Friday, February 26, 2010

D.C.'s National Mall needs overhaul

National Parks Traveler reports on the dire conditions of the heavily-touristed Washington D.C. National Mall and calls for solutions.
The National Mall is often described as the nation's front yard. If you accept that label, than you can understand the maintenance needs: the lawn has bare spots, the walks are cracking, the porch is sagging. Yes, it's time for a serious face lift, the National Park Service is working on a plan to restore the Mall, and your comments are welcome.
Read the full story: How to fix the National Mall?

Photo from thisisbossi via Creative Commons and flickr.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Five California Bay Area outdoor escapes

San Jose Mercury News reports on five outdoor experts' local escapes.

Kayaking, biking, horse back riding, hiking and star-gazing are covered.

Read the full story: Wanderlust

Photo from ROMP

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Flying thin is better for the environment

The New York Times reports on the problem of obese airline passengers.

This is always a delicate issue, but something that is a reality in the flights of today. Being thin, a healthy eater, and exerciser should be rewarded on a flight rather than having to be wedged next to someone who is fat and spilling over into your seat. Maybe airlines should also discount tickets for thin passengers as well as charge more for obese ones.

Although the article itself doesn't mention this, one of the comments says that overweight people use more fuel thereby being more responsible for greenhouse gas warming emissions. Thin people who fly are better for the environment.

Read the full story: Excuse me, is this seat taken?

Illustration by Leif Parsons

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Canadian grizzlies vs. polar bears

Discovery News reports that Canadian grizzly bears are encroaching on polar bear territory.

A Canadian Field Nationalist study shows that the grizzlies are moving into territory in northern Manitoba traditionally thought as polar bear territory. The study claims that this grizzly encroachment could inflict damage on the polar bear population.
Before 1996, there was no evidence that grizzly bears encroached on polar bear territory. From that year on, however, there have been at least 12 sightings, negating the prior theory that the barren landscape north of the Hudson Bay was impassable, in terms of resources, for migrating grizzly bears. But the flexible bears, which can eat everything from meat to berries, have crossed the gap and likely won't look back much, since the polar bear region is known for its abundant caribou, moose, fish and berries.
Read the full story: Grizzly bears enter polar bear territory

Photo by Linda Gormezano

Monday, February 22, 2010

Hiking Florida

The Miami Herald reports on hiking the Florida Trail.

Reporter Dave Griswold recounts his winter trip:
I had decided a couple months earlier to start exploring more of South Florida's wilderness. The Florida Trail, started in 1969 by volunteers, winds up from Big Cypress National Preserve to the Panhandle. In South Florida, it's just about the only trail for overnight hiking.

Winter and spring in Big Cypress are when the wildlife is most concentrated around shrinking water sources, with ranks swelled by migrating birds. You avoid the hazards of the summer and fall seasons, which include myriad biting insects, water in places to your waist, torrential downpours, heat and humidity.
Read the full story: Away from the beaches

Photo Florida Trail Association Big Cypress Chapter

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Half of world's primates face "imminent extinction": report

The Guardian reports on the "imminent extinction" of half the world's primates. Habitat destruction is the main problem say the report's scientists
In a report highlighting the 25 most endangered primate species, conservationists have outlined the desperate plight of primates from Madagascar, Africa, Asia and Central and South America, with some populations down to just a few dozen in number.

Of the world's 634 primate species, 48% are classified as threatened with extinction on the IUCN's "red list" of threatened species. The latest report was compiled by 85 primatologists working in the field and will be launched today at Bristol zoo by a coalition of conservation groups including the IUCN and Conservation International and the International Primatological Society.
Read the full story: Almost half of all primates face 'imminent extinction'

Photo by Nora Schwitzer/Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Toyota's green sheen fades

GreenBiz.com reports on how marketing "green" is changed after the high-profile Toyota Prius recall.
Toyota had become a darling of the eco-minded, a case study in the green halo that can inure to old-line companies that bring environmental innovation to mainstream audiences. Toyota seemed to have done it the right way: with products that weren't just greener, but better -- in this case, high-aesthetic, high-performance, affordable cars.

But now that ideal has experienced a crash-course in reality, a collision of technological snafus and a corporate culture that shunned transparency for expediency — and may have committed criminal neglect.
Read the full story: Toyota and the future of green marketing

Photo from GreenBiz.com

Friday, February 12, 2010

China water pollution twice as bad as claimed

Environmental News Network reports that China's water pollution levels are actually twice as bad as previously thought.

A new Chinese government survey of the country's environmental problems has shown water pollution levels in 2007 were more than twice the government's official estimate, largely because agricultural waste was ignored.

The data, presented by Vice Environment Protection Minister Zhang Lijun, revives persistent questions about the quality of Chinese official statistics and the effectiveness of a government push for cleaner growth after decades of unbridled expansion.

