Want to hear some good environmental news? Well how about the fact that the earth is not running out of wilderness areas, after all? That is the conclusion of a major new report by Conservation International that surprised even the study’s authors. The report, conducted by hundreds of scientists over two years, found that wilderness areas cover nearly half the earth’s land surface, and have only declined a few percentage points due to human activity. These areas, which have very low population levels, comprise an enormous landmass equivalent to the six largest countries on earth combined — Russia, Canada, China, the U.S., Brazil, and Australia. So it looks claims of ecological doomsday will have to wait at least another year.