ENVIROMENTALITY
A topical index of environmental news, research, speculation, and invective
(for web page view and plain text email point browser to http://www.eutopianow.org)
March 15, 2007                                                                                                                                                                                       Searchable Archive
Biodiversity

World Tourism Marks Record Year: 842M Arrivals

Conserving Evolutionary Potential As Top Priority
Phylogenetic diversity (PD) is a biodiversity index that measures the length of evolutionary pathways that connect a given set of taxa. Study argues that PD rather than species richness should guide conservation choices:  go to

New Web Based Plan To Protect Rarest Species
The plan will focus on phylogenetic rarity, and will allow the public to track and donate to individual projects via a website:  go to

Anthropollutants Change 'He' Frogs Into 'She' Frogs
Researchers make a potential breakthrough in the amphibian crisis:  go to

Species Watch
Rare Zoo-Born Rhino Returns to Land of Ancestors     go to
Sperm Whale Paradise Near Sicily (spanish)              go to
Mysterious Honeybee Dieoff in US                            go to
New Monkey Species in Mabira, Uganda                    go to
Iranian Cheetah To Be Tracked by GPS                    go to
Genetics Reveal 15 New North American Bird Species  go to
Shark Species Added to Endangered List                   go to
Sturgeon Stage Comeback in Hudson River, US         go to
Mis-Ids Probably Inflated White Marlin Census           go to
Beavers Return to Bronx River, US                            go to
Business Corporations

Shell Agrees to Clean Up Niger Delta
go to

GE, AES Plan Partnership to Cut Greenhouse Gases
BP Looking Towards a Biofuel Future
A new $500 million biofuels institute will be built at the University of California, Berkeley, with funds from BP:   go to
Bank of America Launches $20B Enviro Initiative
The largest retail bank in the US will spend $18 billion on commercial lending and investment banking for "green" projects over the next decade:   go to
Lehman Names Roosevelt Head of Climate Council


Climate

Threat to Ozone Layer Persists
The ozone "hole" is as large as ever and experts believe the fluorocarbon refrigerant HCFC-22 is to blame. The Montreal Protocol allows developing nations to use HCFC-22 until 2040:  go to

Designer Molecule Could Clean Up Fluorocarbons
Computer assisted design and bio-mimicry have produced a molecule that would easily break apart the strong carbon-fluorine bond:  go to

CO2: This Time It's Personal
A proposal to create personal carbon allowance accounts reaches British Parliament:  go to

A Dose of Dust Quieted the Hurricane Season?      Two climatologists suggest that dust blown across the Atlantic from the Sahara caused the 2006 hurricane season to be far less active than had been forecasted:  go to

More CO2 May Not Mean Greater Plant Productivity
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Energy and Transportation

Effluent Discharge From Ethanol Production
Every gallon of ethanol produced results in 13 gallons of effluent pollution, creating the need for novel methods to achieve zero effluent-discharge:  go to

Advanced Auto Battery Progress Report
Transcript of Dr. Menachem Anderman's testimony before U.S. Senate Energy Committee, January 30, 2007 :  go to

Railroad Boom Hits Environmental Snags
The strategy of rail companies - with implications for reducing oil usage - is to carry more of the containers moved by long haul truckers. But, to do this they need to build more rail yards. Nine major US cities are considering legislation that would require railroads to reroute hazardous chemicals - a move that would probably require building more trackage in suburban and rural areas:  go to
Albania Drought= -Hydropower +Personal Generators
go to

Geothermal Watch
MIT Study Touts Geothermal as Worthy Renewable:  go to
Lukewarm Geothermal is Also Viable:                       go to
Geothermal Tube Coatings Boost Efficiency:              go to
Thermal Energy from the Sea:                                 go to
Forests and Agriculture

Evidence of Pesticide Overuse in Bangladesh
In a recent survey of 820 rice, potato, bean, eggplant, cabbage, sugarcane and mango farmers in Bangladesh, over 47% of farmers were found to be overusing pesticides. With only 4% of farmers formally trained in pesticide use or handling, and over 87% openly admitting to using little or no protective measures while applying pesticides:  go to

New Park in French Guiana Largest in Amazon
Story:  go to

Straw on Rice Fields Increases Methane Emission
A Japanese study shows that emissions were 2–10-fold greater from fields where rice straw was applied: go to

