Find some of Ashley’s writing samples below and even more at Longreads, The Atlantic, Slate, Science, Discover Magazine, Scientific American, Hakai Magazine, bioGraphic, Audubon Magazine, Science News, Crosscut, Medium, DeSmog, PopSci.com, Earth Touch News, and Grist.org.
Science and Environment
- Early-Career Scientists Face a Wall of Unpaid Positions | Hakai Magazine, A survey of job postings for early-career marine researchers shows that more than half of the positions are unpaid. November 2021
- How our SN 10 scientists have responded to tumultuous times | Science News, Breaking the one test for one cancer paradigm with Isaac Kinde; Astrophysicist Paula Jofre writes about the stars for Spanish speakers; and Stanley Qi develops a clever genetic tool to tackle new troubles. October 2021
- Urine trouble: High nitrogen levels in Puget Sound cause ecological worry | Crosscut, The Washington Department of Ecology is set to implement new ‘nutrient waste’ regulations to protect struggling marine life. October 2021
- With Protections Restored for Alaska’s Tongass, What’s Next? | Audubon Magazine, The Biden administration’s plans for the old-growth forest and the region’s economy have tribal leaders cautiously optimistic. August 2021
- Inside the latest Indigenous push to stop a massive copper mine | Crosscut, For years, backers of the Pebble Mine above Bristol Bay seemed to be grinding ahead. Alaska Natives in the region have thrown new sand in those gears. August 2021
- What it Means to be Wild | bioGraphic, Against the backdrop of a world so thoroughly altered by humankind, Emma Marris’s latest book, Wild Souls, challenges our assumptions about nature and how we protect it. July 2021
- Noise Pollution Affects Practically Everything, Even Seagrass | Hakai Magazine, Seagrass may not have ears, but that doesn’t stop noise pollution from causing serious damage to the plant’s other structures. July 2021
- COVID-19 Lockdowns Show a World Without Parachute Science | Hakai Magazine, With international scientists barred from traveling, local scientists in the Pacific islands are taking the chance to lead. June 2021
- In the Push for Marine Conservation, Partially Protected Areas Are a “Red Herring” | Hakai Magazine, Compared to fully safeguarded marine protected areas, partially protected areas have little benefit for marine life or people’s enjoyment. March 2021
- Putting the Pebble Mine to Rest | Hakai Magazine, Weary Alaska communities are seeking permanent protections for the Bristol Bay watershed. February 2021
- Alaska Drilling Project Squashed By Court Decision Was Touted By Oil-Friendly Former Trump Official | DeSmog, A high-ranking Trump Interior official was praising an oil company while overseeing its permit application and decision, which a court later overturned. December 2020
- Examining Why the Pebble Mine Died | Hakai Magazine, Regulators handed a rare rejection to the proposed Alaska copper and gold mine. December 2020
- What Happens When Climate Change Denialism and Wildfires Collide | Slate, Bolstered by new connections to conspiracy theories like QAnon, climate deniers are amplifying mis- and disinformation that’s spilling over dangerously into a world literally on fire. October 2020
- Secret Recordings Portray Regulators as Easing Pebble Mine’s Path to Approval | Hakai Magazine, The Pebble Limited Partnership’s latest plan to offset the damage caused by the proposed Alaska mine is being highly criticized. September 2020
- A Rare Salmon Type Is in the Crosshairs of Alaska’s Proposed Pebble Mine | Hakai Magazine, The Koktuli River watershed, potential home of the future open-pit mine, is also home to a distinctive river-type sockeye. August 2020
- Pebble Mine’s Environmental Review Foreshadows Future “Streamlined” Process Forged by Trump Administration | Hakai Magazine, Environmental reviews are now to be done much, much faster than before. July 2020
- As the Pebble Mine Nears a Decision, Questions Surround its Environmental Review | Hakai Magazine, Documents unveiled by a Freedom of Information Act request show agencies’ behind-the-scenes critiques of the proposed Pebble Mine. June 2020
- Pebble Mine’s “Woefully Inadequate” Plan to Compensate for Destroying Salmon Habitat | Hakai Magazine, A wide range of experts are critiquing the proposed Alaska mine’s lackluster environmental compensation plan. April 2020
