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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: ecology

ecology stories: 18 news summaries
pop science

 In Eco-Terms, 
 Dog = Hummer 


Nov 2, 09 5:50 PM CST
(Newser) - A dog has about the same impact on the planet as an SUV, according to a study out of New Zealand. The authors of Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living claim the environmental footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser is smaller than the ecological impact... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • Toyota • ecology • SUV • Volkswagen • dog • cat • Hummer

 Biofuel Boom Runs Out of Gas 


Aug 27, 09 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Once considered a win-win for the environment and energy independence, America’s biofuel industry is sputtering to a halt, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thanks to the recession, lower oil prices, and government delays, two-thirds of American biodiesel refineries—dozens of plants—are idle, and companies across the country are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • ethanol • biofuel • ecology • Environmental Protection Agency • recession • biodiesel • green revolution • energy independence • oil prices

(Newser) - Sarah Palin took to the national stage in August 2008, and two weeks later Lehman Brothers collapsed. That's a helpful metaphor, writes Naomi Klein in the Guardian, who sees the former Alaska governor as "the last clear expression of capitalism-as-usual before everything went south." The financial crisis should... More »

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ecology • capitalism • Lehman Brothers • bailout • Sarah Palin • Wall Street bailout • drilling

(Newser) - The Peruvian Army has imposed a curfew and set up checkpoints following deadly clashes with indigenous tribes protesting plans to drill for oil and gas in ancestral homelands in the Amazon region, reports the BBC. Dozens of people, both police and protesters, were killed in the clashes that mark the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ecology • Peru • protests • Lima • Indian Tribes • Shining Path • green • oil drilling • protesters • Amazon rainforest • Amazon • Indians

(Newser) - Being sensitive to the environment doesn't have to cost a fortune. In fact, the green option is often the most cost-effective one. Scientific American spotlights nine ways of cutting your bills as you save the Earth:
  • Shrink your living space. Prefab homes and plans for dwellings as small as
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • green building • ecology • green technology • green • eco friendliness • green home • ecofriendly • eco-friendly • cellphones

China Uses 'the Pill' to Stop Gerbil Overpopulation

Officials hide contraceptive meds in gerbil feed

Mar 25, 09 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Chinese officials have resorted to contraceptive pills to control the exploding gerbil population threatening a fragile desert ecosystem, the BBC reports. The government is placing feed pellets mixed with the medication by the gerbils’ burrows, which damage the roots of what plants survive there. Authorities have tried measures to boost... More »

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China • ecology • population control • desert • rodents • rodent • Xinjiang • owls

As Temperatures Rise,
West's Trees Dying Faster

New study paints dire picture for US forests which are releasing carbon dioxide—not storing it

Jan 22, 09 10:04 PM CST
(Newser) - America’s trees are dying at an alarming rate in the nation's western forests, a new study says. Death rates have more than doubled over the last two to three decades, Time reports, even in seemingly healthy locales. All types and sizes of trees, and at all elevations, have been... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • study • science • ecology • Forest Service • carbon emissions • beetle

 Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists 

Syndrome could devastate population

Aug 1, 08 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Experts are still in the dark about what’s causing the deaths of vast numbers of bats in the Northeast, but some theories have emerged, Salon reports. Some scientists believe white-nose syndrome is driven by global warming, while others are looking hard at pesticides. In either case, humans may have... More »

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bees • global warming • ecology • illness • fungus • bats • hibernation • animal • pesticide

 Out of Land,
 Monaco Eyes Ocean 

Tiny, rich principality wants landmark on stilts, but environmental concerns loom

May 22, 08 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Monaco, flush with cash from tourism and its status as a tax haven, is trying to acquire the one thing it lacks: space. Its square mile of space is full (it's the world's second-most-densely populated country), moving Prince Albert II to decide to build an artificial offshore district—on stilts,... More »

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ocean • ecology • Prince Albert II • Monaco • environmental damage • tax haven

Companies Go Green for Consumers— and Profit

Frito-Lay works to turn
a chip plant eco-friendly

Nov 15, 07 12:12 PM CST
(Newser) - As consumers look for more eco-friendly products, a Frito-Lay plant in Arizona is working toward ways to turn 500,00 pounds of spuds into environmentally friendly potato chips, the New York Times reports, changing an energy- and water-hogging process into one that uses renewable fuel, solar energy, and recycled water... More »

