Home/Archive for June, 2010
Archive for June, 2010
Conservation, Nature, Science & Technology, Weird & Wonderful, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 30th, 2010,
This week’s Creature Feature takes us along a stretch of the Pacific Coast from Mendocino County, California to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico. The Black Abalone is a critically endangered large sea snail, or gastropod mollusk. The shell can be one of the following colors: dark brown, dark green, dark blue or other dark (nearly black) shade, but not black itself. However, the rest of the animal (tentacles, foot, etc.) is all black. The inside of the shell has a light pink and green tint to it and surprisingly, the outside of the shell is actually rather smooth, which…
Tags: Black Abalone, California, Creature Feature, critically endangered species, disease, gastropod, Mexico, mollusk, over fishing, Pacific Coast, Pacific Ocean, poaching, predators, sea snail, Withering Abalone Syndrome
Climate & Change, Politics, ,
Ready for some negative news? The 8.6% fall in UK greenhouse gas emissions last year was down to the economic slump rather than government initiatives. According to an article in the Guardian, the government needs to take significant action over the next year in order to reach legally binding emissions targets (34% on 1990 levels by 2020). The head of the Committee on Climate Change says these actions must come in the form of improving the energy market, making homes more energy efficient, reducing emissions from farming and encouraging electric vehicle development. He also stressed the need to cut air…
Tags: climate change, economic, emissions, energy, government, Green, greenwashing, Lord Turner, policy, renewable, UK
Nature, Science & Technology, Weird & Wonderful, ,
Scientists at the Royal Society – the UK’s national academy of science – have determined that the continent of Africa is literally splitting in two. According to Geologists, in 2005 a rift opened up in the Afar region of Ethiopia as a result of underground eruptions, which will eventually cause the horn of Africa to drift away and a new ocean to form. From a BBC News report: The sea will flood in and will start to create this new ocean. It will pull apart, sink down deeper and deeper and eventually… parts of southern Ethiopia, Somalia will drift off,…
Tags: Afar, Africa, Ethiopia, new, ocean, rift
Business, Climate & Change, ,
In light of a recent survey naming UK companies as the worst among 300 of Europe’s largest corporations when it comes to their contribution to global warming, another survey has been released, this time focusing only on British firms. The new list, called the FTSE carbon strategy index, compares Britain’s 350 biggest companies in terms of their response to climate change. The idea is that those companies with the best carbon strategies will also be the most efficient and well run. From an article in the Guardian: The new FTSE carbon strategy index weighs up the “carbon risk and performance”…
Tags: 350, carbon, climate change, companies, corporations, emissions, firms, FTSE, Greenpeace, index, list, palm oil, strategy, survey, UK, Unilever
Conservation, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 29th, 2010,
According to a BBC News report from May, rats are the top invasive species in Europe. This should come as no big surprise as the crafty, rapidly multiplying rodents are everywhere and seem to thrive in any environment that contains people. The more people, the more rats. Surprisingly however, they haven’t even been in Europe for that long. The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is found across Europe in all habitats except high mountain ranges. It was believed to have been introduced in the 18th Century as maritime traffic increased. –BBC News Brown rats muscled out native rodent species, but also…
Tags: Asian clam, biodiversity, Brown, environment, Europe, grey, invasive, Ireland, native, rat, rats, species, squirrel
Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Weird & Wonderful, ,
In a bold statement against arts institutions co-operating with unethical companies, a group of activists poured molasses and threw feathers onto the steps to the entrance of the Tate Britain art gallery in London on Monday. The activist-artists, calling themselves ‘The Good Crude Britannia’ appeared during a protest outside the BP-sponsored Tate Britain summer party, which commemorated 20 years of BP’s support for the Tate. They were clad in black and carrying buckets of molasses emblazoned with the BP logo, which they emptied over the stone entrance to the Tate, stunning partygoers and causing cameras to flash. The act was…
Tags: activists, BP, Britain, entrance, molasses, oil, party, protest, spill, Tate
Climate & Change, Politics, Sustainable living, ,
A new campaign by the Japanese government encourages people to go to bed one hour earlier in order to save energy and cut down on CO2 emissions. Not watching TV and having lights on late at night could cut household energy consumption by up to 20% The campaign, launched by Japan’s Environment Ministry, is called ‘Morning Challenge’ is designed to change morning sunlight for nighttime energy use in the home. From an article in the Independent: A study by the Japanese ministry of environment has found that 20 percent of Japan’s electricity is consumed within the final hour before bed….
