Environmental News: February 18th-March 1st 2010

Chemical causes high contamination levels in Atlantic dolphins
March 1, 2010
It brings back old questions about food safety for humans.
BY STEVE PATTERSON
Closed chemical factory on a Brunswick marsh has caused record-high PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) contamination in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins that ate polluted fish, scientists have concluded.
Read more here.

Alaska lawmakers reduce goals for polar bear conference
February 28, 2010
By Dan Joling / The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The federal listing of polar bears as a threatened species so outraged Alaska lawmakers, they considered spending more than a million dollars for a public relations effort to reverse the decision.
Read more here.

Something Fishy? Eco-Guide Lists Seafood To Avoid
26-Feb-10
Miral Fahmy
SINGAPORE - Love your seafood as much as the environment? A new guide to sustainable fish stocks in the Asia Pacific aims to help diners in Singapore enjoy their meals without harming one of the world's major marine ecosystems.
Read more here.

Sea Shepherd anti-whaling activists head back to Australia after problem with ship's engine
February 26, 2010
Melissa Iaria
ANTI-whaling activists are returning to Australia after an engine problem forced them to end this season's Antarctic campaign against Japanese whalers.
Read more here.

Mammoth iceberg could alter ocean circulation: study
Feb 25, 2010
An iceberg the size of Luxembourg knocked loose from the Antarctic continent earlier this month could disrupt the ocean currents driving weather patterns around the globe, researchers said Thursday.
Read more here.

Recirculating aquaculture systems: The future of fish farming?
February 24, 2010
By Andrew Jenner / Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
Recirculating aquaculture systems cut the pollution and disease that occur in current fish farming operations. Many see it as the future of the industry.
Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Read more here.

Plastic rubbish blights Atlantic Ocean
February 24, 2010
By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News, Portland
Scientists have discovered an area of the North Atlantic Ocean where plastic debris accumulates.
Read more here.

Fishermen rally against federal catch limits
February 24, 2010
By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 17 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Fishermen and charter boat captains from Massachusetts to Florida rallied outside the Capitol Wednesday to demand changes to a federal fisheries law they say is killing jobs and eroding fishing communities.
Read more here.

Supreme Court Denies 3 High-Profile Environmental Cases
By GABRIEL NELSON of Greenwire
Published: February 23, 2010
In its first set of orders since returning from a month long recess, the Supreme Court declined yesterday to consider three separate industry challenges to federal environmental regulations.
Read more here.

Marine Reserves lead to Robust Recovery of Fisheries, studies show
February 23, 2010
The creation of marine protected areas can lead to the rapid recovery of depleted fish populations, according to several new studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Read more here.

Good news for San Juans orcas: Newborn calf sighted, the fifth in a year
February 23, 2010
By Erik Lacitis
It's not quite an orca baby boom, but the latest birth of a calf, L114 — that's how science-types like to name subjects — is cause for optimism for whale researchers here.
Read more here.

Whaling Commission Proposes Return to Commercial Whaling
CAMBRIDGE, UK, February 22, 2010 (ENS) - A working group of the International Whaling Commission today released a draft proposal that would allow the return of commercial whaling. An IWC moratorium on commercial whaling has been in place since 1986.
Read more here.

Pure Salmon Campaign, Canadian First Nations Leaders Urge Norway to Protect B.C.'s Wild Salmon
International Desk
February 21, 2010
VANCOUVER, B.C. -- At an event coinciding with the Norway - Canada Olympic hockey game, members of the Pure Salmon Campaign and several of British Columbia's First Nations chiefs called for the removal of Norwegian-owned salmon farms from Canadian waters. These open-net pens continue to degrade regional marine ecosystems.
Read more here.

Northland scientist in orca documentary
February 21, 2010
Dr Ingrid Visser cringes at orca being called "killer whales" - but Killer Whales is the name of a wildlife documentary which features Visser, orca expert from Northland.
Read more here.

Top Scientists Affirm Consensus on Global Warming
February 20, 2010 (ENS)
A panel of eminent U.S. and European scientists has confirmed the widespread scientific consensus that the Earth's climate is warming due to human activities, but said they and their colleagues should have responded more quickly and effectively to news of an error in a major climate report and hacked researcher e-mails.
Read more here.

Japan Plans to Ignore Any Ban on Bluefin Tuna
February 19, 2010
By DAVID JOLLY
PARIS — Japan will not join in any agreement to ban international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna under the United Nations treaty on endangered species, the country’s top fisheries negotiator said.
Read more here.

Census discovers 5,000 marine species
February 19, 2010
A preview of the Census of Marine Life has revealed that the project has discovered over 5,000 new species.
These include bizarre and colourful creatures, as well as many organisms that produce therapeutic chemicals.
Read more here.

Dolphins have diabetes off switch
February 19, 2010
By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News, San Diego
A study in dolphins has revealed genetic clues that could help medical researchers to treat type 2 diabetes.
Read more here.

Regulator waffles on bisphenol A
Feb. 14, 2010
By Meg Kissinger of the Journal Sentinel
Eight days after chemical industry lobbyists met with Obama administration officials, federal regulators delayed action on including bisphenol A in a new effort to better regulate dangerous chemicals.
Read more here.

Warming Water Spurs U.S. to Consider ESA Protection for 82 Coral Species
February 11, 2010
By ALLISON WINTER of Greenwire
The Obama administration will consider federal protection for 82 coral species threatened by warming water temperatures.
Read more here.