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Environmental News Network - Today's News
Study: Men Men Go for Good Looks (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 06:00:50
| Science is confirming what most women know: When given the choice for a mate, men go for good looks.
And guys won't be surprised to learn that women are much choosier about partners than they are.
"Just because people say they're looking for a particular set of characteristics in a mate, someone like themselves, doesn't mean that is what they'll end up choosing," Peter M. Todd, of the cognitive science program at Indiana University, Bloomington, said in a telephone interview.
Researchers led by Todd report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that their study found humans were similar to most other mammals, "following Darwin's principle of choosy females and competitive males, even if humans say something different." |
Hidden interactions between predators and prey: evolution causes cryptic dynamics in ecology (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 06:00:50
| When the populations of two species oscillate together (for example, predators and prey), it’s a good bet that they are tightly coupled ecologically. A famous example is the Canadian lynx and snowshoe hare, documented in the trapping records of the Hudson’s Bay Company. |
China to use more non-grain biofuels to replace oil (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:19
| China plans to expand its use of biofuels to reduce its reliance on petroleum, utilizing 2 million tonnes of bioethanol from non-grain feedstocks and 200,000 tonnes a year of biodiesel by 2010, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Beijing's plan also seeks to move away from corn, now the feedstock for most Chinese biofuel, amid concerns over supply security and food price inflation.
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Plug and Play Algae Production for Biofuels? (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:19
| The US seems to be closing in on the bust end of another of its usual boom-bust economic cycles. (This time too many less-than-wealthy buyers were duped by greedy mortgagers into buying overpriced homes. The last boom-bust was what, overvalued dot-coms?)
Anyway chin up, we’ll survive and the next boom could begin late in the current president’s term, and the next man or woman behind the desk in the Oval Office will get all the credit for the economic upturn. (Which, too, will eventually go sour. It’s the American way.) |
Congo's rare mountain gorillas caught in fighting (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:19
| Rebels in eastern Congo have occupied part of a reserve protecting rare mountain gorillas, putting the endangered primates in the crossfire of an escalating political and ethnic conflict, conservationists say.
Congolese government soldiers have fought renegade soldiers loyal to dissident Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda for several days in North Kivu province, which is home to Africa's oldest national park, Virunga, and its population of rare gorillas.
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Bank-Led Satellite Imagery Sheds More Light on Gas Flaring Pollution (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:19
| From more than 400 miles in space, the World Bank is pinpointing the true extent of one of the planet’s major environmental problems ”" gas flaring. The problem isn’t new. Gas flaring ”" a byproduct of petroleum production that spews about 400 millions of tons of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere ”" has been going on for decades. But new satellite imagery, commissioned by the Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction public-private partnership, is showing that some countries are burning off more gas than what was initially reported.
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Oil Rises on Hurricane Concerns (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:19
| SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices rose as traders monitored the pace and path of an Atlantic hurricane that could smash the oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, though that appeared less likely Tuesday.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 10 cents from Friday's close to $74.14 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midafternoon in Singapore.
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Category 5 Hurricane Felix reaches land (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:19
| Hurricane Felix made landfall early Tuesday as a fearsome Category 5 storm - the first time in recorded history that two top-scale storms have come ashore in the same season. The storm hit near the swampy Nicaragua-Honduras border, home to thousands of stranded Miskito Indians dependent on canoes to make their way to safety.
Twenty fishermen were missing, and communication to the area was cut off.
Meanwhile, off Mexico's Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Henriette strengthened into a hurricane with 75 mph winds and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was churning toward the upscale resort of Cabo San Lucas, popular with Hollywood stars and sea fishing enthusiasts.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. |
Viruses in Water: The Imaginative In Pursuit of the Fugitive (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| Water-borne enteric viruses are probably not the first microorganisms which spring to mind when thinking of polluted water. Cholera, typhoid and cryptosporidiosis are more prominent in the public mind, though viruses are likely to have been the cause of many outbreaks of water-borne disease. The difficulty has, until comparatively recently, been proving the link between the water and the sick person. |
Work starts on biggest-ever Panama canal overhaul (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| Work started on Monday on a $5.2 billion expansion of Panama's famous canal, the largest-ever overhaul of the short cut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. |
One man's genes show DNA is still a mystery (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| The first detailed map of a man's genes shows the genetic code is even more complex than anyone thought. For instance, science still cannot pinpoint what makes a person's eyes blue.
Initial study of genome entrepreneur Craig Venter's own DNA map shows 4.1 million places where his genetic code is different from the basic "reference" human genome.
This is many more than had been expected, including big differences that extend far beyond the single-letter changes that account for much of the variation seen so far. |
Bluefin tuna sanctuary needed to save fish species in western Mediterranean (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| WWF is advocating the immediate establishment of a sanctuary for the imperilled bluefin tuna around the Balearic islands in the western Mediterranean.
