Eco-News from COA: February 2008

Monday, February 25, 2008

brought to you by Sasha Paris

Lack of a market for used glass in Maine is undermining the efforts of local recycling centers (Ellsworth American)
http://ellsworthmaine.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12980&Itemid=31

The Texas government might set a [high] catch limit on the state's menhaden fishery (El Paso Times)
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_8074279

Report: Warmer climates could help Burmese pythons now living in Florida spread over much of the US (USA Today)
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/warming-could-help-pythons-grow-in-us/20080221084309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

New York Times
Gray wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho have officially lost what federal protection they had.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/us/22wolves.html?ref=science

In a Japanese dolphin-hunting town, reports of mercury-contaminated meat carry (somewhat) more weight than foreign protests
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/world/asia/21dolphin.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin

The renewed popularity of woodburning is a mixed blessing
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/us/19woodstove.html?ref=science

brought to you by Sasha Paris

The EPA authorized nighttime spraying of a certain pesticide over the urban San Francisco Bay area, starting this summer, to try preventing establishment of a certain introduced crop-damaging moth. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/15/MN99V2PMN.DTL

A bill in the California legislature would require all public-school students there to be taught about climate change. (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_8269190

Beijing tightened emission standards on new cars for certain pollutants (Reuters)
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/31302

After numerous states, including Maine, sued the EPA for its plan to have a cap-and-trade on mercury emissions from power plants, a federal court voided the plan. (Bangor News)
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=159956&zoneid=500

New York Times
A company trying to create [theoretically] CO2-soaking ocean algae blooms for carbon offsets has been set back, partly by opposition from some environmental groups and scientists.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/technology/14planktos.html?ref=science

Comments: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/commercial-ocean-fertilization-project-halted/index.html?ref=technology

Report: For the first time, "developing" countries have exceeded industrialized ones in growing genetically-engineered crops.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/business/worldbusiness/14biotech.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin

brought to you by Sasha Paris

I've been asked where I get my news from. For some sources, such as the NY Times and Bangor News, I regularly check the website. Several NGOs email me relevant newspaper articles; Gulf Restoration Network and Earthjustice are especially useful. Last year, I found many Reuters articles on AOL News, but those are rarer nowadays. And if all else fails, I turn to Environmental News Network (enn.com) and Grist.org.

The EPA vetoed the proposal for a huge wetland-draining project in Mississippi. [This article casts the decision as a "Green day for Bush", but activist NGOs credit their own lobbying efforts]. (Time)
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1709351,00.html

New, stricter fishing restrictions were enacted to help red snapper recover in the Gulf of Mexico (South Florida Sun-Sentinal)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/college/hurricanes/sfl-130redsnapper,0,7414073.story

New York Times
*A look at the growing "sustainable"-flower industry
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/fashion/03flowers.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=science

The government cut funding for a previously well-paid plan to develop so-called "clean" coal. Lots of interesting comments.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/weekinreview/03revk.html?ref=science

Don't forget:
Great Backyard Bird Count!
This upcoming weekend!
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/