Environmental News Network

Glacier Retreat in Antarctica Has Unexpected Benefit

dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:53:00 EST

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has been studying glaciers in Antarctica, looking at their reducing surface area. As the glaciers retreat, more open water is exposed, and lead author of a new study, Professor Lloyd Peck of the BAS found that large blooms of tiny marine plants called phytoplankton are flourishing in areas of open water left exposed by the recent and rapid melting of ice shelves and glaciers around the Antarctic Peninsula. This remarkable colonization is having a beneficial impact on climate change. The phytoplankton blooms are relatively short lived, and as they die back, phytoplankton sinks to the sea-bed where it can store carbon for thousands or millions of years.

Heat-Related Nitrogen Loss Endangers Desert Plant Life

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:38:00 EST

As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. This could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers. Available nitrogen is second only to water as the biggest constraint to biological activity in arid ecosystems, but before now, ecologists struggled to understand how the inputs and outputs of nitrogen in deserts balance.

Tuna Demand Threatens to Wipe Out Albatross

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:51:00 EST

Appetite for tuna is threatening to drive rare birds including the albatross to the edge of extinction. A new study by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) warns that the method used to fish tuna is killing rare birds in unprecedented numbers and threatening to wipe out certain species like the albatross altogether.

Aid Groups, Farmers Collaborate to Re-Green Sahel

dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:17:00 EST

Industrialized nations agreed this year to spend $20 billion during the next three years on food security projects across the developing world that improve small farmers' access to seeds, training, and markets. Methods that combine traditional agricultural techniques, such as natural regeneration, with modern technologies are more likely to become a larger component of the food security initiatives, development experts said.

Not Science Fiction: Solar Power to be Zapped From Space By Lasers

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:59:00 EST

Japan is aiming to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth using laser beams or microwave.

Red Wine, White Wine...Green Wine?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:46:00 EST

Full bodied, richly textured, with a carbon-neutral finish -- Rodney Strong winery set out to reduce its energy footprint and its impact on the environment.

New Market Study Finds Green Buildings Continue Impressive Growth

dotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdotdot — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:13:00 EST

Green building activity has sustained impressive growth during 2009 amid a brutal construction market that has decimated other segments of the construction marketplace, according to the 2009 Green Building Market & Impact Report published by GreenerBuildings.com.