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The seed dispersal activities of many animals is essential for the Amazon and other forests, because, as Anderson explains: "plants rely on the seed dispersal activities of these animals (i.e. birds, bats, monkeys, tapirs, rodents, and fish) to move seeds away from the mother tree to good sites for germination […] For pioneer species like Cecropia (a genus of tree that we studied), seeds might need light gaps to germinate-that is, seeds might have very specific requirements for germination."

"It is an irony not lost on the Chinese that the Year of the Tiger has not been good for the big cats. Back-to-back tragedies have spurred calls for greater legal protections for animals."

Gross said that even though the Chilean earthquake is much smaller than the Sumatran quake, it is predicted to have changed the position of the figure axis by a bit more for two reasons. First, unlike the 2004 Sumatran earthquake, which was located near the equator, the 2010 Chilean earthquake was located in Earth's mid-latitudes, which makes it more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis. Second, the fault responsible for the 2010 Chiliean earthquake dips into Earth at a slightly steeper angle than does the fault responsible for the 2004 Sumatran earthquake. This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth's mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis.

"Take, for example, the Caribbean nation of Belize. A recent analysis by several of my colleagues concluded that the country's coral reefs contribute the equivalent to 10 to 15 per cent of the nation's GDP, primarily through tourism and fisheries. Likewise, the avoided damage to buildings and infrastructure that reefs provide by serving as a "speed bump" for tropical storms equates to the same GDP percentage."

The researchers developed a "stress test" for coral reefs, identifying the ones they think most likely to survive rising sea temperatures. Those reefs--"reefs of hope," they call them--that pass the test should become a priority for conservationists, say the researchers.

ow-input farming for cocoa, cassava and oil palm has resulted in widespread deforestation and degredation of West Africa's tropical forest area, according to a new study by researchers at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). The study was published online this week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Management.

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

Challenged by strict air-quality rules, dairy farmers face costly changes to generators used to burn methane to produce power. With the intention of using these generators to eliminate methane waste, along with electricity bills, farmers now meet an unexpected consequence- the conversion of methane into electricity produces nitrogen oxides, or NOx. This pollutant exacerbates the state's smog problem. After already spending several hundreds of thousands of dollars on their "dairy digester" systems at the urge of the state, farmers are forced to abide by the state's air quality standards by purchasing expensive additional equipment, or shut down their waste-consuming generators. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's limit of 11 parts per million of NOx for new digester systems works out to equal the emissions of 26 cars for every 1,000 cows, said Frank Mitloehner, an associate professor at UC Davis' department of animal science.

"A new study from the Center for the Built Environment at the University of California, Berkeley, confirms what everyone probably knew intuitively: If you give people control of their own environment they use less energy. According to the New Scientist, by installing individual vents and controls for each worker (which automatically turn off when the desk is vacant) instead of cooling the whole office to one temperature, it can cut the energy consumed for cooling in half. It was particularly effective in hot, humid climates; they modeled it on Singapor and concluded that 'In an environment like Singapore, it's pretty clear that these systems would pay for themselves in energy savings.'"

"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."

"Benedict, who has already been hailed by some in the environmentalist community as a "Green Pope," is the head of the world's only carbon-neutral sovereign state. Last year, he had solar panels installed on the Vatican's rooftops--now a key source of the state's electricity. Then, he donated enough trees to an eco-restoration project in Hungary to nullify the small nation's carbon output. One of the first speeches given by the Green Pope included a call for Catholics to be 'better stewards of God's creation.'"

Daily green business and sustainable b"More than 100 groups have issued a letter supporting a legal petition filed earlier this month by the Center for Biological Diversity and 350.org that would require EPA to scientifically establish national safe limits for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act. The petition seeks to have greenhouse gases designated as "criteria" air pollutants and atmospheric CO2 capped at 350 parts per million (ppm), the level scientists say is needed to stop catastrophic warming. "usiness news

"Some companies will pay you money for that old cellphone or iPod."

"Few places are as well suited for large-scale solar projects as California's Mojave Desert. But as mainstream environmental organizations push plans to turn the desert into a center for renewable energy, some green groups - concerned about spoiling this iconic Western landscape - are standing up to oppose them."

"US Climate Envoy Todd Stern downplays hopes for a binding legal treaty in 2010. Instead, look for "strong progress be made" and "pragmatic steps" to be taken this year."

"US Climate Envoy Todd Stern downplays hopes for a binding legal treaty in 2010. Instead, look for "strong progress be made" and "pragmatic steps" to be taken this year."

"Delegates at the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) rejected yesterday a proposal that would have regulated the trade of red and pink coral worldwide. The proposal, offered by the United States and Sweden, would have regulated for the first time red and pink coral, which is used for the jewelry, home decor and homeopathic medicine market."

"This analysis is interesting because it highlights our lopsided thinking about climate change. The media tends to focus a lot on solutions like hybrid cars and CFLs, but transportation and energy use are relatively small parts of the problem. The stuff we consume accounts for nearly half of the greenhouse gases in an area like Portland. And of that, it's the extraction of raw materials and the manufacturing processes for consumer goods that are the biggest culprits. (Food and long-distance freight are second and third.)"

Research by Dr Johnathan Kool of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University, and his colleagues, has established that the richest marine region on Earth - the Coral Triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines - depends vitally for its diversity and resilience on coral and fish larvae swept in from the South China Sea and Solomon Islands.

Science and experience have supported this fact for the last 20 years in the Coral Triangle countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, where various forms of MPA are being implemented to protect coral reef habitats, manage local reef-associated fisheries and generate income for local residents through improved fishing and diving tourism enterprises.