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Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Feb 27, 08 6:23 PM CST by D Lim | View history

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Environment

"Thank GOD, they cannot cut down the clouds!" -Henry David Thoreau

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Stories 21 - 40 of 422

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  • August 2008

    • Bike Sharing Debuts in DC

      Los Angeles Times  |  Aug 15, 08 12:11 PM CDT

      Bike Sharing Debuts in DC

      (Newser) - With its residents battling high fuel prices and heavy traffic, Washington, DC, has instituted a bike-sharing program: pay $40 a year, and you can borrow wheels from one of 10 stands across the city. Inspired by similar schemes abroad, SmartBike DC is using technology keep the system running smoothly, keeping the bikes in electronic racks that require  swiping a smartcard for access, the LA Times reports. More »

    • Doom Looms for Spotted Owl

      Seattle Times  |  Aug 14, 08 3:01 AM CDT

      Doom Looms for Spotted Owl

      (Newser) - The outlook appears bleak for America's most controversial bird, reports the Seattle Times . Despite logging bans in huge swathes of old-growth forests initiated 14 years ago to protect the northern spotted owl, researchers have discovered its numbers have dropped by nearly half. The decline is blamed on pre-1994 habitat loss and the invasion of a tougher owl species. More »

    • Federal Changes Threaten Endangered Species: Critics

      Oregonian (Portland)  |  Aug 12, 08 3:21 AM CDT

      Federal Changes Threaten Endangered Species: Critics

      (Newser) - Critics are raising an alarm over planned White House changes to the Endangered Species Act, reports the Oregonian . The modifications would give federal agencies such as the US Forest Service more leeway to decide whether activities such as logging would harm endangered species—and such determinations would no longer be scrutinized by outside reviewers. More »

    • Look to Danes for Energy Know-How

      New York Times  |  Aug 10, 08 9:17 AM CDT

      Look to Danes for Energy Know-How

      (Newser) - Hey, America, looking for a way to solve the energy crisis? Try following Denmark's lead, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times . The country has a few simple fixes that go a long way: Friedman observes half the rush-hour traffic is bicycles; wind provides 20% of the country's power; and tax incentives help reduce the addiction to oil. More »

    • Save Planet, Eat 'Roo Burgers, Scientist Urges

      BBC  |  Aug 10, 08 7:22 AM CDT

      Save Planet, Eat 'Roo Burgers, Scientist Urges

      (Newser) - Can kangaroo burgers save the world? One Australian scientist thinks so. Farming kangaroos to replace conventional livestock could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he says. Cattle and sheep expel methane gas—more harmful than carbon dioxide—through belching and flatulence, but 'roos don't, thanks to unique microorganisms in their digestive tracts, reports the BBC. Aussies currently raise some 30 million kangaroos. They taste "excellent—not unlike venison," said the scientist. More »

    • How to Shop, and Save, Green

      Grist  |  Aug 9, 08 11:27 AM CDT

      How to Shop, and Save, Green

      (Newser) - Want to green your grocery list while keeping more green in your wallet? Grist lists a few ways to buy eco-cheap: Make a list: Buying only what you need keeps costs and waste down. Avoid GMOs: Genetically modified crops reduce agricultural biodiversity and raise serious health questions. Buy organic: Organic food is much better for the environment, and can be cost-effective if you choose carefully. More »

    • Worst Threat to Earth? Way Too Many People

      Yale Environment 360  |  Aug 6, 08 11:35 AM CDT

      Worst Threat to Earth? Way Too Many People

      (Newser) - With the number of humans on Earth expected to reach 9.5 billion by the second half of the 21st century, policymakers and environmentalists should turn their attention to the grave dangers of overpopulation and overconsumption, Paul Ehrlich—author of 1968 bestseller The Population Bomb —and wife Anne write in Yale Environment 360. Population growth, above all other ecological hazards, may lead to the collapse of our civilization. More »

    • Melting Greenland Bares Chilling View of Our Future

      New York Times  |  Aug 6, 08 5:10 AM CDT

      Melting Greenland Bares Chilling View of Our Future

      (Newser) - Want to see what we’re in for as the planet keeps warming? Visit Greenland, where climate change has even created a new kind of language for its people, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times . Conversations on the melting island are now peppered with phrases expressing amazement at the speed of climate change and expressions of uncertainty such as "I don’t know anymore.” Call it "climate speak," says Friedman. More »

    • Anti-'Frankenfood' Activists Should Modify Stance

      Economist  |  Aug 4, 08 5:48 PM CDT

      Anti-'Frankenfood' Activists Should Modify Stance

      (Newser) - The recent destruction of a research crop of genetically modified potatoes in England highlights how attitudes towards altered crops have changed, the Economist writes. A decade ago, Greenpeace activists caught in the act of destroying food crops were acquitted because of popular fear of the consequences of “Frankenfoods.” Today, such crops have been accepted by most as safe. More »

    • Cable Channel's Eco-Cred a Bit Overcooked

      New York Times  |  Aug 4, 08 10:40 AM CDT

      Cable Channel's Eco-Cred a Bit Overcooked

      (Newser) - Cable channel Planet Green spotlights the eco-friendly in everything, although its message is “dappled with incongruities,” Alessandra Stanley writes in the New York Times , “from an all-fats-allowed celebrity chef to advertisements that undermine the channel’s most heartfelt messages.” The chef in question is Emeril Legasse, champion of cage-free eggs and homemade mayo, who "leaves a huge caloric wake." More »

