Benenson Productions

04/06/2020

🐝 🍄 Like bees to...mushrooms?? Mycologist Paul Stamets is using fungi to create mycelium-laced honey, providing bees with the nutrients to safeguard their survival and our ecosystem. More details from Bioneers:

Visionary researcher Paul Stamets has spent more than 40 years studying mycelium and its role in sustaining life from the ground up. Now he's using those restorative properties to save the bees from extinction.

03/30/2020

Playful sea otters were once numerous in San Francisco Bay, but the fur trade in the mid-1800’s almost led to their extinction. These charismatic animals play an important role in ecosystems, and reintroducing them to the area has been beneficial to both them and to an endangered seagrass. Full article from Hakai Magazine:

Estuaries once harbored thousands of otters, and now conservationists want to extend recovery efforts to California’s largest estuary: San Francisco Bay.

03/23/2020

🌳 🏘️ 🏢 🏗️ Combating climate change means rethinking our approach to planning and building infrastructure. How do we accommodate our daily needs while protecting nature? World Wildlife Fund explores ways to improve infrastructure planning:

We can and must rethink our approach to development—what it looks like, what it’s delivering, and how it’s meeting our needs—to ensure that it's more useful for people and less harmful to wildlife.

03/16/2020

As we all navigate the evolving Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, sources of accurate health information are more important than ever. World Health Organization has ongoing updates related to the pandemic, including steps we can take to protect ourselves and each other. Visit link for more info.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

03/09/2020

Films that educate the public, inspire change, and help improve the environment are critical today. We’re honored that our film THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD was part of last year’s Environmental Film Festival and are thrilled to see next year's lineup revealed! More Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital details, including OKAVANGO: RIVER OF DREAMS, pictured:

March 12 - 22. Check out the full schedule and buy tickets!

03/02/2020

Global Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Kaha Kamasa Foundation work to strengthen land conservation and protect the species inhabiting Central America's Mosquitia jungle, like the white-lipped peccaries. These hairy pig-like creatures act as ecosystem engineers by dispersing seeds, creating habitats for insects and amphibians, and helping to control palm plant species. More info from The New York Times about the steep decline of this vital environmental indicator species:

With forests depleted by development, the pig-like animals are disappearing rapidly, scientists have found in a new study.

02/24/2020

🐛 🦋 The western monarch butterfly population wintering along California’s coast remains critically low for the second year in a row, with only 29,000 butterflies counted this year–––compared with 4.5 million during the 1980s. Californians can help restore the population by planting milkweed, the food source fueling this migratory insect along their paths to other states.

Study finds 29,000 butterflies, compared with 4.5 million during the 1980s, as experts point to habitat destruction

02/03/2020

Smithsonian Magazine reports that California's mountain lions may have higher mercury levels as a result of marine fog wafting the neurotoxin into the terrestrial food chain. Visit the link in our profile to learn more about efforts to protect the lions as well as their environment.

https://bit.ly/34Npmrd

A new study has found that pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains display higher mercury levels than big cats in inland regions

01/30/2020

We're looking forward to experiencing the impact of LA's Green New Deal program, which will be planting 90,000 trees across the city over the next two years. Just look at the flashback of these baby saplings from just over 25 years ago!

via: TreePeople

01/27/2020

According to a recent poll from PBS NewsHour, most Americans would pay more to avoid single-use plastic. Watch NewsHour's documentary, The Plastic Problem, for more details about this survey and how to reduce our global dependency on plastic.

By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. PBS NewsHour takes a closer look at this now ubiquitous material, how it’s impacting the world and ways we can break our plastic addiction.

01/23/2020

The gang's back together! Archaeology project coordinator Javier Suazo Mejia and expedition leader Steve Elkins recently got a sneak peek into fellow THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD alum Doug Preston's southwest writing studio.

01/20/2020

🐋 NYC may seem like an unlikely habitat for whales, but thanks to environmental policies like the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, whales are back in the Big Apple. Read more at the link:

A few cetaceans appeared in 2011, but now they're in the hundreds, surprising scientists and tourists alike.