Backyard
Nature's Direct Feed from |
Backyard
Nature's Direct Feed from |
Last updated on September 3rd, 2010
| Don't let the bed bugs bite: Click here |
| BBC: "Night night, sleep tight, don't let the bed-bugs bite"¦" It's long been a favourite rhyme to send children off to sleep. But with experts warning of a worldwide bedbug pandemic, will any of us be able to sleep once we've turned out the light?, asks Tom de Castella. Vampire fiction may be all the rage. But the true bloodsuckers after twilight are not charismatic updates of Dracula but tiny insects living in our mattresses, headboards and pillows. Yes, bed-bugs are back with a ... |
| Fuel tanker runs aground in Canadian Arctic: Click here |
| Reuters: A fuel tanker loaded with 9 million liters (2.4 million gallons) of diesel fuel has run aground in Canada's Far North but none of the fuel has spilled, the Canadian Coast Guard said on Thursday. The 117 meter (384 foot) vessel, called the Nanny, got hung up on a sand bar southwest of the community of Gjoa Haven in the territory of Nunavut on Wednesday, said Larry Trigatti, superintendent of environmental response in the Canadian Coast Guard's central and Arctic region. "There's ... |
| African livelihoods at risk as species threatened: IUCN: Click here |
| AFP: Millions of Africans may lose a key source of livelihoods as a fifth of freshwater African species are threatened with extinction, the updated Red List of endangered species showed Thursday. Scientists conducting a survey on 5,167 African freshwater species found that some 21 percent of species of fish, molluscs, crabs, dragonflies and aquatic plants were at risk of becoming extinct, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in a statement. As fish is ... |
| Four held after Arctic storm halts Greenland protest: Click here |
| AP: Four Greenpeace activists who clung to an oil rig off western Greenland using rock-climbing gear have been arrested after an Arctic storm forced them to abandon their protest. The four men -- from the US, Finland, Poland and Germany -- faced preliminary charges of violating a 1,650ft security perimeter around the Stena Don rig and trespassing by climbing on to the installation. The activists had been suspended under the rig since Tuesday to protest over British oil exporter ... |
| Openness urged on UK's emissions: Click here |
| BBC: The UK government's chief environment scientist has called for more openness in admitting Britain's apparent cuts in greenhouse gases are an illusion. Robert Watson says that if emissions "embedded" in imported goods are counted, UK emissions are up, not down. He says the same syndrome is true for other rich nations which off-shored manufacturing industry. That means developing countries - particularly China - are blamed for goods they buy for export to the ... |
| Technique to trace persistent CFCs: Click here |
| BBC: Ultrafine measurements of atmospheric gases could help track down persistent sources of CFCs thought to be slowing the recovery of the ozone layer. The use of the refrigerants and aerosol propellants was restricted by a global treaty in 1987, but they have stayed in the air longer than many expected. A UK-German team has now shown how it is possible to chemically "fingerprint" CFCs to potentially trace their origin. The group's work is published in the journal ... |
| Hurricane Earl closes in on East Coast: Click here |
| Reuters: Hurricane Earl began to strafe North Carolina's barrier islands with dangerous surf and winds on Thursday as it spun parallel to the U.S. East Coast on a northward trek toward New England and Canada. Earl was downgraded to a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity and had top sustained winds of 110 mph after weakening on Thursday from its Category 4 peak, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Additional weakening was expected but Earl was still a ... |
| Exclusive: WWF issues call for green business game-changers: Click here |
| Business Green: Has your company developed a genuinely innovative solution to an environmental challenge? Then WWF wants to hear from you. The global environmental group will next week launch a major new initiative, dubbed Green Game-Changers, which is designed to identify and promote the best sustainable business case studies from around the world. The crowd-sourcing exercise will invite firms to submit examples of green products, business models and government policies that have demonstrably ... |
| 80% of tropical agricultural expansion between 1980-2000 came at expense of forests: Click here |
| Mongabay: More than 80 percent of agricultural expansion in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came at the expense of forests, reports research published last week in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study, based on analysis satellite images collected by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and led by Holly Gibbs of Stanford University, found that 55 percent of new agricultural land came at the expense of intact ... |
| Hurricane Earl a Harbinger of Worse to Come?: Click here |
| National Geographic: Hurricane Earl--now a Category 3 hurricane with winds of up to 115 miles (185 kilometers) an hour--is expected to nearly miss North Carolina's Outer Banks (map) early Friday morning. But the storm could be the first of several intense hurricanes to menace the U.S. East Coast as the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season heats up, according to Jeff Masters, meteorological director for the Weather Underground website. Hurricane Earl's path is expected to pass about a hundred miles (160 ... |
