Aug 07 2012

Environmental Advertising Increases When the Economy Is Stronger

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Environmental concern is greater when the economy is stronger, a study found which looked at environmental advertising in National Geographic over three decades. Specifically, the study, conducted by three researchers at Penn State University, found that consumers are more receptive to environmental appeals and marketers do more environmental advertising when the economy is improving. There is a strong statistical correlation, the three researchers discovered, between the GDP and the amount of environmental advertising. As Lee Ahern, one of researchers said, "We found that changes in GDP do indeed predict the level of 'green' advertising." "Results support the idea that key economic indicators affect the level of green strategic messaging," said Ahern. "This perspective argues that environmental concern will be greater in stronger economies and better economic times. By extension, consumers will be more attuned and receptive to green appeals when the economy is improving, and marketers will employ more green advertising."
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Aug 06 2012

Metals and the Beginnings of Life

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Long ago life began on Earth. One of the most intriguing questions is what caused it to start just then. A little less than 2 billion years ago, metals including copper, molybdenum and zinc became available to primitive cells, at the same time that the cells began to become much more complex. Some scientists indicate that they have identified the event that introduced these metals, which made it possible for those primitive cells to develop, evolve, and spread.
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Aug 06 2012

Salmon Conservation Areas Must be Widened

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According to a new study, areas of salmon conservation should be expanded to streams that don't actually contain salmon, but whose waters run into salmon habitat. In other words, the entire watershed should be protected and not just the rivers where there are large salmon runs. This is because the various feeder streams have different characteristics which is necessary to keep options open for the salmon. For example, steeper, faster streams contribute colder water, and slower meandering streams contribute warmer water. Some salmon have adapted to reproduce better in one condition than another. A healthy mix of river inputs not only helps the salmon populations grow, but also helps their predators: gulls, bears, and other animals.
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Aug 06 2012

Another Giant Leap for Mankind: Earth’s Curiosity Touches Down on Mars

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NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars Sunday to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack. "Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. Curiosity, the most sophisticated rover ever built, is now on the surface of the Red Planet, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed on Mars -- or if the planet can sustain life in the future," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "This is an amazing achievement, made possible by a team of scientists and engineers from around the world and led by the extraordinary men and women of NASA and our Jet Propulsion Laboratory. President Obama has laid out a bold vision for sending humans to Mars in the mid-2030's, and today's landing marks a significant step toward achieving this goal."
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Aug 06 2012

Extreme heatwaves 50 to 100 times more likely due to climate change

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A recent rise in deadly, debilitating, and expensive heatwaves was caused by climate change, argues a new statistical analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Climatologists found that extreme heatwaves have increased by at least 50 times during the last 30 years. The researchers, including James Hansen of NASA, conclude that climate change is the only explanation for such a statistical jump. "This is not a climate model or a prediction but actual observations of weather events and temperatures that have happened," Hansen, a prominent scientist and outspoken climate change activist, wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post.
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Aug 06 2012

BLM Analysis Reveals Massive Potential Damage From Las Vegas Water Grab

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LAS VEGAS— The Bureau of Land Management today released its long-anticipated final environmental impact statement for the pipeline right-of-way for the Southern Nevada Water Authority's "groundwater development project." The project envisions unsustainably siphoning more than 37.1 billion gallons of groundwater per year from at least four valleys in central Nevada and pumping it 300 miles to the Las Vegas Valley.
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Aug 03 2012

Kick Your Kids Out(side) for Their Own Good

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With all the advances in electronics and social media, it is no wonder that children are opting to stay in the comfort of the indoors rather than pursuing outdoor activities. It is at times like these that parents need to be extra vigilant in forcing their kids out of the house and simply act like a kid. A new study from the University of Bristol has given another valid reason for keeping children outside. According to their research, children who spend more time outside are less likely to develop myopia (near-sightedness) than children who prefer the indoors and staring at a lit-up screen.
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Aug 03 2012

Why we all need to worry about the decline in native butterflies

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Butterfly populations are an important gauge of the health of local habitats and wider climate change. As families this weekend join the Big Butterfly Count, Faye Dobson explains what population changes mean, and how you can get involved.
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Aug 03 2012

Climate Warming Refuted as Reason for Plant Shifts in High-Profile 2008 Study

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Many simple models of plant response to warming climates predict vegetation to find cooler and/or wetter locations, generally moving upslope from their current positions. However, the mechanisms explaining species-specific responses to changes in temperature and water availability are most likely much more complex, according to researchers at Texas Tech University and the United States Geological Survey.
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Aug 03 2012

The US is now Exporting Coal – is this good?

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We all know that the journey to a sustainable existence on this planet is going to be a difficult one. Indeed, it might well be what former Xerox CEO David Kearns said of the company’s quest for quality, "a race without a finish line." I say this because absolute sustainability is an ideal that can only be approached. But we need to accelerate our approach to it if we hope to continue to thrive here for generations to come. There will be difficult choices to make, and priorities to set, many of which, like in today's story, will involve trading off short term and long term benefits. At this point, thanks in large part to Wall Street, the game is heavily rigged on the side of the short term, and that is going to have to change if we are to have any hope of averting disaster in the brief time remaining, especially when it comes to climate change.
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