What the fate of Timmy the whale says about conservation

In this week’s newsletter: The public stranding of a young humpback exposes tensions between animal rights activism and other choices around biodiversity • Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Timmy the whale is lost at sea, presumed dead. In normal circumstances, the loss of a young humpback whale would be a sad yet unremarkable part of the circle of life. Dead whales help sustain thousands of marine species – and are part of the global carbon cycle. Smuggled in syri...

By Patrick Greenfield