Along with other international and Spanish conservation organizations working to save the marine environment — Ecologistas en Acción, GEN-GOB and Greenpeace — WWF is calling on the fisheries administrations of the European Union, the Balearic islands and Spain to set up a protected area in the archipelago to protect the species from severe overfishing. |
WWF partners with Marks & Spencer on eco-plan (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| Under a new partnership, WWF will support a plan by Marks & Spencer that aims to combat climate change, reduce waste and safeguard natural resources.
Known as Plan A, the British retailer has committed to making its operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland carbon neutral, sending no waste to landfill and significantly extending sustainable sourcing by 2012.
“We are taking bold action already within our own business, although we have a long way to go," said Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer. |
Sydney protest peaceful ahead of Bush's APEC visit (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| The first APEC protest was staged in Sydney on Tuesday, hours before U.S. President George W. Bush was due to arrive for a summit of 21 Asia-Pacific leaders, but police and media far outnumbered activists.
Chanting "Bush go home", "Out of Iraq" and "Go Back to Texas now", about 100 protesters staged a peaceful but noisy demonstration outside Sydney's main railway station.
Ringed and photographed by police, protesters waved anti-Iraq war and anti-Bush posters, while a tall black and white skeleton puppet danced as rush-hour commuters headed home. |
China targets 750 firms in war on pollution (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| China's environmental watchdog has shut down or suspended 649 firms and given dozens of others a deadline to clean up their act, state media said on Tuesday amid growing concern about pollution ahead of the 2008 Olympics.
The State Environmental Protection Administration launched a two-month campaign in July to clean up the country's rivers and recovered 725 million yuan ($96 million) in fines for polluting.
"Punishment is not our aim. We want to push local industries to restructure their operations," Pan Yue, deputy minister of SEPA, was quoted by the China Daily as saying. |
Central America braces for Felix (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| Tens of thousands of people hunkered in storm shelters on Tuesday as Hurricane Felix roared toward Central America, but transport shortages left many facing the storm's whipping winds and rain in their homes.
The highly dangerous Category 4 hurricane, due to make landfall by mid-morning, was strengthening as it charged toward Honduras and Nicaragua with top sustained winds near 155 mph (250 kph), provoking fears of a repeat of Hurricane Mitch, which killed some 10,000 people in Central America in 1998. |
U.S. probes Mattel disclosures before recall: report (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:20
| The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the timeliness of toy company Mattel Inc's disclosures before its most recent recall, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Tuesday.
Internal commission documents also raise questions about whether Mattel has passed information to regulators about possible recurring electrical problems with a recalled toy the company has declared fixed, the report said.
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Update: Hurricane Felix weakens over Nicaragua (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 12:01:18
| Hurricane Felix weakened to a Category 3 storm as it battered Nicaragua on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Felix hit the Caribbean coastline of Nicaragua and Honduras earlier on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, the most powerful type of storm.
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Protests, Heavy Security, Bush Arrives Australia For Asia-Pacific Summit (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 03:00:59
| SYDNEY - After a lightning visit to Iraq where he hinted at possible U.S. troop cuts, President George W. Bush arrived in Australia on Tuesday for an Asia-Pacific leaders' meeting amid heavy security and anti-war protests.
Trade and climate change will top the agenda at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and Bush wants the forum's 21 economies to agree to a strongly worded pledge to reinvigorate the Doha round of world trade talks.
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New Data: Growth In Carbon Emissions Slowing (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 03:00:59
| LONDON - Growth in global emissions of the heat-trapping greenhouse gas carbon dioxide slowed slightly last year, preliminary data from the U.S. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) suggest.
CDIAC is the primary source of climate-change data and information analysis for the U.S. Department of Energy. In the past, its preliminary emissions estimates have been subsequently revised upwards.
"It is hard to put too much emphasis on the last number in a time series, it is always the most subject to revision," said Gregg Marland, senior scientist at CDIAC and at Austria's International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
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England's Dying Sherwood Forest Needs Money (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 03:00:59
| LONDON - Sherwood Forest, home to Britain's legendary Robin Hood who took from the rich and gave to the poor, needs money -- 50 million pounds ($100 million) to be precise.
Nearly half of Sherwood's remaining oak trees are dead or dying and the rate of death is accelerating from an average of one a year for the past 20 years to five a year now mainly because of old age. |
China Plans $265 Billion Renewables Spending (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 03:00:59
| BEIJING - China plans to invest 2 trillion yuan ($265 billion) in renewable energy by 2020, most of it corporate cash, to wean itself off polluting coal as it aims for cleaner growth, a top energy planner said on Tuesday.
Chen Deming, vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, added that China aimed to be using domestically made and designed equipment by then, which could cut prices for clean energy worldwide.
