WICHITA, July 23 (AP) — The drought that has hit sections of Kansas this year has also affected wildlife that relies on rivers, streams and rain to survive. “It’s too dry for everything from the little things to the big things, which eat the little things,” said Don Distler, a biologist who manages Wichita State University’s […]
By Verna Gates; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Ellen Wulfhorst10 July 2011 BIRMINGHAM, Ala (Reuters) – Thousands of baby pelicans grunt and hiss at their parents in tightly packed nests on Gaillard Island, a feathered paradise situated off the coast of Alabama. The 1,300-acre, man-made island is hosting more than 50,000 birds this summer as […]
By Jane Merrick, Political Editor3 July 2011 Water companies are draining the nation’s most at-risk rivers dry, causing environmental damage, death to wildlife and the build-up of chemicals that upset fragile aquatic ecosystems, all of which could result in ever-higher bills for consumers, a damning report will say tomorrow. Current abstraction by firms from rivers […]
By Chris Morris, Times & Transcript Staff2 July 2011 Derek Hatfield has always known about the loneliness of the long-distance sailor, but he’s never felt as alone as he does these days when racing over the vast, empty expanses of our dying oceans. Hatfield recently completed his second successful race around the world, sprinting to […]
Contact: Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov16 June 2011 It’s summer wildflower season in the Rocky Mountains, a time when high-peaks meadows are dotted with riotous color. But for how long? Once, wildflower season in montane meadow ecosystems extended throughout the summer months. But now scientists have found a fall-off in wildflowers at mid-season. They […]
On July 28, Animal Planet will debut Black Tide: Voices From the Gulf, a two-hour doc from award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Crude) on the impact of the Gulf oil spill on Louisianians. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20, 2010 was the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The two-hour special explores […]
By BOB CHRISTIE, Associated Press 24 June 2011 PHOENIX – The largest wildfire in Arizona history left a charred landscape of blackened forest, burned-out vehicle hulks and charred fireplaces as it destroyed more than 30 homes. It also inflicted a serious toll on an ecosystem that’s home to numerous endangered species. The flames spared three […]
By Emily Beament, PA5 June 2011 Threatened wildlife such as water voles could be hit by the continuing dry weather across parts of the country, the Wildlife Trusts warned today. This year has seen an unusually dry spring, and despite some recent rainfall the dry weather is set to continue across much of the country […]
CHERNOBYL, Ukraine—The disaster at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986, is currently ranked as the worst nuclear accident in history. Officially, tourism has opened up here, but areas remain that are too dangerous for tours. On the eve of the event’s 25th anniversary, Scientific American frequent contributor Charles Q. Choi traveled to Chernobyl and nearby Kiev […]
Contact: Todd Datz, 617.432.8413, tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu18 April 2011 Boston, MA – Using 120 years of feathers from natural history museums in the United States, Harvard University researchers have been able to track increases in the neurotoxin methylmercury in the black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), an endangered seabird that forages extensively throughout the Pacific. The study shows that […]