Read the full story: Water pollution in China worse than reported

Photo from ENN

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Elk, deer and Grand Teton car accidents

National Parks Traveler reports on the animals involved in the most vehicle accidents in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park.

Every year around 100 animals are killed by car collisions. Elk and deer top the list. Moose (picture right) and bison are also listed.
Wildlife-vehicle collision statistics for the past five years reveal that an average of 33 deer, 38 elk, ten bison, seven moose, three pronghorn, two bears and one wolf are killed each year on [Grand Teton] park roads, the park said in a release this week. In addition, a host of smaller animals such as foxes, porcupines, beavers, marmots, pine martens, sage grouse, and owls die each year as a result of collisions with automobiles. The data suggest that vehicle speed, time of day (e.g. dusk, dawn, and nighttime), and specific location may be factors in wildlife-vehicle incidents.
Read the full story: Elk, deer most likely wildlife involved in vehicle collisions

Photo by National Parks Service

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Australia drought = Antarctic snow

New Scientist reports that Australia's drought could be caused by the rainfall moving south to Antarctica.
Tas van Ommen and Vin Morgan of the Australian Antarctic Division studied snowfall records in ice cores from East Antarctica's Law Dome. They found that in the last few decades, its snowfall rates far exceeded anything in the past 750 years. The timing matches the Australian drought.
Read the full story: Australia's rain may have moved to Antarctica

Photo by istockphoto

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Visit these car-free places

Mother Nature Network has a slide show of seven car-free places around the world.

Showcased are places like Makinac Island, Michigan (photo right), Lamu Island, Kenya and Venice, Italy.

Read the full story: 7 car-free cities

Photo by Makinac cowgirl / Flickr

Monday, February 8, 2010

75 years of Florida parks

The Miami Herald reports on 75 years of Florida state parks.
[The] park service runs a remarkably varied collection of preserves. In one Florida park (Paynes Prairie), bisons run free along with descendants of horses brought to Florida by the Conquistadors. Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is completely underwater. Human "mermaids'' frolic in Weeki Wachee Springs. Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero preserves a complex settled in the late 1800s by people who believed they and the rest of the universe existed in a giant sphere inside the earth.

And then there's Torreya, on the un-Florida-like 150-foot-high banks of the Apalachicola River and home to the parks' only rentable yurt, a tent-like abode more common in Mongolia.
Read the full story: Mermaids & manatees: Florida state parks celebrate 75 years

Friday, February 5, 2010

Eco Inn in Berkshires

The New York Times reports on eco-hotel Topia Inn located in Massachusetts' Berkshires.

The guest policy is:
No Smoking.

No chemical fragrances/bug repellant.

Leave your shoes at the front door or cover them with the inn’s neoprene booties, so as not to track in pesticide residue and other pollutants.

Leave all grooming products at home, so as not to interfere with the chemical-free organic mattresses and bedding. Complimentary organic bath and body products provided.
Read the full story: An inn is an oasis to environmental fronts

Photo by Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Discover undiscovered Chilean Patagonia

CNN reports on the natural beauty and relatively untouristed area of Chilean Patagonia.
Many say Torres del Paine National Park is the most beautiful in South America and it is heart-stoppingly gorgeous -- turquoise-blue lakes, soaring snow-covered peaks, glaciers, fields dotted with red grasses and green-and-yellow shrubs called "mother-in-law's chair," because of their thorns.
Read the full story: Wilds of Patagonia a pristine retreat

Photo from Hotel Remota

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Catch a jumbo squid in CA

The Los Angeles Times reports on the jumbo squid swarm off Newport Beach that has created a fishing frenzy.
The invasion of the jumbo squid in Orange County -- not to be confused with the exceedingly rare and much larger giant squid -- has prompted fishing-boat operators to add nighttime voyages.

The operators have reported that since Thursday evening, anglers have landed more than 1,000 of the squid.
Scientists say El Nino conditions and global warming are most likely bringing the cephalopds into the area.

Read the full story: Jumbo squid ink-jet their way to Newport Beach

Photo by Liz Garcia / Newport Landing Sportfishing

Monday, February 1, 2010

NZ underwear lizard smuggler sentenced

Treehugger reports on the sentencing of the man who was caught smuggling lizards in his underwear on a flight from New Zealand a few weeks ago.

The German man Hans Kurt Kubus had special compartments sewn in his underwear to conceal the 44 endangered lizards; which were believed to be sold on the black market in Europe.
Kubus plead guilty to two charges of violating the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act. [He] will serve three and half months in prison, have to pay a $6,400 fine, and be deported back to his home country upon his release.
Read the full story: Man caught smuggling lizards in underwear is sentenced

Photo from Treehugger