Tags: campaign, carbon, co2, emissions, energy, environment, government, japan, Japanese, ministry, night, TV, UK, watching
Conservation, Nature, Weird & Wonderful, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 28th, 2010,
“Millions of gallons of oil have oozed into the water since the April 20th rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Some estimates calculate the oil flow to be over 70,000 barrels of oil a day —- And we still don’t know when it will stop.” That’s the opening statement of the latest online celebrity charity auction issued to save the Gulf Coast. Larry King Live has partnered with CharityBuzz.com to bring you this series of awesome auction items. In case you missed it last week, Larry King hosted a live, two-hour telethon on CNN. This auction is a continuation…
Tags: auction, bidding, celebrity charity auction, CharityBuzz, Disaster in the Gulf: How You Can Help, fund raising, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Larry King Live, National Wildlife Federation, telethon, The Nature Conservancy, United Way
Politics, Pollution, ,
The long dark and gooey shadow of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is shining a gruesome light on offshore drilling, its toll on the environment and the true cost of oil. Yet the Gulf spill is also getting all the attention, while other environmental issues or injustices suffer from neglect or overshadowing. Bhopal activists have juxtaposed the attention being given to the spill against their unfortunate plight, for instance. Ironically, new remote – and potentially catastrophic – frontiers are being explored for oil at this very moment, yet this is receiving little attention from the mainstream…
Tags: arctic, Cairn, Canada, coast, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, energy, greenland, Gulf, ice, oil, spill
Business, Climate & Change, Science & Technology, ,
With fossil fuels running out, not to mention polluting the earth and heating up the planet, the largest energy consuming countries are constantly looking for new sources of power. One vast renewable and obviously inexhaustible source is sunlight. As technology for capturing solar energy and converting it to usable power continually develops – making solar power an increasingly viable and affordable source – Europe is setting its sights on the African Sahara. The European energy commissioner claims that within 5 years the EU will be importing hundreds of megawatts of solar energy from North Africa. But that’s just the beginning….
Tags: commissioner, energy, EU, Europe, European, North Africa, power, renewable, Sahara, Solar, source, sun
Business, Climate & Change, ,
Ethical investment consultant firm Eiris has judged 300 of Europe’s top companies in terms of their contribution to global warming and found that more than half are UK-based. Eiris found that the number of British companies determined to have a ‘very high impact on global warming’ was double that of any other country. Of those companies in the top 300 dedicated to solving or mitigating the problems of climate change, only 3% were located in Britain. Eiris’s findings come at a time when BP, one of the UK’s best-known companies, has attracted bad publicity worldwide over the Gulf of Mexico…
Tags: 300, Britain, British, climate change, companies, Eiris, Europe, firm, global warming, oil, survey, UK
Conservation, Nature, Politics, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, ,
There is a new contender for the endangered species list from the US northwest: Franklin’s Bumblebee. Robin Thorp, an entomologist at the University of California at Davis, along with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, formally petitioned the US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the insect under the Endangered Species Act. Xerces Society executive director, Scott Hoffman Black, explained that the petition is part of an ongoing effort to reverse the decline of bees around the world due to habitat loss, pesticides, disease from commercial greenhouses, and—of course—Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In addition to those threats, there is a…
Tags: bees, bumblebees, CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder, Conservation, Endangered Species Act, Franklin's Bumblebee, fungus, habitat loss, insects, petition, protect, severe decline, threats, Xerces Society
Politics, Pollution, Videos & Documentaries, Jun 27th, 2010,
Survivors of the horrific chemical disaster that took place over 25 years ago in Bhopal, India are not satisfied with the recent actions of the Indian government regarding their case. The poison gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant is considered the worst industrial disaster in history, resulting in many thousands of deaths as well as serious lingering health conditions that continue to damage those affected to this day. Activists and victims of the tragedy are unsatisfied with a recent Indian court ruling, which sentenced 7 Union Carbide employees to 2 years in prison. Nor are they content with…
Tags: Bhopal, campaigner, disaster, government, India, Indian, justice, Union Carbide, victims
Politics, Pollution, Videos & Documentaries, ,
