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Nearly 200 species added to World Conservation Union’s Red List

The World Conservation Union has added 188 animals and plants to its Red List, a tally of the flora and fauna most threatened with extinction. The additions bring the depressing total up to 16,306 species — and that’s a low estimate. Ten Galapagos Island coral species joined their endangered brethren on the list for the […]

Inuit villagers give birth to twice as many girls as boys

Twice as many girls as boys are being born in Arctic communities across Greenland and northern Russia, where Inuit villagers are known to have high levels of human-made chemicals in their blood. Many babies are being born premature; baby boys tend to be small. Hormone-mimicking chemicals originate in industrialized countries, travel to the Arctic by […]

New Russian bomb not as eco-unfriendly as a nuclear weapon, says official

Russia has tested the world’s most powerful vacuum bomb, with an explosion as powerful as a nuclear weapon. But don’t get the wrong idea: the Russian deputy armed forces chief of staff wants to stress that “the action of this weapon does not contaminate the environment, in contrast to a nuclear one.” And to think […]

John McQuaid explains the lessons we should have learned from Hurricane Katrina

In an new series in Mother Jones, John McQuaid reports on what we should have learned from Hurricane Katrina. McQuaid knows what he’s talking about — three years before the storm, he coauthored an award-winning series predicting all-too-accurately what would happen to New Orleans if it were hit by a big-time hurricane, and he’s since […]

Western U.S. littered with abandoned mines

Earlier this month, two sisters fell into a mine shaft in Arizona while riding an all-terrain vehicle. It was a terrible tragedy, but, unfortunately, not an unexpected one: an estimated 500,000 abandoned mines litter the U.S., mostly in the West. Even though the oldest mines were closed almost a century ago, many are still leaching […]

Pacific gray whale population may still be severely depleted

The Pacific gray whale, long held up as an environmental success story, may not have made as impressive a comeback as once thought. Thanks to a widespread ban on commercial whaling, the Pacific gray whale became the first marine mammal to be taken off the endangered species list in 1994. When whales began dying off […]

Greens sue to speed up protections for giant earthworm

Greens plan to sue the federal government in hopes of speeding up endangered-species protections for the Palouse earthworm, the largest and longest-lived earthworm in North America. It can grow up to a yard long, spits at attackers, and smells like flowers. We kid you not.

Certification-driven deforestation

Sustainable certification programs in third world nations are not what you would call foolproof. For every product that actually comes from a sustainable operation, you have those that don't but claim they did, and separating the wheat from the chaff is not usually possible -- a few bribes, some forged paperwork and everything looks golden. You might think you got a certified product, but you wouldn't want to bet your first-born on it. Everyone pretends, or at least assumes, these schemes work so they can continue to buy the lumber. In this sense, the certification process may be unintentionally increasing deforestation. Just another of those unintended consequences that often pop up as we pave roads with good intentions.

Penguins in peril, Navy allowed to test underwater sonar, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Whale Meets Its Makah Play It Again, Uncle Sam Put Some More Lead on the Barbie Ursine of the Times All Dressed Up and No Place to Go Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: A Summer Send-Off Nothing to Sneeze At […]

A round-up of top ocean stories

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A Manhattan-sized iceberg that had broken off a Canadian island came to a rest in a dead-end Arctic Ocean channel, much to the relief of cargo ships and oil rigs, which may have been threatened by the two-billion-ton berg.

A family out sailing in Massachusetts spied a mola mola, a bony sunfish shaped like a mix between a shark and a pancake. Usually found in warmer waters, the mola sometimes migrates north of the tropics.

A group of scientists announced a plan to wire the Pacific floor so that land-bound researchers can remotely view and study the sea floor. "This is a NASA-scale mission to enter the Inner Space," said one.

Leaked documents suggested the Canadian government is set to announce fast-tracked economic initiatives in the Arctic later this fall.