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News articles on United States

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Mongabay.com news articles on united states in blog format. Updated regularly.

China's CO2 emissions 14% higher than America's in 2007
(6/14/2008) China emitted 14 percent more carbon dioxide than the United States in 2007 according to a report released by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. China's emissions grew 8 percent from 2006.


94% of Americans support solar energy development
(6/11/2008) 94 percent of Americans say it's important for the U.S. to develop and use solar energy, according to a new poll that found support for solar power runs across the political spectrum.


Dried-up Colorado takes toll on giant Mexican fish
(6/8/2008) The Colorado River vanishes before it reaches the Sea of Cortez in all but the wettest years. Companies in California and the southwestern U.S. have diverted its once-vibrant flow to quench their thirst for water and power. Now, a new study in the April 2008 issue of the journal Biological conservation reports that the dwindling of this major artery has changed the way some marine fish in the Gulf of California grow and develop.


$45 trillion needed to meet energy demand, fight global warming by 2050
(6/8/2008) Investors will need to spend $45 trillion by 2050 to keep pace with growing energy demand while addressing concerns over global warming, warned the International Energy Agency in a report issued Friday.


Despite loss in Congress, global warming lobby gains momentum say environmentalists
(6/8/2008) Friday's defeat of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 3036) by the Senate is being painted by environmentalists as a step towards future legislative success.


Big Farms Can Make the Leap to Organic Farming, Study Suggests
(6/4/2008) Large fruit and vegetable growers can adopt the methods of small-scale organic farms while maintaining crop yields, keeping pests in check, and improving the health of their soil, researchers report in the July 2008 issue of Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.


Diversity in streams may brace Chinook salmon for climate change
(6/3/2008) Chinook salmon face a one-two punch. They have disappeared from several rivers in the western U.S. largely because of human interventions and some populations are threatened or endangered. Numbers of Chinook in California's Central Valley have dwindled by 88 percent in the past five years, a loss that closed fisheries for 2008 and may cost California's economy $167 million, according to the state Department of Fish and Game. On top of all this looms a second impact: These salmon will be in hotter water still because of climate change.


Cellulosic biofuels may be viable alternative to gas within 5 years
(6/2/2008) A new institute in the San Francisco Bay Area is seeking to make cellulosic biofuel an economically viable alternative to corn ethanol and gasoline within the next five years. The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a partnership between three national laboratories and three Bay Area universities, was formed in June 2007 after the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the institute a $125 million grant to develop better methods for making liquid biofuels from the natural cellulose in trees and grasses. JBEI researchers expect cellulosic biofuels to yield more energy, produce less greenhouse gases, and have less impact on the environment than other alternatives to gasoline, such as corn ethanol.


Food miles are less important to environment than food choices, study concludes
(6/2/2008) Shoppers concerned about the environment should not place "buying local" at the top of their list of priorities when purchasing food, according to a study published online on April 16 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The fuel burned in transporting food items from farm to marketplace creates just a small percentage of the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with the food. Instead, consumers should shift their diets to include more foods that require less energy to produce in the first place.


Honolulu, Los Angeles have the smallest carbon footprint among U.S. cities
(5/30/2008) Honolulu, Los Angeles and metropolitan Portland have the smallest carbon footprint among American cities, while Cincinnati-Middletown area, Indianapolis, and Kentucky's Lexington-Fayette have the worst, according to a new report that analyzes carbon emissions from transportation and residential energy use by city dwellers.


Roads are a major killer of amphibians, reveals study
(5/29/2008) Frogs, toads, and salamanders worldwide are dying from mysterious causes, with possible culprits ranging from habitat loss to fungal diseases. Now, researchers at Purdue University believe they may have identified a significant and surprising contributor to global amphibian declines: traffic. In a recent study, the scientists looked at road kill along several stretches of road in northwestern Indiana and found that 93 percent of the dead animals were amphibians.


Bush Administration: global warming is real and a threat to the U.S. economy
(5/28/2008) The Bush Administration today released a court-ordered assessment on climate. The report — titled "Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States" — says human-driven climate change will damage ecosystems and pose challenges to key sectors of the U.S. economy including agriculture and energy.


Future cities will be more like ecosystems that enrich society and the environment
(5/28/2008) As The World Science Festival continues in New York this week, specialists in vastly diverse fields across scientific disciplines are coming together to talk about ideas, problems and solutions. From Astronomy to Bioacoustics, the dialogues about challenges and opportunities are rich and inspiring. At the front of this year's festival rests the issue of sustainability and how scientists, specialists and society will address the imminent environmental and economic trials we are sure to face in a rapidly changing and uncertain world.


High-tech collars to reveal the secretive behvaiors of mountain lions
(5/28/2008) A handful of mountain lions in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California soon will wear high-tech collars as part of a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The collars will reveal not only how these animals range within their sprawling territories, but also how they hunt. The scientists aim to figure out ways to minimize conflicts between humans and mountain lions — also known as pumas and cougars.


Climate change will cause significant disruptions to U.S. agriculture says Fed study
(5/28/2008) Human-induced climate change will cause significant disruptions to water supplies, agriculture, and forestry in the United States in coming decades, says a federal report released Tuesday.


