The Conservation Report

As a believer in climate change and keen observer of the world around me, it’s easy for me to conclude that we are not taking care of our planet. Instead of taking care of our planet, we squander our natural resources and pollute almost relentlessly. As a result, there will be costly consequences. However, should President Bush’s inaction on climate change carry over into the Obama Administration, since Bush’s policies have squandered our economy and the credibility of our country, therefore leaving us financially and morally bankrupt? We found political will and money (arguably that we don’t have) for the recent and questionable gigantic financial bailout, so why can’t we find the political will to fight environmental degradation?  Furthermore, should the United States do nothing just because large-scale polluters such as China—a nation lacking political will to tackle climate change—continue to spoil the environment by relying too much on dirty energy sources?

I believe Obama is serious about change, so he will have some type of climate change policy. Certainly, his energy policy could translate into action on climate change, even if his energy policy wasn’t specifically tagged as a climate change initiative. Furthermore, although China relies on coal power, “Beijing takes the threat of global warming seriously and will work with other countries on a new climate change treaty, but insisted developed countries should take the lead.” If the United States becomes a leader in climate change and clean energy policy, along with the European Union and Australia, then the policy and technology blueprints and infrastructure we develop will allow developing countries such as China and India in addition to many others, to follow our lead. The big problem is that the United States has been lacking leadership for the last eight years. As a result, the world has been lacking leadership, and only now have we gained real leadership, so we should use it! Here is a discussion on the issue from Bloggingheads.tv:

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Thanks to new science, the role of water vapor (H₂O) in climate change is increasingly becoming clearer. From ScienceDaily:

“Everyone agrees that if you add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, then warming will result,” Dessler said. “So the real question is, how much warming?”

The answer can be found by estimating the magnitude of water vapor feedback. Increasing water vapor leads to warmer temperatures, which causes more water vapor to be absorbed into the air. Warming and water absorption increase in a spiraling cycle.

Water vapor feedback can also amplify the warming effect of other greenhouse gases, such that the warming brought about by increased carbon dioxide allows more water vapor to enter the atmosphere.

“The difference in an atmosphere with a strong water vapor feedback and one with a weak feedback is enormous,” Dessler said.

Climate models have estimated the strength of water vapor feedback, but until now the record of water vapor data was not sophisticated enough to provide a comprehensive view of at how water vapor responds to changes in Earth’s surface temperature. That’s because instruments on the ground and previous space-based could not measure water vapor at all altitudes in Earth’s troposphere — the layer of the atmosphere that extends from Earth’s surface to about 10 miles in altitude.

[Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)] is the first instrument to distinguish differences in the amount of water vapor at all altitudes within the troposphere. Using data from AIRS, the team observed how atmospheric water vapor reacted to shifts in surface temperatures between 2003 and 2008. By determining how humidity changed with surface temperature, the team could compute the average global strength of the water vapor feedback

Image Found Here

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ANIMAL WELFARE: Animals Often Victims of Foreclosures, More pets are being cut loose as owners respond to economic hard times: During an economic downturn what’s the first expense to go? Some may say dining out or taking lavish trips. How about the family pet? Rising home foreclosures, food…, Military Dogs Get New Vet Hospital, Modesto police dog helps save suicidal teen

BIOGAS: London gets its first biogas fueling station

CARBON: Obama’s Carbon Ultimatum

CARPOOLING: Vote and save gas with Zimride’s “Carpool to the Polls”

CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate Changing Walden Pond’s Flowers, Climate Changing Thoreau’s Woods

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC): Rebels Seize Congo Gorilla Park; Hopes Dim for Apes

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric black cab project makes progress: Londoners could be hailing the first battery-powered black cabs in early 2009

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: Species review begins: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a notice of review in the Federal Register initiating 5-year reviews for wildlife and plant species as required under the Endangered Species Act. The species in consideration in the notice of review are…

EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS AND TOXINS: Man to sue after ‘toxic sofa’ left him with heart failure: A man is suing a furniture company over claims his “toxic sofa” left him with a permanent heart condition.

EVOLUTION: Vampire Moth Discovered — Evolution at Work: A previously unknown population of vampire moths has been found in Siberia. And in a twist worthy of a Halloween horror movie, entomologists say the bloodsuckers may have evolved from a purely fruit-eating species.

FISHERIES: Migrating Alaskan pollock are creating the potential for a new dispute with Russia

FLORIDA EVERGLADES: High water in the Everglades threatens wildlife: With deer belly-deep in the marsh, state wildlife managers fear animals will die if water levels in the Everglades don’t recede.

