Erik Hoffner
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erikhoffner.bsky.social
Erik Hoffner
@erikhoffner.bsky.social
Editor, photojournalist & award-winning podcast producer for nonprofit news outlet @Mongabay. Member of Society of Envi Journalists & Vermont Center for Photography
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Skating into winter — & 2026 — like this today

It’s a little rough but stunning out there, merry solstice to all ❄️

See more on-ice-imagery at Instagram, www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
🏆 Congrats to Glòria Pallarès who won the Anti-Corruption Excellence Award last week for a @mongabay.com investigation supported by @pulitzercenter.org at a ceremony during UN Convention against Corruption (COSP11)

"Entities engaged in corrupt practices do not fear the law; they fear exposure.”
Mongabay contributor Glòria Pallarès wins top anti-corruption reporting award
Journalist Glòria Pallarès won the Anti-Corruption Excellence (ACE) Award for her investigation into corrupt forest finance schemes published in collaboration with Mongabay. The award ceremony was hel...
news.mongabay.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Skating into winter — & 2026 — like this today

It’s a little rough but stunning out there, merry solstice to all ❄️

See more on-ice-imagery at Instagram, www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
December 21, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
A leaked draft of legislation for MPAs that nearly passed in 2024 indicates that the government is taking a minimalist approach with low ambition for restoration of marine life.

www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
Why are our marine 'protected' areas still nothing more than lines on maps?
Blanket bans on certain activities, such as towing trawls and dredges across the seafloor, or fixing nets for long periods, or even prohibiting all kinds of fishing or extractive activities from some ...
www.irishexaminer.com
December 21, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Truphena Muthoni beat her own world record, hugging a tree continuously for 72 hours at the foot of Mount Kenya

Her protest was aimed at authorities for irresponsible tree cutting, forest land use change and inadequate protection of water catchment areas:
Kenyan woman hugs tree for 72 hours in protest against loss of beloved trees
A 22-year-old woman is the subject of celebration after she hugged a tree continuously for 72 hours amid fluctuating temperatures and rainfall on the foot of Mount Kenya. Truphena Muthoni’s endurance ...
news.mongabay.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
Five holly leaves from the same tree 🌳

If holly is allowed to grow into a tree it is highly likely to do the same

Holly evolved to fight back against the large herbivores that used to roam the Earth. The higher the tree grows the smoother the leaves get

Photo: Emmanuel Lattes
December 20, 2025 at 8:05 AM
If you read @bengoldfarb.bsky.social's terrific book "Crossings" or heard him discuss it on our podcast, news.mongabay.com/podcast/2023... ...you'll see the value in this

And it's proof of bipartisan will in the US gov't to do things for the environment 👀

Bill would provide funding through 2031:
Wildlife Crossings Could See Permanent Federal Funding Through Bipartisan Bill - Mountain Journal
Led by Montana's Zinke and Virginia's Beyer, Congressional bill aims to extend nation’s only federal program for wildlife crossings
mountainjournal.org
December 19, 2025 at 1:13 PM
“Within days, Claudius had given away nearly all its inventory for free — including a PlayStation 5 it had been talked into buying for ‘marketing purposes.’

It ordered a live fish. It offered to buy stun guns, pepper spray, cigarettes and underwear.

Profits collapsed.

Newsroom morale soared.”
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
An AI agent ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI.
www.wsj.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Cold weather = stunned sea turtles washing up on Cape Cod

New England Aquarium has already treated 450+ during the 2025 season!

Strandings began on Nov 7 w/ 200+ requiring care in the first weeks: most are critically endangered Kemp’s ridleys

Rehabbed ones are flown south for safe release 🙌 💯 🏆
December 18, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Hadn't heard of this "shocking" issue until this op-ed pitch came across my desk

--> 6,262 (reported) cases of electrocution just between June 2022 & 2023, especially monkeys, kinkajous & sloths 👀

'Green' Costa Rica's currently debating whether to start enforcing its policy & cover electric lines:
Costa Rica's ‘shocking’ wildlife crisis: Nation must move to prevent animal electrocution (commentary)
Costa Rica is world-renowned for its commitment to preserving biodiversity and wildlife. The country’s fervor to protect its ecosystems recently earned it the Earthshot Prize for Protecting and Restor...
news.mongabay.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
1/ At bargaining yesterday, @propublica.org management said that they should have 100% discretion to replace workers with AI and would not commit to labeling future AI-generated content.
December 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Protected-area-pirates busted by #journalism 💪

@mongabaylatam.bsky.social investigated suspicious #fishing activity inside the largest marine reserve in North America, a UNESCO World Heritage site

Revealed was this US sportfishing boat & others, spurring Mexican & US authorities to take action:
Report on illegal fishing inside North America’s largest marine protected area spurs Mexican government action - Environmental Journalism and Education
In early April 2025, Mongabay Latam published a Spanish-language investigation into suspicious fishing activity inside Mexico’s Revillagigedo National Park, the largest marine reserve in North America...
mongabay.org
December 16, 2025 at 6:02 PM
We can put people on the moon but still can't explain some simple facts

Like what makes you slide on ice? A new hypothesis is promising but not everyone is convinced as @quantamagazine.bsky.social shares here

Researchers created a microscopic skating rink to investigate the slippery question:
Why Is Ice Slippery? A New Hypothesis Slides Into the Chat. | Quanta Magazine
A newly proposed explanation for the slipperiness of ice has revived a centuries-long debate.
www.quantamagazine.org
December 15, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
US-Japan archaeological team argues strong similarities between very earliest US lithic technology and lithic tech from Hokkaido means that isolated groups on Hokkaido may have used boats to hop along Beringia coast to Americas 18-22K yrs ago (no walk across the land bridge at all). (From Oct.)
Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic
Tool similarities link Late Pleistocene American and Northeast Asian lithic traditions.
www.science.org
December 14, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Been out making new images for this 25 year project ❄️

When ice fishing holes freeze, they look like stars, eyes, cells...

