Can we bring extinct species back? Should we?

By Lyndal Cairns

In the deep freeze at the San Diego Zoo, genetic material from a small, nondescript Hawaiian bird waits for a day – sometime very soon – when science will use it to improve biodiversity. What’s the catch? The honeycreeper, called the po’ouli, is thought to be extinct and scientists will have to use cloning techniques…

Recycling our environmental guilt

By Lyndal Cairns

Between gulps of G&T, my heartbroken friend is cataloging all the things that are wrong with her freshly ended relationship: his emotional immaturity, her unmet need for stability, and then the kicker: “I can’t commit to someone who doesn’t bloody recycle!” I ask her why. Because his time and energy was worth more to him…

Rewilding: On the trail of Yellowstone’s wolves

By Lyndal Cairns

I had hoped, but didn’t expect, to see wolves in Yellowstone. Ever since I was a young lass, they held a certain fascination for me. There is a dangerous grace; a beauty even, about wolves – something fundamentally wild. So on my first trip to the US two years ago, I stumped up the cash…