Rare Conservation Links

interesting comparison of the volcano impact

"One in six mangrove species faces extinction as coastal ecosystems are being destroyed or damaged by development, aquaculture, logging, and climate change, according to a new study. On the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, as many as 40 percent of mangrove species are threatened, the report said."

"New research indicates that the middle [of the food chain] -small insectivorous birds and lizards-are critically important to overall health of an ecosystem, and actually help promote greater biomass." "Gruner and a team of other researchers looked at more than 100 studies insect predation by birds, bats or lizards and found that, regardless of the predator in question, their presence was associated with a 40 percent reduction in damage to plants. In turn, a healthy population of insectivores was linked to a 14 percent increase in plant biomass."

Greenpeace reveals the latest stage of its tough gorilla marketing campaign against Nestle to protest the company's use of unsustainable palm oil in its candy bars. This time, protestors dressed in orangutan costumes interrupted Nestle's shareholders meeting and staged themselves outside.

"Whalers cited "violent interference" and other clashes lasting 31 days with Sea Shepherd as "paralyzing" the hunt. Takashi Mori of Japan's Fisheries Ministry added, "The lack of samples could affect the accuracy of our research." According to Sea Shepherd calculations, their efforts cost Japan's whaling fleeting about $132 million, as the average value of each whale is a quarter of a million dollars. The same estimates show that this season the fleet lost money, as 700 whales need to be killed to meet operating expenses."

"The problem is threefold: a lack of education among appraisers about the costs and benefits of green construction; insufficient data for them to calculate the value of environmental benefits; and finally, real estate listing services that, in many parts of the country, do not take into account attributes such as solar panels and spray foam insulation in their market valuations."

"As part of Major League Baseball's ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship, MLB today announced its development of a comprehensive software system designed to collect and analyze environmental data related to stadium operations across the 30 Clubs. Moreover, this software tool will keep track of and distribute best practices related to environmental stewardship across MLB's 30 Clubs as well. The full roll out of this path breaking program to all the Clubs will happen during this 2010 season."

Doesn't look like we'll see cap-and-trade.

Here is the list: Cuban crocodile, Grenada dove, Florida bonneted bat, Green-eyed frog, Hirola, Ploughshare tortoise, Island gray fox, Sumatran orangutan, Vanquita, White-headed langur.

"Genetic analysis of samples from sushi restaurants in the U.S. and Korea suggest that these two countries are illegally receiving whale meat from Japan, according to a study in Biology Letters."

"Chinese investment in clean energy soared by more than 50 percent in 2009 to reach $34.6 billion," which is about double the US.

"Researchers 'dedicated if slightly disorganised', but basic science was fair, finds inquiry commissioned by university"

"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."

"One lesson is that anyone hoping to up-end decades of research pointing to a growing human influence on the climate by challenging a single batch of studies (in this case efforts to chart past temperatures using indirect clues like tree rings) is almost surely on a fool's errand. Another is that scientists, even when under relentless pressure, need to conduct their work scrupulously, carefully and openly and understand that transparency is inevitable in the digital era. A third is that scientists in highly specialized fields would do well to reach out for added statistical expertise when trying to test broader implications of their work."

The steady loss of forests, soils, wetlands, fisheries, species and coral reefs around the world is closely tied to the lack of value we put on nature, says three-year study.

Current conservation list criticised for being biased towards vertebrates and neglecting most plants, fungi and invertebrates.

"I think that livable and sustainable communities is a game changer," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, explaining his "sea change" policy to support biking and walking alongside road projects.

Motivating people to make homes energy efficient by tapping into personal and emotional stories, increasing reputation through recognition as a "good citizen," and the broadcasting of environmental messages by a diverse group of people.

Maps in the new Atlas of Global Conservation show the diversity of bird, animal and plant species populations, which are among 80 that scientists have produced for a comprehensive look at the planet's eco-regions. The maps crosses three types of habitats that exist: terrestrial, freshwater, and marine.