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environmentalism • Pepsi • ecology • Frito Lay

World's Best Green Hotels

Leave a footprint as small as your carry-on at a luxurious eco-hotel

Nov 5, 07 10:15 AM CST
(Newser) - Solar-heated pools, energy-conserving lights, composted food scraps . . . hotels aren't all bastions of consumption and waste. Travel+Leisure teamed up with Conservation International to assemble a list of 20 eco-friendly hotels:
  1. Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada
  2. Soneva Fushi Resort & Six Senses Spa, Maldives
  3. Heritance Kandalama, Sri Lanka
More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia • green building • ecotourism • Sri Lanka • Switzerland • Tanzania • Egypt • list • ecology • Philippines • hotel • spa • Bahamas • Colorado • green travel • LEED • Maldives • Zanzibar

What to Do With a Dead Whale

Washed-up hulks are difficult to dispose of

Oct 8, 07 9:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - The rash of dead whales washing onto California shores recently isn’t just an ecological tragedy; it’s a mammoth challenge. Disposing of whale carcasses is notoriously difficult, the LA Times explains. Pull one out to sea, and it will probably drift back—as a 70-ton whale did in Malibu... More »

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whale • marine animal • ecology

Puffin Love Flies High in Maine

Penguin lookalikes need 24-hour protection from swooping gulls

Aug 26, 07 5:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Puffin-love is flying high in Maine, where hundreds of these penguin look-a-likes are lured by wooden decoys and given 24-hour protection, the AP reports. Supervisors endure screeching gulls and pooping dive-bombers to protect these finned waddlers and their nests. So just what are puffins? Birds that look like penguins, but... More »

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conservation • birds • ecology • Maine • Puffins • restoration • animal

Straw
Goes
Green

Eco-friendly building material branches out beyond fairy tales

Aug 20, 07 11:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - The newest surprise climate-saving tool is straw walls, and the Big Bad Wolf may have underestimated the First Little Pig’s shelter, the Washington Post reports. Instead of drywall or insulation, contractors stack the farm waste around buildings’ skeletons and then coat it with plaster. The eco-friendly result looks like... More »

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climate change • global warming • green building • environmentalism • construction • farms • ecology • straw

Stranded by War, Forest Yields Treasures

Remote, unspoiled region of Congo conceals 6 new species

Aug 8, 07 6:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have discovered six animal species in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area closed to scientists for nearly 50 years. The region is rich in biodiversity, Reuters reports, and beyond the bat, rodents, frogs, and shrews found on a brief trip this past winter, the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ecology • wildlife • Democratic Republic of Congo • species • frogs • bats • animal

Mexico Calls for Eco-Friendly Border Fence

Environment minister warns US against proceeding with plan

Jul 31, 07 5:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Citing environmental concerns, Mexico is calling on the US to revise its plan to expand border fences. The current layout threatens fragile ecosystems in the Sonora Desert area and could wipe out endangered species like the Mexican black bear, a new report shows. Mexico is ready to take the US... More »

MORE ABOUT:
immigration • endangered species • illegal immigrant • Mexico • border control • environmentalism • ecology • Mexican border • fence • Sonora Desert

Factory, Flamingos Go on Strike

With no runoff from saltworks filling their lagoon, flamingos didn't lay eggs

Jul 19, 07 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - In a bizarre ecological twist, flamingos in a French lagoon were imperiled by a nearby salt factory—not by the saline runoff when the factory was operating, but the lack of runoff when it stopped. It seems that workers went on strike, the saltworks closed, and the wetlands dried up.... More »

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ecology • flamingos

Don't I Know You? Plants Can Tell Siblings From Strangers

Flora share resources with nearby kin

Jun 14, 07 5:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Plants are smarter than people think: New research shows flora can distinguish between members of their own family and unrelated vegetation, Nature reports. Plants tend to share resources more equitably with nearby siblings by developing smaller root systems, but compete for available nutrients when neighbors are strangers. "Plants have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
science • plants • ecology • family • research

18 Stories


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