Nearly two thirds of the contiguous United States experiencing some level of drought

Nasa Observatory, October 03, 2012


Nearly two thirds of the contiguous United States was experiencing some level of drought by the end of August 2012, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. 39 percent of the nation suffered from severe to extreme drought. Though the numbers changed a bit in mid-September, the drought parched much of the interior United States and left both domestic and wild animals scrounging for food.
The browning and withering of vegetation in the United States and northern Mexico is clear in this vegetation anomaly map based on data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. Read more...

GM corn loses its edge against pests

New Scientist, September 13, 2012

You cnat keep a bad pest down. Corn rootworms in the US may have developed a resistence to a protective chemical made by a genetically modified corn. The US Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that it plans to investigate the pest resilience. Read more...

Oil in American History: A Special Issue

A FREE issue of the Journal of American History

Στις πολύβουες πόλεις, τα πουλιά αναγκάζονται να αλλάξουν τροπάριο

In.gr, 5 Απριλίου 2012

Τα σπουργίτια του Σαν Φρανσίσκο τιτιβίζουν σήμερα διαφορετικά τραγούδια από ό,τι τη δεκαετία του 1970, και η πιθανότερη εξήγηση είναι ότι προσπαθούν να αντισταθμίσουν την ηχορύπανση της πόλης που ολοένα αυξάνεται.
Η μελέτη που δημοσιεύεται στην επιθεώρηση Animal Behaviour «δείχνει ισχυρό συσχετισμό ανάμεσα στην αλλαγή των τραγουδιών και την αλλαγή στο θόρυβο» αναφέρει ο Ντέιβιντ Λούθερ του Πανεπιστημίου George Mason της Βιρτζίνια. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Senate Republicans Agree to End Big Oil Subsidies After Watching Polar Bear Film

ENN, April 02, 2012

In an stunning reversal, Senate Republicans have accepted President Obama's call to end tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, reversing a procedural vote on Thursday that had killed the Mendendez Bill (S. 2204 - Repeal Subsidies and Tax Breaks for the Big 5 Oil Companies), introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). On Thursday, the bill was defeated by a vote of 51-47, nine votes short of the 60 required to pass.
But in a rare Saturday afternoon session called by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the measure was swiftly rejuvenated—and passed—after nine of the Republicans who voted against the bill on Thursday had a change of heart after watching a sneak preview on Friday of To the Arctic, a documentary that follows the life of a mother polar bear caring for her two seven-month-old cubs in the Arctic. Narrated by three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, To the Arctic arrives in IMAX theaters on April 20. Read more...

Seattle plants a public food forest

Grist, February 28, 2012

There’s a stretch of arterial in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood that I’ve traveled probably thousands of times without giving a second thought to the empty, grassy hillside it parallels. When I heard about plans to create a seven-acre urban food forest there, I had a hard time picturing the sloped field covered over in rich soil and filled with a tangle of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, and vegetable patches. It seemed like an edible ecosystem too wild to spring from such an unremarkable urban space. But within the next few years, this slice of land adjacent to a city park and golf course will transform from an unofficial off-leash dog run and occasional sledding slope into the Beacon Food Forest, which some say will be the largest of its kind in the U.S. Read more...

Escaped pet Pythons causing decline in Everglades Wildlife

ENN, February 01, 2012

Non-native Burmese pythons are believed to be the cause of severe mammal declines in the Florida Everglades, according to new research.
Also known as the Asiatic rock python, the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) is a large constricting snake native to Asia. The exact origins of the pythons in the Everglades are unknown, but many have been imported into the United States through the pet trade, and some are likely to have escaped or been released into the wild. Read more...

Largest dam removal in U.S. history begins in Washington

ENN, September 19, 2011


As a child, Adeline Smith, an elder in the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe who grew up along the Elwha River, saw how a hulking concrete dam choked off one of the most prolific salmon runs on earth. [..] Some 25 years later, Smith and 100 tribal members joined Washington Governor Chris Gregoire and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to watch as the first concrete was scooped away from the Elwha Dam over the weekend as part of the largest dam removal in U.S. history. Read more...

Walgreens to Host 800 EV Charge Points; GM to Launch Smart Grid Pilot

Environmental Leader, July 22, 2011

Pharmacy chain Walgreens plans to offer electric vehicle charging stations at about 800 locations across the country by the end of the year, making it the nation’s largest charging station retail host.
In other electric vehicle news, General Motors and OnStar will this year launch what they say is the first real-world pilot of smart grid solutions for electric vehicles.
Read more...

The 10 deadliest cities for pedestrians in the United States

Grist.org, May 24, 2011

Streets in the U.S. are designed not for people, but for cars. And it shows. From 2000 through 2009, some 47,700 pedestrians were killed by drivers. Transportation for America has released a new report and interactive map that shows which metro areas are deadliest. Read more...

