Environmental News: October 13 - October 20, 2009

Marine explorer emphasizes preservation, education
October 20, 2009
From the time he was "thrown overboard" by his father, Jean-Michel Cousteau has had a love of the ocean.
The well-known marine explorer, activist, educator and filmmaker spoke in the Schwab Auditorium on Monday evening to a nearly full house for the Schreyer Honors College's Fall Signature Lecture.
Read more here.

Brazil seeks climate target for all Amazon nations
Date: 20-Oct-09

BRAZIL
Author: Guillermo Parra-Berna/lRaymond Colitt
SAO PAULO - Brazil wants to forge a common position among all Amazon basin countries for a global climate summit later this year, the country's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said on Monday.
Read more here.

Top Official: 'The EPA Is Back On The Job'
The Environmental Protection Agency released a long-secret document last week that reveals the agency's conclusions on global warming while President Bush was in office. The December 2007 document says greenhouse gases are dangerous and need to be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
Read more here.

New baby orca spotted in Puget Sound
October 16, 2009
A new baby orca has been born in the L pod of Puget Sound killer whales.
Read more here.

European cod stocks collapsing
October 16, 2009
BRUSSELS, Belgium
Cod is slipping closer to disappearing from key European fishing grounds, officials warned Friday, saying that only steep catch cuts will prevent the disappearance of a species prized for centuries for its flaky white flesh.
Read more here.

Endangered Sea Turtles Return To Mexico's Beaches
October 16, 2009
Mexico has deployed its navy to several beaches in the Pacific Coast state of Oaxaca. Its mission isn't to fight the drug cartels or protect European tourists, but to guard the nesting grounds of an endangered sea turtle.
Read more here.

Arctic To Be Ice-Free In Summer In 20 Years: Scientist
16-Oct-09
Peter Griffiths
LONDON - Global warming will leave the Arctic Ocean ice-free during the summer within 20 years, raising sea levels and harming wildlife such as seals and polar bears, a leading British polar scientist said on Thursday.
Read more here.

A Green Supply Chain Starts in China
Date: 16-Oct-09

Laura Ediger and Ryan Schuchard - Greener World Media
As companies work to reduce their carbon footprint, the easiest steps to take are often the closest to home.
Read more here.

Massive Pod of Killer Whales Found
A massive pod of up to 50 killer whales has been filmed for the first time off the coast of Scotland by a BBC crew.
Gordon Buchanan, presenter of BBC Autumnwatch, filmed the group from a fishing boat in the North Sea.
Read more here.

OMB Endocrine Directive Draws Industry Cheers, Enviro Jeers
By SARA GOODMAN of Greenwire
Published: October 15, 2009
The Office of Management and Budget has instructed U.S. EPA to use existing toxicity data rather than require companies to conduct new tests to determine whether chemicals can damage the human endocrine system.
Read more here.

EAT FOR THE ECOSYSTEM
Oct 15th 2009
A heartening tale of business and the environment
RED lionfish are pretty, but they are also greedy. A single one of
them, introduced into a coral reef where the species is not native, can
reduce the number of other small fish by 80% in just a few weeks,
according to Mark Hixon, a marine biologist at Oregon State University.
Read more here.

Drinking From Plastic Raises BPA Levels 70 percent
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
David Gutierrez
NaturalNews) Drinking water from plastic bottles made with the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) increases urinary levels of the chemical by nearly 70 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Read more here.

Genetics Reveal Breeding Secrets of Southern Hemisphere Humpbacks
NEW YORK, New York, October 14, 2009 (ENS) - Each year, a few reproductively active humpback whales swim between breeding grounds in the South Atlantic and Indian oceans, an international team of researchers has discovered.
Read more here.

UN update: climate change hitting sooner and stronger: Research indicates realities are outstripping some predictions
Noreen Parks
Environ. Sci. Technol., Article ASAP
DOI: 10.1021/es903062g
Publication Date (Web): October 14, 2009
Copyright © 2009 American Chemical Society
With a handful of weeks remaining before the climate convention meeting in Copenhagen, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released an updated summary of the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Read more here.

The trouble facing Canadian rivers
Canada's major waterways have suffered significant alterations in their natural flows, a WWF-Canada report contends
October 14, 2009
The seasonal waxing and waning of rivers is one of nature's most crucial cycles, influencing everything from the success of salmon runs to having enough water during parched summers to irrigate crops.
Read more here.

NRDC Launches BioGem Campaign to Save Alaska's Bristol Bay
Proposed Mine Could Destroy World's Largest Salmon Run and Local Fishing Industry
LOS ANGELES - October 13 - The Natural Resources Defense Council announced today a new BioGem campaign to save Alaska’s Bristol Bay, the world’s most productive salmon fishery, from the development of Pebble Mine, one of the largest gold and copper mines ever proposed.
Read more here.

New Research Suggests Conservation Biologists are Setting Minimum Population Size Targets Too Low to Prevent Extinction
October 13, 2009
A new study by University of Adelaide and Macquarie University (Australia) scientists has shown that populations of endangered species are unlikely to persist in the face of global climate change and habitat loss unless they number around 5,000 mature individuals or more. 
Read more here.

UK announces stronger controls on shark finning
October 13, 2009
Shark ‘finning’ is the practice of removing shark’s highly valuable fins and disposing of the carcasses at sea. 
Read more here.

Man-made noise is blamed for driving whales to their deaths
October 12, 2009
Scientists say man-made noise equipment, including anti-seal sonar devices used in fish farms, is driving deep-water animals such as whales to shore, where they die.
Read more here.

Tuna’s plight is a problem the world must solve
October
The Christian Science Monitor
Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, a South Korean fishing vessel called the MFV Oryong 717 is hunting for fishing gear it left in the water to catch tuna.
Read more here.