"We expect the majority of the funds to come from companies," Chen said when asked about the 2 trillion yuan forecast. |
Unique Grape Skin Extract Inhibits Prostate Cancer Cell Growth (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 03:00:59
| WASHINGTON - Laboratory experiments show that an extract of the skin of muscadine grapes can inhibit growth of prostate cancer cells in the laboratory. Investigators found that muscadine grape skin extract produced this result even though it does not contain significant amounts of resveratrol, another grape skin component that has been widely studied and shown to be of potential benefit in preventing prostate cancer growth.
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Felix Hits Central America, 2 Dead, City Flattened (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 03:00:59
| PUERTO CABEZAS, Nicaragua - The highly dangerous Hurricane Felix ripped into Central America on Tuesday, smashing up a port on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast and threatening deadly mudslides in Honduras and Guatemala.
Two people were reported dead in Puerto Cabezas port in northern Nicaragua, where howling winds tore the roofs off homes and badly damaged a church.
"The situation is chaotic. Puerto Cabezas is being totally destroyed," said Antonio Joya, a regional government official. "I'm sure it is going to be a total disaster."
Uprooted trees flew through the air as thousands took shelter in two schools in the port, home to some 30,000 mostly Miskito Indians. Ambulances with sirens blaring raced through the streets. |
Killer heat wave bakes southern California (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 03:00:59
| A heat wave swept southern California for a sixth day on Sunday, claiming the lives of an elderly couple, setting record temperatures and leaving thousands of customers without power.
The mercury eclipsed the century mark throughout the area, sending millions of people to the beaches for relief on the Labor Day holiday. Weather forecasters expect more harsh conditions on Tuesday, but a slight cooling though the week.
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Breastfed Babies May Sleep Less When Mothers Smoke (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 06:01:01
| NEW YORK - Nursing mothers who smoke may be cutting their infant's nap times short, a new study shows.
Babies whose mothers smoked shortly before breastfeeding napped about 20 minutes less over the following three and a half hours than those whose mothers had abstained from cigarettes for several hours, Dr. Julie A. Mennella and colleagues found.
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Hurricanes Felix, Henriette, Set Records, Wreak Havoc (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:06
| CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico - Felix walloped Central America's remote Miskito coastline and Henriette slammed into resorts on the tip of Baja California as a record-setting hurricane season got even wilder Tuesday with twin storms making landfall on the same day.
Felix roared ashore before dawn as a Category 5 storm along Nicaragua's remote northeast corner - an isolated, swampy jungle where people get around mainly by canoe. The 160 mph winds peeled roofs off shelters and a police station, knocked down electric poles and stripped humble homes to a few walls.
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Euro Car Makers Lag Behind Japanese Hybrids; Try To Close Gap (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:06
| MILAN (Reuters) - Car makers will show off their latest efforts to fight pollution at Frankfurt's autoshow next week by unveiling models with improvements rather than substitutes to the standard internal combustion engine.
Under pressure to reduce harmful emissions produced by their vehicles amid fears of global warming, they are keen to show the greenest of intentions with the latest line of engines that consume fuel more efficiently.
For anything more advanced, like a hybrid engine, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Mercedes Benz and others will need another two years before they can show anything worthy of the road, far behind their Japanese rivals.
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Project Underway To Develop Technology To Detect Human Exposure To Environmental Toxins (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:06
| UC Berkeley - Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have received a $4.7 million grant to develop cutting edge methods for detecting diseases in humans exposed to environmental contaminants. |
Mattel Plans Third Chinese Toy Recall: Report (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:06
| NEW YORK (Reuters) - Toymaker Mattel Inc is to announce a third recall of Chinese-made toys because they may contain too much lead paint, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The latest recall involves a Fisher-Price toy and accessories to a Barbie playset and covers several hundred thousand units, the AP reported, citing two anonymous persons it said had been briefed by Mattel executives.
Mattel, which has recently announced two recalls of millions of Chinese toys because of lead paint, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
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Avocados May Help Prevent Oral Cancer (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:06
| COLUMBUS, Ohio ”" Nutrients taken from avocados are able to thwart oral cancer cells, killing some and preventing pre-cancerous cells from developing into actual cancers, according to researchers at Ohio State University.
Researchers found that extracts from Hass avocados kill or stop the growth of pre-cancerous cells that lead to oral cancer. Hass avocados are year-round fruits known for their distinctive bumpy skin that turns from green to purplish-black as they ripen.
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4 Dead, Killer Heat In Southern California (View Original Story)
Source: Posted: 09-04-2007 at 09:01:06
| LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The week-long heat wave in Southern California has claimed four lives and caused power outages to more than half a million customers, utility and local officials said on Tuesday.
Triple-digit temperatures lingered over some of Southern California for the seventh straight day on Tuesday, while most cities in the region saw temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s.
The heatwave is expected to break by Wednesday.
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