|
|
|
mongabay.com news - August 2007Large mammals disappearing from Africa's parks -- 08/31/2007Large mammals are disappearing from Africa's national parks, warn researchers writing in the September 2007 issue of the African Journal of Ecology. Global warming to cause more severe thunderstorms, reports NASA -- 08/31/2007 Global warming will increase the incidence of severe storms and tornados, report NASA scientists. "Weird" algae key to survival of coral reefs -- 08/31/2007 A team of coral researchers has taken a major stride towards revealing the workings of the mysterious "engine" that drives Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and corals the world over. Stopping malaria using smell -- 08/31/2007 Researchers have taken an important first step in developing improved repellants to protect mankind from its deadliest insect parasite: the mosquito. Saving beautiful - and ugly - species from extinction -- 08/30/2007 Allow me to wax poetic about the world's newest wildlife organization, EDGE. I must admit I'm a little in love. This singular organization was founded in January as a part of the London Zoological Society. Its basic tenants remain similar to other endangered species programs: survey populations, set up conservation programs, work with local governments and communities to ensure protection. However, what is unique about EDGE is not their approach to saving species, but rather the species they choose to focus their efforts on. This year they have selected ten mammalian species: the Yangztee River Dolphin, Attenborough's Long-Beaked Echidna, Hispaniolan Solenodon, Bactarian Camel, Pygmy Hippopotamus, Slender Loris, Hirola, Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, Bumblebee Bat, and the Long-eared Jerboa. Peru's deforestation rate surged in 2005 -- 08/30/2007 Peru's deforestation rates surged in 2005, according to new analysis published in the journal Science. Rising Population puts strain on Soil -- 08/30/2007 Soil degradation and vegetation loss may accelerate global warming, warned Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. Pearl River Delta under Rising Water Threat -- 08/30/2007 1,153 square km (445 square miles) of land surrounding the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, China may be engulfed by rising sea levels by 2050, reports Chinese state media. The cities worst affected will be Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, alongside Zhuhai and Foshan if nothing is done to combat the problem soon. Guidelines to ensure biofuels production won't hurt the environment -- 08/30/2007 Environmentalists have long seen biofuels as a means to improve the sustainability of transportation and energy use since they are a renewable source of energy that can be replenished on an ongoing basis. Further, because biofuels are generally derived from plants, which absorb carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, biofuel production offers the potential to help offset carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate climate change. Nonetheless, in recent years, there has been considerable backlash against biofuels, which are increasingly viewed as a threat to the environment. Green groups now point to large-scale land conversion for energy crops, higher food prices, and a spate to studies that suggest net emissions from corn ethanol are little better than those from fossil fuels, to caution that biofuels can cause more problems than they address. Business has to lead the Clean Up of the Enviroment -- 08/30/2007 Though the next two and-a-bit years will remain in a sort of ecological standstill, the remaining century is going to be the boiling point for earth. Will it crumble in to a roiling mass of disaster or will we finally manage to remove such a deep imprint as we have made over the past 30 years in the next 10. Future Ice Age Put on the Back Burner -- 08/30/2007 Dr Toby Tyrrell of the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton has published a report in the latest edition of New Scientist magazine laying out his research that future ice-ages -- an evolutionary imperative for the planet earth -- could be pushed back some half a million years. Indonesia's peatlands may offer U.S. firms global warming offsets -- 08/29/2007 The following is modified version of a letter I've used to pitch U.S. companies on the concept of carbon finance in Indonesia's peatlands. Discussions are slow and the critical December U.N. climate meeting is fast approaching, so I'm posting this as a tool to help you get American firms interested in avoided deforestation offsets. Please feel free to use, modify, and distribute this letter widely. NGOs should use palm oil to drive conservation -- 08/29/2007 Environmentalists view the expansion of oil palm plantations in southeast Asia as one of the greatest threats to the region's forests and biodiversity. Campaigners say oil palm is driving the conversion of tens of thousands of hectares of peatlands and lowland forest in Indonesia and Malaysia, putting wildlife at risk, increasing the vulnerability of the forests to fires, and triggering large emissions of greenhouse gases. Pressure from these groups have in recent months convinced European policymakers to reconsider sourcing energy crop production to the region. Environmental, safety concerns mount over China's Three Gorges Dam -- 08/29/2007 Environmental problems are worse than anticipated at China's massive Three Gorges Dam, reports the The Wall Street Journal. A year after its completion, there