Environmental News: January 5th-January 13th 2010

Stronger controls urged on chemicals in water
January 13, 2010
Citing the decline in frogs and rise of "frankenfish," a Bay Area environmental group filed a legal petition Monday for tighter federal standards on pollutants that disrupt the hormones of humans and wildlife.
Read more here.

Haiti earthquake adds to woes of a benighted country
January 13, 2010
Poorest country in the western hemisphere is ill equipped to deal with natural disasters.
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Tilapia Found to be Invasive in Fiji
January 13, 2010
The poster child for sustainable fish farming—the tilapia—is actually a problematic invasive species for the native fish of the islands of Fiji, according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups.
Read more here.

Low amount of BPA can increase cardiac risk by 45%, study finds
18-Nov-09
January 12, 2010
Martin Mittelstaedt Environment Reporter
The widely used plastic-making compound has already been labeled toxic by Health Canada and removed from baby bottles
Read more here.

Surprising Sea Slug Is Half-plant, Half-animal
January 12, 2010
Clara Moskowitz
LiveScience Staff Writer
A green sea slug appears to be part animal, part plant. It's the first critter discovered to produce the plant pigment chlorophyll.
Read more here.

Nation’s First Marine Debris Action Plan Implemented in Hawaii
January 12, 2010
Today, NOAA and several partners in Hawaii announced a comprehensive long-term plan to actively assess and remove plastics, derelict fishing gear, and other human sources of marine debris from coastal waters and coral reefs along the island chain.
Read more here.

Arctic Tundra is Being Lost
As Far North Quickly Warms
January 11, 2010
The treeless ecosystem of mosses, lichens, and berry plants is giving way to shrub land and boreal forest.
Read more here.

Despite icy weather, overall trend is warmer: experts
By Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) Jan 11, 2010
Frigid weather that has gripped swathes of the northern hemisphere this winter is unusual but does not undermine an overall global trend of warming, experts said on Monday.
Read more here.

Surprise baby 'boomlet' lifts B.C.'s orca pods
January 11, 2010
Six young killers whales born in the past year returns endangered population back to 2007 levels
Read more here.

Activists Urge Legal Action Against Japan Whalers
11-Jan-10

Catherine Hornby
AMSTERDAM - Anti-whaling activists have asked the Dutch public prosecutor to launch a criminal investigation into a clash between protesters and Japanese whalers which led to the sinking of a protest boat.
Read more here.

"Garbage Dreams" A Green Success Story
11-Jan-10
Country: US
Author: Frank Scheck
NEW YORK - Shortlisted for this year's feature-documentary Oscar race, "Garbage Dreams" is poised to benefit from the current passion for going green.
Read more here.

Brr! Florida Manatees Warm Up At Power Plant Hot Tub
Date: 08-Jan-10
Country: US
Author: Carlos Barria
RIVIERA BEACH - An offline Florida power plant is providing a warm-water refuge for several hundred manatees who like the Sunshine State's human residents are shivering in record low cold temperatures.
Read more here.

Feedback Accelerates Arctic Ice Melt – Canada, Alaska Most Pronounced
January 8, 2010
By Thomas Schueneman,
Scientists at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center published research last week in the Journal of Geophysical Research based on satellite microwave data of seasonal Arctic ice thaw from 1970 to 2009. The study indicates the seasonal Arctic sea ice melt melt season is now about 20 days longer than it was 30 years ago.
Read more here.

California garbage trucks fueled by ... garbage
January 7, 2010
By Jason Dearen The Associated Press
Methane gas produced in California landfills fuels garbage and recycling trucks, reducing the state's carbon emissions.
Read more here.

Mideast Water Crisis Brings Misery, Uncertainty
January 7, 2010
by DEBORAH AMOS
The Middle East is facing its worst water crisis in decades.
Read more here.

Two killer whale types found in UK waters
January 5, 2010
Jody Bourton
Earth News reporter
Scientists have revealed that there is not one but two types of killer whale living in UK waters.
Read more here.

NOAA Proposes Habitat Protection for Sea Turtles
January 5, 2010
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Federal biologists have proposed the first open ocean habitat protections for the endangered leatherback sea turtle along the West Coast, an action that could affect future development of offshore renewable energy, aquaculture and desalination plants.
Read more here.

Young killer whale gives birth to calf
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 | 11:31 pm
Canwest News Service
The local population of endangered killer whales has a new year baby to celebrate.
Read more here.

Tests find antibiotic, other contaminants in Tampa's drinking water
January 5, 2010
TAMPA - The tap water that Tampa residents consume is contaminated with low levels of antibiotics, nicotine byproducts and a chemical used to produce firefighting foams.
Read more here.

New orca whale calf spotted off B.C. coast
November 12, 2009
VICTORIA — A new orca baby was spotted off the Victoria coast on Wednesday.
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Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law
January 4, 2010
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington
Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.
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Examining DDT’s Urogenital Effects
January 1, 2010
A team of researchers has documented a variety of urogenital malformations in male babies born to women living in an area of South Africa where the potentially endocrine-disrupting pesticide DDT is still used.
Lubick N 2010. Examining DDT’s Urogenital Effects. Environ Health Perspect 118:A18-A18. doi:10.1289/ehp.118-a18
Read more here.