Vietnamese appetites driving their native animal species to extinction...

(Complete article:)
Vietnam species 'risk extinction'

Experts in Vietnam have warned that the Vietnamese could be eating a number of wild species into extinction.

The chairman of the Vietnam Zoology Association said animals at risk included the rhinoceros, the white- ( Read more... )

Nationwide, there are some 300,000 new farms since 2002. And the farmers? More diverse than ever, including a higher number of women. This is a genuine source of hope for American agriculture.
Good News From Iowa by Verlyn Klinkenborg. NYT, Feb 9, 2009.
( in its entirety here. )

The economic downturn has decimated the market for recycled materials like cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals. Across the country, this junk is accumulating by the ton in the yards and warehouses of recycling contractors, which are unable to find buyers or are unwilling to sell at rock-bottom prices. Ordinarily the material would be turned ( Read more... )

MIT's Guru of Low-Tech Engineering Fixes the World on $2 a Day
From impoverished Peruvian villages to MIT's D-Lab, professor Amy Smith and her spirited team of engineers are on a mission: Fight global poverty and improve living standards for developing countries-one low-cost, accessible invention at a time. August 2008, Compone, Peru

When ( Read more... )

A Conversation With Stuart L. Pimm Asking ‘Why Do Species Go Extinct?’"

Founded own NGO Saving Species. They work with local conservation groups to create land corridors between pieces of isolated habitat, teach indigenous peoples how to use GPS to help them lay legal claim to the lands on which they hunt and fish, and sell 'symbolic' carbon off- ( Read more... )

And the water's still coming from the skies. The forecast is for overcast skies and continued periods of rain at least through Tuesday.

TEGUCIGALPA: A tropical depression has sown devastation across Central America since last week, killing at least 39 people, leaving six missing and 250,000 others homeless, local authorities reported on ( Read more... )

From the New England Wildflower Society:
Did you know that Massachusetts environmental programs and agencies are among the hardest hit by the recent cuts in the state's budget ( Read more... )

Two "eco-mariners" built a raft out of "15,000 bottles and a Cessna 310" to sail from California to Hawaii. They want to raise awareness about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and they've been keeping a blog. A woman, Roz Savage, decided she wanted to do more with her life than just hold an office job, and ended up committed to ROWING across the ( Read more... )

Invasives: Plants and Animals (and bugs, etc.) rapidly introduced by humans to places that aren't accustomed to them. These displaced species act like "invading armies" killing and destroying and usurping most all else in the vicinity usually with disastrous ecological consequences ( Read more... )

Hey fdmts and others: if you really want a challenge, try what this woman is doing. She's giving up PLASTIC. FOR A MONTH.

. . . So, no take-away coffees, bottles of water or pre-packed sandwiches ( Read more... )