| EPA to issue more rules in climate fight: Click here |
| Reuters: The Environmental Protection Agency will roll out more regulations on greenhouse gases and other pollution to help fight climate change, but they will not be as strong as action by Congress, a senior administration official said. The agency "has a huge role to play in continuing the work to move from where we are now to lower carbon emissions," said the official, who did not want to be named as the EPA policies are still being formed. President Barack Obama, looking to play a ... |
| Mass Extinction Threat: Earth on Verge of Huge Reset Button?: Click here |
| Live Science: Mass extinctions have served as huge reset buttons that dramatically changed the diversity of species found in oceans all over the world, according to a comprehensive study of fossil records. The findings suggest humans will live in a very different future if they drive animals to extinction, because the loss of each species can alter entire ecosystems. Some scientists have speculated that effects of humans - from hunting to climate change - are fueling another great mass extinction. ... |
| Money Key To Tackling Climate Change: Click here |
| Voice of America: Ministers from 45 countries are meeting to discuss the long-term financing of mitigation and adaptation measures needed to tackle climate change. The two-day meeting, which is jointly hosted by the governments of Switzerland and Mexico, hopes to come up with a plan to advance climate negotiations at the forthcoming talks in Cancun, Mexico, in December. The new executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change has been on the job for only two months. But, in that ... |
| Electric cars will have fewer gadgets -- here's why: Click here |
| Y! Green: What high-tech feature would you want to see in your car that's not there now? Autobytel.com asked that question as part of its "What's Hot Now?" report, and the results indicate that people must get lost a lot -- 30 percent, by far the largest number, would like to have an in-dash GPS navigation device. Me, I can live without one. In fact, just as cars are connecting big time, we're electrifying them, and many of the early EVs will be kind of skimpy on personal tech, trying to ... |
| Disasters show 'screaming' need for action - climate chief: Click here |
| AFP: UN climate chief Christiana Figueres on Thursday warned that a string of weather calamities showed the deepening urgency to forge a breakthrough deal on global warming this year. Speaking before some 40 countries were to address finance, an issue that has helped hamstring UN climate talks, Figueres said floods in Pakistan, fires in Russia and other weather disasters had been a shocking wakeup call. "The news has been screaming that a future of intense, global climate disasters ... |
| Greenpeace Activists Held After Leaving Arctic Oil Rig: Click here |
| AP: Four Greenpeace activists who had clung to an oil rig off western Greenland with rock-climbing gear were arrested Thursday after an Arctic storm forced them to abandon their environmental protest. Police spokesman Morten Nielsen said the four men -- from the U.S., Finland, Poland and Germany -- faced preliminary charges of violating a 1,650-feet security perimeter around the Stena Don rig and trespassing by climbing onto the installation. The activists had been suspended under ... |
| Tibetan nomads struggle as grasslands disappear from the roof of the world: Click here |
| Guardian: Like generations of Tibetan nomads before him, Phuntsok Dorje makes a living raising yaks and other livestock on the vast alpine grasslands that provide a thatch on the roof of the world. But in recent years the vegetation around his home, the Tibetan plateau, has been destroyed by rising temperatures, excess livestock and plagues of insects and rodents. The high-altitude meadows are rarely mentioned in discussions of global warming, but the changes to this ground have a ... |
| New maize could prepare farmers for climate change: Click here |
| SciDev.Net: New varieties of drought-tolerant maize could deliver a US$1.5 billion gain in food and income in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as helping smallholders cope with the effects of climate change, according to a study carried out in 13 countries in the region. Researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria, said the varieties produce yields up to 50 per cent higher than commercial ... |
| World cannot afford worsening disasters, warns UN climate change chief: Click here |
| UN News Centre: The world cannot afford escalating disasters of the kind recently witnessed in Pakistan and Russia, the top United Nations climate change official said today, underscoring the need for governments to take swift action to lead the world towards a low-carbon future. Flooding in Pakistan and wildfires in Russia were ?so dramatic? that many other major weather disasters in other parts of the world ?were relegated as secondary news,? Christina Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN ... |
| 'Dry water' could make commercial waves: Click here |
| Edie: UK scientists have unveiled a super powder called 'dry water' which could help tackle global warming by storing carbon dioxide The powdered material, which looks like icing sugar or flour, could help absorb and store carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. It could also prove a commercial hit in other areas, according to research presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, this month (August). Ben Carter, PhD researcher for ... |