FUEL CELLS: Pepperidge Farm Opens Largest Fuel Cell Plant In United States

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: 12,100 Megawatts of Geothermal Power by 2025: Department of Interior Opens Up Lands For Leasing

GLOBAL WARMING: Global Warming Good for Sharks?

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: 2 greenhouse gases on the rise worry scientists

HABITAT DEGRADATION LOSS FRAGMENTATION: Fearful Elephants Would Sooner Starve Than Cross Roads: New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

HOMOSEXUALITY IS NATURAL: How gay sex can produce offspring

IVORY: Ebay Bans Ivory Sales Amid Conservation Concerns

IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER: Cornell cuts back ivory-billed woodpecker search

MADAGASCAR: The Sapphire Mines of Madagascar, THE BIG PICTURE: The sapphire mines of Madagascar

MARINE MAMMALS: Orcas Missing From Puget Sound Thought Dead, Whale Endangered, Palin Pouts: The NYT reports that Cook Inlet Beluga Whales were listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act yesterday.

MINING: Bush rushes to open Grand Canyon to toxic uranium mining: BLM publishes proposed rule which ignores House committee’s resolution

NUCLEAR POWER: Should Libertarians Support Nuclear Power?

OBAMA IS NOT A SOCIALIST: “Socialism”

OCEANS: Pictured: The incredible secret world at the bottom of the sea: In a year-long mission, a BBC team probed a small part of the earth’s amazing undersea world. They completed 1000 dives and explored seven different oceans across the globe. What they found was extraordinary…

ORGANIC FARMING: Organic farming ‘could feed Africa’: Traditional practices increase yield by 128 per cent in east Africa, says

POLITICS: Biden Slammed During Florida Interview, Same Anchor Gives McCain Softballs, Where Eight Years Of Republican Leadership Has Left America Economically (VIDEO)

RECOMMENDED MAP: Map of Newspaper Endorsements in the 2008 US Presidential Election

RECYCLING: Thai Temple Built From One Million Recycled Bottles, Q and A: Recycling Astronaut Urine

SALMON: Dams Not Main Cause of Salmon Collapse, Study Says

SPACE: Depressed astronauts might get computerized solace, NASA unveils new lunar rover built for endurance, India’s manned mission not before 2012: Madhavan Nair, NASA turns to the private sector as China flexes new space muscles, Chandrayaan a wake-up call for America, says Obama

SCIENCE: Artificial Heart Gives New Hope to Patients: French Scientists Develop Artificial Heart that Beats Much Like the Real Thing, ‘Flying syringe’ mosquitos, other ideas get Gates funding: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded 100,000 dollars each on Wednesday to scientists in 22 countries including funding for a Japanese proposal to turn mosquitos into “flying syringes” delivering vaccines., It ain’t half snuggly, Mum! The ground-breaking pictures of animals capturing life in the womb, 3M taps into wind-power business with new `Wind Tape’: 3M Co., best known for its Scotch Tape, Post-it brand notes and adhesives, is going into the wind-energy business, with a new line of fillers and protective coverings that can extend the life of wind turbine blades.

SHARKS: “Shark Island” Swarms With Jaws

SOLAR: FedEx Ups Its Solar Power Production To Almost Double: FedEx’s New Solar System Is Enough To Power 370 homes, Solar Refrigeration: A Hot Idea for Cooling: How to build a solar refrigerator: The brighter the sun, the better it works, Solar-Powered Rickshaw Unveiled in India, In downturn, solar industry sees bright days ahead, BWL will build solar array: Project expected to produce enough electricity to power up to 50 homes

TAILPIPE EMISSIONS: Is This the Most Eco-Friendly Car Innovation Since the Hybrid?

UNDECIDED VOTERS: Swing Set

WAVE POWER: World’s first wave farm now generating power for 1,500 homes

WIND POWER: UK Becomes World’s Biggest Producer of Offshore Wind Power, Wind Power Generators Guide

WTF?: Toilet stench clears out London airport

YEAR OF THE FROG: Yellowstone Amphibians Declining Under Climate Change

“Environmental News Picks” are made possible with help from Kevin.

The Anchorage Daily News endorses Obama, because the paper considers Governor Sarah Palin as not being ready for the job. One factor the paper cites is climate change, since the “deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range.”

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

I’ve always disliked Michele Bachmann’s stance on the environment, especially her viewpoints on climate change and drilling in ANWR. I watched Chris Matthews’s interview with the Minnesota Republican congresswoman, and I was shocked by her radicalism. Michele Bachmann represents what our country doesn’t need.  Sign a petition to censure Michele Bachmann here.

In an interview with Chris Matthews, Michele Bachmann appealed for neoMcCarthyism:

On the Net: Michele Bachmann has raised less than $30,000 since Hardball debacle

Michele Bachmann on global warming: “I love Global Warming, it’s my friend.”

On the Net: Michele Bachmann: The Bulb is Dim

Michele Bachmann distorting climate change and global warming:

On the Net: GOP Rep. To Environmentalists: Jesus Already Saved The Planet

Michele Bachmann on wildlife in ANWR:

On the Net: Bachmann: Alaska’s Caribou Will Love Oil Drilling ‘Because Of The Warmth Of The Pipeline’

Of course, Michele Bachmann is a proponent of domestic drilling, despite it being completely unsustainable:

On the Net: Despite Michele Bachmann’s presence, GOP Platform Committee rejects drilling in ANWR

Michele Bachmann: “Not All Cultures Are Equal.”

On the Net: Michele Bachmann: “Not All Cultures Are Equal”

Farming smaller cattle breeds

Dexter cattle were considered an endangered livestock breed, but environmental concerns in addition to rising energy and food costs are making mini moos like Dexter cattle popular again. From the Times Online:

For between £200 and £2,000, people can buy a cow that stands no taller than a large German shepherd dog, gives 16 pints of milk a day that can be drunk unpasteurised, keeps the grass “mown” and will be a family pet for years before ending up in the freezer.

The Dexter, a mountain breed from Ireland, is perfect for cattle-keeping on a small scale, but other breeds are being artificially created to compete with it, including the Mini-Hereford and the Lowline Angus, which has been developed by the Australian government to stand no more than 39in high but produce 70% of the steak of a cow twice its size.

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“As long as you’ve got plenty of grass they will be fine. You don’t really have to feed them.”

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In America, small cow breeds such as the mini-Hereford are catching on among professional farmers keen to save money as the cost of feed skyrockets. These Herefords consume about a third less feed than normal cows and produce proportionately more beef for the amount of grain they eat.

Kangaroo ranching

Hoof stock such as cattle, goats, and sheep damage the land as they graze, and are susceptible to drought and disease. Furthermore, cattle produce a lot of methane, which is a greenhouse gas. However, it has been proposed that Australians should be ranching native species of kangaroo for meat in order to fight climate change. Kangaroo has been described as tasting “a little bit like deer“ or “a nice cut of beef.” From ABC Online, Australia:

In fact, 11 per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gases come from cattle and sheep.

Kangaroos are animals that don’t burp methane because they have different micro-organisms to help them digest food. If we were to replace some of the cattle and sheep in Australia with kangaroos we could reduce the number of animals producing methane and at the same time promote natural habitats instead of hoof-damaged pastures.

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Current prices for kangaroo products are lower than they are for cattle, sheep and wool. However, the cost of producing a kilogram of kangaroo meat from a free-ranging animal that needs minimal management would be lower than those for cattle or sheep. For example, there are no costs for fences or yards, internal or external parasite control, shearing, crutching, purchasing new genetic material (e.g., stud rams and bulls), branding, dehorning or castrating.

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Livestock grazing damage to native ecosystems has contributed to the extinction of at least 20 species of mammals and continues to threaten around one quarter of the plant species listed as endangered. Fewer livestock and more kangaroos could include a reduction in hard-hoofed livestock damage to river environments, improved soil conservation, fewer weeds, increased capacity of vegetation to respond after drought, and improved water quality. These changes can improve native environments leading to an increase in habitat quality for other species such as emus, wombats, lizards and bilbies.

Raising giant rabbits

The North Koreans and Chinese are interested in breeding German gray giant rabbits as a source of protein for their people. From ABC News:

Could a plan to feed starving people with giant rabbits really work?

Szmolinsky estimates that it costs about $1,000 a year to feed the 60 bunnies he keeps in his yard. When you think that each full-grown rabbit has 15 pounds of meat on its bones, though, the payback is handsome.

Fifteen pounds is the equivalent of 60 hamburgers, but it’s not all good eating. The 15 pounds include the liver, heart, stomach, and even the meat on the rabbits’ gigantic heads.

As the old saying goes, they breed like rabbits. While one cow has one calf every year, one female rabbit can give birth to 16 bunnies in a year, and a male rabbit can impregnate two female rabbits every day.

