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"The photovoltaic collector field will feature a 5.3-megawatt system, and will include 16,500 PV panels. The university says that once installed, the field will generate 5.5 percent of the campus' electrical power and bring down its energy costs by about 8 percent. Not too shabby. The 5.5 percent figure is an average stretched over the year. On super sunny days, the installation is capable of meeting up to 20 percent of the campus' power needs."

Plastic marine debris collected in a surface plankton net tow. Photo: Sea Education Association. Though it hasn't garnered nearly as much attention as its plastic-ridden analog in the Pacific, the North Atlantic Ocean too has its very own gigantic

"For every argument tossed forward by climate change skeptics, there's a body of scientific research that clarifies the issue."

"Most of the chemical absorption of sound occurs at relatively low frequencies, from about 1,000 to 5,000 hertz. Propeller noise ... fall in the same range, as does some military and research sonar. So this "background" noise, especially prevalent near shipping lanes, will be louder. That may be bad news for marine mammals, which use sounds in the same range for communication and echolocation while foraging. "We're not saying that during the next 100 years all dolphins will be deafened," Dr. Zeebe said. "But the background noise could essentially override or mask the sounds that they're depending on."

"We saw no evidence of any deliberate scientific malpractice in any of the work of the Climatic Research Unit and had it been there we believe that it is likely that we would have detected it. Rather we found a small group of dedicated if slightly disorganized researchers who were ill-prepared for being the focus of public attention. As with many small research groups their internal procedures were rather informal."

"I have to say that this one just really depresses me (but please look straight at this one): AFP writes that a new report by the UNEP shows that at current fishing rates, and if we don't do anything to stop it, in 40 years there will not be any commercially-viable amounts of fish left in the oceans. Consider that for a moment before continuing reading. No significant quantities of fish left, due to direct human action."

"From the recent discovery of a species of wasp that enslave unsuspecting spiders to a new report from the United Nations that estimates a 500% growth over the next 10 years in computer waste in India alone, a lot has happened this week in green."

Excessive use of fertilizer is polluting China's soils, in addition to their water from agricultural run-off, a new report from Science reveals. The report details the acidification and rates of nitrogen specifically in the North China Plain and the Taihu Lake region in south China.

Great slideshow of some of the most threatened species in the world.

"Researchers at the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft have given scientists studying carbon dixoide a new tool - daily global measurements of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. The data shown in the tool includes information gathered during more than 7 years of research on the concentration and distribution of CO2 in our mid-trophosphere - or, 3-7 miles above the Earth's surface - and how that CO2 travels across the globe. The video after the jump shows an animation of the carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere with the Mauna Loa curve laid over it. The visualization is intense."

"There are some scary statistics surrounding water: Did you know only 1 percent of the world's water can be used for human consumption and half of the global population will be living in areas of 'acute water shortage' by 2030?"

"There are only about 3,200 tigers left on the planet. Habitat loss and illegal pouching are largely to blame. In the last 100 years, world tiger populations have been decimated by 95% due to the demand for tiger bones, skins & other body parts."

"Eight years ago, world governments made a pledge to put a halt to growing biodiversity loss by 2010. They have not succeeded. The ongoing loss of biodiversity has instead become even more severe of a threat to the planet's once-balanced ecosystems--it's become a full-on extinction crisis. Thanks to human development and expansion, species are now going extinct exponentially faster than ever before--they're dying out at the frightening speed of 1,000 times the natural rate."

A rare brown panda!

Photo via DC Streets Blog The Obama administration formally made its pledge to reduce emissions in the United States 17% below 2005 by 2020 levels yesterday. This is in accordance to the pledge he put forth at the Copenhagen.

"Apparently bees' immune systems are healthier when they are fed pollen from a wider variety of plants than when they eat only one thing."

"Or it could be an ecological disaster, as introducing one species to combat another species often turns out to be. However, after a "detailed" study, scientists are looking at using tiny parasitic wasps as a natural solution to pesticide to protect crops."