Yearly Archives: 2013

Plants use underground fungus network to send ‘distress signals’ to each other

"The scientists isolated the plants from each other above ground, covering them with bags and thereby preventing airborne chemicals (one form of plant communication) from traveling from one plant to the other. Then, the team introduced the aphids. In the plants that were connected by fungi, when a single plant was infected with aphids, the other two plants began to mount their chemical defenses, secreting aphid-repelling substances that also attract the wasps that feed on aphid larvae. The plants that were not connected by mycorrhizae were apparently not warned of the attack on the single plant in their group because they secreted no defensive chemicals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPlants use underground fungus network to send ‘distress signals’ to each other

Scientists: Plants communicate with one another through ‘nanomechanical vibrations’

"A study reveals that plants are able to communicate with each other even when light, scent and touch have been removed from the equation, leading scientists to speculate that there’s a wholly different mechanism they use to encourage each other’s growth. It’s long been known that planting basil near other species can tend to encourage its neighbor’s growth, and it’s not new that plants communicate with each other through shade, chemical smells, root structures and other forms of touch. By planting chili pepper next to basil, then separating them from all known methods of plant interaction, the chili plant still grew as if it knew the basil was there." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists: Plants communicate with one another through ‘nanomechanical vibrations’

Millions spent to begin razing of 7,000 abandoned properties in Dayton

"Kevin Powell, the city’s acting manager of housing inspection, says officials plan to use $5.2 million to raze 475 abandoned properties by the end of September. The city knocked down 1,172 abandoned structures - single-family homes, strip malls, multi-unit buildings, commercial properties etc. — between 2009 and 2012, using money that included $8 million in federal funds. The average cost for a demolition, which includes asbestos removal, is $11,000. Abandon properties have a negative impact on the city’s tax collection, which are used to remove abandon properties and pay for other city services. 'It’s a complete circle that keeps eating upon itself,' Powell said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMillions spent to begin razing of 7,000 abandoned properties in Dayton

Predators in Your Backyard?

"This 2010-11 BBC documentary, Predators in Your Backyard, shows how 'Rewilding' is being accomplished in the US and other places. They state up front that this is a dangerous experiment but strangely fail to show the real downsides to the actual project. For instance, the BBC film would leave you believing that the reintroduction of wolves in the west has been an unparalled success. The Predators in Your Backyard gives the viewer the impression that efforts to reintroduce predators such as the wolf, bear and panther, into areas of human habitation are edgy projects but also entirely noble ones." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPredators in Your Backyard?

Wildlife trafficker kills 5 crocodiles, 90 rare birds as police descend on his compound

"Five dead crocodiles, 14 critically endangered turtles and a cache of other rare species have been found in the home of a suspected wildlife trader in one of the Philippines’ biggest slums, the government said Friday. The juvenile saltwater crocodiles, as well as 90 birds, were killed by the trader or his aides shortly before police and environment officials raided the place Wednesday, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said. He denounced the unnamed suspects’ 'cruelty'. 'What’s particularly alarming about this poaching incident is that there were reports that most of these endangered animals were intentionally killed to avoid detection by authorities,' Paje said in a statement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWildlife trafficker kills 5 crocodiles, 90 rare birds as police descend on his compound

Government plans to euthanize hundreds of desert tortoises after budget cuts to refuge

"The Desert Tortoise Conservation Center — a 23-year-old federal refuge in Las Vegas for the threatened species — has collected only $290,000 from its primary funding source of local developer fees over the last 11 months, the AP reports. The center can’t count on the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or Nevada Department of Wildlife to make up the shortfall on the center’s $1 million annual operating budget because of federal and state budget constraints. The result? Center administrators are planning to close the 220-acre facility in 2014 and euthanize about half of the 1400 tortoises under their protection." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment plans to euthanize hundreds of desert tortoises after budget cuts to refuge

Tesla Wants To Eliminate Side Mirrors; Regulators Stand In The Way

"Instead of the traditional wing-like mirror jutting out into the air, the Model X used small video cameras built into the doors with display cameras on the inside. This drastically improved the aerodynamics of the Model X, but also broke Federal safety regulations. While Federal regulations requiring the addition of back-up cameras to cars was slated to go into effect this year, lawmakers have pushed that law back to 2015. That means Tesla has time to lobby lawmakers to rewrite the law to allow for the option of eliminating side mirrors and replacing them with video cameras. Some estimates say that by just getting rid of side mirrors, aerodynamics could improve as much as 5% overall." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTesla Wants To Eliminate Side Mirrors; Regulators Stand In The Way

Yosemite fire prompts state of emergency in San Francisco

"It’s 150 miles from San Francisco to Yosemite, but the 200-square-mile wildfire that’s edged into the national park has prompted California Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for the city hours away. That’s because more than 2.6 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area receive water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite. The fire threatens some 5,500 residences. More than 2,700 state, federal and local firefighters from around the nation had joined the fight against the Rim Fire by Friday evening, and large air tankers battled the blaze from above, but dry weather, rugged terrain, and gusty winds limited efforts to carve out containment lines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYosemite fire prompts state of emergency in San Francisco

Smog crisis creates ‘apocalyptic’ conditions in Singapore

"Fast-food deliveries have been cancelled, the army has suspended field training and even Singapore’s top marathon runner has retreated as residents try to protect themselves from the smog that has descended on the city-state. In Singapore’s worst environmental crisis in more than a decade, the skyscrapers lining the Marina Bay financial district were shrouded by thick smoke Thursday as raging forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia’s Sumatra island pushed air pollution levels to an all-time high. The acrid smell of burning wood lingered everywhere, including inside air-conditioned metro trains, and cars were covered with a thin film of grey ash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSmog crisis creates ‘apocalyptic’ conditions in Singapore

St. Louis Is Burning

"West Lake Landfill is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site that's home to some of the oldest radioactive wastes in the world. A six-foot chain-link fence surrounds the perimeter, plastered with bright yellow hazard signs that warn of the dangers within. On one corner stands a rusty gas pump. About 1,200 feet south of the radioactive EPA site, the fire at Bridgeton Landfill spreads out like hot barbeque coals. No one knows for sure what happens when an underground inferno meets a pool of atomic waste, but residents aren't eager to find out." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSt. Louis Is Burning