Even if Szmolinsky doesn’t ship any more rabbits to North Korea, if North Koreans breed the animals correctly, the 12 they already have could multiply to more than 1 million in just eight years.

Giant rabbit image found here
Kangaroo meat in supermarket image found here

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Photo source for attribution (Dexter cattle). The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

How can Palin flip-flop on such a controversial issue so quickly? Obviously, it’s political pandering, and obviously she’s a liar and has no integrity. You can’t eat your cake and have it too.

Sarah Palin on 29^th August 2008 in an interview for Newsmax magazine’s September 2008 issue:

A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.

 

Sarah Palin on 11^th September 2008 with Charles Gibson:

I believe that man’s activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming, climate change. Here in Alaska, the only arctic state in our union, of course, we see the effects of climate change more so than any other area with ice pack melting. Regardless, though, of the reason for climate change, whether it’s entirely, wholly caused by man’s activities or is part of the cyclical nature of our planet — the warming and the cooling trends — regardless of that, John McCain and I agree that we gotta do something about it and we have to make sure that we’re doing all we can to cut down on pollution.

 

UPDATE: Gristmill has more information regarding Palin’s contradictory claims here.

Recent news regarding Hurricane Ike can be found here, here, and here. Track Hurricane Ike here.

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Track Forecast Cone

Sea Surface Temperatures:

On the Net: SSEC - Sea Surface Temperatures
On the Net: NOAA Environmental Visualization Program

There are still a significant number of climate change and global warming disbelievers. Some disbelievers think climate change and global warming are a lie and nothing more than propaganda to push a liberal agenda, while some folks believe that global warming is natural or of a non-anthropogenic origin. However, the science is clear (just as clear as the science on evolution) that the anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide is a dominating factor that warms the earth.

Our children should be learning about climate change and global warming early in school to debunk illogical conclusions. Both climate change and evolution shouldn’t be controversial issues (even for Christians, because why wouldn’t God allow species to change over time for their survival, and we have a duty to protect the environment), since both evolution and climate change are observable facts. However, republicans would certainly make teaching climate change and global warming as part of a curriculum an issue as they have evolution. As a result, we regress as a society. We can’t afford another republican administration. From the Mail Online:

Startling satellite pictures taken three days ago show that melting ice has opened up the fabled North-West and North-East Passages - making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap.

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The pictures, produced by Nasa, mark the first time in at least 125,000 years that the two shortcuts linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have been ice-free at the same time.

In 2005, the North-East Passage around Russia opened, while the western one, across the top of Canada, remained closed, and last year the position was reversed.

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Shipping companies are ready to exploit the new routes. The Beluga group, based in Bremen, Germany, plans to send the first ship through the North-East passage next year, cutting 4,000 nautical miles off the voyage from Germany to Japan.

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Others believe it could take as little as five years for the Pole, currently frozen all year round, to be ice-free between mid-July and mid-September.

Four weeks ago, tourists had to be evacuated from Baffin Island’s Auyuittuq National Park in northern Canada because of flooding from thawed glaciers.

Image Found Here
Image Found Here

On the Net: For the first time in human history, the North Pole can be circumnavigated: Melting ice opens up North-west and North-east passages simultaneously. Scientists warn Arctic icecap is entering a ‘death spiral’

Track Gustav here.

Track all four tropical systems including Gustav here.

When asked about global warming and its affects on the United States, Sarah Palin gave this illogical answer (from Newsmax.com):

A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.

Sarah Palin’s answer doesn’t make sense because to argue that global warming isn’t anthropogenic in origin is a conclusion made without recognizing the science behind global warming. As a result, she ignores science. Our leaders should readily utilize science, and not ignore it. I question the judgment of politicians like Sarah Palin who purposely turn a blind eye to science, since she fails to recognize the basic scientific principles, which illustrate that the anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide is a dominating factor that warms the earth.

Republicans have been slow to recognize the existence of global warming, and only recently have some of them recognized the phenomenon. I believe that failing to recognize global warming as anthropogenic is purely political and ignorant. If Republican senator John McCain is elected as the forty-fourth president of the United States, then there is a possibility that Sarah Palin could be president of the United States as well. She was a horrible pick for vice president and she would be a disastrous president, because I believe the president of the United States should represent America’s diversity and believe in the progress that science brings.

Sarah Palin’s minute experience is from Alaska, and Alaska does not represent the diverse needs of the American people. Furthermore, her support for drilling in ANWR and offshore in addition to the teaching of a purely made up way of thinking – creationism – next to evolution is utterly ridiculous. Her beliefs are outdated.

