Environmental News Network - Spotlight

New bacteria discovered in raw milk

Society+for+General+Microbiology+ — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:27:00 EST

Raw milk is illegal in many countries as it can be contaminated with potentially harmful microbes. Contamination can also spoil the milk, making it taste bitter and turn thick and sticky. Now scientists have discovered new species of bacteria that can grow at low temperatures, spoiling raw milk even when it is refrigerated. According to research published in the November issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, the microbial population of raw milk is much more complex than previously thought.

Pakistan to launch fisheries 'megaprojects'

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:21:00 EST

[LAHORE] Research into marine fisheries will form part of a plan to improve Pakistan's fisheries sector, following a ban on its exports by the European Union (EU) in February 2007. The ban was imposed when EU inspectors observed that offshore fishing and onshore handling of the catch was conducted in an unhygienic way.

10 Green Ways to Save Some Green $$

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:33:00 EST

Given the current dire economic picture we thought we’d list a few ways folks can save some cash while making the planet a little greener.

Robots show that brain activity is linked to time as well as space

Public+Library+of+Science+ — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:14:00 EST

Humanoid robots have been used to show that that functional hierarchy in the brain is linked to time as well as space. Researchers from RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan, have created a new type of neural network model which adds to the previous literature that suggests neural activity is linked solely to spatial hierarchy within the animal brain. Details are published November 7 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.

The dirty side of 'clean' coal

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyclimate.org — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:43:00 EST

It didn’t start that way: His land was once a low hill in a rugged hardwood forest – cherry, oak, hickory – skipping from ridge to ridge across one of the poorest, most rural areas of the Lower 48. Then came the mining companies with their dynamite and their trucks. They clear-cut the forest, blew the tops off the ridges and scraped the rocks into the hollows, pushing hundreds of feet of mountains into the valleys below.

Obama will protect public lands, pursue green energy

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idahostatesman.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:58:00 EST

Western Democrats and environmentalists will have more influence on federal land decisions in Idaho and the West under President Barack Obama. Decision-makers will defer more to scientists on resource issues and spending priorities will shift toward protecting land, fish and wildlife, Democrats said Tuesday night.

Saving Wild Salmon, in Hopes of Saving the Orca

NY+Times — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:04:00 EST

ECHO BAY, British Columbia — Growing up in Connecticut, Alexandra Hubbard did not want to be Joan of Arc. She wanted to beJane Goodall. But instead of chimpanzees, her animals would turn out to be killer whales.