are rising concerns of pollution, landslides, and flooding. Flies prefer Coke -- 08/29/2007 While you may not catch a fly sipping Perrier, the insect has specialized taste cells for carbonated water that probably encourage it to binge on food with growing microorganisms. Yeast and bacteria both produce carbon dioxide (CO2) when they feast, and CO2 dissolves readily in water to produce seltzer or soda water. Orchids may have co-existed with dinosaurs -- 08/29/2007 Orchids are old enough to have co-existed with dinosaurs, report Harvard University scientists. Largest-ever Endangered Species Act lawsuit filed -- 08/29/2007 An environmental group plans the largest ever legal action in the history of the Endangered Species Act. Meeting seeks to save Sumatra's tigers and elephants from extinction -- 08/29/2007 Over 100 wildlife experts and government officials will meet in Indonesia Wednesday to draft an action plan to save Sumatran elephnts and tigers from extinction, reports Reuters. "Extinct" baiji river dolphin spotted alive in China -- 08/29/2007 An "extinct" baiji has been spotted alive in the Yangtze River, reports Chinese state media. How private equity can profit from carbon offsets in Indonesia -- 08/29/2007 The emerging carbon market for avoided deforestation presents unprecedented opportunities for private equity to make profitable investments that also help protect the environment. Indeed, for the first time, conservation may be associated with positive financial returns. Here's a brief look at how private equity and other investors can capitalize on this opportunity to earn attractive returns while fighting climate change, protecting ecosystem services, and safeguarding endangered species like orangutans. The other side of carbon trading -- 08/29/2007 Planting trees in Uganda to offset greenhouse-gas emissions in Europe seemed like a good idea - until farmers were evicted from their land to make room for a forest. Northwest Passage Nearly Open, reports NASA -- 08/28/2007 The fabeled Northwest Passage is nearly open, with implications for trade and natural resource exploitation, reports NASA. UPS finds environment a top concern among customers, pushes paperless billing -- 08/28/2007 UPS recently surveyed its customers to find out what would make them change billing methods to paperless PDF invoices. Surprisingly, the shipping giant found the primary motivating factor -- cited by 40 percent of those polled -- was concern for the environment. Ozone Hole makes Early Appearance in 2007 -- 08/28/2007 The Antarctic ozone hole was discovered in 1985 by British scientists Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey. Though called a hole, it is rather a location in the ozone shield -- a layer that keeps ultra-violet rays from affecting us directly -- that is substantially lacking in ozone concentration. Greenhouse gases made 2006 2nd-warmest year on record for U.S. -- 08/28/2007 Greenhouse gases likely accounted for over half of the widespread warmth across the continental United States in 2006, report scientists writing in the September 5th issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters. New poison frog species discovered in Colombia -- 08/28/2007 Scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of poison frog in a remote mountainous region in Colombia. The tiny frog has been dubbed the "golden frog of Supata" and lives only in a 20 hectare area in Colombia's Cundinamarca region. Indonesia to push carbon-credits for peatlands conservation -- 08/27/2007 Indonesia plans to seek carbon credits for protecting its carbon-rich peatlands, a forestry official said on Monday. Scientists meet in Hungary to discuss saving dying frogs -- 08/27/2007 Scientists are meeting this week in Budapest, Hungary to discuss last-ditch efforts to save the world's most threatened frogs from extinction. Scientists demand Brazil cease Amazon colonization project -- 08/27/2007 A group of prominent scientists has called on Brazil to declare an immediate moratorium on a proposed forest colonization project that threatens one of the world's largest and long-running ecological experiments. Global warming causes increase in tropical rainfall -- 08/27/2007 Climate change appears to be resulting in higher levels of rainfall in the tropics, reports NASA. U.S. grazing lands at risk due to rising CO2 levels -- 08/27/2007 Rising carbon dioxide levels could cause significant changes to open grazing lands and rangelands around the world, reports a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Obesity rates increase nationwide in 2006 -- 08/27/2007 31 states saw a rise in obesity rates last year, reports a new study by the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention. How do snakes survive starvation? -- 08/27/2007 Starving snakes employ novel survival strategies not seen before in vertebrates, according to research conducted by a University of Arkansas biologist. These findings could be used in conservation strategies to determine the health of snake populations. Wall Street looks at energy efficiency to boost profits -- 08/27/2007 Today the Wall Street Journal featured a special section on energy efficiency. The paper reports that business is increasingly looking at reducing energy use as a way to improve the bottom line. European blood-sucker falls victim to global warming -- 08/26/2007 Europe's only known land leech may be on the brink of extinction due to shifts in climate, report researchers writing in the journal Naturwissenschaften. The findings are