San Diego County in southern California holds one of the United States Marine Corps’ largest bases, Camp Pendleton. It is the major West Coast base and serves to train expeditionary forces and is a prime amphibious training base. It was established in 1942 to train marines for combat in World War II and soon became…

The threat of a fission explosion at the Fukushima power facility emerged today when the roof of the number three reactor exploded and fears that a spent fuel pool, located over the reactor, has been compromised. The pool, designed to allow reactor fuel to cool off for several years, was constructed on top of the…

Species may be able to adapt to gradual increases in temperature preventing the collapse of biological communities in the face of global climate change. The predatory behaviour of spiders is unaffected by increased temperatures, according to research by Yale University, suggesting some species can adapt to global warming.

Japan’s nuclear accident exposes the dilemma of whether to build power plants on tsunami-prone coasts or inland sites where water supplies are unreliable, a problem likely to be aggravated by climate change, experts say. Many of the world’s 442 nuclear power reactors are by the sea, rather than by lakes or rivers, to ensure vast…

Scientists at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have recently described the loss of a small colony of emperor penguins on an island off the West Antarctic Peninsula. The loss is attributed to reduced sea ice, which provides an important nesting substrate for the penguins as well as an important foraging habitat. Reporting in the February edition…

Malaysian loggers say Japan’s recovery from last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami will boost demand for rainforest timber, reports the Borneo Post. AmResearch, an investment research firm based in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, said logging companies that export plywood to Japan are poised to benefit from reconstruction.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 9, 2011) — The ocean traps carbon through two principal mechanisms: a biological pump and a physical pump linked to oceanic currents. A team of researchers from CNRS, IRD, the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UPMC and UBO (1) have managed to quantify the role of these two pumps in an area of the…

Slovakia’s Tatras Mountains are home to some of Europe’s last brown bears as well as the critically endangered Tatra chamois (mountain goat). Tourism hasn’t always been kind to the furry inhabitants of destinations but that’s changing, with holiday companies realising that their businesses depend on the wellbeing of their destination’s animal attractions.

China must learn lessons from Japan’s nuclear power crisis and ensure its own nuclear power sector develops safely, a top Chinese energy official said, as the country rushes to add new reactors to cut reliance on carbon-intensive coal. Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, was rocked by an explosion…

The United States Geologic Survey, and partners including Montana State University Big Sky Institute, National Biological Information Infrastructure, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, has launched a new website to help us understand, identify, and appreciate the rich diversity of butterflies and moths of North America. The heart of the web site is the Butterflies and…