Environment:
There were quite a lot of events and actions in Belgrade for the Earth Day last week. I came in on that day so I did not have time to see anything. But I loved the balloon they placed in...
Posted on April 26, 2008 6:02 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Tomorrow, March 29th, 2008 at 8pm local time, switch off all the lights for an hour! Join the millions participating in Earth Hour (of course there is a Facebook group, full of information). Apart from the obvious idea of saving...
Posted on March 28, 2008 7:47 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The wilding of the American West is definitely a controversial idea. Josh Donlan provides links to the details of the proposal and asks the readers to do a quick poll about it - go do it!...
Posted on March 17, 2008 10:45 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Common-sense environmentalism I like to consider myself an environmentalist, but I almost never call myself one. Mainly because I really don't want to be associated with a lot of the people who do. Because environmentalists are usually right about the...
Posted on March 5, 2008 8:43 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Greensboro is the only North Carolina town on the 'Popular Science' list of the America's 50 Greenest Cities. We still have a lot of work ahead of us until we catch up with the West Coast. (Hat-tip)...
Posted on February 21, 2008 7:28 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
There is a lot of stuff one hears about food, sustainability, environment, etc., and it is sometimes hard to figure out what is true and what is not, what is based on science and what is emotion-based mythology. For instance,...
Posted on February 19, 2008 10:32 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
...from different points of view: Anne-Marie: Culinary revelation Mark Powell: Saving the ocean with guilt or desire? and Does the sustainable seafood movement rely on guilt? (blogfish poll) Miriam Goldstein: Guilty as charged Amanda Marcotte: Save your soul with recycling...
Posted on February 19, 2008 10:03 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
As I promised the other day, I went to Carrboro Century Center this afternoon (right after meeting with Anton around the corner) to see the Island Projects designed by the Chapel Hill High School students of Rob Greenberg. I did...
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Posted on February 10, 2008 11:24 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Obligatory Readings of the Day: Jennifer Ouelette and Chris Clarke explain everything you need to know....
Posted on February 9, 2008 2:42 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I mentioned before that Carrboro Citizen is my favourite newspaper, the only one I read in hardcopy. Perhaps I like it because it is hyperlocal. Perhaps that is why I have this mindset that those who live in Carrboro already...
Posted on February 8, 2008 2:05 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Is there any kid who does not love giraffes? They are just so amazing: tall, leggy, fast and graceful, with prehensile tongues and a need to go through complex calistehnics in order to drink. The favourites at zoos, in natural...
Posted on December 22, 2007 9:36 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The League of Conservation Voters has issued a comparison of all the Presidential candidates of both parties on the topic of conservation and global warming. Look at the Chart and watch the Video. Then decide....
Posted on December 19, 2007 12:10 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Indy has the entire issue devoted to the topic of Global Warming, with some excellent articles: 10 years after Kyoto: You're getting warmer by Bill McKibben 10 years after Kyoto: Winners and losers by Sena Christian James Hansen won't be...
Posted on December 8, 2007 10:38 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Eco-friendly kangaroo farts could help global warming: scientists: Australian scientists are trying to give kangaroo-style stomachs to cattle and sheep in a bid to cut the emission of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, researchers say. Thanks to special bacteria...
Posted on December 6, 2007 8:50 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Chris Clarke is writing a book on Joshua trees. This requires money and Chris does not have enough. I know I want to read the book when it comes out. This is what blog-friends are for: donate now....
Posted on December 2, 2007 1:25 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Posted on November 29, 2007 2:45 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
...the computers and the Web: If you are not clear about the difference between the Net (aka Internet), the Web (aka World Wide Web) and the Graph (aka Social Graph), then this post is a must read (via Ed). He...
Posted on November 23, 2007 8:23 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
As we are trying to help gather some funding to help the Tasmanian Devil from extinction due to the nasty infectious cancer, I thought it would be of interest to you to read more about it in this article: To...
Posted on November 19, 2007 10:06 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Tasmanian Devils are suffering from a strange form of cancer, one that is infectious, i.e., it can be transmitted from one animal to another through contact. The disease is devastating the population of this already endangered species and if some...
Posted on November 18, 2007 10:35 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Cyclone Sidr has hit Bangladesh. The number of casualties, though not as large as predicted, is still large and growing. More importantly, millions of people are displaced and have lost the sources of their livelihoods. The best way to help...
Posted on November 16, 2007 9:45 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Maybe that's why we always wear our hats... Via...
Posted on October 18, 2007 8:25 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Since today is the Blog Action Day and I am swamped at work, I decided to republish one of my old posts concerning the environment (under the fold)....
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Posted on October 15, 2007 9:32 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The last time we met at the Tar Heel Tavern was on April 2nd. After that, the inspiration dried out and no Tarheel-brewed amber-colored liquid was flowing for months. With the grass wilting everywhere around us, it was easy to...