    • Ice Reveals Climate History

      New York Times  |  Aug 3, 08 12:19 PM CDT

      Ice Reveals Climate History

      (Newser) - Over the next three summers in Greenland, a group of international scientists will unearth samples of the country’s ice core down to its very bedrock, in the hopes of painting a complete picture of Earth's changing climate. Each layer provides a dated mixture of water and air bubbles that were trapped in the snow, Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times . More »

    • 5 Man-Made Natural Disasters

      New Scientist  |  Aug 3, 08 9:29 AM CDT

      5 Man-Made Natural Disasters

      (Newser) - Humans can do a righteous job of messing up the planet in the long term. We're also more than capable of wreaking short-term havoc with these man-made natural disasters, reports the New Scientist: Mud volcanoes: While we can't create the real thing, shoddy mining practices in East Java have made the ground hemorrhage mud since 2006.     More »

    • Don't Blame It All on Global Warming

      Washington Post  |  Aug 3, 08 7:57 AM CDT

      Don't Blame It All on Global Warming

      (Newser) - Global warming is a serious issue—but it shouldn't blind us to other immediate environmental concerns, writes Joel Achenbach in the Washington Post . “Humans are environment-destroying creatures by nature" and ruining the earth in any number of ways—but instead of paying attention to pressing local issues, every disaster is now written off as the result of climate change, Achenbach warns. More »

    • Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists

      Salon  |  Aug 1, 08 2:50 PM CDT

      Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists

      (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 instigated the threat, and the illness looks like a bad ecological omen. More »

    • Save the Earth: Drill in the US

      Washington Post  |  Aug 1, 08 12:21 PM CDT

      Save the Earth: Drill in the US

      (Newser) - Asked why she so vehemently opposes offshore drilling, Nancy Pelosi recently replied, “I’m trying to save the planet.” Which is a nice thought, Charles Krauthammer writes in the Washington Post , but it’s completely illogical. We’re not saving the planet by leaving the drilling to the likes of Nigeria, where corruption and neglect routinely lead to spills, pipeline explosions, and illegal siphoning. More »

  • July 2008

    • Even Texas Is Going Electric

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 31, 08 1:08 PM CDT

      Even Texas Is Going Electric

      (Newser) - High gas prices are forcing Americans to seriously pursue other transportation options—even in Texas, the heart of oil country. Chrysler’s Global Electric Motorcar division, which sells tiny, utilitarian vehicles, has seen dealerships triple sales. The Wall Street Journal visits a Texas family that’s embraced the cost-efficiency of their 25-mph miniautos, which resemble golf carts. More »

    • Calif. Sues EPA for 'Wantonly' Ignoring Earth

      Reuters  |  Jul 31, 08 8:42 AM CDT

      Calif. Sues EPA for 'Wantonly' Ignoring Earth

      (Newser) - California is suing the EPA for "wantonly" shirking its duty to protect the environment, reports Reuters. The lawsuit is aimed at forcing the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships, planes, and industrial equipment, said Attorney General Jerry Brown. He said previous efforts to get the agency to act had been met only with a "pathetically weak" proposal that ignored public health concerns.  More »

    • Beijing Amps Up Anti-Pollution Measures

      New York Times  |  Jul 31, 08 8:28 AM CDT

      Beijing Amps Up Anti-Pollution Measures

      (Newser) - Beijing today rolled out new emergency measures to ease pollution, with the Olympics just more than a week away. The new rules will close more factories and take more vehicles off the road, in a wider radius around the capital, in the event of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions"—like hot, humid air that traps pollution. Beijing failed to meet China's national standards for air quality—already more lenient than those of the US—for 4 consecutive days recently, the New York Times reports. More »

    • Fears Mount Over Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone'

      Washington Post  |  Jul 31, 08 3:22 AM CDT

      Fears Mount Over Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone'

      (Newser) - Scientists are  increasingly concerned about the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, an oxygen-poor mass of water that cannot sustain most sea life, which now covers 8,000 square miles, nearly the largest ever. Created by fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi, the zone would be even bigger if not for the ocean-stirring power of Hurricane Dolly, reports the Washington Post . More »

    • Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

      Los Angeles Times  |  Jul 30, 08 6:20 PM CDT

      Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

      (Newser) - The rapid, mysterious deaths of billions of honeybees demand a closer look at how we use and control pesticides, Al Meyerhoff writes in the Los Angeles Times . A family of toxic chemicals called neonictonoids—led by two Bayer pesticides called Gaucho and Poncho—may be killing off the insects, but Washington will not ban the pesticides because of outdated regulations that require so-called "unreasonable risk." More »

Stories 21 - 40 of 422

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  (Getty Images)
Monarch penguins stand next to a skua at Volunteer Point beach.   (Getty Images (by Event))
Industry--Smokestacks Spewing Pollution   (Earth Explorer)
A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) catches a fish in a marsh near Edom, Texas, on Saturday, March 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman)   (AP Photo)
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