| U.N. Climate Change Panel Gets Tips to Boost Credibility: Click here |
| GreenBiz.com: In 2010, shareholder resolutions addressing climate change received majority votes at Layne Christensen and Massey Energy. Seventeen votes received more than 40 percent support, and 88 received more than 20 percent of shareholder votes. In part due to effective shareholder pressure, but also because they have come to see the financial opportunities of mitigation strategies, corporations increasingly are issuing sustainability reports that include disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) ... |
| New Rainforest Alliance Standard Targets Cattle Farming: Click here |
| GreenBiz.com: The Rainforest Alliance has launched a new certification aimed at helping cattle farms improve their environmental and social performance. The new certification standard from RA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) aims to help farmers mitigate a slew of environmental problems associated with cattle production, such as deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. It is targeted specifically at farms where cattle have access to pasture and are ... |
| Amazon at lowest level in over 40 years in Peru: experts: Click here |
| AFP: The Amazon, the world's biggest river, is at its lowest level in over 40 years near its source in northeastern Peru, causing havoc in a region where it is used as the only form of travel, authorities said. According to officials in Loreto province, the Amazon on Tuesday in the northeast city of Iquitos fell to 105.97 meters (347.67 feet) above sea level, 50 cm (1.6 feet) lower than it was in 2005, so far the lowest reference point in four decades. Low levels have brought ... |
| Open letter to Chris Huhne on feed-in tariffs: Click here |
| Guardian: Dear secretary of state [for energy], A recent newspaper article based on an interview with Charles Hendry (Minister with the energy to bat for Britain, 23 August) suggested that funding "may be slashed" for feed-in tariff technologies such as solar PV and the forthcoming renewable heat incentive. As you know, heat is responsible for 47% of UK emissions and 49% of UK energy demand, so no government serious about climate change or energy security can ignore half the ... |
| Energy secretary Chris Huhne warned not to cut subsidies for green electricity: Click here |
| Guardian: A coalition of green, countryside and housing groups has warned energy secretary Chris Huhne not to cut subsidies for green electricity and heating as part of the government's spending review. The 22 groups, including green energy trade body the Renewable Energy Association, the National Farmers Union and the Federation of Master Builders, said in a letter to Huhne that cutting schemes that subsidise household generation of renewable energy would jeopardise job creation, energy security and ... |
| Mich., Wis. to cooperate on climate change issues: Click here |
| AP: Michigan and Wisconsin plan to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and determine the best strategies to adapt to climate change as part of an effort to protect the Great Lakes region. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment announced the agreement Thursday. Michigan DNRE Director Rebecca Humphries in July asked Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank to formalize plans to work together, and a memorandum of understanding ... |
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change must keep its eye on the ball: Click here |
| Guardian: If the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change didn't exist, would we need to invent it? Many people find it helpful to have a single point of reference on the big, global questions that everyone is interested in: can we detect human influence on climate, how large are changes expected to be in future, what are the main impacts likely to be and what can (not should) be done about it? These are questions on which the level of scientific consensus is far higher than most non-scientists ... |
| Coast Guard responding to possible rig blast in Gulf: Click here |
| Reuters: The U.S. Coast Guard was flying helicopters to a possible offshore drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, a Coast Guard spokesman said. Helicopters were an hour away from the site of the possible explosion, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Prentice Danner. |
| Oil Rig Explodes In Gulf Of Mexico: Click here |
| AP: An offshore petroleum rig exploded and was burning Friday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay. The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the explosion, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the site around 9 a.m. CDT. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau says seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were ... |
| Climate-change assessment: Must try harder: Click here |
| Economist: IF THIS week's report into the workings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by a council of national academies of science were the sort of report children take home from school, its main themes would be expressed as "could do better" and "needs to show workings". Stern parents might read it as calling for a Gradgrind-like clampdown; more indulgent ones as an inducement for the little darlings to try a little harder. At a meeting in Busan, South Korea, this October, ... |