Cocaine use is destroying the Amazon rainforest, says new campaign
(5/26/2008) A new campaign has linked cocaine consumption in Europe and the United States to destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Colombia.


2008 hurricane forecast: storm activity will be above normal
(5/22/2008) The U.S. government's weather agency predicts an above average Atlantic hurricane season this year.


Why is there soot on the snowpack?
(5/22/2008) This fall, suitcase-sized air samplers will sprout throughout the Sierra Nevada. The air monitoring stations will be installed by researchers at the University of California, Davis, as part of a contract approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC) during its May 7 meeting. The researchers hope to learn whether the pollutants affecting the state's climate are coming from local sources or from transPacific sources like Asia, said Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) manager Guido Franco. The sensitive new devices will measure the amount of air pollution in the area and identify the makeup of the particles, Franco told the commission. Chemical detective work will then reveal their sources.


Ocean acidification worse than expected, threatens sea life
(5/22/2008) Increasing ocean acidification along the continental shelf of North America will likely have negative impacts on marine ecosystems, including the corrosion of calcium carbonate exoskeletons in many organisms, warn researchers writing in the journal Science.


Group files for ESA protection of 681 species in 12 states
(5/21/2008) On March 19th WildEarth Guardians filed a lawsuit to place 681 species under the Endangered Species Act. Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, wildlife program director for the environmental group, says These 681 species represent species in only 12 states, include no subspecies, and are only the "most imperiled" of the United State's threatened species. Rosmarino estimates that in total there are 6,000-9,000 endangered species in the United States today. Mongabay.com recently caught up with Dr. Rosmarino regarding this landmark lawsuit and the reasoning for it.


U.S. carbon dioxide emissions reach record high in 2007
(5/21/2008) U.S. carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.6 percent in 2007 to a new record reported the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA).


Carbon market could fund rainforest conservation, fight climate change
(5/19/2008) A mechanism to fund forest conservation through the carbon market could significantly reduce greenhouse emissions, help preserve biodiversity, and improve rural livelihoods, says a policy expert with the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) in Massachusetts. In an interview with mongabay.com, WHRC Policy Advisor and Research Associate Tracy Johns says that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), a proposed policy mechanism for combating climate change by safeguarding forests and the carbon they store, offers great potential for protecting tropical rainforests.


U.S. government bans oil development in Alaskan Arctic area
(5/16/2008) A large swathe of Alaska will be off-limits to oil development under a decision today by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). conservationists welcomed the move.


Papua signs REDD carbon deal to generate income from rainforest protection
(5/14/2008) The government of the Indonesian province of Papua has entered into an agreement with an Australian financial firm to establish a forestry-based carbon finance project on the island of New Guinea.


Al Gore's investment firm bets that rainforest conservation will be profitable
(5/14/2008) Al Gore's investment firm has signaled an interest in the emerging market for ecosystem services by taking an equity position in an innovative Australian financial company.


U.S. lists the polar bear as threatened, but decision won't affect emissions rules
(5/14/2008) The U.S. Interior Department has decided to list the polar bear as a threatened species due to declining sea ice cover in the Arctic, according to the The Associated Press. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has scheduled a news conference Wednesday to announce the action.


U.S. climate policy could help save rainforests
(5/14/2008) U.S. policy measures to fight global warming could help protect disappearing rainforests, says the founding partner of an "avoided deforestation" policy group. In an interview with mongabay.com, Jeff Horowitz of the Berkeley-based Avoided Deforestation Partners argues that U.S. policy initiatives could serve as a catalyst for the emergence and growth of a carbon credits market for forest conservation. REDD or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation is a proposed policy mechanism that would compensate tropical countries for safeguarding their forests. Because deforestation accounts for around a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, efforts to reduce deforestation can help fight climate change. Forest protection also offers ancillary benefits like the preservation of ecosystem services, biodiversity, and a homeland for indigenous people.


Endangered species status of the polar bear to be decided May 15
(4/29/2008) A federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to stop delaying its decision on whether to list the polar bear as an endangered species. Environmentalists say the bear is threatened by melting sea ice in its Arctic habitat.


Fast-food industry destroying forests in the Southern U.S
(4/28/2008) The Southern forests of North America supply 60% of US and 15% of global paper demands. Deforestation for wood and paper products, along with urban sprawl, has resulted in a total decline from 356 million acres in colonial times to 182 million acres today. The South contains more threatened forest ecosystems than anywhere else in the US. A major perpetuator of deforestation in the South is the fast food industry. With nearly 100 paper packaging mills in the South and thousands of restaurants worldwide, major fast food retailers such as KFC and Taco Bell are leaders in paper consumption and subsequent waste. The Dogwood Alliance, a nonprofit organization formed to increase awarness of the importance of Southern forests and the threats their survival, has launched a new campaign at nofreerefills.org which specifically targets the paper packaging practices of the fast food industry.


