EarthScape

Slug is not an appetizing term but they are part of the world ecology and can be quite colorful, Strange new species are also not just found in exotic and isolated locales. In this case a new species of sea slug is claimed to have been found in a California tidal pool.

Campaigners warn legislation to protect seals is “no where near tight enough” as industry initiative attempts to find alternatives to shooting Major retailers and animal welfare groups, including Sainsburys and the RSPCA, are to attempt to end the killing of seals by the salmon industry. Seals are a problem for fish farms as they can…

Ultra-thin solar cells can absorb sunlight more efficiently than the thicker, more expensive-to-make silicon cells used today, because light behaves differently at scales around a nanometer (a billionth of a meter), say Stanford engineers. They calculate that by properly configuring the thicknesses of several thin layers of films, an organic polymer thin film could absorb…

Scotland should produce enough renewable electricity to meet all its power demand by 2025, First Minister Alex Salmond said Tuesday. “Scotland has unrivalled green energy resources and our new national target to generate 80 percent of electricity needs from renewables by 2020 will be exceeded by delivering current plans for wind, wave and tidal generation,”…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently announced its voluntary Audit Program to help companies with Flexible Permits obtain air quality permits that meet state and federal requirements and the protections of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Texas Flexible Permits program was never approved by EPA into the state implementation plan (SIP). This…

The world’s aquifers are being used faster than they can be replenished and, in some cases, at rates that have more than doubled since the 1960s. It is mostly agricultural irrigation that is driving the increase, because it accounts for 70 to 80 percent of global groundwater usage.

Do you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? The tortoise won the race because he ran the whole race, taking the long view, seeing the big picture, unlike the rabbit who, given his speed, didn’t see the need. While China seems to be roaring ahead right now with unchecked economic expansion, the…

Magma has worked its way up to just under the surface in a remote region of northwest Saudi Arabia, causing a flurry of small to moderate quakes and threatening to form a new volcano, researchers said Sunday. A swarm of 30,000 quakes shook the region of Harrat Lunayyir from May to June last year and…

Tropical Depression Matthew churned over Guatemala on Saturday, soaking already waterlogged sugar and coffee farms, and the government warned that mudslides could occur in the coming days. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom told people to stay home and urged communities in mountains and near rivers to take shelter inland as fast-moving Matthew looked set to slow…

Alberta is forming an independent panel of scientists to study data on water pollution near the Canadian province’s oil sands after a report by a noted ecologist concluded the industry’s operations were contaminating a northern river system. The move, announced by Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner on Friday, is aimed at ending an emotional debate…