Sushi, scallops, "biodiversity offsets," belugas, carbon sinks

brought to you by Sasha Paris  

College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine.  

Human Ecology in Action.

Another trend in green[washed] business: "biodiversity offsets" (International Herald Tribune)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/13/business/rbogbio.php?page=1

New regulations were proposed for Maine scallop gathering--including three-year closures off eastern MDI and five other areas--and scallopers protested them at a recent hearing (Ellsworth American)
http://ellsworthmaine.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17280&Itemid=1

West African chimpanzees appear to have declined drastically in Cote D'Ivoire (National Geographic News)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081013-chimps-decline.htmlhttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081013-chimps-decline.html

Alaska's Cook Inlet beluga population was declared Endangered, which could inhibit oil and gas drilling [and tidal power generation, according to a similar NYT article] in the area. (Associated Press)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJx0IzvRt6GWrUBb90Foe4URCGagD93SD23G0

Three conservation groups published sustainable-seafood guides dealing specifically with sushi [sigh...my only vice...] (Japan Times/Associated Press)
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081016f2.html

NY Times
The WWF and the Indonesian government made an agreement to "save and conserve" Sumatra's soil-rich rainforest as a carbon sink [though it's unclear if or how they'll enforce this]
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/agreement-forged-to-save-vanishing-sumatran-forests/

On "road ecology": efforts to reduce the various impacts of roads on wildlife
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/science/14road.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin

Warming temperatures could turn peat bogs from carbon sinks to carbon sources
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/science/14obpeat.html?em