Ecosystems


Study Finds Climate Change May Threaten Wolverine Population

The aggressive wolverine may not be powerful enough to survive climate change in the contiguous United States, according to new research by the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Wind Power Buildout Could Kill Millions of Birds, Conservation Group Says

We need more data, the American Bird Conservancy said, adding that environmental oversight or assessment can help developers be certain that significant numbers of birds will not be harmed.

Who's Doing What

Find out who was hired, what companies were acquired, and which smart bidders won contracts since the start of 2011.

Why Should We Be Concerned About the Loss of Turtles?

Scientists report that almost half of the turtle species is threatened. Turtle scientists are working to understand how global warming may affect turtle reproduction. To bring attention to this and other issues affecting turtles, researchers and other supporters have designated 2011 as the Year of the Turtle.

Scientists Launch Major Ecological Study on Borneo's Deforested Landscapes

A giant-scale experiment on deforestation, biodiversity and carbon cycling has got underway in the spectacular forests of Sabah, a Malaysian state on the tropical southeast Asian island of Borneo.

SFPUC OKs Calaveras Dam Replacement in Water Improvement Program

After seven years, San Francisco's Planning Commission certified the project's environmental impact report for work that is designed to improve Bay Area water supply in the Alameda Creek habitat.

Intact wetlands along coastal Louisiana.

New Orleans' Corps of Engineers to Use Modified Charleston Method

The mitigation assessment tool should improve process consistency when the Corps is determining the environmental impact of a particular project.

East-African Drought

Pattern of More-Frequent Droughts in Eastern Africa Likely to Continue

The increased frequency of drought observed in eastern Africa over the last 20 years is likely to continue as long as global temperatures continue to rise, according to new research published in Climate Dynamics.



EPA Disapproves Part of Vt.'s 2002 Water Quality Plan

EPA has disapproved Vermont’s 2002 water quality plan that set phosphorus targets for discharges into Lake Champlain.

coca

Cocaine Production Quickens Destruction Of Colombia's Rainforests

A new study provides evidence that cultivating coca bushes, the source of cocaine, is speeding up destruction of rain forests in Colombia.

Mercury in San Francisco Bay Fish a Legacy of California Mining

With the use of a mercury "fingerprinting" technique, researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of California, Davis, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute have identified the main sources of mercury in bay floor sediments and shown that small fish near the base of the food web acquire their mercury from those sediments.

Liz Kujawinski, left, and colleague Melissa Kido Soule work on oil dispersant study in WHOI Fourier-Transform Mass Spectrometry Facility. Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole Dispersant Study Suggests Prolonged Deepwater Fate

The good news is that the dispersant stayed in the deep ocean after it was first applied; the bad news is that it stayed in the deep ocean and did not degrade.

Dow, The Nature Conservancy Collaborate to Value Nature

The company will "operationalize" sustainability, according to Dow chief executive officer Andrew Liveris.

Current biochemical reactor appearance

Treating Mine Tailings Runoff

Park City, Utah, hit pay dirt with an anaerobic biochemical reactor that removed more than 99 percent of cadmium and zinc from shallow groundwater.

Ocean Energy Bureau Slates EIS Meetings for Oil & Gas Leasing

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement is developing a programmatic environmental impact statement for the Outer Continental Shelf and is seeking public comment.

U.S. President Barack Obama

Obama Earns Average Grade on Environment, Group Says

Two year's into his term, Obama gets good grades for greenhouse gas endangerment finding but poor ones for endangered species from the Center for Biological Diversity.

Florida panther

Biological Diversity, PAN Sue EPA to Protect Species from Pesticides

The Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network claim that the agency has failed to properly protect more than 200 endangered and threatened species from harmful pesticides.

Study Findings Boost Support for Using Oysters to Clean Chesapeake Bay

Biologists at Virginia Commonwealth University found that an additional 2.5 centimeters of growth allowed a farm oyster to remove 2.2 times the nutrients of a regular oyster.

Maquire daisy

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Is Delisting Maguire Daisy

Over the last 25 years, federal agencies have worked to bring the plant's population from seven to 163,000.

Interior Creating Offshore Energy Safety Advisory Committee

Secretary Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich also announced the new structure of what was MMS: Two independent agencies, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.