SEJ RSS Feed

"Bark Beetles' Song Could Save Forests"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:29:23 -0500

"Researchers at Northern Arizona University think they may have found an environmentally safe and readily available weapon against the tree-eating armies of bark beetles. It is, with apologies to the boys from Liverpool, the music of the beetles."

Shaun McKinnon reports for the Arizona Republic February 9, 2010.

"BLM Delays Eastern Nevada Wild Horse Roundup"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:22:16 -0500

"LAS VEGAS -- Federal land managers said Monday they'll delay a roundup of most of the nearly 600 wild horses in a range in eastern Nevada, at least until after the herd's spring foaling season.

Advocates fighting to stop mustang roundups in the West said they think their threat to file a lawsuit stopped the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from beginning a roundup next week of almost 500 wild horses in the Eagle Herd Management Area.

"Coal Ad Blitz Launches New Spot as Industry Sees Political Gains"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:04:34 -0500

"An advertising campaign that previously pushed the phrase 'clean coal' launches new spots this week focused on jobs and low-cost power, the latest offering in a three-year, nearly $120 million effort to sell Congress and the White House on coal's future. Increasingly, there are signs that it is working.

"Governments Confirm Climate Accord Pledges, No New Commitment"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:09:58 -0500

"BONN -- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has received national pledges to cut and limit greenhouse gases by 2020 from 55 countries, including China and the United States that together account for 78 percent of global emissions from energy use.

The national pledges were required under the Copenhagen Accord agreed at the climate change talks in Copenhagen in December. The pledges were made for the period after the end of 2012 when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol emissions targets expires.

"Heavy Weather"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:25:34 -0500

"For a hundred years people in the Pacific Northwest -- and much of the world -- have transformed the landscape to suit their needs. At the same time we’ve pumped enough greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere to transform the climate, forcing us now to rethink the shape and placement of our built environments. Now the burden of past decisions rests on our shoulders. Heavy Weather looks at what kinds of choices we can make to lighten that burden for future generations.

"New Climate Service Aims To Help Business Adapt"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:15:17 -0500

"A proposed new U.S. NOAA Climate Service is meant to help businesses adapt to the impact of climate change, and to spur development of new technologies to cope with it, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Monday.

'Even with our best efforts, we know that some degree of climate change is inevitable and American citizens and businesses, and American governments ... must be able to rise to environmental and economic challenges that lie ahead,' Locke told reporters in announcing the move.

"Quebec’s Vehicle Emission Law Is Disputed"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:12:56 -0500

"Although introduced with little fanfare in late December, Quebec’s tough new light vehicle emissions regulation has become a political hot potato in Canada after the federal environment minister, Jim Prentice, denounced the rule as 'counter-productive' last week in Calgary while laying out Canada’s down-graded emission targets.

Quebec is the first Canadian province to adopt California-style emission rules, joining 14 American states, including Vermont, Maine and New York. They came into effect Jan. 14.

"U.N. Climate Panel and Chief Face Credibility Siege"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:07:54 -0500

"Just over two years ago, Rajendra K. Pachauri seemed destined for a scientist’s version of sainthood: A vegetarian economist-engineer who leads the United Nations’ climate change panel, he accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the panel, sharing the honor with former Vice President Al Gore.

"Weed Killer Atrazine May Be Linked To Birth Defect"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:20:37 -0500

"Living near farms that use the weed killer atrazine may up the risk of a rare birth defect, according to a study presented this past Friday at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago.

About 1 in 5000 babies born in the U.S. each year suffers from gastroschisis, in which part of the intestines bulges through a separation in the belly, according to the March of Dimes. The rate of gastroschisis has risen 2- to 4-fold over the last three decades, according to Dr. Sarah Waller, of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues.

"Whaling Ship 'Rammed' Protest Boat: Sea Shepherd"

jdavis_sej — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:17:56 -0500

"SYDNEY -- Anti-whaling protest group Sea Shepherd said a Japanese whaling vessel 'intentionally rammed' one of its protest boats on Saturday during a standoff in Antarctic waters.

The harpoon ship Yushin Maru 3 hit the protesters' vessel Bob Barker off Cape Darnley in Australia's Antarctic territory, penetrating its hull, the group said in a statement posted on its website.

"Black Carbon Driving Himalayan Melt"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:53:41 -0500

"The fact that glaciers in the Himalayan mountains are thinning is not disputed. However, few researchers have attempted to rigorously examine and quantify the causes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Surabi Menon set out to isolate the impacts of the most commonly blamed culprit-greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide-from other particles in the air that may be causing the melting. Menon and her collaborators found that airborne black carbon aerosols, or soot, from India is a major contributor to the decline in snow and ice cover on the glaciers."

"Blue Whales Croon A New Tune"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:03:16 -0500

"Blue whales are updating their playlist, according to new research on the huge mammals.

It's not quite West Side Story, but male blue whales use songs to warn away other males and attract females. It's a pulsing sound, more like a large piece of machinery than the Jets and the Sharks.

But that song has been changing."

NPR's Weekend Edition had the story February 6, 2010.