significant because they suggest that "human-induced climate change without apparent habitat destruction can lead to the extinction of populations of cold-adapted species that have a low colonization ability," according to the authors. U.S. to spend $27M on possibly extinct bird -- 08/26/2007 The U.S. government plans to spend $27 million on the recovery efforts for a bird species that may already be extinct, reports the Associated Press. With Corn ethanol more costly than oil, is Jatropha a better biofuel? -- 08/24/2007 Jatropha may be a more economic biofuel than corn-based ethanol, reported the The Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing research from Goldman Sachs. Iceland halts whaling -- 08/24/2007 With stagnant demand for whale meat nearly a year after ending its ban on commercial whaling, Iceland said it would not issue new whale-hunting quotas until it gets an export license from Japan, reports Reuters. Monkey mothers use "baby talk" too -- 08/24/2007 Female rhesus monkeys use special vocalizations to communicate with infants much like human mothers use "baby talk" or "motherese" reports a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago. Blocking sunlight may cripple toxic bacteria -- 08/23/2007 Certain types of bacteria have sunlight-sensing molecules similar to those found in plants, according to a new study. Surprisingly, at least one species--responsible for causing the flu-like disorder Brucellosis--needs light to maximize its virulence. The work suggests an entirely new model for bacterial virulence based on light sensitivity. Photo: newborn mountain gorilla born in Congo -- 08/23/2007 Conservationists announced the birth of a critically endangered mountain gorilla in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park. The newborn marked a positive development for the embattled apes in the park -- nine out of its 100 gorillas have been killed this year by poachers, including five last month. Groups demand AES withdraw from Panama dam projects -- 08/23/2007 More than 50 green groups demanded Thursday that AES Corporation withdraw from three controversial hydroelectric projects that are threatening La Amistad International Park in Panama. Environmentalists say the dams threaten to displace wildlife and local communities -- the Naso and Ngobe people -- in the World Heritage site. Animal trafficking at Miami International airport -- 08/23/2007 Wildlife Inspector Carlos Pages vividly remembers the times when he opened a crate of imported animals only to discover that not all of them were still in the cloth bags that serve as their shipping cages. Those are the moments when his speed trumps their speed. Iron boosts carbon sequestration by the ocean -- 08/23/2007 Wind-blown iron contributes significantly to the biological productivity of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, researchers report in this week's issue of the journal Science. Imported LNG could have 35% higher GHG emissions than coal -- 08/23/2007 A team of Carnegie Mellon University researchers report that the choices U.S. officials make today could limit how the nation's future energy needs are met and could cost consumers billions in idle power plants and associated infrastructure systems. Soccer burns more fat than jogging -- 08/23/2007 The experiment Sports scientist Peter Krustrup and his colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen University Hospital and Bispebjerg Hospital have followed a soccer team consisting of 14 untrained men aged 20 to 40 years. 4.25 billion year old diamond discovered -- 08/22/2007 Scientists have discovered 4.25 billion year old diamonds in Australia. T. rex could outrun a human athlete -- 08/22/2007 T. rex could reach speeds of up to 18mph, according to new supercomputer simulations that are believed to be the most accurate projections ever produced. Court rebukes Bush Administration on global warming report -- 08/22/2007 Tuesday the Bush Administration was ordered to publish an updated research plan and national assessment on climate change. By law the White Hosue is required to publish such a report every four years, yet the current administration has failed to do so since it took office. The last National Assessment was issued in late 2000 under the Clinton administration, but environmental groups say the Bush Administration had tried to surpress its findings and recommendations. U.S. military attacks illegal wildlife trade in Afghanistan -- 08/22/2007 The U.S. military has teamed with the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to attack the illegal wildlife trade in Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Department of Defense. Could peatlands conservation be more profitable than palm oil? -- 08/22/2007 This past June, World Bank published a report warning that climate change presents serious risks to Indonesia, including the possibility of losing 2,000 islands as sea levels rise. While this scenario is dire, proposed mechanisms for addressing climate change, notably carbon credits through avoided deforestation, offer a unique opportunity for Indonesia to strengthen its economy while demonstrating worldwide innovative political and environmental leadership. In a July 29th editorial we argued that in some cases, preserving ecosystems for carbon credits could be more valuable than conversion for oil palm plantations, providing higher tax revenue for the Indonesian treasury while at the same time offering attractive economic returns for investors. U.S. firms driving pollution in China -- 08/22/2007 U.S. firms are helping drive environmental degradation in China, putting the health of millions of Chinese at risk, reports The Wall Street Journal. The paper says that by demanding ever lower products for goods, manufacturers are forced to reduced environmental safeguards in order to compete. China to miss pollution goals for 2007 -- 08/22/2007 China has managed to cut emissions of sulphur dioxide, an acid-rain causing pollutant, during the first half of 2007 but is likely to miss reduction targets for the year, reports the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Cats have 10-minute short term memory -- 08/22/2007 New research suggest cats have short-term memory of about 10 minutes, according to CBC News. Dean was 3rd most intense Atlantic hurricane at landfall -- 08/21/2007 Hurricane Dean was the third most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall, according to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center who measured the storm's central atmospheric pressure. Biofuels driving destruction of Brazilian cerrado -- 08/21/2007 The cerrado, wooded grassland in Brazil that once covered an area half the size of Europe, is fast being transformed into croplands to meet rising demand for soybeans, sugarcane, and cattle. The cerrado is now disappearing more than twice as the rate as the neighboring Amazon rainforest, according to a Brazilian expert on the savanna ecosystem. Canon introduces 5 new cameras -- 08/21/2007 Canon unveiled several new digital cameras Monday, including a 21.1-megapixel, full-frame model. Land reform agency sanctions logging in Amazon rainforest park -- 08/21/2007 Under the guise of a sustainable development scheme, a Brazilian land agency has granted large tracts of Amazon rainforest to colonists who quickly resold the forest to loggers, alleges a new report from Greenpeace. Some of the concessions were in the Amazon National Park, a national park. Could a hurricane hit California? -- 08/20/2007 San Diego has been hit by hurricanes in the past and could be affected by such storms in the future according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While a hurricane in San Diego would likely produce significantly less damage than Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, it could still exact a high cost to Southern California especially if the region was caught off guard. Man eaten by bear at Serbian zoo -- 08/20/2007 A 23-year old Serbian man was found dead and half-eaten in the bear cage at the Belgrade Zoo during an annual beer festival, reports Reuters. Crop domestication originated in compost piles -- 08/19/2007 New research lends support to the theory that backyard gardens and refuse heaps played an important role in early crop domestication. 'New continent' and species discovered in Atlantic study -- 08/18/2007 A scientist from the University of Aberdeen is leading a team of international researchers whose work will continue our understanding of life in the deepest oceans, and contribute to the global Census of Marine Life. Lake Superior may hit record low levels this fall -- 08/18/2007 NOAA hydrologists indicate that Lake Superior is nearing record lows for the month of August, a trend that if continued could break past record lows for the months of September and October. NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory is able to forecast lake levels 12 months in advance using current hydrological conditions combined with NOAA's long-term climate outlooks. July 2007 was the 15th warmest July on record for the U.S. -- 08/18/2007 July 2007 brought record and near-record warmth to the western United States, while much of the eastern and southern U.S. experienced cooler-than-average temperatures, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Sony launches consumer electronics recycling program -- 08/17/2007 Sony has launched a recycling program for consumer electronics. NASA admits to error in global warming data -- 08/17/2007 NASA has admitted to a data error that skewed temperatures since 2000. Arctic sea ice shrinks to record low in 2007 -- 08/15/2007 Arctic sea ice has shrunk to a record low according the Japan Aerospace Exploration agency. Earthquakes can break speed limit -- 08/15/2007 Earthquakes can move faster than previously thought with rupture rates well exceeding the conventional 3 kilometeres per second, reports Oxford University professor Shamita Das writing in the journal Science. The finding suggests that earthquakes in the world's largest quake zones may be capable of more destruction than earlier projections. Conservation more effective than biofuels for fighting global warming -- 08/15/2007 Conserving forests and grasslands may be a more effective land-use strategy for fighting climate change than growing biofuel crops argues a new paper published in the journal Science. Comparing emissions from various fuel crops versus carbon storage in natural ecosystems, Renton Righelato and Dominick Spracklen write that "forestation of an equivalent area of land would sequester two to nine times more carbon over a 30-year period than the emissions avoided by the use of the biofuel." Group seeks salvation for 189 endangered bird species -- 08/15/2007 BirdLife International has launched an appeal to save 189 endangered bird species over the next 5 years. The U.K.