- Research and Rescue: Saving Species from Ourselves | Longreads, We’re developing high-tech genetic tools to pour new life into animals lost to human destruction. Deciding how — and whether — to use that power is as complex as the science behind it. October 2019
- Don’t Forget the Pebble Mine’s Overlooked Port, Hakai Magazine, A source close to the Pebble Mine project says that plans for a new marine port, designed to support the proposed mine, raise a host of environmental concerns that haven’t received much attention. August 2019
- Can Wild Salmon and the Pebble Mine Coexist? | Hakai Magazine, Posing a problem for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, new research shows salmon rely on entire watersheds. May 2019
- Fear the cats! Bold project teaches endangered Australian animals to avoid deadly predator | Science, Exposing threatened marsupials to a few feral cats may help boost their chances of survival against the lethal predators. May 2019
- Can Killer Robots Help Save the Great Barrier Reef? | Medium, Researchers in Australia are using autonomous technology to combat a notoriously hard-to-kill pest. November 2018
- A Witness to the Disappearing Wonder of Wild Orcas | DeSmog, Reflections on the endangered awe of meeting endangered orcas in the wild. November 2018
- RangerBot: Programmed to Kill | Hakai Magazine, A new generation of sea star-murdering robots is set to deploy. August 2018
- 20 Things You Didn’t Know About … Ants | Discover Magazine, Some are slaveholders, others sip blood and a few jump backward like nobody’s business. July/August 2018 issue
- Raising an Eyebrow | Natural History Magazine, Scientists test why large brows went out of facial fashion in human evolution. July/August 2018 issue
- The Whale That Dines Alone | Hakai Magazine, Researchers listened as solitary humpback whales made a supposedly social call. May 2018
- Immobilized Plants | Natural History Magazine, Scientists are starting to understand how anesthetics also affect plant movements. March 2018
- Mussels on Acid | Hakai Magazine, Variability in ocean acidity may be a bigger deal than scientists thought. December 2017
- Staging Bird Murders to Save a Species | The Atlantic, A contentious way to teach captive animals what to fear in the wild. November 2017
- How Not to Kill an Albatross | Hakai Magazine, Accidental albatross deaths can be curtailed if commercial fishers make one simple change. November 2017
- The Global Climate Community Finally Has a Plan to Address Agriculture | Earther.com, UN climate negotiators made critical progress towards addressing the globe-warming emissions of agriculture. November 2017
- Farmed and Dangerous? Pacific Salmon Confront Rogue Atlantic Cousins | Scientific American, Northwest fish escape highlights concerns—and dearth of research—over aquaculture. August 2017
- Too Hot to Fly | Slate, Phoenix’s heat wave grounded planes and stranded customers. It’s about to become much more common. July 2017
- Lights Out for Hawai‘i’s Seabirds | Hakai Magazine, Scientists hope lasers can save endangered seabirds from power line collisions. June 2017
- Brazil Gets Lit | Hakai Magazine, Artificial lighting is spreading across the country, with unknown effects on its wildlife. May 2017
- Science Stars: The Next Generation | Discover Magazine, [Subs. req., view here] Here are some of our favorite emerging science stars. April 2017
- Smog Will Choke Crops If Climate Plan Is Scrubbed | Scientific American, Legal threats to Obama’s Clean Power Plan could result in ongoing crop losses as smog accumulates. April 2017
- Radioactive Refuges | Hakai Magazine, A heavily-exploited Japanese fish found sanctuary after the 2011 Fukushima earthquake. January 2017
- Making a More Perfect Penguin | Hakai Magazine, A long-term study shows the subtle hand of natural selection on Argentina’s Magellanic penguins. November 2016
- New Research Offers a Wider View on Indigenous North American Whaling | Hakai Magazine, Additional early North American societies may have been whale hunters, not just scavengers. November 2017
- The Lazarus Frog | Discover Magazine, A small frog in a dark rainforest gives one scientist hope for endangered amphibians. October 2016
- The Killer Kiss of Kohn’s Snails [VIDEO] | Hakai Magazine, Venomous cone snails may be slow, but they’re deadly. September 2016
- This Robot Thinks It’s a Larva | Hakai Magazine, A new robot is designed to mimic the behavior of teeny tiny larvae. September 2016
