SKCEA.ORG » Ecosystems http://skcea.org Environmental Education And News Wed, 23 May 2012 19:08:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Charting a new environmental course in China http://skcea.org/charting-a-new-environmental-course-in-china/ http://skcea.org/charting-a-new-environmental-course-in-china/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 19:08:25 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/charting-a-new-environmental-course-in-china/ Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) works in more than 30 countries and has projects in all 50 of the United States. The Conservancy has over one million members, and has protected more than 119 million acres of wild-lands and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide. TNC has taken an active interest in China, the world’s most populated nation, and in many important ways, a critical center of global development. The following is an interview with multiple directors of The Nature Conservancy’s China Program. Mongabay: Please tell our readers about the background and history of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) work in China. Zhang Shuang, Director of TNC China Program: Though TNC is a big international organization, we started small in China, in the critically important Northwest corner of the province of Yunnan. We were invited by the Yunnan provincial government to help them complete a regional conservation plan. That was in 1998. We still operate a number of projects in Yunnan but now have also expanded site work into Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and the Yangtze River Basin. While the opportunities and need for addressing environmental challenges in China are enormous, we still try to focus our work on select areas, where we can really have an impact. This includes addressing climate change (through restoring forests and creating adaptation strategies), introducing new models of protected areas while strengthening existing conservation landscapes, and minimizing the impact of hydropower and other development in the Yangtze River Basin, China’s heartland.

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Charting a new environmental course in China

]]> http://skcea.org/charting-a-new-environmental-course-in-china/feed/ 0 Why the best world-changing ideas begin in your neighbourhood http://skcea.org/why-the-best-world-changing-ideas-begin-in-your-neighbourhood/ http://skcea.org/why-the-best-world-changing-ideas-begin-in-your-neighbourhood/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 19:08:25 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/why-the-best-world-changing-ideas-begin-in-your-neighbourhood/ Your ideas for changing the world may be desperately important. But if you can’t find a way to engage the interests of the people around you they may never take off, argues John-Paul Flintoff. The environmental movement has often been guilty of making people despondent, either by talking about ‘problems’ in a way that makes listeners feel powerless, or by presenting solutions as miserable duties. It needn’t be that way. Instead, we could try to make doing the right thing appealing, rather than merely necessary – and one way to do that is to offer people a chance to say hello to their neighbours.

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Why the best world-changing ideas begin in your neighbourhood

]]> http://skcea.org/why-the-best-world-changing-ideas-begin-in-your-neighbourhood/feed/ 0 The Fall of the Reef Shark http://skcea.org/the-fall-of-the-reef-shark/ http://skcea.org/the-fall-of-the-reef-shark/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 19:08:24 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/the-fall-of-the-reef-shark/ Sharks have a reputation of being apex predators of the sea. But even they have their weak points. Many shark populations have plummeted in the past three decades as a result of excessive harvesting – for their fins, as an incidental catch of fisheries targeting other species, and in recreational fisheries. This is particularly true for oceanic species. However, until now, a lack of data prevented scientists from properly quantifying the status of Pacific reef sharks at a large geographic scale. Curious gray reef sharks at Kure Atoll in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii were studied as part of a study published April 25 in the journal Conservation Biology. An international team of marine scientists provided the first estimates of reef shark losses in the Pacific Ocean using underwater surveys conducted over the past decade across 46 US Pacific islands and atolls, as part of NOAA’s extensive Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program. The team compared reef shark numbers at reefs.

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The Fall of the Reef Shark

]]> http://skcea.org/the-fall-of-the-reef-shark/feed/ 0 Study links fungi to early vascular plants http://skcea.org/study-links-fungi-to-early-vascular-plants/ http://skcea.org/study-links-fungi-to-early-vascular-plants/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 19:08:23 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/study-links-fungi-to-early-vascular-plants/ Cooperating with fungi didn’t just help the earliest plants spread across a barren, rocky landscape; it also played a decisive role in the rise of more complex plants with roots and leaves that make up most of today’s flora. That’s the conclusion of a recent study, which used experiments on closely-related plants that are still around today to investigate how major environmental changes around 400 million years ago gave more complex new ‘vascular’ arrivals the edge over older, simpler ‘non-vascular’ plants like liverworts. A sudden plunge in atmospheric CO2 made these simpler plants’ cooperative fungal networks far less capable of supplying them with enough nutrients to grow, compared to a corresponding improvement for their vascular rivals. Adding to the problem, the upstarts were starting to outcompete them for light.

