habitat loss
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Scientists will study coral in this International Year of the Reef
If you were wondering what that odd smell is in the air, it’s because 2008 is the International Year of the Reefer. Oh, wait, we read that wrong. The reef — it’s the International Year of the Reef. Ahem. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) says that warming seas and increased hurricanes affected more than half […]
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Ecosystems are nonlinear
Here's a disturbing study that seems to mimic nothing so much as my mother-in-law's theory that small brownie pieces cut from the edge of the remaining mass of brownies left in the pan ("the efficient frontier," an economist might call it) don't have calories, because each little tiny mini-slice hardly changes the amount of brownie left at all.
On the one hand, the example cited is not particularly objectionable: Researchers claim to have found a mangrove where you can remove 20% of it with little reduction in flood control capacity -- meaning you can use that 20% for factory farmed shrimp and such.
The attitude of this article is in sharp contrast with that of Aldo Leopold and others, who would suggest that recognizing nonlinearity is a good first step, but that wisdom, or even an approximation of it, doesn't begin until you recognize that this ...
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Coral reefs suffer from proximity to humans, says study
The main factor contributing to declines in coral-reef health is proximity to human populations, says new research in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. A study of 322 reef sites in the Caribbean found that many suffered significant damage from overfishing and agricultural runoff. Author Camilo Mora estimates that reefs in […]
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PNG agrees to let palm-oil producers raze rainforest
Everyone at Bali cheered when the Papua New Guinea delegate dissed the Bush team:
We seek your leadership. But if for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of the way.
Oh, snap! [Sorry, couldn't resist one last 2007 Daily Show-ism]
Now comes the heartbreaking news:
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War ain’t good for the planet, says new report
It’s the time of year for thinking about shopping peace on earth, and an aptly timed new report carries a reminder of the impact of war not just on people, but on the planet. Modern warfare tactics cause unprecedented damage to natural landscapes, says a new article from the Worldwatch Institute. Think spraying of Agent […]
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San Francisco sues over oil spill, South Korea spill cleanup ongoing
The city of San Francisco has sued the owners of the container ship that hit the iconic Bay Bridge last month and blackened the bay with 58,000 gallons of oil. The “wholly avoidable” accident caused “more injury to the San Francisco Bay Area than we can yet begin to fathom,” says the suit, which seeks […]
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A third of avian species on land could disappear this century as a result of climate change
In more depressing bird news, researchers at my alma mater estimate that up to 30 percent of all land-dwelling bird species could be extinct by 2100 as a result of global climate change. The study, published this week in the journal Conservation Biology ($ub. req'd), modeled bird population responses to changes in vegetation for over 8,000 species and 60 scenarios, and is one of the first analyses of extinction rates to incorporate information from the recent IPCC reports. I think I'm going to go cry now.
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Less hunters mean less funding for conservation, states find
Many states are lamenting the declining population of a valuable species: the American hunter. Funds from hunting licenses and fees are generally directed to wildlife conservation; while the need to maintain habitat for wild critters isn’t going to go away anytime soon, the number of sportsfolk in the U.S. has declined by some 35 percent […]
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Interior Department urged to redo recovery plan for spotted owl
Was the Interior Department’s recovery plan for the northern spotted owl watered down because of political pressure to favor logging interests? Six peer reviews of the plan (five of them funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) suggest yes. So do 113 scientists who sent a letter yesterday asking the Interior Department to rewrite […]