Environment
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Terrorism and the Environment
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist acts, other terrorist targets are worth a though from an environmental perspective.
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Rooftop Gardens Can Cool Hot Cities
This article introduces the concept of rooftop gardening as a way to reduce ambient city heat caused by rooftops that absorb the sun's heat.
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PBS Lauches Fatal Flood Website
PBS Lauches Fatal Flood Website and you can log onto http://www.PBS.org/amex/flood to get involved in an environmental learning experience.
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Oil Spills Continue
The Galapagos oils spill is only the latest in a long history of spills. Doesn't anyone ever learn?
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News About Species
Endangered species and other relatd wildlife news in December 2000 from the web news services.
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A Whale Tale
Whales get caught in fishing nets. New nets are being tested.
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South African Environmental Issues
South Africa's environmental issues are extensive, like those of most developing nations. Population growth and urbanization are blamed by a recent study.
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Emerging Infectious Diseases
New infectious diseases are cropping up in wild animals and pose a "significant threat to human health and to global diversity."
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Nearctica Web Site
Introduction to a newly discovered site, Nearctica, and info on recent butterfly research.
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MSNBC has a winner
MSNBC’s Animal is an intriguing web site full of links that sometimes take you to innovative interactive interludes and a seemingly unlimited collection of article resources, but the great thing about this site is the photographic collection of James Balog from his book “Animal.”
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Report Reveals Widespread Decline of World's Ecosystems
Summary findings of a new report reveal a widespread decline in the condition of the world's ecosystems due to increasing resource demands and warn that if the decline continues it could have devastating implications for human development and the welfare of all species.
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Bird Crashes Cost Lives
Birds crash into windows all the time, but crashes into tall buildings and communication towers claim far more lives.
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Online Marine Education Program
Ocean Futures
Society today announced a ten-week Internet learning
campaign to educate the public about killer whales or orcas,
and to inspire action to protect these remarkable creatures
- as well as the oceans they inhabit.
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The Case Against Pine Plantations
Clear-cutting of natural forests to replace them with pine plantations isn't ecologically sound. The speed at which such plantations are being created is something to be concerned about.
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Endangered Box Turtles
Box turtles may not be officially endangered, but their numbers are dwindling as collection, cars and habitat destruction deplete populations that cannot afford to lose even one member.
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How Nuclear Waste is Stored
When it comes to storing nuclear waste, you can sum up attitudes in one word: NIMBY. Not in my back yard. NIMBY presents quite a dilemma because on the one hand people like the benefits (medical and energy in particular) that come from using radioactive materials; on the other hand, they want somebody somewhere else to be responsible for storing wastes.
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How Land Preservation Works
Land preservation is usually the process of using various legal ownership mechanisms to retain land in an undeveloped state. It can include acquisition of natural areas of any kind: woods, rivers, rocky mounts, swamps, fields, prairies and the like.
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Rain Forest Stamp Available
If you hurry to the U.S. Post Office, you still have a chance to buy the new Pacific Coast Rain Forest stamps that came out at the end of March. This is the only wildlife species stamp due out this year, which is a great contrast with 1999 when you had a choice of insects, wolves, Sonoran Desert and others.
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How a Waste Water Treatment Plant Works
Once collected, sewage water flows into a generally unappreciated but highly important multi-step treatment facility. There are numerous variations on the treatment plant theme, but they all work to achieve the same goals.
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How Municipal Sewage Collection Works
Municipal and regional sewage systems can either be sanitary sewage only, or sanitary sewage and storm water. Systems that handle storm water are designed with extra large pipes downstream to handle increased flows (called load) during the most extreme storms possible. The treatment facility also must be large enough to handle extra water during storms and floods otherwise overflows occur. One problem is that regional development can outgrow a water-handling system before action can be taken to accommodate the growth. Numerous treatment facilities have been overwhelmed during extreme storms and floods.
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How a Bio-oxidation Plant Works
Bio-oxidation treatment is a final step in cleaning excess process water or waste ammonia liquor that originates from coke oven gas produced during the coking process. In this process, phenol and thiocyanate are "eaten" (oxidized to carbon dioxide and water) by bacteria at a bio-oxidation plant. The treated water can then be sent to a sewage treatment plant where the remaining ammonia is "eaten" by yet another strain of bacteria and made safe to discharge into a river.
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How Plastic Is Recycled
I searched and searched and despite finding many, many web sites on recycling plastics, I couldn't find one that described what takes place when plastic is recycled. So, I'll tell you how it "used" to be done for PET.
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How an Electrostatic Precipitator Works
Industrial operations produce exhaust gases that contain dust, fly ash, fumes, or mist which the Environmental Protection Agency feels are bad for human health and the environment.
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How an Incinerator Works
If you're a city person, once a week you probably take your household trash down to the curb. Apartment dwellers probably take their trash to a dumpster a few times a week. The rest of you know what you do with yours. All this trash must be disposed of somewhere, often a landfill, but sometimes an incinerator. Both disposal options are controversial, but often the incinerator is more so even though people burned trash and garbage long before trashcans and dumpsters were invented. .
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Bats Invent Butterfly Day-flight
Bats are being credited with "inventing" modern-day butterfly day-flight, according to Carleton University biology post-doctoral student Jayne Yack and University of Toronto at Mississauga zoology professor James Fullard. Their work was reported by Janet Wong, a news services officer with the Department of Public Affairs, Toronto.
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WorldWatch Institute Alerts
World Watch Institute is a premier environmental research and publishing organization. Its books and magazine are recognized all over the world for coverage of environmental issues. Alerts at the World Watch web site are full of caluable information. Read on.
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Desertification Backgrounder
Desertification is a process whereby the productivity of drought- prone land decreases because of
a variety of factors including deforestation, overcultivation, drought, overgrazing (poor rangeland
management), poor irrigation (waterlogging and salinization), soil erosion, chemical action and other
practices.
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Environmental Justice
Environmental Protection Agency, is the "fair treatment for people of all races, cultures, and incomes, regarding the development of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."
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NRDC and EDF
NRDC and EDF are two of the premier nongovernment environmental organizations in the United States. They are always worth a visit. These days you can find out about the threat to a whale sanctuary, hog farms, and mercury batteries, among dozens of other subjects.
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Bird Counts Count
Today's column opens on December 31 in time for many stouthearted people to get in touch with their local bird club to find out whether a bird count is scheduled for Saturday or Sunday.
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Earth Day 2000 and Grist Mag
With the new year almost upon us, I'm going to give readers a jump on Y2K Earth Day (Sat., April 22) by pointing to the Earth Day web site. I suggest that you check it periodically to see what's going on. This site is a big improvement over past Earth Day sites. I hope it gets even better. |
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Marine Invader Web Sites
Marine invaders could be U.S. troops hitting the beaches, but it really means marine critters hitting coastal waters in the ballast of ships that ply international ports.
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World Wildlife Fund Redesigned
Call of the Wild Online: New World Wildlife Fund Website
Offers Endangered Species, Environmental Actions, Fun, and
Information for Users of All Stripes
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Earth Vision and Global Environment & Technology Foundation
Intro to a newly discovered site, Earth Vision and the Global Environment & Technology Foundation. The first is a news service you read on line or subscribe to by e-mail. The second is a mysterious organization you'll have to figure out for yourself.
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Green Maps, a Gold Mine
Let's go visit a web site I ran into while searching for something else that I forgot about as soon as I ran into this site. Here's the text from the opening page at Green Map. This site is a good example of why you shouldn't judge a web site by its cover page. If you did, you'd probably miss a gold mine of information and ideas buried in the pages within the site. Map lovers and teachers who want ideas for hands-on learning projects of all kinds, this site's for you!
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Ants, squirrels, aliens, plastic
Little-known facts about ants that destroy bridges, squirrels that wrestle rattlers, aliens that destroy other species, and plastic that pollutes.
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Desert Tortoise Troubles
What do you think it is in someone's character that makes them roll a boulder in front of a desert tortoise den or to step on the den and crush it, killing the tortoise inside? What could make someone do such a thing?
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Land Use Planning
I blinked recently and most of the farmland disappeared in my area. First, houses down the block ate up farmland, and then my house ate some. Pretty soon a nearby orchard was gone. A few blocks away, fields gave way to condos, single family homes and shopping centers.
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Environmental Protest Sites
The web is being used for all kinds of information dissemination including environmental protests. This article points to two sites in Killamarsh, England, which are protesting a toxic waste plant.
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Problems in Environmental Journalism
Science and environmental journalists experience many difficulties in reporting news that affects the information presented to readers. Knowing what behaviors color the articles can help readers be more critical about what they read.
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One Helluva Cell
Fish have been dying in great numbers across the United States--for years. Try an estimated 11.7 million in one year in 22 states. Try 14.3 million in Texas in less than a year. A million in one month in North Carolina. It's not just fish either. Dolphins, sea turtles, whales, sea lions, seals and birds die too. And people become ill.
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No such Thing as Global Warming
A local columnist says there's no such thing as global warming. Thousands of scientists and hundreds of web sites say otherwise.
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Turtle Troubles in SE Asia
The Chinese have an appetite for turtles and tortoises. Two Chinese food markets are said to have sold an estimated 10,000 turtles of various kinds in two days and another estimate suggests there are at least 12 such markets in China. If they all sell turtles at that rate, an estimated 12 million turtles end up as food and Chinese medicine.
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The Sixth Great Mass Extinction
A poll conducted by the American Museum of Natural of Natural History and the Louis Harris survey research firm found that 70 percent of the biologists polled believe that within 30 years up to one-fifth of the species on earth will become extinct. A third of those polled are more pessimistic. They think up to half the species on Earth will be gone. Where is Noah when you need him!
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News Update
This article summarizes a few interesting news items on population, elephants, endangered species.
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NRDC's Legislative Watch
If you want to keep up with federal legislation, subscribe to the NRDC Legislative Watch e-mail service.
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Risk Management Planning & Reporting
June 21, 1999 has come and gone and chances are you don't even remember what you did that day. It was just another day to you. But it wasn't just another day to 40,000+ industries and public and government facilities that had to submit risk management plans to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It wasn't just another day to them!
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Environmental Web Sites
There are thousands of environmental sites on the web. Here are four you may not have heard of: Environmental Library, Salton Sea, National Safety Council-Environmental Health Center, Marine Debris.
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African Wildlife Conservation
Two conservation foundations, one in England and one in South Africa, seek to conserve rhinos, elephants and other African wildlife.
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Earthwatch Institute
Earthwatch Institute sponsors mouth watering natural history research trips all around the world. The trips offer you a chance to take a field trip of a lifetime--unless you take another one.
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Environmental News
Pesticides, Chinese air pollution, habitat destruction, aquarium exhibits, environmental attitudes and frog pages appeared in the news recently.
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Remanufacturing
In addition to recycling, we now also have a growing business called remanufacturing. This is an alternative for reusing products in which products are taken back whole for cleaning, fixing, refilling and resale. Think of this as breathing life back into products-parts or components of machines, machines themselves, and numerous products that don't have to be melted down, shredded, boiled or otherwise disintegrated to be reused.
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Ecological Footprints
Step in the mud or wet beach sand and you leave footprints. Children leave little ones. Adults leave big ones. Wildlife leaves footprints of various shapes and sizes too. Apparently nations leave footprints too--ecological footprints. So do states, cities, businesses and households, and our print is much bigger than it should be.
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Environmental Odds and Ends
This article reviews one man's Mississippi River cleanup and The Nature Conservancy's Adopt An Acre program.
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Urban sprawl and Disappearing Farmland
Urban sprawl (suburbanization) has slowed down, according to one group, but farmland is still in short supply in those areas where development has taken place.
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Nature Postage Stamps for '99
Nature lovers will have a banner year in 1999 if they like to use nature stamps on their snail mail. The U.S. Postal Service is offering aquarium fish, arctic wildlife, insects, the Sonoran Desert and tropical flowers.
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New British Environmental Site Holds Promise
This article describes a new British environmental site, edie, a free, personalised, interactive news, information and communications service for environmental professionals around the world. With comprehensive independent coverage, powerful search facilities, e-mail alerts and discussion forums, edie provides a one-stop-shop for the exchange of environmental information on the Web.
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Monarch Butterfly Habitat Threatened
This article discusses threats to the monarch butterfly habitat in Mexico and questions whose should accept responsibility for international species.
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Environment News Services Scores a Hit
Environment News Service at Lycos scores five stars for putting up a comprehensive news site that offers environment junkies a wide range of activities in addition to pure news. You can personalize your site for your zip code and get all kinds of automated information feed and a wealth of environmental information resources.
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Scallops Return to Chincoteague Bay
For about 60 years, bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) have been absent from Chincoteague Bay on the ocean side of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. They've been gone since 1933 when a hurricane tore through the region and blew away beds of underwater grasses that the scallops depend on for habitat. Now "they're baaaaccckk!"
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Natural Resources Defense Council
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) makes great one-stop shopping for a variety of conservation and environmental issues detailed with dozens of current links. Pick from major topics: atmosphere, energy, land, life, politics, sustainability, waste, water, weapons and more.
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Outdoor Recreation Web Sites
This article points to some of the outdoor recreation site information available on the web. Wherever you live, it looks like there are government recreation areas close enough for you to enjoy. This
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Bangladesh Children Suffer from Pollution
An article from ENN on elevated lead levels in children in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, caught my eye recently. I was interested because my wife and I have been to Dhaka twice to give environmental journalism workshops. The article said that major Bangladesh cities are among the most polluted in the world.
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Is All Environment About Wildlife?
Environment is about more than animals, trees and nature, but these are the easiest to deal with. More complicated issues are, well, more complicated. Many issues just don't capture the public's interest.
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Underwater Noise Revisited
Navy tests of the effects of underwater noise on on marine species have created controversy among some environmentalists. This article reviews the comments of a physicist who questions the accuracy of the Navy's reports.
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It's Time for Christmas Bird Counts
After everyone gets done opening their holiday presents and drinking their egg nog, some "45,000 people from all 50 states, every Canadian province, the Caribbean, Central and South America and the Pacific Islands (all areas where the breeding birds of North America spend their winter)" will dig out their field glasses and bird identification books to go count birds in what has become an annual ritual. They count every wild bird they can find; every place they can find them.
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Elephant Art Could Become Big
Elephants don't have an easy life. They're too big for their own good. They eat too much. They need too much area to roam around in while they look for food. While they look for food they damage trees, shrubs, gardens, people--whatever is in their way. African elephants face the ivory problem: they've got it; man wants it. Asian elephants face hunger because they can't find work.
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Wildlife News
Wildlife in the news lately include rhinos, tigers, bog turtles, sea otters and hummingbirds.
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Environmental Health Information on Children
Children are exposed to more bad stuff than adults are partly because they're closer to the ground and because they put all kinds of yukky stuff in their mouths. It turns out that "pound for pound of body weight, children breathe more air, drink more water and eat more food than adults," according to The EPA Children's Environmental Health Yearbook Executive Summary." And therein lies the threat.
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Year of the Ocean
Year of the Ocean, overfishing, marine resources, fisheries, oceans
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Island Biogeography is not for Dodos
When most people look at animals they only see the animals — tigers, tortoises, hornbills, rhinos and so on. They never ask why an animal is the way it is or how it got that way; where it came from and what it is like. Few wonder why animals are where they are and why they're not where they're not. David Quammen does.
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