"EPA Reveals High Hazard Potential at More Coal Ash Ponds"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:43:26 -0500

"Twenty-two electric utility facilities with coal ash impoundments have written action plans to make them safer. But on Thursday, as the U.S. EPA made these plans public, the agency also released engineering assessments of 40 more coal ash impoundments showing they have the 'high' or 'significant' potential to cause loss of human life, environmental damage, or damage to infrastructure.

"No Paperless Office Yet"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:04:58 -0500

"When the computer-age took off in the 1990s, lots of people thought we'd use a lot less paper. But that hasn't happened."

Julie Grant reports on why environmentalists are so concerned about all the paper we're still using in our offices and homes -- for The Environment Report February 5, 2010.

"NOAA Grant Proposal Could Launch Marine Zoning"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:01:17 -0500

"The Obama administration is proposing a grant program that could start zoning marine areas for offshore projects.

The White House released a fiscal 2011 budget proposal this week that includes $20 million in grants for regional ocean partnerships. The competitive grants would support planning for marine zoning.

Advocates of the zoning effort say the proposal -- a small part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's $5.55 billion annual budget -- would be a big step toward helping improving the marine management."

"The Nitrogen Dilemma: Is America Fertilizing Disaster?"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:57:10 -0500

"In the past 50 years, led by the United States, global agriculture has come to rely increasingly on a cheap, synthetic form of nitrogen produced in fertilizer factories that are powered by natural gas and other fossil fuels.

"Think-Tanks Take Oil Money and Use It To Fund Climate Deniers"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:45:46 -0500

"An orchestrated campaign is being waged against climate change science to undermine public acceptance of man-made global warming, environment experts claimed last night.

The attack against scientists supportive of the idea of man-made climate change has grown in ferocity since the leak of thousands of documents on the subject from the University of East Anglia (UEA) on the eve of the Copenhagen climate summit last December.

"Toxic Coal-Tar Cleanup To Cost New York $3 Billion"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:07:49 -0500

"A toxic liquid has been creeping through the soil of cities in the mid-Hudson Valley for more than a century. From the 1800s to the 1950s, manufactured gas plants in places such as Newburgh, Kingston and Poughkeepsie provided light and heat to thousands who walked city streets and lived in city homes.

"U.S.D.A. Plans to Drop Program to Trace Livestock"

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:59:40 -0500

"Faced with stiff resistance from ranchers and farmers, the Obama administration has decided to scrap a national program intended to help authorities quickly identify and track livestock in the event of an animal disease outbreak.

In abandoning the program, called the National Animal Identification System, officials said they would start over in trying to devise a livestock tracing program that could win widespread support from the industry.

Traffic Is Biggest Source of Chicago Region's Air Pollution

jdavis_sej — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:09:49 -0500

"Downtown Chicago has the highest peak levels of nitrogen dioxide in the country, and is the only site in violation of new stricter guidelines against the irritant, which inflames asthma and other lung conditions.

That news raised the question of how bad is the Chicago area's overall air quality, 40 years after the Clean Air Act as we know it was created.

Several recent rankings may make sensitive readers choke:"

Robert McCoppin reports for the Daily Herald February 7, 2010.

"Administration Presses On for a 'Cap' on Carbon Emissions"

jdavis_sej — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:30:12 -0500

"The Obama administration's top climate adviser strongly defended a cap on emissions a day after the president suggested Congress might move an energy bill without such a cap in place.

White House climate and energy adviser Carol Browner used the words 'cap' and 'price signal' several times yesterday in describing what the administration would be pushing for in the days ahead to spur new jobs and curb the 'dangerous pollutants that contribute to global warming.'

"Behind The Weather: Strongest El Nino In A Decade"

jdavis_sej — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:35:03 -0500

"Major snowstorms are set to bury the mid-Atlantic states this weekend after record snowfalls in December. Last month California was awash in rain. The Gulf states have seen heavy weather lately as well.

Turns out it's not just a run of bad luck. What's behind a lot of this winter's weather is El Nino, the tropical weather pattern that starts in the Pacific.

Scientists knew last summer that this was going to be an El Nino year. But it wasn't until the winter that its effects really hit the United States. "

"Brown Pelicans Struggling To Survive"

jdavis_sej — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:38:36 -0500

"Astoria, Ore. -- All along the Oregon coast over the last month, hundreds of brown pelicans have turned up dead, starving or begging for food.

As many as 1,000 of the gangly seabirds failed to make their annual fall migration to California, many instead winding up at Oregon's rehabilitation centers. ...

Researchers, at a loss to explain the casualties, are looking at unusual ocean currents and the depletion of fish stocks -- as well as warmer temperatures, toxic runoff and algae blooms -- as possible causes.

"Diving for Cures"

jdavis_sej — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:08:23 -0500

"Researchers are hoping to find cures underwater in corals and sponges. Making medicine from things found in nature isn't a new idea. Think, aspirin -- which originally came from the bark of willow trees. Now drugs derived from ocean animals are slowly making their way onto shelves."

Samara Freemark has the story for The Environment Report February 4, 2010.

"EPA Reviews Hints of Weed Killer's Fetal Risks"

jdavis_sej — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:57:17 -0500

"Last October, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was reopening what the pesticide industry had hoped was a closed chapter on allegations of a popular herbicide’s toxicity. The agency will be convening meetings of its Science Advisory Panel on pesticides throughout 2010 to probe concerns about the safety of atrazine, a weed killer on which most American corn growers rely.