On Saturday a national protest against offshore drilling took place on America’s beaches. The protest, called Hands Across the Sand, harkens back to the mid 80s phenomenon known as Hands Across America, which I took part in, but can’t quite remember what it was about. A quick Google search has reminded me that it was to feed starving people in Africa and was part of the whole USA for Africa campaign that included the ‘We Are the World’ single. Sorry, I was just a kid at the time and it was like 25 years ago. Anyway, Hands Across the Sand…
Tags: BP, deep, drilling, Hands Across the Sand, judge, offshore, oil, protest, stocks, water
climate change, ,
Today’s temperatures are predicted go as high hit 30C (85F) making it the hottest day of the year in England, with temperatures highest in London and the southeast. World cup fever – and the more civilized pursuit of eating strawberries and cream whilst watching a considerably smaller yellow ball move backwards and forwards at a much faster rate than a football ever could when North Korea are not playing – is gripping the country. But so is a heatwave. According to an article in the Guardian, ‘MeteoGroup weather forecaster Steve Ellison said the heatwave was caused by a ridge of…
Tags: climate change, England, global warming, heatwave, london, skeptic, temperatures
Climate & Change, Conservation, Nature, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, Wildlife & Flora, ,
India’s Minister of State for Environmental and Forest, Jairam Ramesh, recently announced plans to launch 2 satellites that will be specifically used to monitor environmental changes in the country. The first satellite, which will be launched in 2012, will monitor daily carbon emissions; while the second satellite will monitor India’s forest cover—also on a daily basis. Both satellites will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organization. According to Ramesh: “Currently, forest cover in the country can be known only after two years and the reduction of this period will help the government in taking steps immediately.” In addition to…
Tags: climate change, daily carbon emissions, daily forest coverage, environmental changes, global warming, green cover, India, monitoring, protection, satellites, sustainable living
Health, Nature, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, ,
How many of you have an outdoor garden? Okay, and how many of you use Roundup weed killer? Although Roundup has a reputation of being one of the top weed killers on the market and much safer than other chemical alternatives, there are still some stubborn weeds out there that are resistant to Roundup and have actually evolved over the past 34 years (since Roundup’s introduction). Unfortunately, this weed evolution has forced farmers (and others) to resort to some outdated and environmentally unsafe weed killing methods, particularly in the southern states. Right now, there are at least 10 weed species…
Tags: adapt, chemicals, crops, environmental, evolved, farmers, hazard, herbicides, Monsanto, resistant, Roundup, seeds, stubborn, threat, weed killer, weeds, wildlife
Health, Pollution, Science & Technology, Jun 26th, 2010,
Do you or someone you know have breathing problems while sleeping? If so, you may be surprised to learn that a recent study shows a link between air pollution exposure and breathing troubles during sleep. Air pollution is already known to irritate the respiratory system, so, researchers tried to figure out if this irritation has anything to do with sleeping trouble, too. First, they studied data from the Sleep Heart Health Study, which examined links between heart health and sleeping patterns of more than 6,000 people between 1995 and 1998. Then, they compared that data to EPA air pollution data…
Tags: Air Pollution, airways, breathing, disorders, link, problems, respiratory, sleep, sleep apnea, study, temperature increase, trouble
Climate & Change, Nature, Videos & Documentaries, ,
Several West African nations are at ‘crisis point’ due to a severe drought in the region. Harvests in Niger and Chad have fallen by a third, while food prices have increased by the same proportion. Both countries have declared a state of emergency. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) some 10 million people are at risk of hunger in the West African part of the Sahel, an ecological and geographical zone that stretches across the African continent. 13.4 million face hunger in Niger and two million in Chad. Mauritania and Mali are also at risk. So far government…
Tags: Africa, African, Chad, drought, hunger, Niger, Sahel, starvation, West
Climate & Change, Pollution, ,
It was only a matter of time before oil started raining down from the sky. It’s just ironic that it’s happening after we’ve past peak oil. It’s as if God is saying, ‘you want it that bad? Here, have some!’ I’m just waiting for someone to call it a renewable natural resource – after all, it’s plant-based and falling from the sky. Geo-engineering has unintentionally made this possible. In all seriousness, the whole ‘it’s raining oil in Louisiana’ scare comes from a shaky YouTube video in which it appears to be raining oil on a Louisiana street, but it could…
Tags: amazon, BP, Corexit 9500, dispersant, Ecuador, EPA, evaporate, Hari, Johann, Louisiana, oil, rain, raining, TOXIC
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