Archive for March 11th, 2015

UN report warns of grave consequences if mangroves not protected

Mongabay: Protecting Mangrove Forests Good For Environment And Economy: UN Global destruction of mangrove forests impacts biodiversity, food security, and the lives and livelihoods of some of the most marginalized communities in the world, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Mangroves, which are forests of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs that lie along coastlines in the tropics and subtropics, are also invaluable carbon sinks. And we’re not doing nearly enough to protect them, says a...

The unexpectedly weird and beautiful world of lichens

Mother Nature Network: Lichen is something we commonly see growing on rocks or tree branches, on old wood fences and rotting stumps. But how often do you stop to really ponder lichens? Probably not often. And yet lichens are surprisingly fascinating, and weird -- and beautiful! Despite their looks, lichens aren't actually a plant. Nor are they a fungus. They're a unique composite organism, the result of a symbiotic relationship of organisms from as many as three kingdoms, with the main partner being fungus. As Lichens...

Get Ready for Oil Deals: Shale Is Going on Sale

Bloomberg: A decision by Whiting Petroleum Corp., the largest producer in North Dakota’s Bakken shale basin, to put itself up for sale looks to be the first tremor in a potential wave of consolidation as $50-a-barrel prices undercut companies with heavy debt and high costs. For the first time since wildcatters such as Harold Hamm of Continental Resources Inc. began extracting significant amounts of oil from shale formations, acquisition prospects from Texas to the Great Plains are looking less expensive....

Scott Walker worst candidate for the environment

Mother Jones: Scott Walker is killing it with Republicans. The Wisconsin governor is one of his party's rising stars--thanks to his ongoing and largely successful war against his state's labor unions, a fight that culminated Monday with the signing of a controversial "right-to-work" bill. Now (for the moment, anyway), he's a leading contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. At the Conservative Political Action Conference a couple weeks ago, he polled a close second to three-time winner Sen....