| Gulf oil rig explodes off La. coast: Click here |
| AP: An offshore oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill. Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast. Ranel says it hasn't been determined whether the structure is a production ... |
| Changing Weather Depletes Fish Stocks: Click here |
| New Era: The decline in Namibia's fish resources is a result of environmental conditions and failed recovery of the resources despite conservative management strategies, says Beau Tjizoo of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources. "Warm events" that have occurred since 1995 have increased along the coast in recent years. This has led to the displacement and mortality of fish species. Reporting to the ongoing meeting of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis ... |
| North Carolina on the Hudson next?: Click here |
| Times Union: As the sun beat down Wednesday at the Kurver Kreme ice cream stand, the gray plastic tables outside were hot enough to scorch a bare arm. It was 92 degrees in the Capital Region, with the third 90-plus day in a row predicted for Thursday. The heat drove a 48-hour ozone advisory from the state that will run through nightfall Thursday, warning people, especially the young and elderly, to stay out of the sun and avoid exertion. Ozone, also called smog, can worsen breathing ... |
| Report confirms rapid glacier melting: Click here |
| Himalayan: The United States Geological Survey in its report -- published in collaboration with 39 international scientists -- says that glaciers throughout the Asia region -- Russia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan -- are retreating. However, the report says the time period for the retreat is different among the glaciers. "In Bhutan, 66 glaciers have decreased by 8.1 per cent over the last 30 years. Rapid changes in the Himalaya ... |
| Australia: PM Julia Gillard's high-risk Greens embrace: Click here |
| Australian: JULIA Gillard has agreed to a historic pact with the Australian Greens in a bid to end the nation's parliamentary deadlock, promising action on climate change in return for guaranteed support to govern. The deal includes the establishment of a climate change committee to consider a price on carbon, big changes to the rules on political donations and a major parliamentary debate on the war in Afghanistan. The Greens will, in effect, have more power than Labor backbenchers, with ... |
| Salt Palace solar array paying off before it's built: Click here |
| Salt Lake Tribune: A Salt Palace solar array that would outshine any other rooftop grid in the nation is brightening the Beehive State's bottom line -- even before the first panel is in place. Although the installation is months away, word of it helped Salt Lake County win a National Association of Home Builders convention. Scott Beck, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, announced Wednesday the association picked Utah for its 2011 green building conference after ... |
| Researchers study link between climate, wildfire: Click here |
| AP: Scientists from universities in Montana, Colorado and Idaho announced today the start of a 5-year, $3.85 million research project into how a changing climate will influence wildfires. The project is being pursued in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and researchers in Australia and New Zealand. The goal is to identify how human activities and climate change drive fires. "One thing is clear: The frequency and severity of fires have increased around and world and this is ... |
| Ecologists fear Antarctic krill crisis: Click here |
| Nature: The humble Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) bears a heavy burden. It may be just a small, shrimp-like crustacean, but its sheer abundance makes it one of the largest protein sources on Earth, eagerly sought by fish, penguins, whales -- and man. Ecologists are now warning that the rapid growth in krill fishing is adding to the pressure of environmental changes threatening the creatures, and are calling for better monitoring and precautionary management of krill fisheries. The ... |
| Pakistan: Dr Samar warns of devastating floods every year: Click here |
| APP: Dr Samar Mubarakmand Wed-nesday warned that the country might experience unprecedented floods every year because of global warming, saying in case of not building more dams and adopting precautionary measures, it could prove more disastrous. In an exclusive interview, he said global warming and melting of glaciers was a main reason for the weather system, which forced heavy rains. Industrialised nations were responsible for environmental pollution as they burnt natural fuels in ... |
| 'Red list' alert for tiny crayfish: Click here |
| Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Several species of southern Australian crayfish have been named on a threatened species list. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has included more than a dozen burrowing crayfish species on its updated Red List, released today. The crayfish are only found in southern Australia and the United States. Tasmanian scientist Dr Niall Doran, who was involved in the assessment, says the tiny species plays an important role in the environment. "They ... |
| Charleston has hottest summer in 67 years: Click here |