-based conservation group is seeking to raise tens of millions of dollars through its Species Champions initiative, by finding "Species Champions" among individuals, private foundations, and companies who will fund the work of identified "Species Guardians" for each bird. Climate change reducing Lake Tahoe's water clarity -- 08/15/2007 Lake Tahoe in Northern California is losing is characteristic water clarity due to pollution and climate change, reports a new study by the University of California at Davis. Humans worsening the spread of forest-killing disease in California -- 08/15/2007 The spread of Sudden Oak Death, a disease that is rapidly killing forests in the western United States, is being worsened by human activities, report studies recently published in the Journal of Ecology and Ecological Applications. Plain soap as effective as antibacterial but without the risk -- 08/15/2007 Antibacterial soaps show no health benefits over plain soaps and, in fact, may render some common antibiotics less effective, says a University of Michigan public health professor. Emerging (disease) markets -- 08/15/2007 Instead of attacking wild birds for our new disease problems, a far more cost effective approach should focus on keeping wild animals separate in the places where they often commingle: in wildlife markets and international trade, according to wildlife health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in a recent issue of the prestigious Journal of Wildlife Diseases. Clearing rainforest for cattle pasture drives surge in vampires -- 08/15/2007 A new study confirms that vampire bats are thriving due to the clearing of rainforest for cattle pasture in Costa Rica. Instead of having to seek out scarce wildlife in the forest, vampire bats now prey on cattle kept in high densities on ranches. As wealthy get dengue fever, drug companies more likely to act -- 08/15/2007 As dengue fever increasingly becomes a disease of the affluent -- especially in Asia -- drug companies are showing more interest in developing treatment, reports a new article published in the journal Nature. Elephants get Photo IDs for Protection -- 08/15/2007 Asian elephants don't carry photo identification, so scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and India's Nature Conservation Foundation are providing the service free of charge by creating a photographic archive of individual elephants, which can help save them as well. Islands to face water problems as sea levels rise, populations grow -- 08/15/2007 Islands in the tropical Pacific may face water problems as sea levels rise and populations grow, warns research published in Vadose Zone Journal. Legless lizard retracts eyes to avoid retaliatory prey bites -- 08/14/2007 For creatures without legs, snakes are remarkable predators. Pythons can capture and eat animals well over twice their size, while a mere drop of venom injected by an Australian death adder can kill a person. Scientists believe the main purpose for these adaptations is to help snakes avoid injury when pursuing and eating prey. However, snakes are not the only legless reptiles -- there are more than a dozen species of legless lizard distributed around the world. A new paper examines how these reptiles subdue their prey without venom or constriction. 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami waves hit Florida, Maine -- 08/14/2007 Waves from the devastating December 2004 tsunami were recorded along the Atlantic coast of North America, reports a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters. Geoengineering cure for global warming could cause problems -- 08/14/2007 Proposed geoengineering schemes to reduce global warming may do more harm than good, warns a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters. Antarctic Bottom Water has warmed since 1992 -- 08/14/2007 Deep ocean waters near Antarctica have warmed significantly since 1992, though variable temperatures may it difficult to determine whether it is a trend, reports a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters. Amazon deforestation in Brazil falls 29% for 2007 -- 08/13/2007 Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell 29 percent for the 2006-2007 year, compared with the prior period. The loss of 3,863 square miles (10,010 square kilometers) of rainforest was the lowest since the Brazilian government started tracking deforestation on a yearly basis in 1988. Low deforestation countries to see least benefit from carbon trading -- 08/13/2007 Countries that have done the best job protecting their tropical forests stand to gain the least from proposed incentives to combat global warming through carbon offsets, warns a new study published in Tuesday in the journal Public Library of Science Biology (PLoS). The authors say that "high forest cover with low rates of deforestation" (HFLD) nations "could become the most vulnerable targets for deforestation if the Kyoto Protocol and upcoming negotiations on carbon trading fail to include intact standing forest." New flycatcher bird species discovered in Peru -- 08/13/2007 Scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of bird in dense bamboo thickets in the Peruvian Amazon. Failing water supply destroyed lost city of Angkor Wat -- 08/13/2007 The ancient city of Angkor in Cambodia was larger in extent than previously thought and fed by a single water system, according to a new map published by an international team of researchers. The study, published in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences, suggests that the urban settlement sustained an elaborate water management network extending over more than 1,0000 square kilometers. Squirrels communicate with rattlesnakes using heated tail -- 