Additionally, for those Creationists that argue evolution is merely a theory and not factual are wrong, because evolution is both a fact and theory. For example, gravity is explained as theory, fact, and law. A scientific fact is observable, and a theory is how we attempt to explain an observation. As scientific law, what we observe is described mathematically. Evolution is readily observable and we employ theories in an attempt to explain those observations. Here are more truths about Sarah Palin from the BaltimoreChronicle.com:

She’s an evangelical Christian who believes in creationism and thinks this fantasy belongs in the school science curriculum alongside evolution. She’s opposed to the right to abortion. She thinks global warming is not a proven phenomenon. She favors drilling for oil in the Arctic Refuge and damn the environmental consequences. This supposedly family-centered “hocky mom” is happy about sending her 18-year-old son off to war in Iraq, even as Iraq is trying to shoo us out of the country and even as the president is tacitly admitting that the whole thing is a bust by agreeing to a timetable for withdrawal.

Furthermore, Sarah Palin doesn’t believe in the progress that stem cell research will bring. From the BostonHerald.com:

The two candidates differ on global warming, drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and stem cell research.

Palin and McCain also differ in their views on whether human behavior is responsible for global warming. Palin has said that she does not believe that climate change is “man-made.” McCain has long believed that humans contribute to global warming.

On oil drilling, Palin supports drilling in ANWR. McCain is an opponent.

The running mates also are on different sides of the stem cell research debate. In 2006, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Palin opposes stem cell research. McCain supports federal funding for stem cell research, but voted to ban researchers from using cells or fetal tissue from an embryo created for research purposes.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: $800 Million Prize for Alternative Energy to Power Africa’s Villages

ANIMAL WELFARE: Wheeled Tortoise Gets Around

ANTARCTIC MELTING: “New” Killer Whale Types at Risk From Antarctic Warming

ARCTIC MELTING: Shellfish May Invade North Atlantic As Ice Melts, Hungry Musk-Oxen, Caribou Could Help Warming Arctic

AUTO INDUSTRY: Shaq buys smart fortwo, wears as shoe, Saudi Arabia threatens Nissan boycott over Israeli ad

BIG OIL: ExxonMobil owns the media’s convention coverage Oil Expansion Plans In L.A. Rile Residents

BIOPLASTICS: Biodegradable Plastics Are Good for Atmosphere, Too

BIOPRODUCTS: Dandelion Rubber Could Replace Rare Sources, Silk-Based Optical Lenses Green Enough to Eat

BLOGGING: What Makes for a Good Blog?

CARBON SEQUESTERING: Cattails Shown to Be Effective CO2-Eaters

CHINA: MINI Clubman Rickshaws running around Beijing

CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate Change Caused Widespread Tree Death In California Mountain Range, Study Confirms, West Africa’s coastline redrawn by climate change: experts

COMPOSTING: Human Waste Used by 200 Million Farmers, Study Says

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE: Smokestack heat: Fuel of the future?

ENVIRONMENTALISM: ARE WE ALL STILL ENVIRONMENTALISTS?, The Death of Environmentalism?, FREE & GREEN: A NEW APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, Green but Anti-Government, Pro-Environment, Not Pro-EPA

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: Appeals Court OKs Oil Firms’ Billion-Dollar Award, Companies to end lead wheel weight use in Calif.

EXTINCTION: Extinction Threatens Half of Primate Types, Study Says

FOOD: Half of All Food Produced Worldwide is Wasted

FUEL ECONOMY: Sweden Requires Fuel-Efficient Driving Lessons, Billions of gallons of gas could be saved by “Smart Intersections”

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Oregon Tech To Be Powered Entirely By Geothermal Energy, Google Investing Over $10 Million in Geothermal Energy

GIANT SQUID: Colossal Squid Ripped, Stitched, Hoisted and Moved

GLACIAL MELTING: Huge Greenland Glacier Disintegrating

GLOBAL WARMING: Will Grasslands Overtake U.S. Forests Due to Warming?, Dead Penguins Found Closer to Equator Than Ever Before, Birds Thrown Off by Global Warming, Arctic Tundra Holds Global Warming Time Bomb

GREEN: Colorado Creating US’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Community

GREEN CONSERVATISM: Gingrich Cites Big Oil And Right-Wing Intern To Claim That All Economists Support Drilling, Extreme anti-environment Cheney aide up for top Energy Department post, McCain: ‘I Have Not Missed Any Crucial Vote’ On Energy Legislation

