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E.U. ending bluefin tuna season early amid overfishing concerns

The European Union is ending its bluefin tuna fishing season early this year due to concerns that fishers are already nearing their quotas for the popular, lucrative fish. Bluefin tuna are prized for their succulence in sushi, and demand remains strong. Market prices for bluefin in Japan have nearly tripled since last year. However, next […]

Snippets from the news

• Shower curtains emit toxic chemicals. • Men use more energy than women — at least in Sweden. • Navy was practicing just before dolphins stranded. • Madagascar will sell offsets to fund rainforest conservation. • Group ranks best cities in which to weather an oil crisis. • New Hampshire joins Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

China earthquake shook up pandas

China’s destructive earthquake took a toll on wild panda habitat, State Forestry Administration officials said Thursday. Only 1,590 pandas still live in the wild, and about 1,400 of those live in China’s Sichuan Province, which was rocked hard by the quake. Officials estimate that some 8.3 percent of wild panda digs was completely destroyed, and […]

NOAA would require saltwater fishers to register

To keep better tabs on which fish are being yanked from federal waters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has proposed requiring recreational anglers to join a national registry. For the past three decades, the agency has gleaned (insufficient) information on anglers and the fish they catch by asking questions at public docks and doing […]

McCain and Obama talk energy, groups sue over drilling in polar-bear habitat, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: 148 Days to Go Hell Nay! We Won’t Pay! Witnessing Bear We’d Like to Thank the Academies We’re Changing the Climb-It Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Built for Two Splash Animation The Missing Links

Some shark populations in Mediterranean have collapsed, study finds

Populations of five shark species in the Mediterranean Sea have declined by an average of 97 percent in the last 200 years, principally due to fishing, according to a new study to be published in the journal Conservation Biology. Researchers combed historical records and collected other data to piece together the long-term population trend of […]

Snippets from the news

• Mud volcano caused by drilling. • California sues Whole Foods over carcinogen in soap. • Skyscraper on World Trade Center site will be partially powered by fuel cells. • Engineers make wind turbines that float. • Democrats push for ban on BPA. • IBM expands Project Big Green. • Americans ride the rails.

Give to Grist and make my face go away

I would hereby like to formally apologize to all Grist readers for looming over their browsers today like some sort of dystopic Ziggy. It’s part of our ongoing fundraiser — I guess our development department thinks it will drive you to donate to Grist, if only to end the pain. Speaking of that fundraiser. I […]

Snippets from the news

• Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” could be largest on record. • Toronto cyclists form first-of-its-kind union. • Melting Arctic could spur warmer temperatures inland. • Hybrid batteries in short supply. • Gas-drilling rights to Colorado’s Roan Plateau will be auctioned.

Japan sets emissions-reduction goal for 2050 but not sooner

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced Monday that Japan will aim to cut greenhouse-gas emissions between 60 and 80 percent by 2050, but did not give in to strong pressure to set an emissions-reduction target for 2020. Fukuda gave a nod in the direction of a shorter-term goal, saying Japan’s emissions will likely drop 14 […]