Things related to the web of life; ecology; wildlife; endangered species
"Far too many of the world's plants and animals -- and the wild places that support them -- are at risk of collapse, a U.N. report finds, despite a global goal set in 2002 for major improvement by this year."
The exact ingredients of the chemical mixture being sprayed on and pumped into the spreading BP oil spill are secret, even though some are rated toxic and may endanger the health of Gulf residents and ecosystems.
"The Center for Biological Diversity has formally notified the predator control branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, that it will file a lawsuit over Wildlife Services' traps, snares, and poisons, which risk injuring or killing endangered jaguars and ocelots in the Southwest."
Bat losses can have major impacts on ecosystems, as they routinely consume large quantities of insects and themselves provide food and nutrients for other plants and animals. There also are economic impacts as caves close to recreational use, in an effort to combat the spread of the disease.
Scientists in Idaho have dug up living specimens of the giant Palouse earthworm -- a foot-long white worm said to smell like lilies and thought to be extinct.
"Environmental groups have petitioned the Obama administration to add 404 species from rivers in the southeastern United States to the Endangered Species List."
"An ocean census has revealed a 'new world' of richly diverse marine microbe life that could help scientists understand more about key environmental processes on Earth, a study said Sunday."
"The United States is leading an effort by a handful of antiwhaling nations to broker an agreement that would limit and ultimately end whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland, according to people involved with the negotiations."
Scientists have just discovered a new lizard species -- 6 feet long -- in a remote part of the Philippines. Inhabitants there knew about it all along.
Advertisement 
