Ecosystems

UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites Face More Threats

Originally Published by Environment News Service

At the World Heritage Committee’s annual meeting in Quebec City it will consider requests made by governments for inscription of 13 new natural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Posted on July 5th, 2008
Ecosystems, Politics

Midwest Flooding May Worsen Dead Zone

Originally Published by Houma Today

Scientists have predicted that this year’s dead zone - an area of the Gulf of Mexico that lacks enough oxygen to support marine life - will be the largest ever in part because of the recent floods in the region.

Posted on July 3rd, 2008
Agriculture, Disasters, Ecosystems, Water

Sugar for Biofuel to Displace Kenya’s Tana Delta Wildlife

Originally Published by Environment News Service

Kenya’s Mumias Sugar Company has gotten the okay to cover Kenya’s Tana River Delta - inhabited by 350 species of birds, lions, elephants, rare sharks and reptiles - with sugar cane fields for biofuels.

Posted on July 2nd, 2008
Agriculture, Ecosystems, Energy

Images Reveal “Rapid Forest Loss”

Originally Published by Earth News

Using high-resolution satellite images, scientists have found that commercial logging and burning threaten to do away with more than half Papua New Guinea’s forest cover by 2021 - despite existing conservation measures.

Posted on June 6th, 2008
Biodiversity, Earth Observation, Ecosystems

10 Most Imperiled U.S. Wildlife Refuges All at Risk of Politics

Originally Published by Environment News Service

A new report by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility shows that the the biggest threat to America’s wildlife refuges is the “political pressure to put the interests of wildlife second.”

Posted on May 28th, 2008
Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Politics

NASA Satellites Aid In Chesapeake Bay Recovery

Originally Published by NASA Earth Observatory

By studying the landscape around the Chesapeake, NASA spacecraft are helping out in the battle against harmful pollutants that have added to the destruction of the bay’s once legendary productivity.

Posted on May 1st, 2008
Earth Observation, Ecosystems

Fake Concrete Bat Roosts Reclaim Rainforest

Originally Published by New Scientist - Earth

Artificial bat roosts may kick-start forest renewal, as the bats’ droppings spread seeds for ‘pioneer’ plants

Posted on April 21st, 2008
Biodiversity, Ecosystems

America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers 2008

Originally Published by Environment News Service

Endangered American River American conservation group American Rivers has released its 2008 report highlighting the rivers facing the most uncertain futures.

Posted on April 21st, 2008
Ecosystems, Water

Environmentalists Vow to Fight Copper Mine in Clayoquot Sound

Originally Published by Environment News Service

The Ahousaht First Nation of Clayoquot Sound - who fought side-by-side with environmentalists to stop logging in the area - have now signed an agreement with Vancouver-based Selkirk Metals to test drill for copper on Catface Mountain.

Posted on April 14th, 2008
Ecosystems, Politics

Judge Blocks Uranium Exploration Near Grand Canyon

Originally Published by Environment News Service

Following a day-long hearing in a case brought by three environmental groups, a federal judge has ordered an injunction on British mining company VANE’s and the U.S. Forest Service’s attempt to drill for uranium within miles of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Posted on April 8th, 2008
Ecosystems, Energy, Politics