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Study links fungi to early vascular plants

]]> http://skcea.org/study-links-fungi-to-early-vascular-plants/feed/ 0 G8 Leaders Agree to Act on Climate, Air Pollution http://skcea.org/g8-leaders-agree-to-act-on-climate-air-pollution/ http://skcea.org/g8-leaders-agree-to-act-on-climate-air-pollution/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 19:08:22 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/g8-leaders-agree-to-act-on-climate-air-pollution/ At the Camp David meeting last week, G8 leaders agreed to act on climate change and air pollution by focusing on methane, black carbon (soot), and hydroflurocarbons (HFCs).

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G8 Leaders Agree to Act on Climate, Air Pollution

]]> http://skcea.org/g8-leaders-agree-to-act-on-climate-air-pollution/feed/ 0 Climate Study: Extreme Rain Storms in Midwest Have Doubled in Last 50 Years, Often Leading to Worsened Flooding http://skcea.org/climate-study-extreme-rain-storms-in-midwest-have-doubled-in-last-50-years-often-leading-to-worsened-flooding/ http://skcea.org/climate-study-extreme-rain-storms-in-midwest-have-doubled-in-last-50-years-often-leading-to-worsened-flooding/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 20:50:17 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/climate-study-extreme-rain-storms-in-midwest-have-doubled-in-last-50-years-often-leading-to-worsened-flooding/ The kind of deluges that in recent years washed out Cedar Rapids, IA, forced the Army Corps of Engineers to intentionally blow up levees to save Cairo, IL, and sent the Missouri River over its banks for hundreds of miles are part of a growing trend, according to a new report released today by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Big storms, leading to big floods, are occurring with increasing frequency in the Midwest, with incidences of the most severe downpours doubling over the last half century, the report finds.

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Climate Study: Extreme Rain Storms in Midwest Have Doubled in Last 50 Years, Often Leading to Worsened Flooding

]]> http://skcea.org/climate-study-extreme-rain-storms-in-midwest-have-doubled-in-last-50-years-often-leading-to-worsened-flooding/feed/ 0 Help at the nest sets chicks up for life http://skcea.org/help-at-the-nest-sets-chicks-up-for-life/ http://skcea.org/help-at-the-nest-sets-chicks-up-for-life/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 20:50:16 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/help-at-the-nest-sets-chicks-up-for-life/ A chick’s chances throughout life will depend on a good environment and good parenting in its earliest months. One of the ways that chicks can get ahead is to have an extra relative looking after them. New research shows that the benefits of having a ‘helper at the nest’ extend even into adulthood.

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Help at the nest sets chicks up for life

]]> http://skcea.org/help-at-the-nest-sets-chicks-up-for-life/feed/ 0 High Concentrations of Toxic Mercury in the Arctic from Circumpolar Rivers http://skcea.org/high-concentrations-of-toxic-mercury-in-the-arctic-from-circumpolar-rivers/ http://skcea.org/high-concentrations-of-toxic-mercury-in-the-arctic-from-circumpolar-rivers/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 20:50:15 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/high-concentrations-of-toxic-mercury-in-the-arctic-from-circumpolar-rivers/ Environmental scientists have known that high levels of the toxic element, mercury, have been accumulating in the Arctic Ocean for some time. It was believed to be mostly caused by atmospheric sources stemming from the combustion of coal. However, a new study from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Harvard School of Public Health has found that the great majority of Arctic mercury arrives via circumpolar rivers. Some of the largest rivers in the world flow north into the Arctic in Eurasia and North America.

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High Concentrations of Toxic Mercury in the Arctic from Circumpolar Rivers

]]> http://skcea.org/high-concentrations-of-toxic-mercury-in-the-arctic-from-circumpolar-rivers/feed/ 0 Earthquake Hits Northern Italy http://skcea.org/earthquake-hits-northern-italy/ http://skcea.org/earthquake-hits-northern-italy/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 17:03:01 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/earthquake-hits-northern-italy/ A powerful earthquake shook Italy’s industrial and densely populated northeast early Sunday, killing six people and felling homes and church steeples around the historic city of Ferrara. Emergency services said at least 50 people were injured in the 6.0-magnitude quake, which struck just after 4 a.m. (10 p.m. ET Saturday), sending thousands of people running into the streets in town and cities from the Emilia-Romagna region to Venice. Authorities said the quake’s epicenter was the commune of Finale Emilia, 36 kilometers (22 miles) north of Bologna. A 29-year-old Moroccan man was killed by a falling girder when a factory building collapsed in the small town of Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno.