When I exhibit this series visitors have a range of reactions

—> See more and follow the link in bio for a film about my process "ICE VISIONS" www.instagram.com/erikhoffner/
December 14, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
BOEM opened an RFI on Nov. 12 to gather input on potential deep-sea mining near the Mariana Trench. The comment period closes today. Critics say the RFI was rushed and opaque, and that BOEM failed to consult the CNMI and Guam governments or communities beforehand. news.mongabay.com/2025/12/deep...
Deep-sea mining interests raise alarms among Mariana Trench communities
U.S.-led plans to mine the deep seabed have gained momentum since President Donald Trump signed an executive order that called for the industry’s rapid formation to bolster U.S. national security. One...
news.mongabay.com
December 12, 2025 at 10:35 AM
“This was not a ‘fog of war’ incident. It was a war crime carried out in broad daylight and broadcast on live television.”

The U.S. failing to respond when its own citizen is targeted by Israel sends a dangerous message that attacks on American journalists abroad will carry no consequences:
December 12, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Enjoy Ethan Hawke's withering take on AI this week?

Check his new Sterlin Harjo show “The Lowdown” too

It’s about a muckraking journalist who can't help but investigate a shady deal that costs #Indigenous land rights & culture

Plus appearances by Graham Greene & co-starring Portlandia's mayor 💯
Ethan Hawke and Kyle MacLachlan Discuss the Making of The Lowdown | FX
YouTube video by FX Networks
www.youtube.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials say.
South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine
Some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year.
nbcnews.to
December 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
This week Mongabay speaks with Senator @russfeingold.bsky.social about conservation & the climate

As chair of the Campaign for Nature, Feingold emphasizes that nature is essential for a healthy society, despite what figures like Bill Gates have recently argued

Hear his good thoughts here:
Governments must prioritize nature protection, former US senator Russ Feingold says
Bill Gates recently claimed that protecting nature or improving human health is an either-or choice, but former national leaders like Russ Feingold, a retired U.S. senator, and Mary Robinson, former I...
news.mongabay.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
A morning cup can have a big negative impact ☕

Journalism that exposes the industry's rampant deforestation & human rights abuses can have a huge positive impact

@coffeewatch.bsky.social used @mongabay.com reporting to file a 307 Petition that US Customs is now taking very seriously:
Mongabay reporting drives campaign to clean up coffee supply chains - Environmental Journalism and Education
A 2018 report published by Mongabay detailed how Brazil’s labor ministry had rescued 33 coffee workers from two farms, who said they had substandard housing were not paid fairly. At least one of the f...
mongabay.org
December 9, 2025 at 1:12 PM
A morning cup can have a big negative impact ☕

Journalism that exposes the industry's rampant deforestation & human rights abuses can have a huge positive impact

@coffeewatch.bsky.social used @mongabay.com reporting to file a 307 Petition that US Customs is now taking very seriously:
Mongabay reporting drives campaign to clean up coffee supply chains - Environmental Journalism and Education
A 2018 report published by Mongabay detailed how Brazil’s labor ministry had rescued 33 coffee workers from two farms, who said they had substandard housing were not paid fairly. At least one of the f...
mongabay.org
December 9, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
Offshore wind is happening in the U.S., despite the Trump administration’s hostility to it.

I saw it up close, & from what I saw, these offshore turbines are co-existing with the marine environment & generating a reliable source of zero-carbon electricity

www.oneearthnow.org/p/offshore-w...
Offshore Wind, Despite Facing Stiff Federal Headwinds, is Working
South Fork Wind, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US, is exceeding expectations for power generation and co-existing with the marine environment.
www.oneearthnow.org
December 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Erik Hoffner
Researchers saw a North Atlantic right whale near Boston recently which was last reported from Ireland:

"An extraordinary connection showing the whale traveled 3,000 miles across the Atlantic"

This rarity suggests that historical habitats may still hold value & the species keeps seeking them out
December 3, 2025 at 5:48 PM
❄️ "Snow droughts" are increasing in the Himalayas ❄️

Scientists warn that they could have far-reaching impacts on both people & nature

Satellites reveal their frequent occurrence btw 3,000 and 6,000 meters across 11 major river basins in the Hindu Kush Himalayas & a decline in snow cover days:
Snow droughts intensify across the Hindu Kush Himalayas
A new study finds the frequent occurrence of snow droughts and their hotspots across 11 major river basins in the Hindu Kush Himalayas.
india.mongabay.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:59 PM