Outdoors in RI: King Tides, Bobcats, Govt Shutdown, WNV, Grown Week, Farmers Markets, Flames of Hope

New statewide project calls on public to report bobcat sightings Once eradicated from the state, bobcats have returned over the past few decades and are now being spotted more frequently across Rhode Island. URI-led research utilizes technology...

ELF Honors ‘Our Kids’ Climate’ for Protecting Respiratory Health

The award, which recognizes individuals, groups or organizations making an outstanding contribution in the field of lung health, will be presented at this year’s European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) Congress in Amsterdam from 27 September to 1...

Kentucky National Guard and Ecuador Strengthen Air Assault Capabilities

Members of the Kentucky National Guard recently concluded a four-day air assault training exchange with the Ecuadorian 9th Special Forces Brigade as part of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program (SPP), August 18-21. The mission served as...

Shrimp industry unites to chart cleaner energy future in Ecuador

The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) and the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) have launched of the Energy Working Group, a collaborative platform for dialogue and coordination designed to enhance the shrimp sector’s energy security and to...

The GenXPats: Longtime Madison couple forge a new life in Ecuador

Many people said — some jokingly, some seriously — that they’d leave the country rather than live under a second Trump administration. Jonathan and Karen Brown, longtime Madison residents, actually did it. In an interview for the 365 Amplified...

Stop the Criminalization of Defenders and the Dismantling of Democratic Guarantees in Ecuador

Descargar en español Oakland, CA – Amazon Watch expresses deep concern over the growing criminalization and harassment of the Indigenous movement and social organizations in Ecuador. In recent weeks, authorities have opened criminal proceedings...

Ecuador suspends Canadian-owned mining licence after mass protests

Critics accuse Ecuador's president of a conflict of interest due to his family's investments in a Canadian mining firm that could be shielded by a pending Canada-Ecuador free trade agreement. Ecuador’s president says he has initiated a process to...

Environmental Security Weekly Watch: September 22-26, 2025

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program High Seas Treaty Passes UN Ratification Threshold for Implementation (New York Times) Last week, the High Seas Treaty reached 60 ratifications in the United...

Violent clash over fuel prices in Ecuador leaves 1 protester dead and 12 soldiers injured

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

1 Death, 100 Arrested: The Shocking Crackdown on Ecuador Indigenous Uprising

The Ecuador indigenous uprising claims its first life as Efraín Fueres is killed in Cotacachi. State repression escalates amid national protests against fuel subsidy cuts. Related: Ecuador’s President Noboa Rejects Dialogue With Indigenous...

Scientists stunned after cameras show elusive creatures giving each other hugs: 'This is kind of a big discovery'

"Really complex behaviors." by Cody JanuszkoOctober 3, 2025 When most people think of bats, they likely don't think of cuddly hugs. However, researchers recently captured footage of a group of spectral bats hugging to say hello, The New York Times...

Ecuador’s Amazon Oil Plans Face Indigenous and Global Opposition

New York / Quito – Amazon Watch expresses grave concern about the escalating crisis in Ecuador, where a national strike led by the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador (CONAIE) that began on September 18 over rising fuel costs,...

World’s biggest chocolate supplier is melting under soaring prices and short bets

To chocolate lovers the world over, names like Hershey, Nestlé and Mars instantly signal a sweet indulgence. Yet behind the glossy wrappers, much of what’s inside branded candy traces back to a company many have never heard of. From its discreet...

For Mauricio Pochettino, there is a power in ignorance for USMNT players

The thing to know about Mauricio Pochettino is that, in his view, there is knowledge in not knowing. In a meditation on his unifying theory on the nature of knowledge that called to mind Donald Rumsfeld’s famous “unknown unknowns” diatribe, the...

Amber from Ecuador reveals insects from the age of dinosaurs

Amber found in the Amazon forest region of Ecuador containing a trove of well-preserved fossils of wasps, midges, flies, beetles and other insects is giving a glimpse of a Cretaceous Period ecosystem in South America crawling with activity 112...

Ecuador faces second prison massacre in a week: 17 dead in Esmeraldas

The criminal gang “Los Tiguerones” would have provoked the confrontation with an “external order,” according to police reports released by local media. The Ecuadorian army carries out control and security operations in the center. Photo:...

Ecuador shrimp sector announces clean energy transition as protests over diesel prices engulf nation

Ecuador’s National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA) and the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) have launched a collaborative project that seeks to improve energy security in the nation’s shrimp sector and identify a scalable roadmap for its transition...

Ecuadorian banana workers file EU trade complaint

The Agricultural Workers and Farmers Trade Union Association (ASTAC) in Ecuador, together with European partners ActionAid France, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), ASTM Luxembourg, and Baldon Avocats, has filed a complaint...

Mercury pollution threatens pink river dolphins

PUERTO NARINO, Colombia -- A flash of pink breaks the muddy surface of the Amazon River as scientists and veterinarians, waist-deep in the warm current, patiently work a mesh net around a pod of river dolphins. They draw it tighter with each pass,...

Environmental crime worth billions is climate fight’s blind spot

Despite generating billions of dollars in illegal revenue a year, environmental crime in the Amazon still isn't a priority at UN climate summits. Robert Muggah is co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, a Brazilian think-tank. Environmental crime -...