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Archive for April, 2011
Biodiversity improves water quality in streams through a division of labour
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on April 9th, 2011
Science Centric: Biologically diverse streams are better at cleaning up pollutants than less rich waterways, and Bradley Cardinale, an assistant professor at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment, says he has uncovered the long-sought mechanism that explains why this is so. Cardinale reports his findings in the 7 April edition of the journal Nature.
He used 150 miniature model streams, which use recirculating water in flumes to mimic the variety of flow conditions found in natural streams. He grew...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Biodiversity improves water quality in streams through a division of labourCancer cause or crop aid? Herbicide faces big test
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on April 8th, 2011
Reuters: Critics say it's a chemical that could cause infertility or cancer, while others see it speeding the growth of super weeds and causing worrying changes to plants and soil. Backers say it is safe and has made a big contribution to food production.
It's glyphosate, the key - but controversial - ingredient in Roundup herbicide and the top selling weed killer used worldwide. For more than 30 years, glyphosate has been embraced for its ability to make farming easier by wiping out weeds in corn, soybean...
EPA Water Intake Rules Fall Short of the Disaster Scenario
Posted by Climate Wire: Peter Behr on April 8th, 2011
Climate Wire: For many months, the nuclear power industry has been warning of an impending "train wreck" caused by the new regulations over air emissions, greenhouse gases and cooling water systems at existing reactor plants being prepared by U.S. EPA.
The proposed water intake regulations arrived, issued by EPA last week in a still-unofficial form. But that train wreck didn't happen, according to a range of experts on various sides of the controversy.
Instead of mandating the construction of $700 million...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on EPA Water Intake Rules Fall Short of the Disaster ScenarioBiodiversity may clean up water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2011
SciDev.Net: Biodiversity of wetlands may help keep water clean
Conserving biodiversity could help shield waterways against nitrogen pollution, says a study that showed how streams with more species are better at removing excess nutrients from water.
The findings imply that developing countries that keep rivers and lakes species-rich could save money on water treatment, Bradley Cardinale, author of the study and an aquatic ecologist from the University of Michigan, United States, told SciDev.Net.
The...
Conversion of Brazil’s cerrado slows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2011
Mongabay: Conversion of Brazil's cerrado slows
Destruction of Brazil's cerrado, a woody savanna that covers 20 percent of the country, slowed during the 2008-2009, reports Brazil's Ministry of Environment.
Data from Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE) shows that cerrado conversion amounted to 7,637 square kilometers between 2008 and 2009, down from the 14,179 square kilometers cleared annually from 2002 to 2008. More current data is not yet available.
Cerrado loss during the period was...
Hosepipe ban warning after early hot weather
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2011
Telegraph: England and Wales received only 21mm of rain last month, a third of the long-term average, according to the Environment Agency.
The situation was especially bad in East Anglia, which is home to a large amount of the country's agriculture and uses a lot of water for irrigation.
The lack of rain means water reserves are in danger of running low. In the South West, Bristol Water has been forced to pump water from the Severn to conserve its reservoirs.
The company's main source, Chew Valley...
Pennsylvania Calls for More Water Tests
Posted by New York Times: Ian Urbina on April 8th, 2011
New York Times: Pennsylvania environmental regulators said Wednesday that they were calling for waste treatment plants and drinking water facilities to increase testing for radioactive pollutants and other contaminants, to see whether they are ending up in rivers because of the growth of natural gas drilling in the state.
The move follows a March 7 letter that the federal Environmental Protection Agency sent to the state, instructing it to perform testing for radioactivity within 30 days and to review the permits...
Wild Atlantic salmon ‘under threat’ from escaped farmed fish and sea lice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
Guardian: Young wild Atlantic salmon are being killed by sea lice before they breed, leading to a slump in their numbers, the Salmon and Trout Association claims. Photograph: Murdo Macleod
Fish farms are being frequently hit by parasite infestations and mass escapes that threaten the survival of the UK's wild salmon stocks, a leading anglers' group has said.
Official inspections have revealed that scores of salmon farms around the Scottish coast have had infestations of the sea lice parasite that breached...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Wild Atlantic salmon ‘under threat’ from escaped farmed fish and sea liceMore biodiversity equals cleaner water, but why?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
Mongabay: More biodiversity equals cleaner water, but why?
New study shows how greater biodiversity more efficiently scrubs pollutants from freshwater.
A new landmark study not only proves that adding more species to a freshwater stream linearly increases the ecosystem's ability to clean pollutants, but also shows why. The study, published in Nature found that by increasing the biodiversity of a lab controlled mini-stream from one algae species to eight caused the ecosystem to soak up nitrate pollution...
Precedent-Setting Evidence Of The Benefits Of Biodiversity
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 7th, 2011
REDORBIT: New evidence that biodiversity promotes water quality suggests that accelerating species losses may compromise water quality
Frequent reports of accelerating species losses invariably raise questions about why such losses matter and why we should work to conserve biodiversity.
Biologists have traditionally responded to such questions by citing societal benefits that are often presumed to be offered by biodiversity--benefits like controlling pests and diseases, promoting the productivity of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Precedent-Setting Evidence Of The Benefits Of Biodiversity