Posted on October 14, 2007 2:09 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Tomorrow, Monday, October 15th, many blogs (14,081 at this moment) will participate in the Environment-themed Blog Action Day. On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind - the environment. Every...
Posted on October 14, 2007 1:53 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Melting Sea Ice Forcing Walruses Ashore: Thousands of walrus have appeared on Alaska's northwest coast in what conservationists are calling a dramatic consequence of global warming melting the Arctic sea ice. Alaska's walrus, especially breeding females, in summer and fall...
Posted on October 10, 2007 1:18 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Another thing I will also have to miss - the Inaugural Event of the 2007-2008 Pizza Lunch Season of the Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC), on October 24th at Sigma Xi Center (the same place where we'll have the...
Posted on October 9, 2007 6:09 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
What all the candidates are saying....
Posted on September 25, 2007 9:36 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Beautiful green lawn that covers up the water shortage, kills all insects and irritates the asthmatics!...
Posted on September 1, 2007 10:36 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Chaoslillith alerts: Environmentalists Challenge Political Interference With 55 Endangered Species in 28 States, Seek to Restore 8.7 Million Acres of Protected Habitat Across the Country: The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the...
Posted on September 1, 2007 8:14 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Naomi Oreskes, the author of the 2004 paper in Science about the scientific consensus on global warming, recently had her work attacked by regressive denialists (including on Senator I-hate-science-Inhofe's blog). Her full response is now available on Stranger Fruit. Go...
Posted on August 31, 2007 2:06 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Grist takes a look at all candidates from both parties and evaluates their stands on environmental issues, global warming and energy: How Green Is Your Candidate?...
Posted on August 28, 2007 12:55 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
On September 2nd this year go out somewhere: into your backyard, or the woods, or the bottom of the sea, and turn a rock or two or three. Take pictures of what you find underneath. Perhaps you'll find earthworms, or...
Posted on August 23, 2007 11:38 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
There is a new piece of information regarding the mammal vs. bird controversy in Chernobyl: Brightly Colored Birds Most Affected By Chernobyl Radiation: Brightly coloured birds are among the species most adversely affected by the high levels of radiation around...
Posted on July 11, 2007 11:59 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Unfortunately, I will still be out of town for this, but if you are in the area on July 12th, you should go to Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh (it is in Ridgewood Shopping Center, 3522 Wade Ave.) at 7pm...
Posted on July 8, 2007 10:04 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Here is some chemistry of bisphenol A, but what is really interesting is this article about Fred vom Saal. It is quite revealing about the way industry produces bad science in order to protect its financial interests: "The moment we...
Posted on June 27, 2007 1:25 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
For information, check my older posts here and here. The most recent e-mail is copied+pasted under the fold....
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Posted on June 25, 2007 12:49 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Remember when we discussed the mammal vs. bird survival at Chernobyl the other day? Well, I learned today that someone is about to go and study the humans there as well. I am not exactly sure what kind of reserch...
Posted on June 22, 2007 5:12 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
An interesting paper came out last week in PLoS-Biology: Projected Impacts of Climate and Land-Use Change on the Global Diversity of Birds by Walter Jetz, David S. Wilcove and Andrew P. Dobson. You can view some bloggers' responses on The...
Posted on June 14, 2007 3:24 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Skeptical Alchemist has the whole story. Sign the petition to prevent the drilling....
Posted on June 12, 2007 2:00 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Ruchira Paul alerted me to this article about a scientific fight between Robert J. Baker of Texas Tech University (who I never heard of) who alleges that the evacuation of humans from the area allowed animals to come in and...
Posted on June 8, 2007 7:11 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
So, it is fitting that Carnival of the Blue kicks off today. The first edition (already huge!) is up on Blogfish. Lots of great posts!...
Posted on June 8, 2007 1:40 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
A paper in press in Current Biology (press release here) looks at mitochondrial DNA of mammoths and advances a primarily environmental cause for the mammoth extinction. Razib explains why such a black-and-white dichotomy is unhealthy. Looking at a different hypothesis,...
Posted on June 8, 2007 12:50 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In response to my previous post on the subject, I received a following e-mail (personal information omitted) from Colorado: I'm active in opposing this for many reasons including the forced removal of American citizens from their homes and lands by...
Posted on June 2, 2007 4:03 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Carnival of the Blue: World Ocean Day is June 8, and blogfish will host an ocean blog event. Please send links to some of your best recent work, and I'll post a list of links together with a brief comment....
Posted on May 29, 2007 4:55 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
2007 TED Prize winner E.O. Wilson on TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talks: As E.O. Wilson accepts his 2007 TED Prize, he makes a plea on behalf of his constituents, the insects and small creatures, to learn more about our biosphere....
Posted on April 5, 2007 10:45 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In today's issue of Science, there is a study showing that hunting of sharks, by eliminating the main predator of rays, leads to a decline in the ray's - and ours - food: the scallops: A team of Canadian and...