First wolves killed in Wyoming after species loses ESA protection
(4/2/2008) In one of a series of controversial decisions regarding the Endangered Species Act recently, the federal government has dropped the Rocky Mountain grey wolf from the program. The announcement of the de-listing was made in mid-February, but did not go into effect until Friday when the reins of control were handed over from the federal government to the individual states. Over the weekend wolf-hunting began in Wyoming.


Corn planting to drop 8% in 2008
(3/31/2008) The UDSA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) expects American farmers to plant 86 million acres of corn in 2008, down 8 percent from last year. The news comes amid record high prices for competitive crops including soybeans and wheat.


Gore to spend $300 million on global warming ads
(3/31/2008) This week Al Gore will launch a three-year, $300 million campaign to mobilize support for reining in greenhouse gas emissions, reports The Washington Post.


U.S. flooding to continue well into spring
(3/21/2008) Flooding in the American Midwest is likely to continue, said the U.S. National Weather Service.


Corn ethanol is worsening the Gulf dead zone
(3/10/2008) Proposed legislation that will expand corn-ethanol production in the United States will worsen the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico and hurt marine fisheries, report researchers writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).


How Old Is the Grand Canyon?
(3/6/2008) The Grand Canyon began to open at least 17 million years ago, report researchers writing in the journal Science.


Feds flood the Grand Canyon to save endangered fish
(3/5/2008) Federal government officials unleashed a flood of water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona to help restore the Grand Canyon's ecosystem which has suffered as a result of changes caused by the dam.


Mercury from coal-burning hurts the common loon
(3/4/2008) A long-term study by the Wildlife conservation Society, the BioDiversity Research Institute, and other organizations has found and confirmed that environmental mercury--much of which comes from human-generated emissions--is impacting both the health and reproductive success of common loons in the Northeast.


Global warming to worsen crop damage from frost
(3/3/2008) Global warming could worsen frost damage in the United States according to a new study published in the journal Bioscience.


American demand for gas, big cars begins to wane
(3/3/2008) With crude oil today setting an inflation-adjusted record high, the Wall Street Journal reports that Americans are cutting back on gasoline consumption.


Fewer wolves may mean fewer pronghorn in Yellowstone
(3/3/2008) As western states debate removing the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act, a new study by the Wildlife conservation Society cautions that doing so may result in an unintended decline in another species: the pronghorn, a uniquely North American animal that resembles an African antelope.


'CAT scan' shows Hawaiian forests invaded by alien species
(3/3/2008) Invasive plant species are altering the ecology of Hawaiian rain forests, reports a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).


Arizona seeks to become the 'Persian Gulf' of solar energy
(2/22/2008) With a Spanish company's plans to dramatically expand solar capacity in the desert southwest of Phoenix, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said Arizona could become the "Persian Gulf of solar energy," according to the Associated Press.


World fertilizer prices surge 200% in 2007, hurting the poor
(2/20/2008) World fertilizer prices surged by more than 200 percent in 2007, as farmers sought to maximize corn production for ethanol, according to the International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC). Poor African farmers were hardest hit by the increase.


UN: biofuels are starving the poor by driving up food prices
(2/14/2008) Echoing sentiments increasingly expressed by politicians, scientists, and advocates for the poor, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned that the world's poorest people are suffering as a result of the push to use food crops for biofuel production.


$1 trillion carbon market in the U.S. by 2020 says study
(2/14/2008) The U.S. carbon emission trading market will top $1 trillion by 2020 if policymakers continue on their current path towards a comprehensive "cap-and-trade" program, estimates an analysis released at climate roundtable discussions at the UN General Assembly in New York.


Jack rabbits vanish from Yellowstone, ecologists puzzled
(2/14/2008) Scientists are puzzled over the apparent disappearance of jack rabbits from Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, but say the local extinction may be having region-wide impacts on a variety of other prey species and their predators, according to a new study by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife conservation Society.


New World Record for Solar-to-Grid Conversion Efficiency
(2/13/2008) Sandia National Laboratories and Stirling Energy Systems (SES) set a new solar-to-grid system conversion efficiency record by achieving a 31.25 percent net efficiency, nearly a 2 point gain of the previous record of 29.4 percent set in 1984.


Bloomberg: global warming "just as lethal" as terrorism
(2/12/2008) New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters Monday that global warming is as big a threat to humanity as terrorism, according to Reuters.


Lake Mead could be dry up by 2021
(2/12/2008) There is a 50 percent chance Lake Mead, a key source of water for millions of people in the southwestern U.S., will be dry by 2021 if climate changes as expected and future water usage is not curtailed, a new study finds.


Paper packaging devours south-eastern forests in the US
(2/10/2008) The Dogwood Alliance has released a report highlighting the damage done by paper pulp mills and their corporate customers to America's Mid-Atlantic Coastal Forests. The forests, which span from Delaware through the Carolinas to Georgia, are extremely rich in biodiversity; scientists have catalogued over two-thousand terrestrial species, including thirty-two endemic species. Probably the most famous endemic species is the Venus flytrap; this strange carnivorous plant is native to an area only 10 by 100 square miles in North Carolina. A study by WWF determined that both species richness and endemism is even higher for freshwater aquatic species.



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