Earth & Environment - Jul 20, 2012 14:05 - 0 Comments

In public parks, marijuana farms poison wildlife

UC DAVIS (US) — Rat poison used on illegal marijuana farms may be sickening and killing the fisher, a rare forest carnivore found in remote areas of California. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 19, 2012 11:46 - 0 Comments

Least picky parasites are most successful

MONASH U. (AUS) — Biologists have documented, for the first time, the traits that allow parasites to successfully invade new lands and species. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 12, 2012 17:10 - 0 Comments

Many threats spell trouble for Antarctica

TEXAS A&M (US) — Antarctica is at risk from human activities and other forces, say scientists, who call for environmental management to protect the planet’s last great wilderness area. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 12, 2012 15:45 - 0 Comments

Fire hunting shields Australian mammals

STANFORD (US) — When species start disappearing, it usually makes sense to blame it on the arrival of humans. But in the case of Western Australia’s declining small mammal populations, the opposite may be true. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 12, 2012 14:42 - 1 Comment

To eat invasive shrub, beetles evolve quickly

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — The fight against an invasive plant is getting a boost from rapidly evolving beetles whose life cycle has changed to eat the weed more efficiently. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 12, 2012 12:29 - 4 Comments

Is natural gas the bridge to cleaner energy?

CORNELL (US) — Natural gas is a good transition step on the road to greener energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear power, says a new study. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 11, 2012 17:03 - 9 Comments

Interspecies mating in fish exposed to BPA

U. MINNESOTA (US) — The chemical BPA appears to affect the mating choices of fish, leading to interspecies breeding, researchers report. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 10, 2012 17:01 - 1 Comment

Study: Earth remains on unsustainable path

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — Despite calls for sustainability and efforts to advance green initiatives, Earth is still headed for “unprecedented levels of damage and degradation” says a new UN assessment. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 10, 2012 14:03 - 0 Comments

How forests store carbon as CO2 rises

INDIANA U. (US) — Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere affect carbon cycling and speed carbon loss from forest soils, research shows. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 6, 2012 10:43 - 0 Comments

‘Shiny lid’ of sea ice spikes Arctic heat

U. MELBOURNE (AUS) — The combination of melting sea ice and global atmospheric warming is contributing to a high rate of warming in the Arctic, where temperatures are rising up to four times faster than the global average, a new study shows. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 5, 2012 15:06 - 0 Comments

Invasive flower sets off chain reaction

WASHINGTON U. – ST. LOUIS (US) — The chain of interactions triggered by the invasive plant purple loosestrife alters the zooplankton diversity in artificial ponds—and confirms a central tenet of ecology. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 2, 2012 14:57 - 0 Comments

US West ‘dry period’ may have been wet, too

U. PITTSBURGH / PENN STATE (US) —Tree rings and oxygen isotopes have allowed researchers to better pinpoint the history of droughts in the arid and semiarid areas of the American West. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jul 2, 2012 8:35 - 2 Comments

Plants hold keys to human survival, say scientists

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — More research on plant metabolism, and by a broader group of scientists, may protect humans against future challenges. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 29, 2012 12:11 - 3 Comments

Wildlife returns to Britain’s urban rivers

CARDIFF U. (UK) — After decades of pollution, typically from poorly treated sewage and industrial waste, urban rivers throughout England and Wales have improved dramatically in water quality and wildlife. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 27, 2012 14:26 - 0 Comments

Oil spill intensified erosion in Gulf marshes

U. FLORIDA (US) — The Deepwater Horizon oil spill temporarily worsened erosion and other existing manmade problems in Louisiana’s salt marshes, but researchers say there may be cause for optimism. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 27, 2012 11:58 - 0 Comments

Poorest nations’ food crops safer from famine

U. NOTTINGHAM / U. LEEDS (UK) — Very poor and relatively wealthy countries are less vulnerable to famine due to climate change—it is the group in the middle that is most at risk, say researchers. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 26, 2012 11:18 - 0 Comments

Farm-forest mix may keep species diverse

STANFORD (US) — Although bird species disappear with intensive agriculture, research in Costa Rica shows that forest intermingled with cultivated land may rescue biodiversity. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 26, 2012 10:43 - 0 Comments

Sediment core reveals Arctic warm spells

U. WASHINGTON (US) — The Arctic has gone through intensely warm periods—warmer than scientists thought was possible—in the last 2.8 million years, new research shows. (more…)

Earth & Environment