Research by the University of Exeter has revealed that ants have a big impact on their local environment as a result of their activity as ‘ecosystem engineers’ and predators.
The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects on their local environment. (more…)
*Project to Streamline IT Infrastructure to Improve Service Delivery, Reduce Energy Consumption and Strengthen Security*
NEW YORK, N.Y. – 31 Jan 2011: IBM today announced that it has been selected by the City of New York to build a 
more efficient, smarter technology platform for CITIServ, the City’s IT infrastructure modernization program. The goal of the project is to streamline delivery of City services by consolidating and updating outdated and incompatible IT, thereby reducing energy consumption, strengthening security, and providing City workers with faster access to the latest technologies. (more…)
Yale graduate student James Franco will be in the spotlight on the night of the Academy Awards as both co-host of the ceremony (with Anne Hathaway) and a “Best Actor” nominee (for “127 Hours”). But also vying for its share of the glitter will be a short Yale film on a big topic: the fledgling environmental movement in China.
“The Warriors of Qiugang” — co-produced by Yale Environment 360 (e360), an online publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies — has been nominated for an Academy Award in the category “Best Documentary: Short Subject.” (more…)
Stanford, CA — Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes had an impact on the global carbon cycle as big as today’s annual demand for gasoline. The Black Death, on the other hand, came and went too quickly for it to cause much of a blip in the global carbon budget. Dwarfing both of these events, however, has been the historical trend towards increasing deforestation, which over centuries has released vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, as crop and pasture lands expanded to feed growing human populations. Even Genghis Kahn couldn’t stop it for long. (more…)
*Study of Chinese citizens says jobs more important than salary when it comes to pro-environmental behavior*
People with good jobs found in large cities are more likely to engage in pro-environmental activities. So says a new study of China’s environmental behavior published this week in the British journal Environmental Conservation.
For the first time, scientists weighed employment and leadership when considering how people act regarding their natural surroundings. They found the status and political power of companies in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin strongly influence the conservation practices of their employees. (more…)
Close up of a cute baby 7-month old panda cub in the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan, China. Image credit: Sheila Lau. Source: Wikipedia
Finally some good news on the environment, on ecology and on the Giant Panda: a revolutionary new technique developed by the PR China’s Chengdu breeding center seems certain to assure that greater numbers of this endangered species can be raised in thereby save it from extinction.
Just 1,600 Giant Pandas live in the wild, in 40 government-controlled panda reserves in the People’s Republic of China. The new breeding program has raised the number of animals bred in captivity to 300, while just this year 19 cubs have been born after artificial insemination programs in China’s two main breeding centers.
Breeding Giant Pandas in captivity is no easy task. They have the strangest gestation period which can range from eleven weeks to eleven months, they appear not to be sexually aroused by being held in captivity, females are on heat for 72 hours a year and are fertile during a 12 to 24-hour window inside that period. The small size of the male penis also means the mating position has to be exactly right, and this is not always possible in captivity. (more…)
*Climate change will force them south, where they are unsuited for the diet*
A polar bear breaks through thin Arctic Ocean ice Aug. 23, 2009. Image credit: Canadian Coast Guard/USGS
Will polar bears survive in a warmer world? UCLA life scientists present new evidence that their numbers are likely to dwindle.
As polar bears lose habitat due to global warming, these biologists say, they will be forced southward in search of alternative sources of food, where they will increasingly come into competition with grizzly bears.
To test how this competition might unfold, the UCLA biologists constructed three-dimensional computer models of the skulls of polar bears and grizzly bears — a subspecies of brown bears — and simulated the process of biting. The models enabled them to compare the two species in terms of how hard they can bite and how strong their skulls are. (more…)
*Chemicals known as oxygenated volatile organic compounds (oVOCs) affect environment, human health*
About the image: Poplars, aspens, other trees provide extensive “ecosystem services.” Image credit: USDA
Vegetation plays an unexpectedly large role in cleansing the atmosphere, a new study finds. (more…)