08/13/2007 Ground squirrels heat their tails to defend their young against predatory rattlesnakes, reports a study published in the early online edition of Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Scientists: Newsweek Erred in Global Warming Coverage -- 08/12/2007 A statement from the University of Alabama argues that a recent Newsweek cover story on climate change made two important mistakes. Climate change claims a snail -- 08/12/2007 The Aldabra banded snail (Rachistia aldabrae), a rare and poorly known species found only on Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean, has apparently gone extinct due to declining rainfall in its niche habitat. While some may question lamenting the loss of a lowly algae-feeding gastropod on some unheard of chain of tropical islands, its unheralded passing is nevertheless important for the simple reason that Rachistia aldabrae may be a pioneer. As climate change increasingly brings local and regional shifts in precipitation and temperature, other species are expected to follow in its path. Global warming to stunt growth of rainforest trees -- 08/12/2007 Global warming could reduce the growth rates of rainforest trees by 50 percent, reported research presented last week at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in San Jose, California by Ken Feeley of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston. European heat waves double in length since 1880 -- 08/11/2007 The most accurate measures of European daily temperatures ever indicate that the length of heat waves on the continent has doubled and the frequency of extremely hot days has nearly tripled in the past century. The new data shows that many previous assessments of daily summer temperature change underestimated heat wave events in western Europe by approximately 30 percent. Controversy over flawed NASA climate data changes little -- 08/11/2007 NASA corrected an error on its U.S. air temperature data after a blogger, Steve McIntyre of Climate Audit, discovered a discrepancy for the years 2000-2006. The revised figures show that 1934, not 1998, was America's hottest year on record. The change has little affect on global temperature records and the average temperatures for 2001-2006 (at 0.66 C) is still warmer than 1930-1934 (0.63 C) in the United States. Amazon deforestation rate falls to lowest on record -- 08/10/2007 Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon for the previous year were the lowest on record, according to preliminary figures released by INPE, Brazil's National Institute of Space Research. U.S. government weather agency cuts hurricane outlook -- 08/10/2007 The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday reduced its forecast for the number of tropical storms and hurricanes expected during the 2007 Atlantic season. NOAA said it now expected between 13 and 16 named storms, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes and three to five of them classified as "major" hurricanes (categories 3, 4, or 5). Temperate forests not a fix for global warming -- 08/10/2007 Carbon sequestration projects in temperate regions -- already facing doubts by scientists -- were dealt another blow by Duke University-led research that found pine tree stands grown under elevated carbon dioxide conditions only store significant amounts of carbon when they receive sufficient amounts of water and nutrients. Floating sea ice shrinks in the Arctic -- 08/10/2007 By one estimate, the extent of floating sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk more than in any summer ever recorded, reports the New York Times. Apple comes up a bit short on eco-credentials of new iMac -- 08/10/2007 While Apple has touted the environmental attributes of its newest iMac, critics say the new computer failed to live up to the company's goals for the use of mercury, reports the San Jose Mercury. In May, Apple said it would eventually replace mercury-containing fluorescent backlights in its LCD monitors with LEDs backlights, but the new computers don't use the new technology. The company said it still face technological hurdles in rolling out the new LCDs. Melting permafrost affects greenhouse gas emissions -- 08/10/2007 Permafrost -- the perpetually frozen foundation of the north -- isn't so permanent anymore, and scientists are scrambling to understand the pros and cons when terra firma goes soft. U.N. sends team to investigate gorilla killings -- 08/10/2007 The U.N. said it will send a team of experts to probe the killings of critically endangered mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Four gorillas were shot "execution-style" last month, while three others have been killed so far this year. Rangers believe illegal charcoal harvesters from Goma are to blame. Papua seeks funds for fighting global warming through forest conservation -- 08/10/2007 In an article published today in The Wall Street Journal, Tom Wright profiles the nascent "avoided deforestation" carbon offset market in Indonesia's Papua province. Barnabas Suebu, governor of the province which makes up nearly half the island of New Guinea, has teamed with an Australian millionaire, Dorjee Sun, to develop a carbon offset plan that would see companies in developing countries pay for forest preservation in order to earn carbon credits. Compliance would be monitored via satellite. News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
MONGABAY.COM
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
T-SHIRTS 
CALENDARS 
CANVAS BAGS 
|
|
Copyright mongabay 2009 |