Posted on March 30, 2007 1:29 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I guess some people have no sense of aesthetic pleasure, no personal connection to nature, and no ability to think beyond money, money, money. They want to drill in Chaco Canyon, of all places! Apparently, there is more time to...
Posted on March 29, 2007 10:12 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
During the National Wildlife Week (April 21th - 29th), if you can, please participate in the First Annual Blogger Bioblitz: Pick a neat little area that you are relatively familiar with and is small enough that you or the group...
Posted on March 26, 2007 9:35 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Treehugger interviews Tim Toben who is building the NC's first LEED Gold Mixed Use Project in Chapel Hill, NC....
Posted on March 24, 2007 1:33 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Global warming change is the topic of a symposium, free and open to the public, in NC State's Campus Cinema, located in Witherspoon Student Center, February 26-28, and featuring excellent speakers. Elizabeth Kolbert, author of FIELD NOTES FROM A CATASTROPHE,...
Posted on February 15, 2007 2:21 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Raleigh Leaders Plan Test of LED Lighting: Raleigh officials have teamed up with Cree, Inc. in Research Triangle Park to save money and help the environment. Raleigh public works employees will test and implement Cree's Light Emitting Diode lighting components...
Posted on February 15, 2007 12:46 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Seventeen out of eighteen Whooping Cranes from the Operation Migration were killed by the recent storm in Florida. The one survivor is being tracked right now via radiotransmitter, so the health state is still not known....
Posted on February 5, 2007 9:06 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Russ, correctly, points out that the new UN report on Climate Change says not a word about the impact global warming will have on ecosystems, plants and animals (including the human animal)....
Posted on February 3, 2007 3:43 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Global Warming threat may be even harsher than the latest UN report suggests, but the Wingnuts want to make sure we teach the kids quite the opposite. Yeesh!...
Posted on February 3, 2007 2:46 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I love seafood, but I eat it quite rarely. About a third of my old Department did fisheries and aquaculture science so I've seen many seminars and Thesis defenses on the topic and am quite aware of the problems with...
Posted on January 29, 2007 1:24 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
If you think you can easily come up with a workable set of policies to stop and reverse global warming, think again. Or try playing this (very addictive) BBC game that will help you figure it out: The science behind...
Posted on January 25, 2007 8:58 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Every farm that converts from conventional to organic farming is the equivalent to taking 117 cars off the road...
Posted on January 24, 2007 11:22 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Food From Cloned Animals Safe? FDA Says Yes, But Asks Suppliers To Hold Off For Now: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued three documents on the safety of animal cloning -- a draft risk assessment; a proposed...
Posted on January 1, 2007 12:59 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Why burn or recycle when zoo animals love them - some eat them, some play with them, but they are certainly not wasted. Hat-tip: Russlings...
Posted on December 30, 2006 1:09 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
John Edwards Identifies Global Warming as a Priority in His Presidential Campaign: John Edwards has clearly made global warming a prominent part of his campaign at least at this early stage and has met one of the criteria (#2) that...
Posted on December 29, 2006 11:02 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Apparently, I am not the only one to see a hummingbird in Chapel Hill of a species that should not be found around here. While I am quite confident that the visitor to my porch was a female Blue-throated Hummingbird,...
Posted on December 19, 2006 2:53 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Amanda just reviewed Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma and also recently wrote a post on the same topic while under the influence of the book. I agree with her 100%, so go and read both posts. I have read...
Posted on December 7, 2006 1:55 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
A paper just got published in PLoS - Biology - "A Human Taste for Rarity Spells Disaster for Endangered Species" - describes how high monetary value of rare species leads to a vicious spiral in which each capture reduces the...
Posted on November 29, 2006 4:29 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Laurie David, one of the producers of An Inconvenient Truth, wrote a piece for today's Washington Post describing her efforts to make 50,000 DVD copies of that movie available to America's science teachers through NSTA. They said no. And, more...
Posted on November 26, 2006 3:13 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Carnival of the Ghoulish Green is up on Groovy Green. Next week, the carnival celebrates its first anniversary by going back home to City Hippy....
Posted on October 30, 2006 11:43 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Still, it is strange to have a press release on a study before it even gets started: Asia's Odd-ball Antelope Gets Collared: A group of scientists led by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) working in Mongolia's windswept Gobi...
Posted on October 22, 2006 6:29 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Since this is another one of the recurring themes on my blog, I decided to republish all of my old posts on the topic together under the fold. Since my move here to the new blog, I have continued to...
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Posted on October 18, 2006 11:00 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I love it when David Neiwert takes a break from Minutemen and White Pride and writes a post about killer whales. In this latest such post, he ties the concern for his favourite animals to Republican War On Science and...
Posted on October 14, 2006 1:44 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Grady, Kirk and Paul on the Apex chemical fire....
Posted on October 8, 2006 2:34 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In these days of global warming it is important to realize how important temperature is in regulation of a variety of biological processes. Here is today's sampler of examples.
Posted on October 4, 2006 9:31 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
