Environmental News Network

Pioneering energy-generating sail is a step closer to reality
Eco Marine Power (EMP) has announced that it has taken another major step forward towards bringing its pioneering wind and solar harnessing EnergySail to the market by forming a strategic alliance with Teramoto Iron Works Co. - a manufacturer of marine equipment located in Hiroshima, Japan. >> Read the Full Article
Scientists look to the future to help protect London from rising sea levels
Scientists have developed a new method for revealing how sea levels might rise around the world throughout the century to address the controversial topic of whether the rate of sea level rise is currently increasing. >> Read the Full Article
Says the human to the polar bear: "I am not your lunch!"
As the climate continues to change, the polar bear's range moves south as the planet continues to warm. This means that we should expect more human encounters with the polar bear. This can be a problem for scientists working in these regions. Enter the Canadian bear expert, Andy McMullen, a Canadian 35 year veteran who teaches Dartmouth scientists about bear behavior before they embark upon studies in bear country. >> Read the Full Article
Polar bear genome reveals adaptations to high-fat diet
Living its life in the high Arctic, polar bears have developed extreme adaptations to survive in this cold sea ice environment. One important trait is their thick layer of blubber. Like other arctic animals, this layer of fat helps insulate species from the cold. Consequently, polar bears have adapted to subsist on a blubber-rich, high-fat diet of marine species. But is a high-fat diet healthy for the species? >> Read the Full Article
National Priorities List of Superfund sites adds seven
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is added seven hazardous waste sites to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. They include two facilities in York, NE and single facilities in Norphlet, AK; Windham, ME; Fairfield, NJ; Ridgewood, NY and Collierville, TN. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country to protect people's health and the environment. >> Read the Full Article
Predicting red tide blooms with ESP
Red tide poisoning is an aquatic phenomenon caused by a rapid increase/accumulation in the water column of reddish colored algal bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms) comprising a few species of toxic dinoflagellates. Forecasting the phenomenon has been critical for coastal communities. This year though, WHOI is introducing a new tool called Environmental Sample Processors (ESP) to measure bloom concentration and associative toxins for real-time reporting to land based researchers. >> Read the Full Article
Seafloor container ecology
Thousands of shipping containers are lost from cargo vessels each year. Many of these containers eventually sink to the deep seafloor. In 2004, scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) discovered a lost shipping container almost 1,300 meters (4,200 feet) below the surface of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. In the first-ever survey of its kind, researchers from MBARI and the sanctuary recently described how deep-sea animal communities on and around the container differed from those in surrounding areas. >> Read the Full Article
Climate Change vs. Natural Variations: Why is Greenland Melting?
The climate change debate continues. Are anthropogenic causes of global warming responsible for melting ice and rising seas or are natural cycles and climate variations to blame? There's no question that Greenland's glaciers are in fact melting. And while the obvious culprit may be global warming caused by rising carbon dioxide emissions, University of Washington atmospheric scientists have estimated that up to half of the recent warming in Greenland and surrounding areas may be due to climate variations. The kicker? These climate variations originate in the tropical Pacific and are not connected with the overall warming of the planet. >> Read the Full Article
A dinosaur's evolution of the claw
How did the evolution of the dinosaur claw evolve into the current bird form? A new University of Bristol study into the claws of a group of theropod dinosaurs, known as therizinosaurs, has revealed a great versatility in their usage. Theropod dinosaurs, a group that includes such famous species as Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor, are often regarded as carnivorous and predatory animals, using their sharp teeth and claws to capture and dispatch prey. However, the detailed look at forelimb claws demonstrates that these claws were very likely to have been used for other tasks. >> Read the Full Article
Releasing the cork in Wilkes Basin Antarctica yields unstoppable sea-level rise
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) latest study shows that if East Antarctica's Wilkes Basin's rim of ice lets go, it is likely to trigger a persistent ice discharge into the ocean, resulting in unstoppable sea-level rise for thousands of years to come. Using the ground profile under the ice, the researchers used computer ice flow simulations under the ice sheet. >> Read the Full Article