Nov. 3, 2016 – Global trade has changed the way the goods we buy are made: in the 1970s, a majority of goods were purchased in the same country where they were produced. Today, cheap shipping and global outsourcing mean that more and more of what Western consumers buy is produced far away. Environmental footprints […]
Enviro
Groups Call on Obama to Align Public Lands Management in Western Colorado With U.S. Climate Goals
DENVER, Nov. 1, 2016 – Conservation groups today called on the Obama administration to align public lands management with U.S. climate goals, in response to a draft proposal that would intensify fossil fuel extraction on 1 million acres of public land and mineral rights in western Colorado. Local groups want to shift their economy away […]
Dumping 4.3 million Samsung phones is an environmental disaster warns Greenpeace
SEOUL, Nov. 1, 2016 – Samsung’s lack of transparency on the disposal of Galaxy Note 7 leaves tonnes of precious minerals at risk of being discarded into the environment. According to calculations by Oeko-Institut, a research and consultancy institution based in Germany, 4.3 million smartphones contain more than 20 metric tonnes of Cobalt, approximately more […]
A victory for Lewis Pugh’s ‘Speedo diplomacy’ as Russia and the world agree monumental marine protection deal
October 27, 2016 – After five years of protracted negotiations, and tireless ‘Speedo diplomacy’ from endurance swimmer and UN Environment’s Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh, Antarctica’s Ross Sea has finally been declared a Marine Protected Area. The Ross Sea is widely considered to be the last great wilderness area on Earth and known as […]
NMFS’ Designation of Russian Beluga Whales as Depleted Makes Their Import into US Illegal
WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 27, 2016 – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Cetacean Society International (CSI), Earth Island Institute (EII), and Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) lauded the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today for its final designation of the Sakhalin Bay-Amur River population of beluga whales in Russia as depleted under the Marine Mammal […]
Cell Coverage to Wash Across National Park Wilderness
WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 27, 2016 -North Dakota’s only national park is pushing to permit construction of a new Verizon cell tower right next to the state’s largest tract of designated wilderness. The plan would wire wilderness in violation of law, as well as contravene National Park Service (NPS) policy and the very purpose for which […]
Indian roadside refuse fires produce toxic rainbow
DURHAM, NC, Oct. 25, 2016 – Samples of smoke particles emanating from burning roadside trash piles in India have shown that their chemical composition and toxicityare very bad for human health. The wide variation found between sites by a Duke University study, however, does offer insights about how to mitigate the worst effects of the […]
Far more hunting inside Denali than on its boundary
Washington, DC October 26, 2016 – Each year, hunters and trappers cut deeply into the populations of large mammals inside Denali National Park and Preserve, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) figures released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Surprisingly, the toll on both predators and game animals inside the […]
How hooded seals are transferring human-made contaminants to their pups
PENSACOLA, FL, Oct. 24, 2016 – Environmental contaminants such as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can be transferred from mother to offspring through the placenta and mother’s milk, exposing the young mammal before and after birth. PFASs are a family of human-made chemicals, which have been used in a number of consumer products such as textiles, carpets, […]
Predicting climate impacts on ecosystems will require scientists to widen the lens
Oct. 24, 2016 – Most research on climate change ecology is limited to the impacts of a single climate variable, such as temperature or water availability, on one trophic level at a time — and often on a single species. For instance, many studies have shown that increasing carbon dioxide levels can increase plant growth. […]
Peanut butter and drones give new hope for the black-footed ferret, America’s most endangered mammal
LEWISTOWN, MT October 18, 2016 – An unlikely combination of peanut butter and drones has given researchers renewed hope for the future of North America’s rarest mammal, the endangered black-footed ferret. The project, which is a joint effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health […]
Scientists calls on all governments and global institutions to take action to ensure the future survival of seagrass meadows
Oct. 10, 2016 – The international seagrass research and conservation community together with the World Seagrass Association calls on all governments and global institutions to take local, regional and global action to ensure the future survival of seagrass meadows. These important ecosystems can no longer be ignored on the conservation agenda, they need to be increasingly managed, […]
Pacific Bluefin Tuna One Step Closer to Endangered Species Act Protection
SAN FRANCISCO Oct. 7, 2016— In the face of staggering declines, Endangered Species Act protection may be warranted for Pacific bluefin tuna, the National Marine Fisheries Service said today. The announcement, in response to a petition from conservation groups earlier this year, means the agency will now conduct an in-depth status review of the species. […]
Reservoirs are a major source of greenhouse gases
Oct. 5, 2016 – Over 1 million dams exist worldwide. These structures have numerous environmental effects, and there is no shortage of research on the various ecological consequences of dams. However, the bulk of the research effort has been narrowly focused on river ecosystems. Writing in BioScience, Bridget R. Deemer of the School of the […]
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Caused Widespread Marsh Erosion, Study Shows
DURHAM, NC, Sept. 27, 2016 – The Deepwater Horizon oil spill six years ago caused widespread marsh erosion that may be permanent in some places, according to a new Duke University-led analysis of 270 miles of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coasts. At the hardest-hit of 103 Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) sites, where oil […]
EU should skip LNG’s ‘bridge to nowhere’ and leap to sustainable energy, says expert
Sept. 27, 2016 – As pipeline-delivered natural gas continues to be a politically unstable energy source for Europe, officials in Brussels are exploring large-scale importation of liquefied natural gas from alternative sources – including the shale gas industry in the United States. Cornell Professor Robert Howarth, an expert on the atmospheric implications of methane, COP21 […]
National boycott against Nestle and bottled water products launched by the Council of Canadians
Sept. 23, 2016 – The Council of Canadians launched a national boycott campaign against Nestlé in Guelph last night. Guelph and the neighbouring region of Wellington County are currently ground zero for a battle between a local community protecting their water and the multi-billion dollar bottled water giant. “The water crisis is at our door […]
VW Emissions Cheat May Lead to 50 Premature Deaths, $423 Million in Economic Costs: Study
NEW YORK/CHICAGO, Sept. 21, 2016 – Beginning in 2008, Volkswagen installed software to circumvent emissions testing by turning off the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions control system in real-world driving in nearly half a million cars. A new analysis using a tool developed and used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess the health and […]
Oceana, SkyTruth and Google launch Global Fishing Watch, first free, online tool to reveal commercial fishing activity worldwide
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 – Oceana, SkyTruth and Google today launched the public Beta of Global Fishing Watch, a new online technology platform that allows anyone in the world free access to monitor and track the activities of the world’s largest commercial fishing vessels in near real-time. By providing the first free global view of […]
All Polar Bears Across the Arctic Face Shorter Sea Ice Season
Sept. 14, 2016 – It’s no secret that Arctic sea ice is melting. Polar bears, the poster-child for climate change, are among the animals most affected by the seasonal and year-to-year changes in Arctic sea ice, because they rely on this surface for essential activities such as hunting, traveling and breeding. A new University of […]