Aug 18 2010

Trees May Have Killed Off the Mammoth

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A massive reduction in grasslands and the spread of forests may have been the primary cause of the decline of mammals such as the woolly mammoth, woolly rhino and cave lion, according to Durham University scientists. The findings of the new study challenge the theory that human beings were the primary cause of the extinction of mammals through hunting, competition for land and increased pressure on habitats. The research is part of the most comprehensive study to date of Northern Hemisphere climate and vegetation during and after the height of the last Ice Age, 21,000 years ago.
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Aug 18 2010

Beaver Born in UK Wild for First Time in Four Centuries

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Scottish conservationists say the first beaver born in Britain in nearly 400 years emerged from its lodge last month, a significant step in the reintroduction of the species that was hunted into extinction centuries ago.
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Aug 18 2010

Plastics and Detergents May Contribute to Lobster Die-Offs

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Waterborne chemicals leached from plastics and detergents, including bisphenol A (BPA), may have contributed to significant lobster die-offs in the waters of Long Island Sound over the last decade, researchers say. As many as half of the lobsters tested in areas where lobster populations have plunged showed high levels of alkylphenols, a group of chemicals derived from detergents, paints, and plastics, according to researchers at the University of Connecticut.
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Aug 17 2010

Kihansi Spray Toads Make Historic Return to Tanzania

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In a bold effort to save one of the world’s rarest amphibians from extinction, one hundred Kihansi spray toads have been flown home to Tanzania after being painstakingly reared at the Bronx Zoo and The Toledo Zoo working in close partnership with the Tanzanian government and the World Bank. The toads now reside at a new, state-of the-art propagation center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capitol, with the eventual goal of reintroducing the tiny amphibians into their former habitat. "On behalf of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, we are very grateful to the Bronx Zoo and The Toledo Zoo for taking care of these precious toads (KST) for ten years, and now they have safely arrived home via KLM flight and all 100 toads are cheerful as witnessed by our Tanzanian trained KST keepers at the facility at UDSM Zoology Department. We are very optimistic that they will acclimatize soon and be taken to their homeland in Kihansi Gorge in the near future," said Anna Maembe on behalf of the Government of Tanzania.
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Aug 17 2010

Oregon Dead Zone

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Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans, the observed incidences of which have been increasing since oceanographers began noting them in the 1970s. These occur near inhabited coastlines, where aquatic life is most concentrated. Every summer for the past nine years, water with lethally low concentrations of oxygen has appeared off the Oregon coast. The cause is not clear and it does not fit the pattern of several other dead zones associated with man made run off issues. Some other causes have been recently implicated in a research study by Oregon State University.
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Aug 17 2010

Most Canadians carry BPA in their blood

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Bisphenol A, a widely used chemical that Canada is banning from baby bottles, is present in the bodies of 91 percent of Canadians, according to a report that shows just how prevalent the controversial chemical is in daily life. Statistics Canada said Monday's report was the first time it has measured the extent that the industrial chemical, known as BPA, has been absorbed by people exposed to it. "The real value in this is...for the very first time (we) have baseline information against which we can study trends and track what is happening with respect to bisphenol A exposure," said Tracey Bushnik, of Statscan's Health Analysis Division.
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Aug 16 2010

Social Media, Technology, and Change Conference, New York City November 1st.

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ENN is proud to be a media sponsor of this important event hosted by our Affiliate, Justmeans. The rapid adoption of social media and the shift within corporations to measure and manage social and environmental impact is fundamentally changing the way companies engage with their stakeholders. Companies will need to work much more closely with stakeholders in order to navigate these two trends. Despite the complexities of this new landscape, a wide variety of best practices are emerging to aid organizations. A select group of corporate executives, social entrepreneurs, and digital gurus will meet to discuss emerging best practices in using social media to create positive social change at the 2010 Social Media, Technology, and Change conference, to be held on November 1st, in New York City. Topics to be discussed include:
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Aug 16 2010

Louisiana shrimp season opens amid spill concern

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Commercial fishermen can now trawl Louisiana's waters for white shrimp as the season opened on Monday, but questions linger about the effects BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil spill will have on the harvest. Some state waters have been open for brown shrimping since the well ruptured on April 20, but the overall catch has been down from previous years partly because a number of boats are signed up with BP's oil spill clean-up program. The plump, sweet white shrimp are typically larger than brown shrimp and more desired by chefs. The U.S. government has said that seafood pulled from the areas of the Gulf of Mexico that is open to fishing is safe to eat despite all the oil that gushed into the ocean. More than a fifth of federal waters in the Gulf remain closed due to fear of oil contaminating the seafood.
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Aug 16 2010

LEED Building Standards Fail to Protect Human Health

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The LEED program — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is playing an increasingly important role in the drive to make buildings in the United States greener and more energy efficient. LEED is now the most prominent and widely adopted green building certification program in the country, with architects and developers striving to earn LEED’s coveted platinum or gold rating, and an increasing number of local, state, and federal regulations beginning to incorporate LEED standards into official building codes. But LEED — sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council, an industry group — has a glaring and little-known drawback: It places scant emphasis on factors relating to human health, even as the largely unregulated use of potentially toxic building materials continues to expand. One of LEED's major accomplishments — saving energy by making buildings more airtight — has had the paradoxical effect of more effectively trapping the gases emitted by the unprecedented number of chemicals used in today’s building materials and furnishings.
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Aug 16 2010

Icebergs

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An iceberg is a large piece of ice formed from freshwater that has broken off from a glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice. Alternatively, it may come to rest on the seabed in shallower water, causing ice gouging in the land underneath or becoming an ice island. Because the density of pure ice is less than sea water an iceberg will float in sea water with about one-ninth of the volume of an iceberg above water. The shape of the underwater portion can be difficult to judge by looking at the portion above the surface. This has led to the expression "tip of the iceberg", for a problem or difficulty that is only a small manifestation of a larger problem.
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