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Feds decide not to list wolverine as threatened or endangered

Photo: iStockphoto The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided not to list wolverines in the Lower 48 states as threatened or endangered. The agency concluded that wolverines didn’t need Endangered Species Act protections in the Lower 48 since viable populations exist in Canada and Alaska. The FWS said the Lower 48 wolverine population “is […]

China will maintain one-child policy

Recent speculation that China was rethinking its one-child-per-family policy has been refuted by the country’s top population official, who says the family planning policy will not be altered for at least another decade.

Pollution is on Vatican’s updated list of mortal sins

The Vatican has put a modern twist on the seven deadly sins, announcing a list of “social sins” — including pollution and genetic manipulation. (And just when we had successfully rid ourselves of lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy, and pride.) The nature of sin itself has changed, says Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, head of the […]

Observation of the day

There aren’t two sides, and you aren’t in the middle.

Australia military will kill hundreds of kangaroos

Australia’s military will cull up to 500 wild kangaroos on a military base in the capital city of Canberra after authorities determined Friday that it would be too costly to relocate them. Officials say overgrazing ‘roos are endangering native grassland, a local lizard, and the threatened golden sun moth. A plan to shoot the animals […]

From Hook to Hooker

String theory Determined to save the world’s corals by hook or by slip stitch, these crafty folk are re-creating the Great Barrier Reef with yarn. Will their barrier method work? We’re on pins and needles. Photo: Alyssa Gorelick via Flickr China dolled This crackerjack artist takes broken, chipped, and otherwise unloved china and turns imperfections […]

Notable quotable

“Is it all right to hurt humans in order to protect whales? I think whales are cute and important creatures, but even so, hurting humans is unforgivable.” — Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, criticizing anti-whaling activists

Activist says he was shot in confrontation with whalers

The captain of the radical anti-whaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says he was shot in a clash with Japanese whalers on Friday. Paul Watson says he found a bullet in his Kevlar vest; Japan’s fisheries agency disputed the accusation, saying those onboard the whaling ship retaliated with non-lethal flash grenades after activists threw stink bombs […]

FWS drops plans to cut critical habitat for marbled murrelet

In a significant and unexpected victory for environmentalists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reversed its plans to significantly cut critical habitat for the marbled murrelet. The tiny seabird is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and the FWS had threatened to cut over 90 percent of its critical habitat as part […]

EPA versus the antimicrobial keychain

The EPA is deciding whether to class an antimicrobial keychain as a pesticide, according to an article in the New York Times.

The product, called the handler, is basically a small, plastic pirate's claw impregnated with nanoscale silver particles. The particles prevent bacteria from getting a foothold on the hook. Have to go to the ATM and come into contact with filthy keys that other flu-ridden people have pawed? No problem, just pull out your hook.

Not so fast!

Apparently, the EPA thinks that, because of those pesky silver particles, the product may be considered a pesticide according to a 1947 law: