ENN rounds up the most important and compelling environmental news stories of the week. In the news July 17th - 21st: Biotech clothes, biodiversity conservation, a solar ferry, Arctic oil reserves, and much more.
Top Ten Articles of the Week
In the news July 17th - 21st:
1. Biotech Playing Role in Clothing Industry
Biotechnology is quietly playing a growing role in an apparel industry waking up to its customers' concerns about the environment and the country's reliance on the foreign oil used to make synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon. But the trend is raising concerns among some environmental purists.
2. Scientists Want Global Body to Conserve Biodiversity
Scientists warned on Wednesday that the world is on the brink of a major biodiversity crisis and called for the creation of an international body to advise governments on how to protect the planet's ecosystems.
3. Endangered Flowers Trigger Fight over California Housing Development
Did someone in this wine country town illegally plant an endangered flower to sabotage a proposed housing development? That is the question at the center of a quarrel folks here have dubbed "Foamgate."
4. Britain's Solar Boat a Scientific Advance
It is slow and travels only a short distance, but builders of the Serpentine Solar Shuttle say it's the most advanced passenger ferry on British waters. Britain's biggest solar-powered boat debuted Tuesday on a lake in London's Hyde Park, opening what its developers hope is a door to the future of solar-powered transportation.
5. China Farms Losing US$2.5 Billion a Year to Pollution
China's farms are losing more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion; euro2 billion) a year to industrial pollution that leaves grain tainted with mercury and other heavy metals, a government agency said Friday.
6. Greenland Opens New Round of Concessions for Oil Exploration in Fragile Arctic
Several of the world's largest oil companies hope to tap into possible offshore oil and gas reserves as Greenland opened a new round of concessions Tuesday for exploration licenses in the fragile Arctic region.
7. To Move Trash Out, New York City Dumps Trucks for Barges
After years of squabbling over how to move mountains of trash out of New York, the city has dumped its system of trucks and approved a plan to ship it away on barges. But overhauling the trash plan has been a complicated process.
8. Darfur Peace Must Address Water Crisis, Economist Says
There is no chance of peace in Darfur unless the region's dire water shortages are tackled as part of a settlement between rebels and the Sudanese government, a top international economist said on Monday.
9. Global Warming Disputes Heat Up Congress
As a heat wave baked the capital, global warming dominated a number of conversations in and around the government Thursday. Democrats and Republicans took turns criticizing each other, with President Bush's senior environmental adviser fending off attacks on the administration's go-slow approach.
10. Volunteers Pluck Eight Million Pounds of Trash from Beaches
More than 450,000 volunteers removed 8.2 million pounds (3.7 million kilograms) of debris from 18,000 miles (29,000 kilometers) of coastline and waterways in 74 countries during a daylong cleanup in September.
Photo: Looking more like an alien than a mammal, an adult manatee (left) nuzzles its baby (right) in the water at the mouth of Banana Creek on Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Manatees live in Florida's warm-water rivers and inland springs. Credit: NASA.
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