Environment

Pale Blue Dot

Go forth into the weekend with this video in your sights. . . For my part, I'm going to hoist a shotglass of anything but tequila (damn) to CS, The Man. . . --JULIA WHITTY...

By

| Fri Jun. 15, 2007 3:18 PM PDT

Intensive Tequila Farming Harms Biodiversity

New Scientist reports that a huge and growing appetite for tequila made from Agave tequilana is harming the genetic diversity of other agave species. Furthermore, the area available for traditional food crops is also falling, and the intensive agave farming is leading to soil erosion, creating an overall decline in biodiversity. Local farmers says that traditional agave varieties can be grown with staples such...

By

| Fri Jun. 15, 2007 3:03 PM PDT

CITES Meeting Decides Fate Of Endangered Species For Better & Worse

The annual Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) closed today in the Hague. This international regulatory body--convened to slow or reverse the accelerating rate of extinction--adopted more than 100 formal regulations governing the worldwide wildlife trade. A bitterly-fought consensus allowed a one-time-only sale of African elephant ivory from four southern African nations (East African countries argued that any sales would continue to...

By

| Fri Jun. 15, 2007 2:30 PM PDT

"Green" Planes to Debut in 2015

Some airline moguls are donating money and researching better fuel sources.

By

| Fri Jun. 15, 2007 2:28 PM PDT

Advertise on MotherJones.com

Once-Common Birds In Dramatic Decline

The National Audubon Society reports that populations of many of America's most familiar and beloved birds are in dangerous decline. Some have fallen more than 80 percent in the past 40 years?a direct result of the loss of habitat, including grasslands, healthy forests, and wetlands, from multiple environmental threats such as sprawl, energy development, and the spread of industrialized agriculture. The threats are now...

By

| Thu Jun. 14, 2007 12:24 PM PDT

Global Warming Risks Made Simple

--JULIA WHITTY...

By

| Mon Jun. 11, 2007 9:46 PM PDT

Logging Increased Wildfire Severity

The Biscuit Fire of 2002 burned more far more severely in areas that had been salvage logged and replanted compared to similar areas that were also burned in a wildfire that was left to regenerate naturally. The new study from Oregon State University and the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the USDA Forest Service found that fire severity was 16 to 61 percent higher...

By

| Mon Jun. 11, 2007 7:04 PM PDT

Noah's Ark Of 5,000 Rare Animals Floating Off China

Five thousand of the world's rarest animals have been found drifting in a deserted boat near the coast of China. The Guardian reports the cargo included 31 pangolins, 44 leatherback turtles, 2,720 monitor lizards, and 1,130 Brazilian turtles, as well as 21 bear paws wrapped in newspaper. Photographs showed other animals, including an Asian giant turtle. They were found crushed inside crates on a...

By

| Tue Jun. 5, 2007 2:18 PM PDT

Gold Rush To The Deep Seafloor

Deep-Sea News' 18-month-old reports on the rush to mine the deep oceans is finally making the news. Well, the science news, at least. Hydrothermal vents have given us many things?. But the fact that seafloor massive sulfides can precipitate a king's ransom in gold, silver, copper, and zinc was an unexpected boost to the cauldron-like charisma of hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Deep Sea News first...

By

| Thu May. 24, 2007 2:36 PM PDT

One In Six European Mammals Threatened With Extinction

The first assessment of European mammals finds nearly one in six mammal species threatened with extinction. According to the World Conservation Union, 27% of all mammals have declining populations. Only 8% are increasing, including the European bison, thanks to successful conservation measures. Europe is now home to the world's most threatened cat species, the Iberian Lynx, and the world's most threatened seal, the Mediterranean...

By

| Thu May. 24, 2007 12:39 PM PDT

Global Warming's Effect on Whales And Dolphins

Whales, dolphins and porpoises are facing increasing threats from climate change. A report published by the World Wildlife Fund and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, released in advance of the 59th meeting of the International Whaling Commission, finds many populations to be vulnerable to global warming. Cetaceans that rely on polar waters-?belugas, narwhals, and bowhead whales-?are likely to be dramatically affected by the...

By

| Thu May. 24, 2007 12:23 PM PDT

Alarming Acceleration In CO2 Emissions Worldwide

Worldwide CO2 emissions have increased at more than three times the rate of the 1990s. Between 2000 and 2004, the rate increased from 1.1 % per year to 3.1% per year?as alluded to in an earlier post. The Carnegie Institution reports that not only is no region is decarbonising its energy supply, but a long-term trend toward greater energy efficiency and reduced carbon intensities...

By

| Thu May. 24, 2007 11:54 AM PDT

Cap'n Killmore's Whale Removal Service: Animation

By

| Thu May. 24, 2007 12:00 AM PDT
hot_air_177x191.jpg

Paying For My Hot Air: Carbon-Offset Comparisons

Erasing your ecological footprint using carbon offsets? Make sure to get all the details.

By

| Fri May. 18, 2007 12:00 AM PDT
the_canon_265x400.jpg

The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science

By Natalie Angier. <i>Houghton Mifflin</i>. $27.<br /> Once, while writing a story on whale genetics, Natalie Angier was asked by an editor to confirm that a whale is a mammal, and that a mammal is, in fact, an animal.

By

| Mon May. 7, 2007 12:00 AM PDT
gone-300x200.jpg

Gone: Mass Extinction and the Hazards of Earth's Vanishing Biodiversity

By the end of the century, half of all species on Earth may be extinct due to global warming and other causes. Who will survive the world's dwindling biodiversity, and why?

By

| Tue May. 1, 2007 7:00 AM PDT
back_yard_350x383.jpg

Not in Their Back Yard: Asbestos and the EPA in the Suburbs

When the EPA discovered asbestos in their Little League fields, the residents of idyllic El Dorado Hills rushed to protect themselves&#8212;from reality.

By

| Tue May. 1, 2007 12:00 AM PDT

Teflon Is Forever

For decades, DuPont has sold the answer to crud, gunk, and grime. What the company didn't advertise was that its nonstick wonder sticks&#8212;to <em>us</em>.

By

| Tue May. 1, 2007 12:00 AM PDT

Seeing Red: Eating Locally and Debunking the Red-Blue Divide

When my family tried to eat local for a year, we learned as much about politics as we did about produce.

By

| Mon Apr. 30, 2007 12:00 AM PDT
Al Gore

Person of the Day: Al Gore

By

| Wed Mar. 21, 2007 12:00 AM PDT