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Archive for April, 2011
Alien Giant Tortoise Helps Restore Ecosystem
Posted by Live Science: None Given on April 30th, 2011
Live Science: as alien species can sometimes do -- a giant tortoise appears to be helping to restore the native ecosystem.
Wildlife scientists introduced Aldabra giant tortoises -- which can reach up to 661 pounds (300 kilograms) -- to an island, called Ile aux Aigrettes, off the coast of the island nation of Mauritius. By 2009, 19 adult giant tortoises called the island home. The tortoises were to replace the role of their extinct kin. [Extinct Giant Tortoises Could Be Revived]
Before humans first arrived...
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‘Brood 19’ Cicadas Poised To Swarm The South
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2011
National Public Radio: They've been developing underground for 13 years, and now billions of Brood 19 cicadas are set to emerge with a bang, or a buzz in states including Georgia, South Carolina and Oklahoma. American Entomologist Editor-in-Chief Gene Kritsky lays out what we can expect with host Linda Wertheimer.
LINDA WERTHEIMER, host:
These bugs aren't necessarily wicked, but they could wake the dead.
(Soundbite of cicadas buzzing)
WERTHEIMER: Most of the time, cicadas sound like summer evenings, but some...
A Delicacy on Chinatown Plates, but a Killer in Water
Posted by New York Times: Liz Robbins and Jeffrey E. Singer on April 30th, 2011
New York Times: The walls in the basement of a building in Brooklyn’s Chinatown were whitewashed, and boxes of cleaning supplies were stacked on the red tile floor. But beneath the disinfectant smell, the unmistakable odor of fish lingered as the flimsiest calling card of a former tenant.
That tenant, Yong Hao Wu, sold fish until October for his Howei Trading Company out of this shop on Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park. Mr. Wu is now out of business and under arrest because the authorities have accused him of illegally...
Samsung to invest $7.04 bn in wetland green town
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2011
Independent: South Korea's largest business group Samsung signed an initial deal Wednesday to invest $7.04 billion in a state project to build a green energy complex on reclaimed wetland.
Samsung signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to spend 7.6 trillion won ($7.04 billion) on the construction of eco-friendly production facilities from 2021, the prime minister's office said.
The government will provide full administrative support plus a plot at the reclaimed Saemangeum wetland area on...
World could lose 230mn hectares of forest by 2050: WWF
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2011
Independent: The world stands to lose 230 million hectares of forest by 2050 with drastic consequences for the climate, biodiversity and the global economy, the WWF wildlife campaign group said on Wednesday.
"Those responsible - policy-makers and industry - are sawing away at the branch we're all sitting on," WWF's head of forests, Philipp Goeltenboth, said in a statement.
In its new WWF Living Forests report, the organisation advocated a "Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation (ZNDD)" by 2020. ...
The Oil’s Story, From Wellhead to Beach
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2011
GreenWire: The oil was lucky to last as long as it did.
As it began to rush out of the Deepwater Horizon's bent pipes and busted caps 5,000 feet beneath the sea's surface, the oil and gas unleashed last year by BP PLC's Macondo well discovered a dangerous, exotic environment. The Gulf of Mexico was full of reactive chemicals, voracious wildlife and splitting pressure. Dangers lurked at every corner.
The oil faced an epic journey after its millennial rest beneath the sea. Some would remain hidden, trapped...
EPA Starts Work on Diesel Fracking Guidance
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2011
GreenWire: U.S. EPA is in discussions with industry to issue formal guidance on how drillers can perform hydraulic fracturing with diesel fuel, seeking to resolve an issue that has chipped away at the credibility of both the agency and industry.
"We are in the process of engaging the public, industry, states and environmental groups as we develop permitting guidance for companies that use diesel fuel," EPA said in a statement, confirming a comment by Administrator Lisa Jackson to reporters earlier this week....
Changes In Great Lakes Threaten Transplanted Fish
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2011
National Public Radio: Forty years ago, fisheries biologists in Michigan dazzled the nation when they took salmon from the Pacific Ocean and planted them in the Great Lakes. Their success transformed the lakes into a sport-fishing paradise and created a multi-billion dollar industry. But now invasive species have changed the food web in the lakes. Salmon are struggling to find food, and the state might end one of its stocking programs.
Forty-five years ago, biologists in Michigan dazzled the nation. They took salmon...
Groups call on BLM to act against Wyoming ozone
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2011
Associated Press: Environmentalists are asking regulators to consider slowing the pace of gas drilling in western Wyoming after several days of severe ozone pollution last winter.
Ozone levels in the Upper Green River Basin topped the highest levels in Los Angeles all last year. The ozone results from air pollution from gas drilling, which has picked up with the reviving economy.
The Wyoming Outdoor Council, Upper Green River Alliance and other groups are asking the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to slow gas...
World’s largest beef company signs Amazon rainforest pact
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2011
Mongabay: World's largest beef company signs Amazon rainforest pact
The world's largest meat processor has agreed to stop buying beef from ranches associated with slave labor and illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, according to the public prosecutor's office in the state of Acre. The deal absolves JBS-Friboi from 2 billion reals ($1.3 billion) in potential fines and paves the way for the firm to continue selling meat to companies concerned about their environmental reputation.
The agreement...