Photo Credit: Mike Baird
The Arctic Tern, a petit seabird weighing no more than 3.5 oz (.22 lbs), spends the summer months in the Arctic enjoying what little sun it can get before embarking on its incredible 43,000 mile journey across the world and back. A team of scientists from Greenland, Denmark, the US, the UK and Iceland outfitted the birds with “geolocaters” or tracking devices no bigger than the tip of a matchstick and followed the birds on their epic migratory voyage from the Arctic to Antarctica and back again. These minute tracking devices allowed scientists to clearly plot the Arctic Tern’s yearly flight route on a global map, which gave incredible insight into the birds understanding of global wind patterns. Read more…
Photo Credit: James Rickwood
Roger Nelson grew up on a farm and went out on his own to begin renting farmland in 1961. He and his family have continued their farming and had a reputation in their community of meticulous and ethical farming practices throughout the years. Their reputation, however, is now being tarnished as Monsanto (the world’s leading producer of the herbicide Roundup Ready and owner to most of the food seed companies around the world) is accusing the Nelsons of being thieves of their genetically modified soybeans. The Nelsons are among the hundreds of farmers Monsanto is suing, usually on the grounds of patent infringement. However, growers have begun to fight back in the courts, as they say Monsanto has no evidence of this claim. Read more…
Cavin B
While scientists, policy makers, and engineers are working towards legal enforcement of global carbon emission reductions, the political complexity of this issue has prevented immediate and wide scale action from being taken. Consequently, innovative solutions for curbing atmospheric carbon content are being sought after. In order to combat the resulting climate change stemming from the influx of atmospheric carbon due to fossil fuel combustion, some new research results have suggested a novel idea: “sink the carbon!” Read more…
Photo Credit: Michael Hodge
With so much media coverage and concern over global warming it’s easy to forget about other pressing environmental issues that are of equal severity such as deforestation, water quality, and biodiversity loss. These issues, which usually go hand in hand, are occurring at such accelerated rates all over the world that the UN says they are heavily impacting human well-being (not to mention the well being of the forests, waters, and all the biodiversity that exists within them). Read more…
Photo Credit: Yoshimasa Niwa
The holidays always turn out to be a mad dash for the latest, greatest in presents for family and friends. Among the clothes, video games, and gift cards is the recently and widely coveted e-reader. E-Readers are not only a convenient way to carry hundreds of books with you, they are also extremely environmentally friendly. Read more…
Photo Credit: Doc Searls
Believe it or not, the C.I.A. has begun to aid climate change science. Spy satellites and other classified sensors that constantly orbit our earth are now being utilized, when not spying on terrorists, of course, to collect valuable environmental data that may help scientists better understand the far reaching affects of our changing climate. Read more…
Photo Credit: Chuck Coker
The search for sustainable energy has inspired several innovations in green technologies that look to become the next major source of our planet’s energy. Among these is wind energy. As I have returned to Iowa for holidays and extended breaks over the last few years, I have seen firsthand a rise in wind technology. The flat farm fields that decorate the state’s landscape have increasingly been populated with the large turbines that are necessary for producing electric energy from the wind. According the Iowa Energy Center, Iowa is the second largest producer of wind energy after Texas. The state’s topography and existing electric transmission lines make the environment conducive to wind energy. Read more…
Photo via Woodley Wonderworks
Two weeks of climate change negotiations between 193 countries at Copenhagen and what was accomplished? Well, to be honest, only time will tell, but what we can say for certain is that a concrete resolution binding all parties was not established. Was the overall approach taken by the Conference at fault? Are 193 countries just too many to organize? Read more…
Photo Via Samsung Electronics, 'Blue Earth'
Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘you vote with your dollar’? Well it’s true. Many consumers now only purchase products that have been deemed environmentally friendly. The effect? Producers must supply these environmentally friendly products or risk a serious drop in sales. Well, believe it or not, major cell phone manufacturers have begun to catch on. The result? Samsung’s up and coming eco-phone will be sporting it’s own solar panel and much more! Read more…
Photo Credit: Hopenhagen
This is huge! 5 days and counting until 192 countries meet (well actually their representatives) in Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the greenest countries in the world, for what is thought to be the last big chance for our world to come together with a legitimate plan to combat global warming! Make your voice heard by signing the petition on the Hopenhagen website (it’s very quick and easy) and let the world know “what gives you hope for a better planet”… Read more…
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