Rare Conservation Links

"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.)"

Community supported fisheries are springing up along the East Coast, taking a nod from local agriculture. But what do you do when your fisherman catches too much cod?

Millions of marine turtles have been killed over the past two decades through entrapment in fishing gear, a survey concludes.

When Madagascar broke free from India, ancient blind snakes hopped aboard for the ride, according to new genetic research. "The small burrowing snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, but are primarily distributed across the southern hemisphere. The earthworm-like snakes use a specially adapted mouth to eat eggs and larvae and may spend all of their lives under ground. Furthermore, researchers have struggled-because of it's almost exclusively subterranean lifestyle-to explain the elusive snake's geographic distribution."

Highlights from the National Wildlife Federation Magazine Photo Contest in 2009, including tigers, fish, birds, rabbits and bugs.

A Greenpeace activist tells how she and 9 others blocked the departure of a Japanese container ship with 160 tons of endangered fin whale meat onboard.

"Warmer global temperatures aren't just wiping out the habitat of polar bears and penguins. They're also affecting many species closer to home -- including some right in your back yard. In this year's State of the Birds report, issued earlier this month, researchers from the National Audubon Society, U.S. Department of Interior, Cornell Lab or Ornithology, and others studied how climate change is affecting the habitats, ranges, and populations of birds across North America. OnEarth takes a look at eight vulnerable bird species from across the continent."

"Taiwan's government on Friday urged the public to stop burning incense sticks and ritual money in honour of the dead and opt instead for online worshipping to better protect the environment. The practice not only worsens the island's air pollution but could also cause fires, warned the cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration."

Today's White House Easter Egg Roll will feature environmentally friendly FSC-certified hardwood eggs decorated with vegetable-based dyes and signed by Barack and Michelle, the White House's most recent iniative to go green.

"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."

"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."

"WWF Philippines works in Sablayan to explain the difficult concept of climate change - what it means to have rising sea water levels; stronger and extreme weathers in the rainy season and drought in the summer season. The term now in use for conservation here is ADAPTATION - what to anticipate and how to proactively react in these trying times."

Captured in extreme close-up, this dragonfly appears to be totally encrusted in diamonds as it rests on a leaf.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it will investigate the impact of the chemical Bisphenol-A on the U.S. water supply and other parts of the environment. Federal regulators have been ramping up their scrutiny of the controversial plastic-hardener at the behest of scientists and activists who say it can interfere with infant growth and development.

"In 2002 it was estimated that only 10 per cent of gorillas would remain by 2030. "We fear now that the gorillas may become extinct from most parts of their range in perhaps 15 years," said Christian Nellemann, of the UN Environmental Programme."

"Coral reefs are dying, and scientists and governments around the world are contemplating what will happen if they disappear altogether. The idea positively scares them."

"Globally, two million tons of sewage, industrial and agricultural waste is discharged to the world's waterways."

Candy and food giant Nestle is finding itself between a rock and a hard place. The online campaign against Nestle continues: today protesters once again posted thousands of negative messages on the company's Facebook page, most demanding that Nestle cut out palm oil linked to deforestation from its products. At the same time, a new problem has cropped up for Nestle: Indonesian oil palm planters are threatening to boycott Nestle products. Proving that the issues surrounding oil palm and deforestation are nothing if not complex: Facebook protestors say they will boycott Nestle if it doesn't cut out all links to Sinar Mas, a company that Greenpeace has linked to deforestation, whereas the Indonesia Palm Oil Growers Association are preparing a boycott if Nestle stops buying from Sinar Mas, according to the Jakarta Post.