New study adds detail to debate over age of ancient footprints found in White Sands NP

Hidden within the seemingly barren expanse of White Sands National Park in New Mexico are human footprints. But these impressions are much more than random tracks: They are ancient vignettes cast in gypsum-rich sand. The footprints tell stories of hunters stalking a giant sloth; a traveler slipping in mud with a child on one hip; children jumping in puddles, splashing in play; and more.

But one question has plagued researchers studying these prints. Exactly how long ago were they made? A paper published in 2021 offered a surprising answer: Humans could have pressed their feet in the sand as early as 21,000 to 23,000 years ago, making the tracks some of the oldest evidence yet found of people in the Americas.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/science/footprints-tracks-new-mexico-age.html

Enviros furious after Biden waives laws to allow border wall near Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR

Confronted with a surge of migrants, the Biden administration has decided to waive more than 20 federal laws, including environmental ones, to erect barriers along the Southern border.

The decision represents a significant reversal for President Biden, who campaigned vociferously against a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which his predecessor had championed as a key deterrent to unlawful crossings.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/us/biden-border-wall-waiver.html

Reaction:

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/biden-administration-waives-laws-to-rush-border-wall-construction-through-texas-wildlife-refuge-2023-10-04/

Over 40 countries vow to raise $12B to protect coral reefs

More than 40 countries are pledging to raise $12 billion to protect the world’s coral reefs from threats such as overfishing and human pollution.

The new initiative, Coral Reef Breakthrough, was launched by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the U.N. High-Level Climate Champions, the groups said in a statement released Tuesday.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4235960-nations-pledge-12b-to-protect-coral-reefs/