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Earthzine is an online source for news, articles, information and educational materials about Earth science, Earth observations and users of Earth information for the international Earth-observing community. Earthzine is updated regularly with news from around the world about the Earth, Earth observations, environmental policy, and new and emerging environmentally-friendly and earth-observing technologies.

Nearly 100 endangered species should be on track to meet federal scientists' recovery goals, according to a new analysis by a national nonprofit organization that seeks to protect the planet's biological diversity. The Center for Biological Diversity's review examined population trends of 110 endangered plant and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in every state across the USA, including Florida's American crocodile, the gray wolf of the Rockies, and the black-footed ferret, which once existed from southern Canada to Texas. The group found that 90 percent of the species listed are on a positive trajectory toward recovery - and some are even doing better. Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1cmi1)

"Multimedia resources explain little known societal benefits of biodiversity, bust myths and describe new, high-tech approaches for measuring impacts of environmental change on biodiversity"

"A new NASA-led study seven years in the making has confirmed that natural forests in the Amazon remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit, therefore reducing global warming. This finding resolves a long-standing debate about a key component of the overall carbon balance of the Amazon basin."

"From Brazil to Borneo, new roads are being built into tropical forests at a dizzying pace, putting previously intact wilderness at risk. If we hope to preserve rainforests, a leading researcher says, new strategies must be adopted to limit the number of roads and reduce their impacts. "

"Scientists peer into the next decades of environmental change on Planet Earth." Good news stories include ongoing recovery from effects of acid rain in the Adirondacks + new pathways to a sustainable future developed through modeling, ecological forecasting, and mapping responses to environmental change.

Environmentalists to use new Google 3D Trees mapping tool to preserve forests

New aerial photos show an uncontacted tribe on the border of Brazil and Peru in detail. According to a press release by Survival International, the photos "reveal a thriving, healthy community with baskets full of manioc and papaya fresh from their gardens", but a community that is also threatened by illegal loggers from Peru."

A new study by Kenyan and University of California at Davis researchers shows that grazing by wild animals doesn't always harm, and may sometimes benefit, cattle. The results are published in this week's issue of the journal Science.""Our findings provide further evidence that biodiversity conservation and economic development can be simultaneously achieved in human-occupied savanna landscapes.""

A new study published in Nature reveals how biodiversity helps remove excess levels of nutrients that commonly degrade water quality in streams. As the # of species of algae in a stream increases, their greater their geographical distribution and water cleaning capacity.

Google Chrome recently introduced Land Lines, a delightful new way to explore the gorgeous satellite images from Google Earth. Landlines invites users to discover new satellite images in two ways: Draw and Drag. With the Draw feature, visitors simply create a small doodle on their monitor or personal device. Next, Landlines, with the aid of machine learning, presents visitors with a satellite picture that contains this line or shape in some form: perhaps as a gridded street, the shape of a mountain range, or the curve of a lake. A caption in the bottom left hand side of the browser alerts readers as to what they are looking at and allows visitors to explore each area in more detail via Google Maps. With Drag, users can "create an infinite line of connective rivers, highways, and coastlines." Both modes of exploration offer innovative and highly enjoyable ways to see the world from one's own computer.

"First report of its kind assesses state of world's plants, including baseline information on all vascular plants currently known to science, new plant discoveries and threats. The report estimates that there are about 391,000 species of vascular plants in the world."

"...birds are now so food-deprived that they take up to twice as long replace their feathers, an annual process known as molt."

"Preventing the extinction of the world's most imperiled species would also bring untold benefits to people according to new research"

"World leaders need to do much more to protect the Earth's millions of species for the services they provide, according to a new scientific consensus statement in Nature based on over 1,000 research papers. "

A New App to Discover, Use, and Share Maps on Your iOS Device

Kenya's high-elevation forests are the source for most of the water on which the drought-plagued nation depends. Now, after decades of government-abetted abuse of these regions, a new conservation strategy of working with local communities is showing signs of success.

Up next, 30,000 species under the sea. A few years ago, marine biologists working off the coast of Oregon collected samples of seawater from the very deepest parts of the ocean there at two sites near an active ocean floor volcano. And once the samples are brought to the surface, biologists on the other side of the country, in Massachusetts, analyzed the samples to find out what kinds of microbes were living at the bottom of the ocean. And what they found was astonishing. An amazing array of microbes, more than 30,000 species many, which were never - have never been seen before. They are new to science. The results of that analysis were published earlier this month in the journal Science.

"Gulf Coast bird watchers continue to survey beaches and marshes for birds as oil gushes from the Deepwater Horizon oil well.This tool highlights 10 focal species of conservation concern that are being impacted by the current oil spill. For each species, we display hundreds of recent Gulf Coast sightings on a map along with count information.. This information can effectively steer beach protection and clean-up efforts to the sites with the greatest concentrations of birds and most important habitats. "

Can 'water footprinting' help cut the 500 liters of H2O needed to produce a carton of OJ? Carbon trading promotes good behavior by creating a standardized currency representing a verifiable environmental benefit. Payments for watershed services do the same for cutbacks in water pollution, albeit on a smaller scale. Now, the Nature Conservancy and the Coca-Cola Company are experimenting with a new method of "water footprinting" that could do the same for total water use - a key component in the development of a market-based scheme that would promote responsible water usage.