| Charleston Gazette: Think it's been awfully hot in Charleston this summer? You're right. West Virginia's capital city has recorded what appears to be the hottest summer in 67 years, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the National Weather Service. Ken Batty, meteorologist with the Charleston weather service office, said Charleston's average temperature for the period from June through August was 76.8 degrees. That's the sixth hottest summer on record, based on data going back to ... |
| Climate change gets wet: Click here |
| Discover Magazine: One of the most important gases affecting the global climate is both incredibly familiar and persistently mysterious--water vapor. Researchers know that atmospheric water traps heat and insulates the earth, but even after years of intensive study, the magnitude of the effect has remained obscure. By analyzing global water vapor and temperature satellite data for the lower atmosphere, Texas A&M University atmospheric scientist Andrew Dessler and his colleagues found that warming driven by ... |
| Climate change report says a meter of water would completely over Jamestown Island: Click here |
| Daily Press: As Virginia braces for a possible bashing by Hurricane Earl, two environmental groups on Wednesday released a report that suggests things may only get worse for low-lying areas in Hampton Roads, especially area National Parks. The report -- issued jointly by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization -- details the effects of climate change on Colonial National Historical Park, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Shenandoah National Park. ... |
| Nanaimo Estuary has strong potential for carbon storage: Click here |
| Nanaimo News Bulletin: The Nanaimo Estuary is one of the most important estuaries in the province for carbon storage, deemed critical for slowing climate change and absorbing spent carbon. In a report titled Blue Carbon – British Columbia, authored by Colin Campbell, science advisor for Sierra Club B.C., the Nanaimo Estuary is ranked in the top seven of 442 B.C. estuaries for effective sea burial of carbon because of its high concentration of eelgrass and salt marshes. "Eelgrass and salt marshes bury ... |
| Nations meet on climate cash, U.N. sees long haul: Click here |
| Reuters: About 45 nations met on Thursday to seek ways to raise billions of dollars in aid to help the poor combat climate change as the United Nations warned them of a long haul to slow global warming. Environment ministers and senior officials in Geneva were reviewing whether rich nations, hit by austerity cuts, are keeping a promise of $30 billion in "new and additional" climate aid for 2010-12 made at the U.N.'s Copenhagen summit. "The funds are critical" to build trust between rich ... |
| Legal challenge to drilling ban scores court victory: Click here |
| Business Green: The US ban on deep water oil and gas drilling could be overturned for a second time after a federal judge yesterday rejected the Obama administration's request to dismiss an oil industry lawsuit challenging the six-month moratorium. US district judge Martin Feldman, who controversially overturned the administration's first ban, yesterday ruled that a second ban imposed by the Interior Department in July "arguably fashions no substantial changes from the first moratorium" and as such ... |
| Report: Over 3 million electric vehicles to be sold by 2015: Click here |
| Business Green: By 2015 the auto industry will have put 3.2 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the world's roads, according to research released this week. The study from analyst Pike Research, entitled Plug-in electric vehicles, predicts a 106 per cent compound annual growth rate for the vehicles over the next five years, initially driven by demand in the small consumer vehicle category. Dave Hurst, senior analyst at the organisation, predicted that small electric cars will act ... |
| Green roofs offer antidote to urban heat island effect, say researchers: Click here |
| Guardian: Green roofs, like the one pictured above, benefit more than just their owners, according to Stuart Gaffin, a researcher at Columbia University. "They are a win-win on so many fronts," he said. Perhaps the greatest overall benefit of green roofs comes in tackling the "urban heat island" effect, which Gaffin suggests is responsible for two-thirds of New York's localized warming over the last century. The conventional black rooftops that he calls "tar beaches" are major contributors to ... |
| Report: Climate science panel needs change at top: Click here |
| AP: Scientists reviewing the U.N.'s international climate change panel called Monday for a major overhaul in the way it is run, but they stopped short of calling for ousting its current leader. The independent review of the U.N. climate panel puts new pressure on chairman Rajendra Pachauri, who has been criticized for possible conflicts of interest but shows no sign of stepping down. "It's hard to see how the United Nations can both follow the advice of this committee and keep ... |
| Nigeria: Minister Warns On Climate Change-Induced Disasters: Click here |
| Daily Trust: Nigeria is susceptible to climate change-induced disasters, Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey has warned. Odey said yesterday in Minna that climate induced disasters may soon affect the country as he maintained that research had revealed that Nigeria would succumb to the adverse effects of climate change. The minister's representative, Mrs. Olabisi Jaji, who was speaking at the commencement of the visit of Task Force members of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate ... |