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: Kangaroo Meat Could Help Australia Cut Gas Emissions

GREENWASHING: Shell rebuked for ‘greenwash’ over ad for polluting oil project

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT: People vs. Monkeys in Singapore

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Calif. Requires Hybrid Cars To Make Some Noise

INVASIVE SPECIES: Invasive Lionfish Explode

MARINE CONSERVATION: NASA Tool Helps Track Whale Sharks, Polar Bears, Bush Seeks to Protect 3 Pacific Island Chains

MARINE MAMMALS: “Ugliest Dolphin” Finally Filmed, Mexico Invests to Save Endangered Porpoise

NANOTECHNOLOGY: Nanomaterial Cleans up Broken Fluorescent Bulbs

NEW SPECIES: Newfound Monkey Species “Rarest in Africa,” Expert Says, New, “Chubbier” River Dolphin Species Found in Bolivia

OCEAN DEAD ZONES: Ocean ‘dead zones’ expanding worldwide: study

PLASTIC: Did Big Plastic Pay Off The FDA???

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Amtrak Gets Funding Boost To Meet Record Demand, Sweden Rolling Out 183 MPH High-Speed Green Train

RECLAIMED OR RECYCLED WATER: Recycled Sewage: Coming to a Tap Near You?

RECYCLING: Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, gets trashy, Old tires make new roads, No Economic Slowdown For Reusable Bags

RENEWABLE RESOURCES: Colorado to Ditch Two Coal Plants, Moving to Solar and Wind, 13 Magnificent Renewable Energy Successes and Failures

SOLAR: IKEA Solar Panels on the Horizon, Miami Gets 600 Solar Bus Shelters, Coal Power Plant Retrofit With Solar, Solar Efficiency Record Broken, Oregon Launching First Solar Highway in the US, Want Solar? Head to Sam’s Club, 2 Large Solar Plants Planned in California, Will Each Be 10 Times Bigger Than Largest Now in Service, Solar-Powered Plane Flies for Nearly 83 Hours, Doubles World Record, Hot Asphalt as Better Energy Collector than Solar Panels?

SUSTAINABILITY: Wal-Mart Pares Costs By Selling Local Produce

WALL-E: Wall*E + Kleenex = Iron*E

WATER POLLUTION: AP: Drugs found in drinking water

WATER WARS: McCain’s Colorado River Gaffe Might Cost Him Key Western States

WETLANDS: Australian Wetlands Threatened

WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING: 14 Tons of Frozen Scaly Anteaters Seized in Indonesia

WIND POWER: New Study Says City-Based Rooftop Wind Power Doesn’t Pay Off, Kites Could Become Major Source Of Wind Power, Wind Turbines Give Bats the “Bends,” Study Finds

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: Huge Insectarium Opens, Lonesome George a Father?

1. Thank You President Bush
2. Amend the constitution, Bush Cheney 08
3. I Support the War in Iraq……And Gitmo too!
4. Ensure our freedom and safety. Vote Republican in 2008.
5. Rush Limbaugh for President in 08
6. Global Warming is a Hoax made up by Pinko Commie Liberals
7. CLIMATE CHANGE EXISTS…BUT MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX!!!
8. Drill Now. Drill Here. Pay Less.
9. The Skeptical Environmentalist
10. Conservative, Christian, Pro-Life, Pro-Gun, Pro-Death Penalty, Heterosexual

Image Found Here

AIR POLLUTION: Aérophile´s balloon turns different colors depending on the air pollution levels, as registered by the air quality organization Airparif.

AMERICAN CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Biggest drop in U.S. oil demand in 26 years

ANTARCTIC MELTING: Antarctic ice shelf breaking up in dead of winter: Experts surprised that cold hasn’t frozen trend, now expect quicker demise

BIODEGRADABLE: Green Earth Technologies, creator of organic engine products, has released their new automotive lubricant to its G-Oil line, a 10W-30 that has set a new biodegradability standard

CATTLE GRAZING: Federal rangeland managers said continuing to allow cattle to graze on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is harming the rare plants, fish and wildlife the monument was created eight years ago to protect

CHINA: Plight of the Little Emperors: Coddled from infancy and raised to be academic machines, China’s only children expect the world. Now they’re buckling under the pressure of their parents’ deferred dreams.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Cattails could be agents of climate change (The good kind)

CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Vampire hound caught on film?, Farmers claim they have seen the “Dracula dogs” sink their teeth into the necks of terrified livestock

