Monday, May 26, 2008

Wales, wolves, potatoes, preserves, power


In Wales, ambitious plans for powering the country on a combined variety of renewable energies. (Detroit Free Press/AP)
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080518/BUSINESS07/805180584/1020

The Kansas governor vetoed plans for two new coal-power plants, which will remain vetoed (Lawrence Journal-World)
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/may/22/coal_battle_moves_court/

Update on international 'progress' in committing to greenhouse-gas-emission reductions (Associated Press).
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/nations-urge-deep-emission-cuts-by-us/n20080525035609990014

Self-explanatory:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/press/2008/twelve-conservation-groups-challenge-federal-wolf-delisting.html

Bangor News
Numerous groups seek to make bio-plastic from Maine potatoes.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=164576&zoneid=500

342,000 acres of Downeast Maine land has been newly 'preserved' along the Canadian border.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/downeast.aspx?articleid=164620&zoneid=177

Roxanne Quimby's eviction of "camp"-leasers on her bought-up land is causing a mighty lot of controversy [including ten zillion comments below this article]
http://bangornews.com/news/t/penobscot.aspx?articleid=164689&zoneid=183

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Ants, hurricanes, "saved" land, "sustainable development"


Plans for oil drilling in certain Alaskan wetlands appear to be on hold. (ENN/Reuters)
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/36444

BBC News
"Conservation refugees" in Uganda
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7390917.stm

A disputed new plan for "sustainable" development in the Amazon rainforest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7399109.stm

Bangor News
Public discussions began for the controversial Schoodic eco-resort proposal. [I'd be glad to hear opinions from COAers who attended this meeting]
http://bangornews.com/news/t/hancock.aspx?articleid=164423&zoneid=178

Editorial: Driving tips to reduce gas consumption.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/viewpoints.aspx?articleid=164198&zoneid=34

Associated Press
Recently-arrived tropical ants are wreaking havoc for human Texans, and may also harm wildlife there.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/crazy-ants-swarm-over-houston-area/20080514152109990001?icid=100214839x1202155990x1200077402

A meteorologist predicted that climate change would actually result in fewer (but fiercer) tropical Atlantic storms. Some other scientists disagree with his model.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/scientist-shifts-view-on-global-warming/20080518143309990001?icid=100214839x1202272107x1200087432

As displayed in the results of a sawmill raid, illegal rainforest logging remains a pernicious issue in Brazil.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/brazils-illegal-logging-hard-to-combat/n20080517115209990005

Monday, May 12, 2008

Crows, koalas, bugs, buses, San Francisco


Associated Press
Honeybees in commercial US hives continued dying off en masse in the past year.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/a-third-of-honey-bee-hives-lost-in-2007/20080507090109990001

Study: increased CO2 concentrations in the air makes eucalyptus less edible to koalas, which eat nothing else.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/koalas-at-risk-from-climate-change/20080507151509990001?icid=100214839x1201683254x1200063789

New York Times
Higher gas prices are straining increasingly-popular public transportation systems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/business/10transit.html?pagewanted=1&ref=science

The EPA proposed new, stricter standards for lead concentrations in air.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/washington/02epa.html?ref=science

San Francisco's mayor proposed that recycling and composting--already advanced--be made mandatory there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/us/07garbage.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin

In Japan, crow populations are rising (possibly because of more human garbage around) to plague levels and prompting big extermination efforts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/world/asia/07crows.html?pagewanted=1&ref=science

Bangor News
A newly-approved bill changes the requirements for growing genetically modified crops in Maine, and protects farmers from being sued for accidental GMO contamination of their crops.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=162819&zoneid=5

Introduced beetle larvae are taking a toll on lawns in parts of Maine.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=164110&zoneid=176

Monday, May 5, 2008

Fungi, fertilizer, land use, bison slaughter

brought to you by Sasha Paris  

College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine.  

Human Ecology in Action.


Possible restrictions on development and land use in Maine's Unorganized Territory (which comprises over half of the state's land, across multiple counties) are meeting resistance in the far north (Bangor News).
http://bangornews.com/news/t/aroostook.aspx?articleid=163594&zoneid=175

New York Times
Residents of a California town are experimenting with using fungi to clean up dioxins in a former lumber mil site. [After the recent oil spill in San Francisco, some folks there had the idea of growing oyster mushrooms in oil and found the it worked...groovy.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/us/27bragg.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=mushrooms&st=nyt&oref=slogin

Another issue in the food-crisis saga: global shortages of petroleum-based (thus increasingly expensive) fertilizer. [If we could get it to work more efficiently, so zillions of tons weren't washed away and wasted...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/business/worldbusiness/30fertilizer.html?scp=1&sq=fertilizer&st=nyt

CNN
This year's bison slaughter around Yellowstone National Park was suspended after winter ravaged the herd, but it's expected to restart next year.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/half-of-yellowstone-bison-herd-dies/20080429092909990001

Many scientists working for the EPA claimed that their findings had been manipulated or misused by regulators.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/23/epa.scientists.ap/index.html