The Latest in Environment
Sequester To Hit The Environment
The federal budget sequester took effect on March 1 with a number of likely environmental impacts. With $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade and $85 billion through the end of the fiscal year in September, layoffs and difficulties in enforcing the nation’s environmental regulations are expected. The National. . .
Debate On Rebuilding NJ Beaches After Sandy To Intensify
The average New Jersey beach is 30 to 40 feet narrower after Superstorm Sandy, according to a survey that is sure to intensify a long-running debate on whether federal dollars should be used to replenish stretches of sand that only a fraction of U.S. taxpayers use. Some of New Jersey’s. . .
Will President Obama Do More For The Environment In His Second Term?
Now that the election is over, will the real environmental President Obama take center stage? Oh wait, my mistake, Obama in my opinion wasn’t a real environmental president these past four years, so now that he has his second term in hand, will he fulfill the promises he had made. . .
Atlantic Sturgeon Declared Endangered
The Atlantic sturgeon is a species of fish that has been with us since the last ice age. It’s what most scientists would call prehistoric looking. The sturgeon can live for sixty years, grow to 14 feet, and weigh 800 pounds. Despite its historical longevity, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric. . .
Forest Service Tries to Weaken Protections
The U.S. Forest Service today released a new proposal for the nation’s 193-million-acre national forest system that will weaken rules protecting fish and wildlife from logging, livestock grazing, mining and off-road vehicles. The new proposal, which was released as part of the final environmental impact statement for the rule, is. . .
Canadian MP’s Questioning Seal Pup Hunt
Every February Canada hosts a bloodbath that evokes the world’s scorn. It is the annual Newfoundland seal hunt that kills young white seal pups. You’ve seen it on video and in pictures. Hunters approach a young seal pup with a club that has a spike in it. Seal mother’s try. . .
New Enzyme Converts Seaweed To Biofuel
A recently published paper in Science claims that a new process has been developed to turn seaweed into a viable feedstock for biofuel. Bio Architecture Lab says that they’ve isolated an enzyme that could be used to convert seaweed into sugar. Making fuel and chemicals from crops such as corn. . .
Office Air Study Shows Health Concern
It’s bad enough that most of us have to work in an office environment. It’s not just the caddy gossip or grumpy bosses we have contented with, but the health risks associated with working in an office. A new study that was recently released reports that the indoor air quality. . .
Climate Change And Flu May Be Linked
Shifting global climate patterns could portend a flu pandemic, and an opportunity for nations to a stop a virus before it gains momentum. The link, according to researchers, is weather’s influence on the migratory patterns of wild birds, the primary pool for human flu. “Changes in flight patterns, length of. . .
NASA Creates Tree Map Of U.S.
The NASA Earth Observatory, in conjunction with Woods Hole Research Center’s (WHRC) National Biomass and Carbon Database, released an image showcasing where the greatest concentrations of trees are in the U.S. The newly released map was a byproduct of computer models, space-based radar, satellite sensors, and ground-based data. It took. . .
Trees Impact On Global Warming Not Being Counted
Trees are one of nature’s most influential climate changers. They produce the majority of oxygen we need to exist on, and they act as superb CO2 scrubbers for keeping the atmosphere clean. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has pointed out that trees need to be included in the climate factors. . .
Portable Hydrogen Charger Runs On Pee
A new company is looking to take human pee, or any other water source that’s near by, and turn it into a sustainable energy source for a portable charger. The company, SiGNa Chemistry, has developed a product called the PowerTrekk. The PowerTrekk system uses sodium silicide cartridges, along with any. . .
Climate Change And Elk Impacting Song Birds
A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, has shown a correlation between elk, global warming and declining flora and song birds in the rocky mountain states over the past two decades. Elk are prevalent in the American West, and are known to be prolific eaters of local flora. . . .
FAA Lifts Restriction On Whopping Crane Migration
In a rare gesture by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a flock of rare whooping cranes has been given the go-ahead to complete its inaugural winter migration after a U.S. agency lifted restrictions on the pilots, who will guide them wearing bird costumes. The whooping cranes, part of North America’s. . .
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