ENN rounds up the most important and compelling environmental news stories of the week. In the news April 2nd - 6th: Rethinking auto emissions, climate change as a global security issue, Silicon Valley tackles energy, trawling vs. turtles, and much more.
Top Ten Articles of the Week
In the news April 2nd - 6th: Rethinking auto emissions, climate change as a global security issue, Silicon Valley tackles energy, trawling vs. turtles, and much more.
1. Auto Industry Urges Economy-Wide Approach to Global Warming
Automakers called for an economy-wide approach to global warming in reaction to a Supreme Court decision Monday that could give the government the authority to regulate the emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases from cars. The Supreme Court ordered the federal government on Monday to take a fresh look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars, a rebuke to Bush administration policy on global warming.
2. Fame Hurts Valley of Eternal Youth in Ecuador
These days, the famous elders of Vilcabamba are dying at a younger age, the result of the stresses of modern life brought by the scores of tourists and health buffs who flock here in search of eternal youth. Old timers say modern life has encroached on and disrupted the valley's tranquil and carefree lifestyle, which was key to their longevity.
3. Scientists Say Genes Determine Dog Sizes
Dogs have the largest variation in body size of any land animal, so researchers led by Elaine A. Ostrander of the National Human Genome Research Institute decided to look into the reasons why. Learning how growth is controlled can improve the understanding of cancer and other diseases caused by growth gone awry, Ostrander said in a telephone interview.
4. U.N. Security Council To Debate Climate Change
The U.N. Security Council will debate climate change for the first time on April 17, the result of a British campaign to force it onto the agenda of a body that deals with matters of war and peace. Britain considers the topic so important to global security that Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett will preside over the debate.
5. Chernobyl Radiation Equal to Everyday Risks, Study Finds
The risk of survivors of the Chernobyl accident dying early is far less than supposed, ranking about the same as exposure to air pollution or passive smoking, according to new research published on Tuesday. The human toll from the world's worst civil nuclear accident has been hotly debated ever since the Ukrainian power station's No. 4 reactor blew up on April 26, 1986.
6. Silicon Valley's 'Best Brains' Work on Energy
Venture capitalists in Silicon Valley have been searching for the next big thing in high-tech for years, but now many have switched to greener pursuits -- finding technology to help cut global warming. They are pouring cash into solar power, fuel cells, wind energy, biofuels, new lighting microchips, "smart" power grids, and other innovative energies.
7. As Dunes Encroach, Desert Nation Struggles To Keep Its Head Above the Sand
With less rain falling now than in years past, Maurtania's sand dunes have become dry and unstable. Global climate change bears part of the blame, as does the local practice of uprooting the scraggly trees that once dotted the landscape to use as camel feed, firewood or for insulation, leaving nothing to hold back the mountains of sand.
8. UN Panel Issues Bleakest Warning on Climate
Top climate experts issued their bleakest forecasts yet about global warming on Friday, ranging from hunger in Africa to a thaw of Himalayan glaciers in a study that may add pressure on governments to act. More than 100 nations in the U.N. climate panel agreed a final text after all-night disputes during which some scientists accused governments of watering down some of their findings in a draft 21-page summary.
9. Trawling, Industry Threaten India Turtle Nesting
he scattered carcasses of dead turtles bake on the hot sand. Scraps of the white shells of turtle eggs surround a hole where stray dogs have dug up a nest. Until a decade ago, this beach on India's east coast used to witness one of nature's most spectacular sights -- the mass nesting of tens of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles on a single night.
10. Plan for Big U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Passes Hurdle
A controversial plan to build the first large U.S. offshore wind-power farm won approval from Massachusetts authorities Friday but still must clear federal regulatory hurdles. Cape Wind Associates LLC, a privately funded Boston-based energy company, has proposed constructing 130 wind turbines over 24 square miles in Nantucket Sound.
Photo: A raccoon clings to branches of a tree. Credit: Dave Menke/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