Public–Private Partnerships For Agricultural Innovation Concepts and Experiences from 124 Cases in Latin America
go to

Anti-Desertification Effort Leads to Weed Trouble
Invasive plant, Prosopis juliflora, introduced to curtail desertification has instead destroyed the economic base of Kenya's marginalized communities: go to

GMO Watch
Flood Tolerant Rice Could Reduce Pesticide Use:        go to
Uruguay Suspends GM Crop Applications (spanish):    go to
'Gene Deleting' Tool Could Lead to Safer GM Crops:  go to
Changing the Oil Content of Plants Genetically:        go to
Colombia Approves GM Corn:                                 go to
Nutrition, Health, and Wealth

New Tech Cleans 99.999% Viruses From Water
go to

Record Number of Countries Give Record Amount to UN Population Fund
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ivory
Approximately three tons of ivory were confiscated on March 1, 2007, a record amount for Japan, which is a major destination for elephant tusks on the black market.  The ivory—believed to have been taken from approximately 130 African elephants—was discovered while being unloaded from a freighter in Osaka Nanko Port in August 2006.  Two suspected smugglers have been arrested.  CITES member states are now gathering species lists for inclusion in the next round of talks in June. (Photo Courtesy of National Geographic)
Nutrition, Health, and Wealth, cont'd

Needed: Parachutes for Those Hurt By 'Green' Economy
As preferences and development shift away from environmentally harmful industries, care needs to be taken to ease adjustment for affected communities.  This study shows how salmon farming is affecting wild salmon fishers in Alaska: go to

'New' Drugs Said to Escape Patent Restrictions
A British research team claims to have developed a way of bypassing patent restrictions on expensive drugs used against infectious diseases by radically modifying the structure of their active chemical components: go to
Disease Watch
Indonesia Refuses to Share Avian Flu Samples:     go to
Cardiovascular Disease In Less Affluent Nations:    go to
TB Vaccine Production Improved:                          go to
Engineered Tobacco For Amoebiasis Vaccine:          go to
Bird Flu Update:                                                  go to
Scientists Identify a Chink in HIV's Armor:              go to
Anti- Malarial Herb Artemisia annua improved:          go to
IABD Gives $US900M To Fight Chagas (spanish):    go to
Child Deaths Due to Measles Slashed 60%:            go to
New and/or Noteworthy Media

How Everyday Products Make People Sick: Toxins at Home and in the Workplace
Book by Paul D. Blanc
go to
Industrial Ecology and Global Change
Book by Robert Socolow
go to

 Greenerchoices.org
Web Site for Product Choices and Recycling
go to
Science and Tech Frontiers

Bacteria Could Steady Buildings Against Earthquakes
 go to

In Silico: Computer Based Medical Research
Systems biologists have finished a comprehensive computer model of metabolism, providing an invaluable tool for drug discovery and disease research: go to

Physicists Unite Light And Matter
Physicists have for the first time stopped and extinguished a light pulse in one part of space and then revived it in a completely separate location. They accomplished this feat by completely converting the light pulse into matter that travels between the two locations and is subsequently changed back to light: go to

US Congress Looking Closely at Asteroid Threat
go to

Butterfly Wings as Sensitive Gas Sensors
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Better Biological Machines From Microbial Genomes
Scientists are sequencing the genomes of entire microbial communities in the hope of uncovering new genes and organisms that can create fuel, mine metals, or clean up superfund sites. Known as metagenomics, the field relies on studying bits of DNA from a variety of organisms that live in the same place: go to
Waters and Wetlands and Aquaculture

Southern Ocean Being Strangled by Greenhouse Gases
The more acidic an ocean gets, the less carbon dioxide it can soak up: go to

Fungal Epizootic in Mussels at Hydrothermal Vents
go to

A Call for Continuous Monitoring of Ocean Circulation
To determine with confidence how the meridional overturning circulation may be changing on interannual and seasonal time scales in the warming world, continuous monitoring of water transport appears to be needed: go to

Ecological Aspects of Hydrothermal Vent Animals in Captivity at Atmospheric Pressure
go to
Tire Reef Off Florida Proving to be a Disaster
go to

Aquaculture Watch