April 2011 Archives

Churnalism is a form of journalism in which press releases, wire stories and other forms of pre-packaged material are used to create articles in newspapers and other news media in order to meet increasing pressures of time and cost without undertaking further research or checking.

• New 'thunder-thighs' dinosaur discovered - Telegraph (97% copied), Independent (85%), BBC (45%)
• The first single-fingered dinosaur - Mirror (61%), Mail (60%), BBC (41%), Times (55%)
• Love: it's all the same to the brain - Telegraph (82%), Times (48%)
• Beams of electrons link Saturn with its moon Enceladus - Mail (60%)

Save The Frogs Day is the world's largest day of amphibian education and conservation action. Please get involved and help save the frogs in your part of the world! There are currently 108 events planned in 19 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the USA!

Come to UConn to watch a screening of "The Thin Green Line" by Allison Argo. Following the movie there will be a short presentation on amphibian conservation and time for question/answer with several of the Herpetology students. This is the second annual Save The Frogs Day event held at UConn!  

Where: The Biology/Physics Building, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
When: Friday, April 29, 2011, 6pm-8pm
More info: Alex at alex.shepack@gmail.com
The event is free and open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend.

Image by mpclemens via Flickr

Godrej and Boyce [the last manufacturer of mechanical typewriters], of India, ceased production in 2009 and has now almost cleared its remaining inventory, according to the Business Standard. (source)

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Bank and many other organisations warn that the effects of climate change will cause large-scale population movements. Climate displacement presents an urgent problem for the international community.

The existence and scope of such displacement are often established by reference to the likely numbers of displaced people. The most cited estimate is 200 million climate change migrants by 2050 or one person in every forty-five.

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We propose a multilateral Convention to address climate change displacement - an issue which is global in its causes, scope and consequences. The Convention would provide a general framework for assistance to climate change displaced persons (what we call CCDPs), and would address gaps in current human rights, refugee and humanitarian law protections for CCDPs.

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press release

For full convergence of living standards by 2050, coupled with the 80% reduction in global CO₂ emissions required to meet a 450 p.p.m. target, we would need a decline in average CO₂ intensities in both regions of 8.2% per year.

Taking these factors into account, we cannot presume that a green economy would grow faster than a brown one.

They base their conclusion on two claims:

1. The target for CO₂ emissions (35% relative to 2011 emissions) is too modest to reach the IPCC's 450ppm target.
2. UNEP's calculations depend on treating the world economy as a single entity, ignoring regional inequities.
   

By the text, the Assembly acknowledged that "the Earth and its ecosystems are our home", and expressed its conviction that, in order to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations, "it is necessary to promote harmony with nature and the Earth".

Starting this Earth Day, April 22, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will launch a series of 50 stories for 50 consecutive weekdays that will explore the many ways accelerating climate change is impacting or may impact fish and wildlife across America. No geographic region is immune.

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This week we put an end to the hard-fought battle to delist wolves in Montana and return them to state management. It's a huge victory for Montana and a common-sense solution that will give certainty to our ranchers, farmers and hunters once and for all.

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The science is clear: With over 1700 wolves in the Northern Rockies, wolves are a recovered species. Don't just take my word for it; that's what scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service have determined. That's why the Fish and Wildlife Service tried to remove Montana and Idaho's wolves from the Endangered Species List back in 2009. The only problem was that without an approved management plan in Wyoming, the Fish and Wildlife Service couldn't legally return wolves in Montana and Idaho to state management.

My plan cuts through the red tape. It restores Montana's ability to manage wolves in a way that works for ranchers, hunters and wolves.

This exciting new competition aims to find the next generation of undiscovered science writing talent.

We are looking for short articles that address any area of science and would be suitable for publication in the 'Guardian' or the 'Observer' in print and online. You must demonstrate that you have thought about and understood your audience and can bring a scientific idea to life. The deadline for entries is 20 May 2011.

2011 STUDENT CONFERENCE ON CONSERVATION SCIENCE-New York (SCCS-NY)

American Museum of Natural History 

New York City

12-14 October 2011

http://symposia.cbc.amnh.org/sccsny/

The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History is pleased to announce that we will be hosting our second annual Student Conference on Conservation Science-New York (SCCS-NY), on 12-14 October 2011. 

SCCS-NY is the only international conference designed for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and early-career professionals pursuing or considering the field of conservation science. The conference provides a unique opportunity for those beginning their careers to present their work before leaders in science, policy, and management. In addition to formal presentations, SCCS-NY offers numerous opportunities to interact with senior-level conservation professionals at workshops, mentored lunches, informal gatherings, and networking events. Such interactions with established conservationists encourage collaboration, inspire new avenues of research, and launch lasting associations.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 25 April 2011

Who Should Apply to Attend?

Applicants wishing to present their work should have completed, or be conducting, a research project and will be selected based on the quality of their abstract as well as its relevance to conservation. Projects will be considered from any conservation-related course of study, including programs in the natural and social sciences and the humanities. Only one abstract per person may be submitted for consideration.

