News and Articles


A Warming Antarctic Brings Changes to Penguin Breeding Cycles

Three penguin species that share the Western Antarctic Peninsula for breeding grounds have been affected in different ways by the higher temperatures brought on by global warming, according to Stony Brook University Ecology and Evolution Assistant Professor Heather Lynch and colleagues. The work by Lynch and her team is contained in three papers that have been published online in Polar Biology, Ecology and Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS).

On NYC Streets, Big Test for Competing Pothole Machines

The Python pothole-filling machine is operated by one person from inside the vehicle’s cab, which maximizes safety and efficiency, according to Mayor Bloomberg’s office. A Rosco machine also is being tested.

Conservation Helps Secure Land Rights in Cambodia

A vulnerable ethic minority village inside Cambodia’s remote Seima Protection Forest recenlty became one of the first in Cambodia to receive a collective land title, which will help villagers fend off threats to their land and culture while also strengthening conservation goals.

BLS Counts Green Goods and Services Jobs

There were 3.1 million of them in the United States in 2010, which represents 2.4 percent of total employment that year. But such jobs accounted for 6.8 percent of all construction jobs.

Another Vertebrate Species Reported Extinct from the Hawaiian Islands

A species of lizard is now extinct from the Hawaiian Islands, making it the latest native vertebrate species to become extirpated from this tropical archipelago.

Oil from Deepwater Horizon Disaster Entered Food Chain in the Gulf of Mexico

A new study confirms that oil from the Macondo well made it into the ocean's food chain through the tiniest of organisms, zooplankton.

Possible Solution to Overfishing

A study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, ARC Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and other groups on more than 40 coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans indicates that "co-management" -- a collaborative arrangement between local communities, conservation groups, and governments -- provides a solution to a vexing global problem: overfishing.

Former Exxon Valdez Being Scrapped

GMS, the world’s largest cash buyer of ships for recycling, reportedly will scrap the ship now named the Oriental Nicety in India.

Green Jail to Demonstrate Power of Microgrids

If all goes according to plan, this “mega-jail,” housing about 4,000 inmates, will seamlessly disconnect itself from the electric grid and switch over to its own microgrid, powering itself.

New Method for Cleaning Up Nuclear Waste

While the costs associated with storing nuclear waste and the possibility of it leaching into the environment remain legitimate concerns, they may no longer be obstacles on the road to cleaner energy.

Electricity From Trees?

A new finding suggests plants may play a role in electrifying the atmosphere.

Greenhouse Gas Can Find a Home Underground

A new study by researchers at MIT shows that there is enough capacity in deep saline aquifers in the United States to store at least a century's worth of carbon dioxide emissions from the nation's coal-fired powerplants. Though questions remain about the economics of systems to capture and store such gases, this study addresses a major issue that has overshadowed such proposals.

Social Media Lend Support to UN's World Water Day

Companies deploy social media to raise awareness and encourage change in honor of World Water Day, March 22.

Plans for Guam Wildlife Habitat Project Move Forward

After 25 years, former waste dump converted to endangered wildlife habitat in Guam.

Pressure Increases on FDA to Ban Toxic BPA from Food Packaging

Backed by health and consumer-safety groups, a Massachussetts representative petitions FDA to take action.

Poisoning is a Major Cause of Death from Injury in the U.S.

U.S. Government raising awareness of accidental exposures during National Poison Prevention Week.

EPA, City Officials Expect New Treatment Plant Permits to Boost Boise River Water Quality

Permits call for major reductions in phosphorus; new limits on mercury, ammonia and temperature.

Rules Proposed to Limit New Uses of Potentially Harmful Chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed that companies be required to report to EPA all new uses, including in domestic or imported products, of five groups of potentially harmful chemicals. EPA also calls for additional testing on health and environmental impacts of PBDEs.

From Food Waste to Bus Fuel and Biofertilizer

Banana peel, coffee grounds and other food waste will be transformed into green fuel for Oslo’s city buses starting next year. The Norwegian capital’s new biogas plant will also supply nutrient-rich biofertilizer for agriculture.