Archive for May 13th, 2010

Lizard Starvation, Extinction Tied To Climate Change

National Public Radio: Scientists who study lizards say many local populations around the world are going extinct. And the cause, they suspect, is climate change. Scientists have predicted that warmer temperatures could endanger some kinds of plants and animals. This new research, published in this week's issue of the journal Science, suggests the process is already under way. The news surprises experts who thought lizards would be more adaptable; after all, they live in some of the hottest places on the ...

Exxon Valdez cleanup holds lessons for Gulf oil spill

Christian Science Monitor: Two decades after the Exxon Valdez supertanker ran aground and ripped open its cargo tanks, the spill still marks Alaska's environment. Pockets of fresh crude are buried in beaches scattered around Prince William Sound and segments outside it, in isolated spots along more than 1,200 miles of coastline that received oil in 1989. The discovery confounded earlier predictions that remnant crude would quickly weather and disperse as waves washed it into the sea. "At this rate, the ...

Arctic explorers take first-ever water samples at north pole

Guardian: Link to this video Arctic explorers have taken the first-ever samples of ocean water at the north pole after a gruelling two-and–a-half month expedition across the polar ice. Headed by former bank manager Ann Daniels, the Catlin Arctic survey team achieved what last year's expedition - led by polar explorer Pen Hadow - failed to do: reach the north pole and take water samples to measure the impact of a changing climate. Pen Hadow, the survey's director and last year's ...

Climate change may kill 20% of lizards by 2080

USA Today: TODAY Hundreds of species of lizards in nearly all parts of the world are at risk of extinction due to climate change, says a new study out today in the journal Science. In fact, due to rising global temperatures from carbon dioxide emissions, about 1,000 (20%) of the world's 5,000 lizard species could be extinct by the year 2080, the study says. "This rivals some of the greatest extinctions of any organisms in the geologic record," says study lead author Barry Sinervo, a ...

‘Unique’ frog discovered in India

BBC: A new species of "brightly coloured frog" has been discovered in a remote peak in the southern part of India, scientists have told BBC News. This reddish orange amphibian, spotted in the Eravaikulam National Park of the Western Ghats mountain range, has been named Raorchestes resplendens. The scientists found the frog at an altitude of 2698m above sea level on the Anaimudi peak. It inhabits a very small area of less than three square kilometres. The discovery was ...

New Zealand steps up efforts to tap geothermal potential

Business Green: New Zealand today moved a step closer to exploiting the huge untapped potential of its geothermal resources when energy firm Mighty River announced it has been given the go-ahead to construct a NZ$400m (£194m) geothermal power station near Taupo in the centre of the North Island of the country. Groundwork on the project -- a joint venture with the Tauhara North No.2 Trust -- is expected to start before the end of the year, with the 110MW power station scheduled to become operational ...

Climate change devastating lizards worldwide: 20 percent estimated to face extinction

Mongabay: Lizards have evolved a variety of methods to escape predators: some will drop their tail if caught, many have coloring and patterning that blends in with their environment, a few have the ability to change their colors as their background changes, while a lot of them depend on bursts of speed to skitter away, but how does a lizard escape climate change? According to a new study in Science they don't. The study finds that lizards are suffering local extinctions worldwide due ...

Wildlife death toll from BP oil spill likely includes dolphins

Mongabay: The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is taking its toll on the region's wildlife: brown pelicans, sea turtles, several species of fish, and now dolphins have been found dead. The National Marine Fisheries Service reported today finding six dead dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama since May 2nd. Officials are saying the deaths could be related to the oil spill or may be due to natural deaths from calving. They are currently testing tissue samples to determine if oil ...

World’s Lizards Under Threat from Climate Change

LiveScience: Lizards may like to laze around in the sun, but a hotter planet is bad news for these reptiles, a new study suggests. A major survey of lizard populations worldwide has found an alarming pattern of population extinctions attributable to rising temperatures. If current extinction trends continue, 20 percent of all lizard species could go extinct by 2080, the new study found. The current and projected losses are directly attributed to climate warming since 1975, according to the ...

Dolphin, turtle deaths eyed for links to oil spill

Reuters: Scientists are examining samples from seven dolphins and over 100 sea turtles found dead along the U.S. Gulf Coast in the past two weeks to see if they were victims of the giant oil spill in the region, wildlife officials said on Thursday. All of the deaths are being investigated as suspected casualties of the oil gushing unchecked since April 20 from a ruptured wellhead on the floor of the Gulf off Louisiana because of their proximity in time and space to the spill. But none ...