The Student Conference on Conservation Science-New York 2011 (SCCS-NY) will be hosted by the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. Collaborating institutions include Cambridge University, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Columbia University's Earth Institute, Princeton University, AMNH Richard Gilder Graduate School, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Smithsonian-Mason Global Conservation Studies Programs, Bard Center for Environmental Policy, and Fordham University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

Mentors and Career Fair Exhibitors 

Please reply to this email if you would be interested in mentoring students during the conference, or if your program, organization, agency, or institution would like to participate in the SCCS-NY Career Fair.

To learn more, visit http://symposia.cbc.amnh.org/sccsny/

BOSTON, BANGOR and GUILFORD, Conn. - Sarah "Sally" Wheatland Richards, marine biologist and long time resident of Guilford, Conn., and wherever her sailboat happened to moor, died Sunday, April 3, 2011, surrounded by her family at home. She was 85. Sally was born in 1925, in Boston, and was raised in Bangor, the second of four children to Stephen and Dorothy Wheatland. Sally earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Vassar College in 1946 and a master's degree in zoology from Stanford University in 1948. She practiced marine biology for the next 50 years, focusing on estuarine fish, shellfish and birds, eventually running the locally renowned "Little Harbor Lab" out of her Guilford, Conn., home. She devoted much of her time to local and regional conservation efforts, including Guilford Land Conservation Trust, of which she was a founding member, Guilford Shellfish Commission, Faulkner's Island Light Brigade, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and Nature Conservancy. From an early age she was a passionate supporter of the Democratic Party and its candidates. Sally and her husband, the late Frederic M. Richards, whom she met while both worked at Yale University in the 1950s, were avid sailors, spending many summers in the high latitudes of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland on their boat, Hekla. The couple also crossed the Atlantic via Iceland under sail, and were lifetime members of Cruising Club of America. She was predeceased by her brother, Richard Wheatland II of Boston. She leaves her sisters, Mary Schley of Columbus, Ga., and Alice Wellman of Bangor; her son, George H. Richards of Fairfield, Conn.; two stepdaughters, Sarah O. Richards of Coupeville, Wash., and Ruth Richards of Cabot, Vt.; four grandchildren, many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at First Congregational Church, Guilford, Conn. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Guilford Land Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 200, Guilford, CT 06437 or at www.guilfordlandtrust.org; Faulkner's Island Light Brigade, care of Joseph Nugent, 423 Whitfield St., Guilford, CT 06437; or the CT Challenge, P.O. Box 566, Southport, CT 06890 or at www.ctchallenge.org. In her memorable words that many friends and family heard on their message machines, "Sally out."

Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as "blessings" and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.

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Controversially, it will also enshrine the right of nature "to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities".

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Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee, yesterday said details of the language to be included in the final budget package were not yet available.

Molloy ruled then that the government erred in lifting federal protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana while leaving them intact for wolves in neighboring Wyoming. He agreed with conservationists that the wolves in all three states were part of a single population that could not be treated separately under the Endangered Species Act. ("U.S. judge keeps protections in place for endangered wolves", by Laura Zuckerman, Reuters)

Section 4(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et sq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(4) Treatment of Certain Species as Extinct- (A) A limited listed species shall be treated as extinct for purposes of this Act upon the expiration of the 15-year period beginning on the date it is determined by the Secretary to be an endangered species, unless the Secretary publishes a finding that--

`(i) there has been a substantial increase in the population of the species during that period; or

`(ii) the continued listing of the species does not impose any economic hardship on communities located in the range of the species.

`(B) In this paragraph the term `limited listed species' means any species that is listed under subsection (c) as an endangered species for which it is not reasonably possible to determine whether the species has been extirpated from the range of the species that existed on the date the species was listed because not all individuals of the species were identified at the time of such listing.'

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The ability to factor ecosystem values into business decision-making is becoming an ever-more pressing need because:

• There is increasing evidence that ongoing ecosystem degradation has a material impact on companies - undermining performance, profits, their license to operate and access to new markets.
• New opportunities are emerging that are linked in some way to restoring and managing ecosystems. For example, according to WBCSD's Vision 2050 project, sustainability-related global business opportunities in natural resources may be in the order of US$ 2-6 trillion per annum by 2050.
• Communities, NGOs, customers, consumers andshareholders are becoming increasingly conscious of the interrelationship between business operations and the state of ecosystems, and are demanding that these issues are addressed, reported and accounted for.
• Meanwhile, in many parts of the world, the regulatory and legal requirements for companies to minimize and mitigate their ecosystem impacts, and to fully compensate any damages caused, are becoming more stringent.

BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research.

BioOne explores economic models and strategic partnerships that balance the needs of all stakeholders, and currently demonstrates this balance by offering financially sustainable information services in the biological sciences. BioOne supports best practices that increase operational effectiveness and technological standards that integrate its content with a global network of scholarly exchange.