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Switzerland Tops Environmental Index, U.S. Lags
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January 23, 2008 - Reuters UK
| | Davos, Switzerland -- According to the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, Switzerland ranks first in environmental performance and it is followed by Sweden, Norway, Finland and Costa Rica. The U.S. placed 39th in the 149 country evaluation, largely due to poor scores on greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of air pollution on ecosystems. The United Kingdom, Japan, Albania, Russia and Panama are among those that ranked higher than the U.S.
| | | By Sam Cage and Michael Winfrey © 2008 Reuters
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Atlanta Suffers as Southeast Drought Continues
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October 15, 2007 - ABC News
| | An unprecedented drought stretching across the southeastern United States has forced some of the region's largest cities to declare water emergencies. The situation has become so serious that officials in Atlanta, where rainfall totals are more than 16 inches below normal, said they could run out of drinking water in a matter of weeks.
| | | © 2007 ABCNews Internet Ventures
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Desalination No Answer to Water Crisis: WWF
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June 18, 2007 - ABC News
| | Geneva -- To overcome water shortages some countries may turn to desalination to convert sea water into drinking water. However, a report by the World Wildlife Fund claims that the energy intensive process of desalination will only worsen the situation by contributing to global warming. Global warming can impact the availability of water because 69 percent of global freshwater supplies are in the world's icecaps and glaciers.
| | | By Laura MacInnis © 2007 Reuters © 2007 ABCNews Internet Ventures
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Marine Species Suggest Antarctic 'Cradle of Life'
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May 16, 2007 - ABC News
| | Washington -- Over the course of a three year study, researchers have discovered hundreds of new species in deep Antarctic waters including many free-swimming worms and isopod crustaceans. Surprisingly, a rich diversity of animal life could still be found at 20,000 feet below the surface.
| | | By Maggie Fox © 2007 Reuters © 2007 ABCNews Internet Ventures
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American Croc No Longer Near Extinction
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March 20, 2007 - PhysOrg.com
| | West Palm Beach, Fla. -- The American crocodile has been downgraded from “endangered” to “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Scientists now estimate that there are up 2,000 American crocodiles in Florida.
| | | By Brian Skoloff © 2007 The Associated Press © 2003-2007 PhysOrg.com
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Calif. Redwood Confirmed As Tallest Tree
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September 29, 2006 - FOX News
| | Redwood National Park, Calif. -- A redwood tree named Hyperion was measured and found to be 379.1 feet. The previous record-holder was almost ten feet shorter.
| | | © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 FOX News Network, LLC.
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Gene Secrets of the Tree Revealed
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September 15, 2006 - BBC News
| | The black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) is the first tree to have it's genome completely sequenced. As a result, scientists may be able to genetically engineer the plant to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce more cellulose, which can then be used in biofuels.
| | | © 2006 BBC
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Experts: Snail Venom May Have Benefits
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August 22, 2006 - ABC News
| | Salt Lake City -- The venom of an ocean snail binds to certain receptors in the brain. By using a synthetic version of the toxin, scientists may be able to develop treatments for addictions, depression and Parkinson's disease.
| | | By Ed White © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
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Calif. Asks to Keep Roadless Areas in U.S. Forests
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July 12, 2006 - MSNBC
| | Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked the federal government to protect 4.4 million acres of California's national forests. The proposal comes in response to a Bush administration rule which would allow road building on some previously protected lands, unless governors petition the federal government.
| | | © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 Microsoft
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Scorpion Venom Tested as Brain Cancer Treatment
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June 27, 2006 - LiveScience.com
| | Venom from the yellow Israeli scorpion binds preferentially to certain cancerous glial cells in the brain. By isolating part of the protein and attaching it radioactive material, cancerous cells can be specifically targeted and killed. Preliminary studies on high-grade gliomas have yielded promising results.
| | | By Robert Roy Britt © 1999-2006 Imaginova Corp.
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Norway to House Seeds in Doomsday Vault
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June 18, 2006 - ABC News
| | Oslo, Norway -- Construction has begun on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located in Norway's remote Svalbard Islands. Up to 3 million seeds will stored in the Vault, to ensure crop diversity in case of global disasters such as plant epidemics or climate change.
| | | By Doug Mellgren © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
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American Chestnut Trees Reappear in N.H.
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June 18, 2006 - ABC News
| | Lee, N.H. -- By the mid-1900s, a deadly fungus from Asia had wiped out almost all of the nation's American chestnut trees. A conservation group is now trying to reintroduce the tree in New England forests by cross-breeding the American chestnut with a a fungus-resistant variety.
| | | © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABCNews Internet Ventures
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'Green Slime' Returns to Great Lakes
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June 14, 2006 - ABC News
| | Traverse City, Mich. -- Parts of the Great Lakes are experiencing an increasing number of algae blooms. Phosphorous, from sources such as fertilizers, dishwashing detergents, and livestock and animal waste, promotes the growth of algae which can be hazardous to both aquatic life and people.
| | | By John Flesher © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABCNews Internet Ventures
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Manatees Off Fla. Endangered Species List
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June 9, 2006 - ABC News
| | West Palm Beach, Fla. -- The manatee will now be designated as a threatened species in the State of Florida. The number of manatees in Florida waters rose from 1,267 to 3,116 over the last fifteen years.
| | | By Brian Skoloff © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABCNews Internet Ventures
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Giant Crater Found: Tied to Worst Mass Extinction Ever
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June 1, 2006 - Space.com
| | Using satellites and radar images, scientists have discovered a crater in the Wilkes Land region of East Antarctica that is 300 miles wide - twice the size of the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatan peninsula. The impact that caused the crater may be responsible for the greatest mass extinction on Earth, 250 million years ago.
| | | By Robert Roy Britt © 1999-2006 Imaginova Corp.
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Scientists Say Arctic Once Was Tropical
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May 31, 2006 - ABC News
| | Washington -- Core samples taken from beneath the Arctic Ocean floor show that the North Pole was once warmer that previously thought. A spike in carbon dioxide 55 million years ago caused polar temperatures to average about 74 degrees. At the time of this global warming event, the concentration of CO2 was four times higher than it is today.
| | | By Seth Borenstein © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABC News Ventures
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Chesapeake Bay Underwater Grasses Rebound
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May 25, 2006 - ABC News
| | Annapolis, Md. -- The area covered by bay grasses increased by 7 percent from 2004 to 2005. The underwater grasses provide habitats to a number of species and filter nitrogen from the water.
| | | By Kristen Wyatt © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABC News Ventures
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Feds Reject Petition to List Spotted Owl
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May 24, 2006 - ABC News
| | Fresno, Calif. --- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to add the California spotted owl to the Endangered Species Act. Environmentalists argue that current logging laws and habitat changes are threatening the species.
| | | By Juliana Barbassa © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABC News Ventures
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Report: Ozone Hole May Disappear by 2050
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May 20, 2006 - ABC News
| | Tokyo --- A scientist at the National Institute for Environmental Studies predicts the hole in the ozone layer could be healed by 2050. The findings are based on numerical simulations that incorporate projected emissions of ozone-depleting gases.
| | | © 2006 The Associated Press © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
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