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Mitsubishi’s Electric Car Will Be Released in 2009 for $37,500

ENERGY: Honolulu to air condition buildings with seawater, $21 billion Alaska energy plan proposed: RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATIVE: Inclusion of coal in projects leaves some lawmakers less than happy, Utah four day work week environmentally friendly

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE; SOLAR: How a giant solar tower could power the future

EXTINCTION: Wildlife extinction rates ’seriously underestimated’

FISHERIES: Groups deliver 150,000 comments to Bush Administration calling for withdrawal of proposed rule that would undercut environmental review, stifle public input in oceans & fisheries management, Ocean fisheries protections to be weakened: Bush plan would give industry greater power over fishery management decisions, Since the Parties to the Nauru Agreement signed a Third Implementing Arrangement which among other measures include restricting fishing in the high seas and 100% observer coverage of purse seine vessels, there has been a lot of talk in the media about a new wave in regional fisheries management., Three crew members of the trawler Atria: accused of fish dumping, and the master is accused of failing to record catch correctly

FISHERIES OBSERVER: Fisheries program graduates its first two observers

FUEL ECONOMY: Teen drives on one tank of gas for entire summer

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS AND ORGANISMS: Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Geothermal energy will help power Anaheim, California

GLOBAL WARMING: Schwarzenegger confirms link between global warming and wildfires, hits Bush for not believing the science

GREEN: The world’s first eco-disco, Surya, opens for business, Using carbon dioxide as an ingredient in plastics could help reduce the use of fossil fuels, and be another market for waste CO2.

GREENWASHING: Nice jugs part 2: Green packaging or greenwashing

NEW SPECIES: 21 new species of livebearing fish named, British scientists have found new species of oral cavity bacteria which contribute to various mouth problems such as tooth decay, Bird species result of climate change?: A group of scientists are scratching their heads this week as they try to figure out how a new species of bird came to be, way up in the mountains of Vermont

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Navy opposes VA offshore drilling. Period. End of debate., Pelosi indicates openness to offshore drilling vote

OPEC: Opec income hits record as oil prices soar

ORGANIC MARKET: A capitalist dream: Company designs and maintains organic garden in your backyard

PLASTIC BAGS; STYROFOAM: Seattle’s ban on plastic and styrofoam

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Levitating train from L.A. to Las Vegas gets boost: Bush signs law freeing dollars for levitating train from Disneyland to Las Vegas

SALMON: NORWAY: Farmed salmon in hot water

SCIENCE: Science close to unveiling invisible man, A new BBC series makes use of satellite technology to create stunning images of Britain from above, you can also see how everything has become so traceable with the use of GPS technology, Amateur astronomer spies gassy “cosmic ghost”, Bionic bra: Victoria’s circuit: Looking for a better way to charge her iPod on the go, Adrienne So had an idea – could she invent a bionic bra to harness the energy of her bouncing breasts?

SOLAR: New, cost effective solar energy devices from MIT, GM to build world’s biggest rooftop solar station in Spain: US automaker General Motors said Tuesday it will equip the roof of its factory in Zaragoza in northeastern Spain with solar panels to create the world’s largest rooftop source of power from the sun, 90% of Israeli homes solar hot water equipped, Hawaii first state to require solar water heaters, Solar energy creating economic boom for Nevada, U.S. allowing new solar again, Times Square gets solar-powered billboard, India launches climate change plan focusing on solar power, Community solar power, Dyeing to boost solar efficiency by 50%: MIT has perfected a dye technology that could change the solar world as we know it

SUBURBIA: What is the future of suburbia? A freakonomics quorum

UPWARD MIGRATION: Pacific species set to invade warmer Arctic, Atlantic waters

WAVE POWER: Giant rubber snakes to capture wave power?

WHALING: Japan says we are witnessing the death of the International Whaling Commission

WIND POWER: Village of Mackinaw City wind turbine generators: They went on line the day of the ribbon cutting, December 3rd, 2001. In their first 4 days of operation they produced enough energy to power 9 homes for a year. As of the Fall of 2003 they produced over 4,000,000 kWh of energy.

