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Here is what we’ve been reading, watching and writing about over the past week…

Articles

American Farmers Slid Solar Panels Over 62,000 Acres Of Farmland, And The Biggest Payoff Had Almost Nothing To Do With Electricity

This article highlights the growing promise of agrivoltaics—placing solar panels above working farmland so the same acre can produce both food and electricity. Research from the University of Arizona found that crops grown beneath elevated solar arrays often yielded as much or more than those in full sun while using significantly less water, and the cooler microclimate created by the plants also improved solar panel efficiency. As electricity demand rises and water becomes increasingly scarce, the approach suggests that farming and renewable energy may be partners rather than competitors.

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US Tribes Get Bison as They Seek to Restore Bond With Animal

Dozens of bison from a conservation herd near Denver have been transferred to Native American tribes across the Great Plains, continuing a growing effort to restore buffalo to their ancestral landscapes. For the Yuchi, Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho, and other tribes, these animals represent far more than wildlife—they symbolize the restoration of cultural traditions, ecological stewardship, and relationships with the land that were disrupted generations ago. The transfers are part of a broader initiative that has returned more than 20,000 bison to tribal lands across the United States.

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Bison Return to Native American Lands, Revitalizing Sacred Rituals

For the first time in 138 years, members of Wyoming's Eastern Shoshone Tribe are once again serving bison harvested from their own ancestral lands during the sacred Sun Dance ceremony. The article traces the remarkable recovery of tribal bison herds across North America, highlighting not only the ecological importance of bison as keystone grazers but also their deep cultural and spiritual significance to Indigenous communities whose relationship with the animals was deliberately broken during westward expansion. Today, restoring buffalo is helping heal both grassland ecosystems and cultural traditions that have endured despite generations of loss.

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What We've Been Reading

3 charts show how extreme heat is costing us hours of lost sleep

The U.S. has been pummeled with heat waves this summer. Here’s how hot overnight temperatures can get in the way of a good night’s rest—in three charts

Scientific AmericanJackie Flynn Mogensen and Sanidhya Sharma

This US swamp is home to 15,000 alligators and a snake as long as a bed — BBC Wildlife Magazine

Okefenokee Swamp is the largest blackwater swamp in North America – and UNESCO’s newest World Heritage Site. August 5, 2026 The United States’ Okefenokee Swamp has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its exceptional biodiversity and its important role as a carbon sink. This vast freshwater environment covers 1,646 km² of south-east Georgia and north-east Florida and is home to hundreds of species, including at least 856 plants, 238 birds, 90 reptiles and amphibians, 48 mammals

There’s a cave in Kentucky that’s 426 miles long, 118 metres deep – and fish-eating spiders lurk in it — BBC Wildlife Magazine

Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world – but where is it? August 5, 2026 scgerding/Getty Images The longest cave system in the world is named, rather fittingly, Mammoth Cave. Found underneath Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park, the cave has been mapped and explored at 686 kilometres (426 miles). For comparison, the coastline of the USA’s Washington state measures 400 kilometres (250 miles). The cave is 118 metres (379 feet) deep, with five levels of passages. However,

And that’s it - as always thank you..

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