- Planted Evidence | Natural History Magazine, Archaeologists find evidence connecting Madagascar’s mysterious settlers directly to Southeast Asia. Sept. 2016
- How to Give a Seabird an Underwater Hearing Test | Hakai Magazine, Scientists are worried marine noise may affect seabirds, but first they have to figure out how to test it. August 2016
- Accelerated Development | Natural History Magazine, Risk of infanticide quickens monkeys’ development. June 2016
- Born Immunity | Natural History Magazine, How honey bees pass on immunity to their young. October 2015
- Gut Reaction | Natural History Magazine, A major coffee pest relies on bacteria in its gut to metabolize caffeine. October 2015
- Meet 4 Animals Who Use Chemical Deception to Camouflage Their Smell | Earth Touch News, Camouflage doesn’t have to be only about what the eyes see. January 2016
- Thanks to Eavesdropping Scientists, We Can Listen to the Secret Sounds Giraffes Make at Night | Earth Touch News, What does the giraffe say? Hummmm…it’s been a mystery. September 2015
- Virgin Births Are Not a Great “Plan B” for Super-Endangered Sawfish | Earth Touch News, Female sawfish may be resorting to a method of reproducing never seen before in wild animals with a backbone. June 2015
- Our Six Citizen Science Picks | Discover Magazine, Try science for yourself: Join one of these citizen science projects; lab coat optional. October 2014
- 5 Reasons Why We’re Obsessed with Venomous Sea Snails | Earth Touch News, How about the fact that they manufacture an underwater pharmacy of nightmares? February 2015
- Anty Venom | Discover Magazine, A never-before-seen ability gives crazy ants an edge over red fire ants. December 2014
- 3 Amazing Projects You Should 3-D Print Right Now | DiscoverMagazine.com, These designs highlight the ways 3-D printing can improve lives and empower people. August 2014
- Top 4 Summer Science Road-Trip Destinations: Hanford Nuclear Reservation | Discover Magazine, The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a onetime national secret, now hosts both a National Historic Landmark with free, guided tours and a $40 billion environmental cleanup. May 2014
- Mantis Shrimp Vision Is Not As Mindblowing As You’ve Been Told | PopSci.com, It’s a lovely thought that a glass-punching, rainbow-colored crustacean could have sensory and aesthetic capabilities beyond our wildest dreams. Yet something isn’t quite right. June 2014
- Great Extirpations | Natural History Magazine, between 10,000 and 4,000 years ago, intertwining stressors led to the extinction of the woolly mammoth. September/October 2012
- Snug as a Bug in a Bug in a Bug | Natural History Magazine [PDF], two bacterial symbionts nested inside each other—inside mealybugs—result in dramatically reduced and complementary genomes. November 2011
- A Man of New Words | Natural History Magazine [PDF], earliest record of the development of the Cherokee written language discovered in Kentucky cave. December 2011/January 2012
Climate and Energy
- After Los Angeles Youth Sued City for Discriminatory Drilling Practices, the Oil Industry Sued Back | DeSmogBlog.com. April 2017
- From UN Climate Talks, Indigenous Activists Align with Standing Rock Protesters as Tensions Rise and Temperatures Fall | DeSmogBlog.com. November 2016
- John Kerry Tells Marrakech Climate Talks Coal Investment Is “Suicide” As U.S. Delegation Ducks Fossil Fuel Influence Questions | DeSmogBlog.com. November 2016
- Exclusive: Q&A with Filmmaker Deia Schlosberg on Her Arrest While Filming an Activist Shutting Down a Tar Sands Pipeline | DeSmogBlog.com. October 2016
- Why Is North Dakota Attempting to Mandate Who Should Report on Pipeline Protests? | DeSmogBlog.com. October 2016
-
As EU Prepares to Ratify Paris Climate Deal, U.S. Sees Bipartisan Push for Climate Action | DeSmogBlog.com. October 2016
-
To Fight Clean Power Plan, Fossil Fuel Companies Paid for Private Meetings with Republican State Prosecutors | DeSmogBlog.com. September 2016
Food and Agriculture
- Americans need to stop multitasking while eating alone, argues French sociologist Claude Fischler | Grist
- Nutritionist Marion Nestle fingers the missing calories in America’s big binge | Grist
- Farm City author cuts the foodie-elite snobbery from urban farming | Grist
- A bee wrangler shows you how to mind your own beeswax | Grist
- Saving the world’s future food supply is key to climate adaptation, says Cary ‘Dr. Doom’ Fowler | Grist
Ashley Braun 