MONEY TREES: California’s 9.1 million urban trees provide $1 billion in benefits to the state’s city residents, according to a new report from the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station. The state’s average street tree returns $5.82 in benefits for every dollar spent planting and maintaining that tree.

RAT PACK: Australia’s mosaic-tailed Bramble Cay melomys rat has become the world’s first mammal to go extinct as a result of human-caused climate change. Rising sea levels are likely to blame for wiping out the species’ habitat and resources.

ZIKALERT: A new map showing the distribution of the Zika-prone Aedes aegypti mosquito in the United States has been released by the Center for Disease Control. Surprise insect hotspots include California’s Bay Area, greater Washington, D.C., and Texas’s Dallas-Fort Worth region.

OCEAN SOUNDS: The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a draft plan to reduce the negative impacts that manmade ocean noises (think passing cargo ships and oil exploration) have on marine wildlife, such as dolphins and whales, that depend on their hearing to survive.

POLLUTION TO BLAME: A major new study has been released, linking air pollution to increased childhood mental illness. Although the report cannot prove that air pollution directly causes mental health disorders, air pollution has been shown to cause inflammation, which is associated with many psychiatric problems.