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Earthquake Hits Northern Italy

]]> http://skcea.org/earthquake-hits-northern-italy/feed/ 0 Lose Weight While You Sleep! http://skcea.org/lose-weight-while-you-sleep/ http://skcea.org/lose-weight-while-you-sleep/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 17:03:01 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/lose-weight-while-you-sleep/ Want to lose weight but find it hard to hit the gym three times a week or eating 1,500 calories per day? You might not have to do either. New research suggest sleeping more could be enough to keep the flab away. Research into the circadian clock that regulates our sleep-wake cycle shows disruptions to the clock may be linked to metabolic disorders such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. And researchers say sleeping for eight hours a night and eating during daylight hours could be as important in controlling weight gain as diet and exercise. Gad Asher, clinician and medical researcher from the Department of Biological Chemistry at Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, presented research to a Garvan Institute seminar on obesity in Melbourne last night that found every cell in the body has a circadian clock.

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Lose Weight While You Sleep!

]]> http://skcea.org/lose-weight-while-you-sleep/feed/ 0 Charcoal for African Cookstoves, What’s the Story? http://skcea.org/charcoal-for-african-cookstoves-whats-the-story/ http://skcea.org/charcoal-for-african-cookstoves-whats-the-story/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 17:03:00 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/charcoal-for-african-cookstoves-whats-the-story/ You may have seen pictures of women in Africa cooking their daily meals on a small cookstove. These cooking implements look remarkably similar to the portable charcoal grills an American family might bring to the beach for an afternoon of grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. Imagine using one of these at your kitchen table to prepare nearly every meal of your life. In Mozambique (a coastal nation in Southwest Africa, just north of South Africa), the average lifespan is 47 years, the average income is $1 per day – minimum wage is a little more than double that, but high unemployment cuts the average in half. Charcoal is the cooking element of choice. Among market shoppers and sellers we met, charcoal was deemed to be the best cooking option because it is easily available and “not dangerous.”

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Charcoal for African Cookstoves, What’s the Story?

]]> http://skcea.org/charcoal-for-african-cookstoves-whats-the-story/feed/ 0 New Jersey Takes Slow, Steady Approach to Offshore Wind http://skcea.org/new-jersey-takes-slow-steady-approach-to-offshore-wind/ http://skcea.org/new-jersey-takes-slow-steady-approach-to-offshore-wind/#comments Sat, 19 May 2012 18:05:32 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/new-jersey-takes-slow-steady-approach-to-offshore-wind/ The international wind power industry is watching Washington, DC to see if lawmakers will extend the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind power. But their eyes are also focused on Trenton, the state capital of New Jersey, to see if state regulators there will help launch America’s long-awaited offshore wind energy industry.

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New Jersey Takes Slow, Steady Approach to Offshore Wind

]]> http://skcea.org/new-jersey-takes-slow-steady-approach-to-offshore-wind/feed/ 0 Paper or Plastic? http://skcea.org/paper-or-plastic/ http://skcea.org/paper-or-plastic/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 13:50:26 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/paper-or-plastic/ Cities in a number of Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan, are currently on the warpath against plastic shopping bags. The cities have passed local laws that ban such bags, on the basis that they clog sewers and drainage canals, cause street flooding, choke animals and are responsible for other forms of environmental damage. China and Taiwan, for example, impose heavy fines on violators. Other countries are appealing for a switch to the production and use of biodegradable bags. But this misses the point. People do not object to using biodegradable bags, and consider them a welcome return to the traditional practice of using shopping baskets and bags made from locally available materials — such as jute, abaca and cloth — that are less harmful to the environment.

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Paper or Plastic?

