David DeFranza

Assistant Editor / Chapel Hill, NC

Before becoming an Assistant Editor at TreeHugger, David DeFranza wrote about travel, the outdoors, and frugal living for a variety of websites. In addition to performing general editorial duties, David writes about nature, produces slideshows, and serves as TreeHugger's books editor.

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  California Academy of Sciences Discovers Hundreds of New Species in the Philippines (Photos)

  During a marine and land survey of the Philippines spanning just 42

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  West and Central African Elephant Populations Decline 50% in 40 Years

  Elephants are protected on the savannas of Central and Western Africa but, according to a new survey, their numbers have still declined by 50 percent or more in the last 40 years. More alarming is that

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  Komodo Dragons in Rare, Extreme Close-up Photos (Slideshow)

  Spread across a few small islands of the Indonesia archipelago is a strange, prehistoric, species of giant lizard. These large dominant predators are captivating because of their size and their aggressiveness. In spite

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  Komodo Dragons in Rare, Extreme Close-up Photos

  Spread across a few small islands of the Indonesia archipelago is a strange, prehistoric, species of giant lizard. These large dominant predators are captivating because of their size and their aggressiveness. In spite of this infamous reputation, the Kom

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  Join Alexis Madrigal for a Discussion of Powering the Dream, Today at 3:30 Eastern

  Watch live streaming video from treehuggerlive at livestream.com Massive solar farms are certainly newsworthy but—as the new book from The Atlantic's Senior Editor Alexis Madrigal shows—alternative energy is nothing new. Powering the Dream

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  Could FDR's New Deal Conservation Program Get us Out of Debt? (Slideshow)

  It seems too good to be true: But yes, industry experts say clean tech and green industry has the potential to spark a new economic revolution—creating jobs and rebuilding a

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  Could FDR's New Deal Conservation Program Get us Out of Debt?

  It seems too good to be true: But yes, industry experts say clean tech and green industry has the potential to spark a new economic revolution—creating jobs and rebuilding a fractured economy. The idea is exciting, especially as the country struggl

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  Fragmented Prairies Make a Surprisingly Good Home for Deer Ticks

  Photo credit: d_vdm/Creative Commons Deer ticks, the tiny insects responsible for spreading Lyme disease and other ailments, favor forested habitats. There, they can easily pass from small mammals, birds, and lizards—on which they feed—to

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  New Giant Crab Species Discovered in Costa Rica

  Biologists conducting research in Costa Rica have discovered a new species of land crab. The crab, named Johngarthia cocoensis,

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  Elusive Connecticut Mountain Lion Finally Found, Unfortunately Dead

  The eastern cougar has been extinct for more than 100 years, according to biologists, but this hasn't kept people living around Greenwich, Connecticut, from calling local conservation officers with reports of

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  10 Incredible, Shocking New Species: Snot Eating Leech, Titanic Bacteria, and More

  A flat-faced spiky fish with a habitat destroyed by the BP oil spill and a leech that eats mucus...found in a child's nose....are just two of the incredible species discovered in the

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  10 Incredible, Shocking New Species: Snot Eating Leech, Titanic Bacteria, and More

  A flat-faced spiky fish with a habitat destroyed by the BP oil spill and a leech that eats mucus...found in a child's nose....are just two of the incredible species discovered in the last year. Every year, the International Institute for Species Explorat

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  Endangered Leatherback Turtles Drawn to UK Jellyfish Blooms

  Photo credit: BizoSilva/Creative Commons Critically endangered leatherback turtles spend most of their lives at sea with one notable exception: Female turtles crawl onto beaches in the hundreds and even thousands to dig nests and lay their

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  Join Authors Stephen Palumbi and Carolyn Sotka for a Live Discussion on TreeHugger, Today at 3pm Eastern

  This month, BookHugger presents The Death and Life of Monterey Bay by Stephen R. Palumbi and Carolyn Sotka. Readers can order a discounted copy today and then join a live chat with the

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  Nepal's First Translocated Tiger Found Dead

  in January of 2011, a group of biologists and conservationists in Nepal moved a tiger from a rehabilitation facility in Chitwan National Park to a

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  Ecologists Issue a Call to "End the Bias" Against Invasive Species

  The cane toad, an invasive species in Australia, has caused extensive damage there. Should we care? Photo credit: Sam Fraser-Smith/Creative Commons Invasive species, those that cross ecological boundaries and establish themselves in new areas, have been

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  Jellyfish Blooms Increase Carbon Emissions, Upend Marine Food Webs

  Photo credit: Jaymi Heimbuch/Creative Commons Jellyfish are taking over the world's oceans. Warming waters and the elimination of key predators like sharks and tuna, hav made conditions ideal for the soft, brainless, organisms and their numbers have

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  Goats are Delicious and Good for the Wallet, Says New Field Guide to Goat-Raising (Slideshow)

  Most people that think about keeping goats are excited about the prospect of the milk, cheese, and even meat that the animals can provide. To think only about these things, however, is to miss many of the