From the monthly archives: August 2009

What’s In Your Bloodstream?

By On August 27, 2009

A two-year-old Minnesota biomonitoring program has now confirmed that residents of suburbs east of the Twin Cities have perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in their blood, although government agencies stress that the levels are only slightly higher than those in the general population. Several landfill sites where 3M formerly dumped CFC wastes leaked the [...]

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New Shipping Rules Agreed To Protect The Antarctic

By On August 25, 2009

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has agreed new rules which ban the transportation and use of heavy grade oils by ships in the Antarctic Ocean.

The change was agreed during the 2009 meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment [...]

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Fashionable Activism and Fundraising: I’m Tired of Coal

By On August 24, 2009

Tell the world how you feel about our dirty coal addiction by wearing your message right on your arm: I’m Tired of Coal.

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Minnesota Moose on the Run from Climate Change

By On August 20, 2009

An expert advisory committee this week released recommendations on restoring Minnesota’s dwindling moose population, whose decline one expert said is related to gradual warming of the state’s climate. “The moose, of course, is not an animal that deals very well with heat,’’ panel chairperson Rolf Peterson of Michigan Technological University

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Greenpeace Exposes Oil Industry’s Really Dirty Face

By On August 20, 2009

We can’t expect much from the oil industry, but Greenpeace’s newest finding is as ugly as it gets.

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Freshwater Dreams and Schemes

By On August 17, 2009

The North American Great Lakes contain 6 quadrillion gallons of freshwater, about one-fifth of the world’s available freshwater supply.

For more than 25 years, residents of the Great Lakes region have feared large-scale public works projects to take freshwater from the Lakes to thirsty, faster-growing areas of North America. That’s why the [...]

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Coal Strip Mine Would Destroy Salmon Streams in Cook Inlet

By On August 17, 2009

PacRim Coal’s plan to strip mine coal right through 11 miles of salmon-bearing streams in Alaska would destroy critical wetlands and headwater streams beyond the point of restoration, according to three new studies by scientists.

The salmon fisheries along the Chuit River would be severely damaged, so much so that the researchers say that restoration [...]

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Tourist Mosquitoes Threaten the Galapagos

By On August 17, 2009

If you could declare a home town of evolution it would be the Galapagos Islands. Back in 1835 a sea sick young naturalist, Charles Darwin, landed on the Galapagos to conduct a little research. That research was the genesis of Darwin’s seminal work “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.” [...]

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Growing Acid in our Oceans: A Looming Threat to Sea Life

By On August 13, 2009

This picture is a picture of the beautiful Monterey, California coastline. This is where I grew up. It is famous for it’s beautiful sea life. Sea otters, jelly fish, sea lions, kelp forests all populate the Monterey coast.  The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. Yet, with all that mass [...]

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Great Lakes Offshore Wind Aesthetics

By On August 13, 2009

While public opinion remains divided about the risks and benefits of installing wind farms in the Great Lakes, several of the eight states with Great Lakes water are racing to be first to approve projects capturing energy from frequently strong offshore winds. It remains to be seen whether a public generally supportive of [...]

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ET Text Home? Send your own Texts Into Space

By On August 12, 2009

Gliese 581 d. Such a catchy name eh? You probably have never heard of it. It is 20 light years away, but in late April 2009 new observations by the original discovery team concluded that the planet is within the habitable zone where liquid water, and therefore, life, could exist.

Some of you [...]

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camel

Australia Plans Airstrikes to Kill 650K Camels in Outback

By On August 12, 2009

They are Australia’s largest invasive species, and the government is spending $19 million AUD to deal with the excess population of desert dwellers. The country’s solution? Slaughter them from helicopters and serve them up as camel burgers, camel pies, camel sausages, camel steaks, and camel mince.

Australia’s wild camel population is out of control. An [...]

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Dancing Rabbit Eco Village: The Inside Scoop

By On August 12, 2009

Unless you live in an eco village or other form of intentional community, you’re probably curious about the lifestyle. You’ve probably already got some images stuck in your head (I know the commune from Easy Rider always comes to my mind). You may even cling to a few stereotypes. But, as you’ve [...]

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BBOP | Jazzing Up Business’ Impact On Biodiversity

By On August 11, 2009

The Business and Biodiversity Offset Program has left me torn: is this a genuine attempt to preserve biodiversity, or just another exercise in corporate greenwashing?

The Business and Biodiversity Offset Program is a work in progress.  Its name includes that reviled word “offset”, a red flag for [...]

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Who Needs a Phone Book?

By On August 10, 2009

As the Internet becomes the resource more Americans turn to for phone numbers, lawmakers are beginning to examine the proliferation of unwanted phone books — and their environmental impact. A Minnesota legislator, Rep. Paul Gardner, has introduced state legislation to allow consumers to opt-out of receiving the paper [...]

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Shark Repellent, Saves Sharks!

By On August 8, 2009

We have all been waiting for this day. Finally, shark repellent has arrived to the world… except this shark repellent is not used to save humans from sharks. No this shark repellent was made to save sharks from humans. With good reason, while only about 4 people die of unprovoked shark attacks each [...]

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