eye

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Here’s How the Oxford English Dictionary Chooses New Words

“YOLO,” “uptalk” and “gender-fluid” have all made the cut

Reports found that critically endangered largetooth sawfish are sometimes passed off as shark in some fish markets.

Anthropocene

Fish Industry On the Hook for Rampant Mislabeling of Species

A new report identifies rampant fraud in the seafood industry

"World Trade Center as a Cloud"
Christopher Saucedo

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Inside the 9/11 Museum’s First Art Show

The exhibit marks the 15th anniversary of the attacks

The Library of Celsus at Ephesus, an ancient Greek colony in southwestern Turkey.

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Austria and Turkey Are Butting Heads Over an Archaeological Dig

Turkish authorities have shut down a major dig early due to international tensions

Aleppo, Syria, in 2010. Since 2012, the city has been home to a fierce battle in Syria's civil war.

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Five Times Aleppo Was the Center of the World’s Attention

Will the once-regal city survive this moment in the spotlight?

A foundry in Phonsavan, Xieng Khouang province in Laos has processed over 85,000 live bombs to date. The country is still riddled with unexploded ordnance—a legacy of the United States' nine-year secret war.

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Why the U.S. Is Pledging Millions to Clean Up Bombs in Laos

Decades later, a once-secret war still threatens Laotians

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Why Syrian Bakers Are Still Making Bread in Spite of the Civil War

Bakers are going to great lengths to preserve a little bit of normalcy

Could Taiwan be your next destination?

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This Is the World’s Best Place for Expats

Taiwan wins big in survey of over 14,000 expatriates

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Giant Pandas Are No Longer Endangered but Are Still in Danger

They aren’t the only ones in trouble: the state of the great apes is more dire than ever

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Mosquito Sprayers Accidentally “Nuke” Millions of Bees in South Carolina

After reports of four new Zika cases, Dorchester County aerial sprayed insecticide, destroying several beekeeping operations

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