Rethinking conservation: Can economics accomplish what environmentalism could not?

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 1 week (news.bbc.co.uk)

The global economy loses more money from deforestation than the current banking crisis, says an EU-commissioned report. This is taking into account the services that forests perform, such as purifying water and fixing carbon.

This is not a feeble rearrangement of the facts. When we lose the forestland that feeds water to our cities, we need to build our own new reservoirs and purification plants. The article's author, Richard Black of the BBC, wonders if framing conservation in terms of what it can do for human societies will do more good than preserving nature for nature's sake

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: environmentalism conservation deforestation carbon ecology economics global economy

In acidic oceans, sound carries further

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 month 2 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

It seems that as the oceans grow more acidic with all this atmospheric CO2, sounds begin to travel longer distances before they dissipate. Despite what one might think, this is not good news for whales and dolphins, which use sound to communicate and travel. Military sonar can already disrupt cetacean behavior as much as five hundred kilometers away. If things continue at the current rate, then by 2050, these sounds will travel 70% further in some parts of the Atlantic.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: geophysics sound marine biology dolphins whales cetaceans oceans acid pH global climate change carbon

Saving the Wildlife of Madagascar

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 3 weeks (www.time.com)

When you're on the lookout for lemurs — the unusually cute and endangered group of primates found only on the African island of Madagascar — it helps to have good eyes (lemurs are small), sharp ears (they rustle the trees) and a keen nose (they have an unmistakable smell).

It is hard to say how long the lemurs will be around. Madagascar is what conservationists call a biodiversity hotspot. All hotspots worldwide take up about 2% of Earth's landmass, but they are home to half its species

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: Kyoto protocol economics carbon credits carbon lemurs encroachment ecology Madagascar Wildlife conservation deforestation habitat loss primates endangered species

Bad Sign for Global Warming: Thawing Permafrost Holds Vast Carbon Pool

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 2 weeks (www.sciencedaily.com)

Permafrost blanketing the northern hemisphere contains more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, making it a potentially mammoth contributor to global climate change depending on how quickly it thaws.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: climate global warming permafrost ecology carbon global climate change

The bright side of biofuels isn't so bright

Darkfrog submitted, created time 4 months 1 week (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

The argument in favor of biofuels--petroleum-replacement fuels made from plants like corn, soybeans and switchgrass--is that while burning oil releases new carbon into the air, burning biofuels would release only the carbon that the plants had absorbed from the air during their growth cycle. The net effect would be zero.

However, if one looks at the big picture, biofuels lose their luster. Not only has the conversion of food farms to fuel farms driven up food prices worldwide, but in the tropics, farmers are cutting down carbon-absorbing forests for corn plantations

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: biofuels fuel oil petroleum economics ecology carbon pollution politics food agriculture

Top U.S. Scientists, Economists Urge Carbon Cuts

jerry submitted, created time 5 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

In an open letter published online yesterday, leading American scientists and economists urged U.S. policymakers to make deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The action comes as the Senate is poised to vote on landmark U.S. climate legislation...

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: politics government law greenhouse effect greenhouse gas economics ecology evironment carbon carbon emissions

Active root-inhabiting microbes identified by rapid incorporation of plant-derived carbon into RNA

herry submitted, created time 1 year 1 month (www.pnas.org)

Plant roots harbor a large diversity of microorganisms that have an essential role in ecosystem functioning. To better understand the level of intimacy of root-inhabiting microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria, we provided 13CO2 to plants at atmospheric concentration during a 5-h pulse.

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Scientists at the University of Southern California have applied a nanoscale imaging method to a biological system, helping to clear up an old puzzle of the global carbon and nitrogen cycle.

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.biologynews.net)

Scientists at the University of Southern California have applied a nanoscale imaging method to a biological system, helping to clear up an old puzzle of the global carbon and nitrogen cycle.

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New imaging method clarifies nutrient cycle

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Scientists at the University of Southern California have applied a nanoscale imaging method to a biological system, helping to clear up an old puzzle of the global carbon and nitrogen cycle.

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The longest carbon nanotubes you've ever seen

amanda submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.biologynews.net)

"Using techniques that could revolutionize manufacturing for certain materials, researchers have grown carbon nanotubes that are the longest in the world. While still slightly less than 2 centimeters long, each nanotube is 900,000 times longer than its diameter."

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Air quality vs. water quality: Should the dams stay or go?

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.nytimes.com)

Evironmentalists are taking sides on the issue of hydroelectric dams on Oregon's Klamath river. Those in favor say that the dams provide clean, renewable energy. Those against cite dwindling salmon and other fish populations and the consequences for commercial and American Indian fishermen.

Building fish ladders over all four of the river's dams would cost $300 million. Whether the dams are removed or the ladders are built, the price of energy in Oregon will go up

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: fish commercial fishing native americans politics energy renewable energy renewable resources carbon footprints carbon pollution air pollution salmon politics