This project has received many positive comments from residents and visitors alike. The residents voice their pride in being part of such a project that brings renewable energy to the region. The visitors are impressed with the way they look. Some go so far as to call them kinetic sculptures., Argentina will produce massive wind power turbines, While U.S. off-shore wind industry struggles, Germany announces 30 new wind farms: European nation sets ambitious renewable energy goals, Debate flares over wind power in Texas

AIR POLLUTION: Beijing smog awful: Dutch coach

ALTERNATIVE FUELS: Power from poop: Putting manure to use, From garbage to gas tank: Trash as biofuel

ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON: Tarantulas, fire ants lurk in Texas floodwaters, Power outages widespread in Texas after Dolly

AUTO INDUSTRY: New markets spur Honda to record quarter: Honda reports record fiscal 1Q profit as demand in new markets offsets currency damage

BIOFUELS: Chemical breakthrough turns sawdust into biofuel

CETACEANS: North Shore residents want whale carcass off their property, Whale playground sheds light on melting Arctic

CHINESE CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: China’s cars, accelerating a global demand for fuel

CLIMATE CHANGE: Bush cronies tried to redefine ‘carbon dioxide’ to save power plants from emissions regulations

DEFORESTATION: Half the Amazon rainforest to be Lost by 2030

FISHERIES: Coast Guard ends search for missing fishing-boat captain, Point Judith memorial to honor Rhode Island fishermen lost at sea, Mexico risks losing mangroves, fisheries

FOOD INDUSTRY: Schwarzenegger Terminates Trans Fat in Calif.

GREEN: Direct mail tries to go green. No, really.

INVASIVE SPECIES: New research seeks methods to kill alien species, Foreign shellfish on ‘pest’ list

OCEAN DEAD ZONES: Gulf dead zone grows bigger than ever

OIL: Debate on oil speculators hits new pitch, How lower oil prices might increase demand

PLASTIC BAGS: No plastic bags in LA stores beginning July 2010

REEL BIG FISH: Giant river stingrays found

SEA TURTLES: Global warming forces innovative sea turtle protection

SHARKS: Sharks feed on whale carcass, Swimming with whale sharks, a reality near Cancun, Aquarium abuses whale sharks, Shark count to begin off Cornwall coast

WILDFIRES: Yosemite Park wildfire rages out of control

WIND POWER: Homeowners living near windfarms see property values plummet: Thousands of homeowners may see the value of their properties plummet after a UK court ruled that living near a wind farm decreases house prices, U.S. takes global lead in wind energy production, World’s largest offshore wind farm back on track

WTF?: Piglet born with monkey’s face

AIR POLLUTION: Beijing begins massive shutdown to curb pollution before Olympics

ANTARCTIC MELTING: Ice adrift from warming scrapes Antarctic seabed bare, Ice shelf hanging by a thread, More icebergs scouring Antarctica’s seabed

ARCTIC COOLING: Distant wildfires cause Arctic cooling

ASSISTED COLONIZATION; ASSISTED MIGRATION: Should we relocate species threatened by climate change?, Move species threatened by warming, scientists advise, Moving species to save them: Pros and cons

BIODIESEL: China builds tung tree oil biodiesel plants

CARBON SEQUESTERING: EPA drafts rule for carbon sequestration, Amazon river powers Atlantic carbon sink

CLIMATE CHANGE: White House buries climate change deaths report

DESERTIFICATION: Sand swallowing Chinese city

DEVIL FACIAL TUMOUR DISEASE (DFTD): “Teen sex” rising for cancer-affected Tasmanian devils

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: Judge orders federal wolf protections restored: Decision likely ends planned wolf hunt for this fall, Living with wolves Q&A: No hunting season for wolves, but poachers likely, Gray wolves regain endangered-species protections: A Montana judge sides with environmentalists who had challenged the species’ delisting

ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP: Green countries: A global report card on nations doing the most, and least, to clean up the environment

EVOLUTION: Noisy fish reveal evolution of vocalizing

GREEN ADVERTISEMENT: Cooling off on dubious eco-friendly claims

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: Vast cities that float on the seas are to transform how we live, real-life Atlantises that will allow humankind to prosper once existing coastlines fall to the ravages of global warming, XERITOWN: New sustainable urban complex for Dubailand

HYDROGEN FUEL: Researchers generate hydrogen without the carbon footprint

INVASIVE SPECIES: Tiny bug threatens to take down U.S. citrus crops

MARINE CONSERVATION: Vibrant new reefs found off Brazil

NATURE: Leopard attacks and kills crocodile (PHOTOS, VIDEO), Weirdest animals and creatures in the world post, “Annoying” bird mimics sirens, Bees enlisted to attack crows in Tokyo, Nature’s own nano gold found

NEW SPECIES: Has a new species of insect appeared in the middle of London?

OFFSHORE DRILLING: The three biggest myths the Bush Administration wants you to believe about o