]]> http://skcea.org/paper-or-plastic/feed/ 0 Wind, Solar…Coconuts: Small Island Developing States Commit to Renewable, Sustainable Energy for All http://skcea.org/wind-solar-coconuts-small-island-developing-states-commit-to-renewable-sustainable-energy-for-all/ http://skcea.org/wind-solar-coconuts-small-island-developing-states-commit-to-renewable-sustainable-energy-for-all/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 19:04:53 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/wind-solar-coconuts-small-island-developing-states-commit-to-renewable-sustainable-energy-for-all/ Typically heavily reliant on the cost of high and volatile diesel and fossil fuel imports, small island developing states are also on the front line when it comes to having to cope with climate change. Now they’re realizing there’s a lot in the way of cleaner, more efficient and less costly power and fuel resources right at home. They’re increasingly, if belatedly, establishing ambitious renewable energy programs and setting aggressive targets to employ local renewable energy resources to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, working with a range of international development agencies, public and private sector partners domestic and foreign, in doing so.

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Wind, Solar…Coconuts: Small Island Developing States Commit to Renewable, Sustainable Energy for All

]]> http://skcea.org/wind-solar-coconuts-small-island-developing-states-commit-to-renewable-sustainable-energy-for-all/feed/ 0 How Pain Comes and Goes http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes/ http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:57:26 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes/ Pain is an unpleasant feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli as communicated by a nerve. No one likes it though it does serve as a warning to do something about the pain source. Researchers at the University of Leeds have found a previously unknown mechanism through which pain is signaled by nerve cells. A discovery that could explain the current failings in the drug development process for painkillers and which may offer opportunities for a new approach. In order to control pain, one, must understand how it works.

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How Pain Comes and Goes

]]> http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes/feed/ 0 How Pain Comes and Goes http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-2/ http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-2/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:57:26 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-2/ Pain is an unpleasant feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli as communicated by a nerve. No one likes it though it does serve as a warning to do something about the pain source. Researchers at the University of Leeds have found a previously unknown mechanism through which pain is signaled by nerve cells. A discovery that could explain the current failings in the drug development process for painkillers and which may offer opportunities for a new approach. In order to control pain, one, must understand how it works.

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How Pain Comes and Goes

]]> http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-2/feed/ 0 How Pain Comes and Goes http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-3/ http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-3/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:57:26 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-3/ Pain is an unpleasant feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli as communicated by a nerve. No one likes it though it does serve as a warning to do something about the pain source. Researchers at the University of Leeds have found a previously unknown mechanism through which pain is signaled by nerve cells. A discovery that could explain the current failings in the drug development process for painkillers and which may offer opportunities for a new approach. In order to control pain, one, must understand how it works.

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How Pain Comes and Goes

]]> http://skcea.org/how-pain-comes-and-goes-3/feed/ 0 How Ambient Noise Affects Cognitive Ability http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability/ http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:57:25 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability/ Just as water pollution is contamination of the water, noise can be considered contamination of the air waves. From a cognitive standpoint, there exists an optimal level of ambient noise. Too far above or below this level will cause focus and creativity to drop off. In this sense, noise is like pollution of the mind. A new study from the University of Illinois shows that ambient noise is a major factor affecting creative cognitive abilities. It is something that advertisers and marketers should be especially attuned to in marketing their products to the public.

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How Ambient Noise Affects Cognitive Ability

]]> http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability/feed/ 0 How Ambient Noise Affects Cognitive Ability http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-2/ http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-2/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:57:25 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-2/ Just as water pollution is contamination of the water, noise can be considered contamination of the air waves. From a cognitive standpoint, there exists an optimal level of ambient noise. Too far above or below this level will cause focus and creativity to drop off. In this sense, noise is like pollution of the mind. A new study from the University of Illinois shows that ambient noise is a major factor affecting creative cognitive abilities. It is something that advertisers and marketers should be especially attuned to in marketing their products to the public.

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How Ambient Noise Affects Cognitive Ability

]]> http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-2/feed/ 0 How Ambient Noise Affects Cognitive Ability http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-3/ http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-3/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:57:25 +0000 admin http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-3/ Just as water pollution is contamination of the water, noise can be considered contamination of the air waves. From a cognitive standpoint, there exists an optimal level of ambient noise. Too far above or below this level will cause focus and creativity to drop off. In this sense, noise is like pollution of the mind. A new study from the University of Illinois shows that ambient noise is a major factor affecting creative cognitive abilities. It is something that advertisers and marketers should be especially attuned to in marketing their products to the public.

Link:
How Ambient Noise Affects Cognitive Ability

]]> http://skcea.org/how-ambient-noise-affects-cognitive-ability-3/feed/ 0