First Pipeline-Fed Hydrogen Refueling Station Opens in the United States

ENN, May 11, 2011


May 10, Toyota celebrated the opening of the first pipeline-fed refueling station in the US. Located in Torrance, California, it is the first hydrogen station to be directly connected to an active industrial hydrogen pipeline. It will provide fuel for Toyota's as well as others fuel cell vehicle fleets in the Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA, Inc, and operated by Shell. The hydrogen pipeline is maintained by Air Products. Read more...

Wolves Taken Off the US Endangered Species List

ENN News, April 14, 2011

For the first time ever, the US Congress has removed an animal from the Endangered Species List, a process typically done by a federal, non-political, science-based agency. The action by the US Congress sets a new precedent for altering the Endangered Species List based on political influence, enraging environmental groups. The removal would take effect in two western states that have known issues with wolves: Montana and Idaho. Wolves would now be managed by each state's wildlife agency, inevitably leading to commercial hunting. Read more...

There’s safety in numbers for cyclists

Grist, October 11, 2010

In U.S. cities, there are a lot more people out bicycling than just a few years ago. You might reasonably think that the bicycle crash rate would skyrocket as more people, from wobbly new riders to the outright safety-averse, take to the streets on two wheels.
It's a fine, common-sense assumption -- that happens to be wrong.
Research has been steadily showing, actually, that the more people are out there riding bicycles, the safer bicycling becomes. As ridership goes up, crash rates stay flat. It's happening in Portland (see page 11 of this report [PDF]). It's happening in New York City. Read more...

95% of Consumer Products Mislead Buyers with ‘Green’ Claims

Environmental Leader, October 26, 2010

More than 95 percent of consumer products claiming to be “green” commit at least one greenwashing offense, according to a report released by TerraChoice, a North American environmental marketing company and part of Underwriters Laboratories’ global network. The worst offenders are toys and baby care products, with 100 percent and 99.2 percent, respectively, guilty of some form of greenwashing. Read more...

Tiger Among US

WWF International, October 2010


Did you know that there are more tigers in American backyards than there are in the wild around the world? The United States has one of the largest populations of captive tigers in the world − estimated at perhaps 5,000 tigers, compared to as few as 3,200 in the wild. They are found in backyards, urban apartments, sideshows, truck stops and private breeding facilities.In many jurisdictions, people can legally keep a tiger on their property without reporting it to local officials or neighbors. In some states, it is easier to buy a tiger than to adopt a dog from a local animal shelter. Rarely can officials determine how many tigers there are in captivity within state borders − or where they are, who owns them, or what happens to their body parts (highly prized on the black market) when they die. Read more...

China overtakes U.S. as biggest energy consumer

ENN, October 12, 2010

IEA calculations based on preliminary data show that China has now overtaken the United States to become the world's largest energy user. China's rise to the top ranking was faster than expected as it was much less affected by the global financial crisis than the United States. Read more...

Houston Rockets' Stadium Wins LEED Certification

ENN, July 6, 2010

The Houston Toyota Center, home of the NBA's Houston Rockets, recently earned certification through the US Green Building Council's LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance Program. The Center becomes the first such venue in Texas to be certified, and joins the Portland Rose Garden, Miami's American Airlines Arena, and Atlanta's Philips Arena as the only LEED certified NBA facilities. The Center received Silver level certification, ranking only below the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, which received Gold earlier this year. Read more...

New Aggressive National Fuel Economy Standards Set for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

ENN, April 01, 2010

No fooling, the DOT and EPA, in response to one of the Obama Administration's top priorities, have jointly established aggressive new federal rules that will significantly increase the fuel economy of all passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States. They have also established new federal rules that would for the first time ever, set national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for these vehicles. The new rules are forecast to save the average buyer of a 2016 model year car $3,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle. EPA estimates that nationally, it has the potential to conserve about 1.8 billion barrels of oil and reduce nearly a billion tons of GHG emissions over the lives of the vehicles. Read more...

Natural Gas drilling chemicals a concern

ENN,. March 11, 2010

President Barack Obama's top environmental adviser urged the natural gas industry on Tuesday to disclose the chemicals it uses in drilling, warning that the development of massive U.S. shale gas reserves could be held back otherwise.
Joseph Aldy, special assistant to the president for energy and the environment, said concerns about water contamination from drilling chemicals could lead to states requiring disclosure and that could deter additional investment. Read more...

Πυρηνικά με εγγύηση Ομπάμα

Ελευθεροτυπία, 07 Μαρτίου 2010

Επρεπε να περάσουν 31 χρόνια από το ατύχημα στο Three Mile Island, στην Πενσιλβάνια, όταν κυριολεκτικά έλιωσε ένας πυρηνικός αντιδραστήρας, για να δοθεί το πράσινο φως από αμερικανό πρόεδρο προκειμένου να κατασκευαστούν νέα πυρηνικά εργοστάσια παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Και είναι μάλλον παράδοξο να είναι ο Μπαράκ Ομπάμα -ο πιο «πράσινος» αμερικανός πρόεδρος- αυτός που προωθεί το πιο φιλόδοξο και εκτεταμένο πρόγραμμα κατασκευής πυρηνικών σταθμών. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...