Month: July 2012

  • Asian Carp in the Great Lakes

    There have been many invasions of foreign species into new territories. Asian carp may pose substantial environmental risk to the Great Lakes if they become established there, according to a bi-national Canadian and United States risk assessment released today. Bighead and silver carps — two species of Asian carp — pose an environmental risk to…

  • Despite moratorium, Indonesia failing to take action on illegal palm oil plantations

    Indonesian authorities are failing to take action against a palm oil company that is operating illegally in Central Kalimantan, alleges a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak. The report, published Thursday, says that authorities have failed to conduct a criminal investigation into the illegal conversion of more than 23,000 hectares of…

  • Long term temperature record reconstructed

    Long term calculations prepared by Mainz scientists will influence the way current climate change is perceived. This important study is published in Nature Climate Change. An international team that includes scientists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has published a reconstruction of the climate in northern Europe over the last 2,000 years based on the…

  • Poaching in the Serengeti linked to poverty, high legal hunting prices

    In the effort to protect the Serengeti—arguably Africa’s most famous ecosystem—one of the major problems is the bushmeat trade. Population growth, little available protein, poverty, and a long-standing history of hunting has led many communities to poach wildlife within Serengeti National Park. Interviewing over a thousand community members in the western Serengeti, scientists found that…

  • Boreal Forest Conservation Spreads Throughout Ontario

    Forest company and conservation group signatories to the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) welcome Ontario’s support today of their approach and joint recommendations on an action plan for an area of the province’s boreal forest almost five times the size of Metro Toronto. The action plan recommendations aim to secure the future of the 3…

  • Feeling the Burn: The Biological Mechanism of the Sunburn

    New findings have emerged in the field of sunburns, the painful yet protective immune response from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The skin turns reddish and becomes hot to the touch, making it very uncomfortable. UV radiation can also cause general fatigue, mild dizziness, and possible skin diseases. A new study from the University of California (UC)…

  • Canadian Forest Industry And Environmental Groups Sign World’s Largest Conservation Agreement

    The 21 member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), and nine leading environmental organizations, have endorsed an unprecedented agreement – the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement – that applies to 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to FPAC members. The Agreement, when fully implemented, will conserve significant areas of Canada’s vast Boreal…

  • Copenhagen wins ‘European Green Capital”

    The Danish city of Copenhagen has won the European Green Capital Award for 2014. Copenhagen was chosen for its achievements in “eco-innovation and sustainable mobility,” for being a role model for the green economy in Europe and for engaging its citizens to feel they are part of the green solution.

  • Mad Cow Detection

    Mad cow disease is a fatal disease in cattle that causes portions of the brain to turn sponge-like. This transmissible disease is caused by the propagation of a misfolded form of protein known as a prion, rather than by a bacterium or virus. The average time from infection to signs of illness is about 60…

  • Mars Panorama

    From fresh rover tracks to an impact crater blasted billions of years ago, a newly completed view from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the ruddy terrain around the outcrop where the long-lived explorer spent its most recent Martian winter. This scene recorded from the mast-mounted color camera includes the…