Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think at [email protected].
Herd instinct
The comeback of bison in Yellowstone National Park is considered “one of the greatest wildlife conservation success stories of all time,” as Dr. James Derr, a Texas A&M professor of veterinary pathobiology, notes in a Phys.org article shared by RTBC Executive Editor Will Doig this week. In a new study, Derr and his team at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences found that this ongoing success story recently cleared a new genetic hurdle.
Will says:
Bison aren’t only thriving in Britain. After near-extinction over a century ago, the bison herd in Yellowstone National Park was cobbled together in 1902 from multiple herds in Texas and Montana. Now, after decades of careful management, Yellowstone’s bison have finally become their own single, genetically healthy interbreeding population.
Cool it
It’s no secret that climate change is fueling hotter and hotter summers, and here at RTBC, we’re always looking out for innovative ways that people and places around the world are keeping cool, from “green corridors” driving down temperatures across Medellín to reflective “cool coating” paint in Singapore. This week, Contributing Editor Geetanjali Krishna shared an episode of the BBC audio program People Fixing the World about ways to keep cool beyond air conditioning. It features a fascinating interview with one of Africa’s leading architects, Francis Kéré, who has designed naturally cool clay brick buildings in Burkina Faso.
Geetanjali says:
Found this especially thought-provoking as Delhi has had an unusually hot spring and is predicted to be in for one of the hottest summers ever…
What else we’re reading
🚴 How Britain’s Most Bike-Friendly New Town Got Built — shared by RTBC founder David Byrne from Bloomberg
🌞 Wind and Solar Firms Have a Pitch for Trump: ‘You’re Going to Need Us’ — shared by Editorial Director Rebecca Worby from the New York Times
🚦 Can This Car-Free Neighborhood Clone Itself? — shared by David Byrne from Bloomberg
In other news…
We’ve published some great stories about “rewilding” over the years, from rewilding London to rewilding a massive California ranch. This week, we’ve got another great rewilding story — about abandoned golf courses. Check it out to learn about the many perks of turning fairways into wildflower meadows.
