What ever happened to “Save the whales”? In the 1970s and ’80s, it was the quintessential environmentalist cause, the one that anyone who cared about the earth could unequivocally rally behind. It was the topic of international negotiations and treaties, and endless campaigns from environmental... 

When dams go up, there is an effect on downstream water and sediment Quality. The same goes for when dams go down. Scuba-diver scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, with support teams from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and Washington Sea Grant, are returning... 

The Coral Triangle, a roughly triangular marine zone in the Indo-Pacific region that is considered to have the world’s richest concentration of marine biodiversity, is facing potential ecological collapse due to heavy pressure inflicted by human activities, according to a new report. The warning... 

Iapetus is the third largest moon of Saturn, and eleventh-largest in the Solar System. it is an odd one due to its steep topography. Giant ice avalanches on Iapetus provide clues to similar extreme slippage elsewhere in the solar system. “We see landslides everywhere in the solar system,”... 

Large numbers of humpback whales are remaining in bays along the Western Antarctic Peninsula to feast on krill late into the austral autumn, long after their annual migrations to distant breeding grounds were believed to begin, according to a new Duke University study. The study, published July 30 in... 

Wind turbines tend to look like windmills or giant propellers, and the design does in fact borrow from that. But that isn’t the only design that’s ever been tried. At Sandia National Laboratories wind energy experts are looking at vertical axis wind turbines, (called VAWTs). VAWTs have a... 

Michigan: Great Lakes, great expectations. (Image courtesy of Shutterstock .) Probably the most important energy-related vote this November is happening in the swing state of Michigan, where voters will decide whether to substantially boost the state’s renewable energy standard (RES). It’s... 

Like real celebrities, real food doesn’t need to shout about its health benefits. Processed foods, on the other hand, need all the help they can get. Fat free! Now with whole grains! Only 100 calories! Zero grams trans fat! All-natural! Fake health foods are the carnival barkers of the grocery... 

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock . In case you had any doubt that California’s Prop 37 – which would require labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — poses a significant threat to the food industry, a top food lobby has now made it perfectly clear that it does.... 

This is the second in a four-part series about the L.A. River. Read part 1 here . The L.A. River descends from the mountains into a sea of sprawl. (Photo by La Citta Vita.) The Los Angeles River begins in the mountains that hem in the sprawl of the San Fernando Valley. Even up in these wild canyons,... 

Two Canadian biologists have reported sighting a handful of grizzly bears and hybrid grizzly/polar bears at unusually high latitudes in the Arctic, indicating that the interbreeding of the two bear species is becoming more common as the climate warms and grizzlies venture farther north. The sightings... 

On a recent afternoon, a few hours before dusk, Brian Watson, of South Providence, sat in a red fabric lawn chair on the wooden dock at India Point Park. Watson was fishing for bluefish and striped bass — “blues and stripers” — as he has for the past seven years, and he always eats his... 

Researchers along the Pacific coastline say that the water has elevated levels of caffeine in the ocean. According to a new study out of Portland State University, researchers tested multiple sites on the Oregon shores of the Pacific Ocean to study caffeine pollution in the waters close to the shoreline.... 

In a few weeks, we’ll come upon the four-year anniversary of when candidate Barack Obama proposed that America put 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on our roads by 2015. Even before the sale of the first Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf, most observers knew that hitting the seven-figure mark by 2015... 

Despite recent growth, the US wind industry now fears a sharp slowdown. As the Wall Street Journal reports, domestic demand for wind turbines is falling. With the production tax credit (PTC) set to expire at the end of this year, manufacturers are not receiving many new orders. The CEO of Vestas, the... 

A study published last month in the journal Science came up with new estimates of tropical forest loss between 2000 and 2005. The research — led by Nancy Harris of Winrock International and also involving scientists from Applied GeoSolutions, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University... 

The whole world has gathered in London for the Summer Olympic Games. It is the third time this city has hosted the games, and the nation is aiming to make it unique as the first “sustainable” Olympics. In fact, while they were bidding to host their games, part of London’s pitch was... 

Photo courtesy of U.S. Army. Republicans have been going after the Navy’s biofuel program, the “ Green Fleet ,” as I covered here and here . As I’ve said, I have mixed feelings about military biofuels. Apart from the details of that program, though, I expect that this is the... 

Photo by meltwater. The Los Angeles River is a character actor, familiar to movie audiences worldwide, even if they don’t know its name. It specializes in the role of apocalyptic battleground, or drag strip, or general stand-in for the paved bleakness of greater Los Angeles. You’ve seen it in Grease... 

Nelida Martinez (right) with farm co-owner Lisette Flores. (Photo by Hilary McMullen.) Nelida Martinez worked as a farm laborer for big conventional farms in California for almost 20 years. But after her son, Danny, was diagnosed with leukemia, she says, “I never wanted to work around chemicals...