News Roundup
- This paper’s got legs! Over the past 50 years, more than 80% of the world’s conflicts have taken place in and around the most diverse places, according to a new paper by Thor Hanson et al. in Conservation Biology. Picked up by, among others, Revkin, GEF Blog, SCB Journal Watch, PlanetSave, Scientific blogging, inkbluesky, Reuters, and AFP. It’s a cool study, but the question is if there’s any causation, and in which direction (Warfare in Biodiversity Hotspots doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01166.x).
- One day after its minister of environment approved a plan to convert peatlands into oil palm plantations, Hillary Clinton and the UN praise Indonesia for its work on climate change.
- Another new mammal species has been described. It’s the Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat.
- Thanks in large part to efforts by WCS, Cameroon has a new national park for gorillas.
- The Bushmeat Crisis Task Force is celebrating its 10th year.
- More on the line between science and policy from Kent at Uncommon Ground. Meanwhile, James Hansen will be demonstrating against a coal power plant in D.C. Fortunately, if EPA has anything to say about it, the whole thing may be unnecessary.
News Roundup
- Andy Revkin sums up the top 10 environmental suggestions from Times readers to President Obama.
- I’m not crazy about our governor, but he did good with these new climate change regulations. Businesses in California will be funding rain forest conservation in Brazil and Indonesia. Meanwhile, his old industry is struggling to bring environmental indoctrination through a new product, CSI: Yosemite.
- Gremlins re-discovered in Indonesia. First live pygmy tarsiers in over 80 years.
- The War on the Environment has begun: the military’s been enlisted to help combat ozone depletion / climate change.
- House sparrow numbers down 68% over the last 30 years in Britain. Weird, huh? Maybe we can give them ours back.
- Daewoo is obtaining a 99 year lease for land in northern Madagascar to grow corn. Not good.
Posted by Tim on November 20th, 2008 • • Add a comment
Tags: climatechange•indonesia•madagascar•obama•war
Tags: climatechange•indonesia•madagascar•obama•war
News Roundup
- Remember how Indonesia just promised to save the remaining forests of Sumatra? It’s not going so well. A consortium of NGOs under the name “Eyes on the Forest” have revealed that Asia Pulp & Paper has built a 45 km “legally questionable” paved logging highway right through the middle of tiger habitat. Whoops! How on earth do you miss something like this? More on the importance of the Sumatran peat forests over here.
- “The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, or TIGER, near Miami, claims to have overcome the problem by encouraging both tigers and humans to swim together in a specially adapted pool.” Oh yeah, this will definitely end well.
- The 40 remaining Amur leopards are going to get a little more habitat, thanks to WWF and logging company concessions.
- An open letter to the next president, from Michael Pollan. [via Kelly Lab]
Tags: bushmeat•cameroon•climatechange•indonesia•war•wcs