Month: January 2011

  • Obama sets 2035 clean electricity target

    President Barack Obama set a target for power plants to produce mostly clean electricity by 2035 — including power from sources like clean coal and natural gas — in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Obama also called for investment in clean technologies and urged Congress to eliminate billions of dollars in subsidies…

  • Dwindling Rain in the Southern US

    A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a…

  • Don’t Take That Cookie!

    Stop it! Don’t touch that! Sit down and be quiet! Whether you heeded these commands as a child could help predict your future. A new study suggests that people who show less self-control as young children are more likely to have failing health, greater debt, and run-ins with the law later in life.

  • Meet the new species of “Bearded” Crayfish

    U.S. biologists have discovered a new and distinct species of crayfish in Tennessee and Alabama that is twice the size of other species, an example of a new species being discovered in a well-explored area. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Eastern Kentucky University found the first specimen under a large rock…

  • Bird Feeders Can Skew Breeding Behaviors

    As temperatures dip low in the Northern Hemisphere’s deep midwinter, many birds are no doubt feasting on the seeds and suet hanging outside many of our homes. More than 40 percent of U.S. households and nearly 50 percent of U.K. households feed birds, according to estimates.

  • Atlantic Weather May Be Key Culprit In Fish Decline

    The striped bass is in trouble again. During the 1980s, wildlife managers said these big, full-bodied fish — favorites of anglers along the East Coast — were overfished. So they laid down severe catch limits. The population recovered, and fishing resumed in what is considered one of conservation’s great success stories. But now catches are…

  • Obama climate adviser to depart in latest staff change

    A key climate change adviser to President Barack Obama will step down soon, administration officials said on Monday, in the latest staff departure as the White House adapts to a shift in power in Congress. Carol Browner, White House coordinator of energy and climate policy, “will stay on as long as necessary to ensure an…

  • Permian Extinction

    The Permian–Triassic extinction event, informally known as the Great Dying,was an extinction event that occurred 250 million years ago, forming the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic periods. It was the Earth’s most severe extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct. Researchers at…

  • Trek North America Along the Great Eastern Wildway

    Starting February 3rd, a group of wilderness enthusiasts are embarking on an epic adventure across the eastern seaboard of North America. The scope of the adventure may even blow away the revered Appalachian Trail. The conservation non-profit group, Wildlands Network is launching writer and explorer John Davis on a 4,500 mile journey from the southern…

  • Nepal Translocates First Wild Tiger to New Home

    WASHINGTON, DC, January 22, 2011 – A wild tiger fitted with satellite-collar was successfully translocated from Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to Bardia National Park for the first time today, according to World Wildlife Fund. The translocation was led by the Government of Nepal with support from World Wildlife Fund Nepal (WWF-Nepal) and the National Trust…