Loving the Chambered Nautilus to Death

It is a living fossil whose ancestors go back a half billion years, to the early days of complex life on the planet, when the land was barren and the seas were warm. Nautilus lives on the slopes of deep coral reefs in the warm southwestern Pacific, but scientists say humans are loving the chambered nautilus to death, throwing its very existence into danger.

Bioluminescence: Explanation for Glowing Waves Suggested

It has long been known that distinctive blue flashes, a type of bioluminescence, that are visible at night in some marine environments are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminescence.

Oil-slick Ship At Risk Of Breaking Up: Release Of a New Tide Of Oil Feared

Fears grew Wednesday that the ship stuck on a New Zealand reef may break up and release a new tide of oil, as up to 300 tonnes of heavy fuel has leaked into the Bay of Plenty so far. Maritime New Zealand is considering issuing face masks to people living near beaches affected by oil from crippled cargo ship Rena.

Results of Pebble Mine Measure Expected Mid-Oct.

“Imagine a pit two miles wide by 2,000 feet deep, and an underground mine a mile deep. This gargantuan gold and copper operation would produce an estimated 10 billion tons of contaminated waste, 3,000 pounds for every man, woman and child on Earth…There are few human activities as toxic as large-scale mining…” As vote have been cast, it will be nearly two weeks before Alaskans know the outcome of an initiative aimed at stopping the Pebble Mine project, potentially the world’s largest man-made excavation.

Deforestation Along The Rio Xingu Shores, Brazil

Although forest preservation has gained traction in the region as a result of new valuation of the ecosystem services provided by the forest, in recent years, concerns about the impact of the burning on global climate change, and greater sensitivity to the ethnic and biological heritage of Amazonia still remain, as Amazonia, has been undergoing a continual and accelerated conversion process into farmlands.

Chile Reels in Salmon Farming

Chile is the second largest producer of salmon in the world. But these fish don’t occur there naturally. Instead, the salmon swim within enclosed nets, often tightly packed together. Kept off the country’s coastline, fish farms like these can pollute local ecosystems. But in Patagonia, Chile has begun taking steps to protect some of its wild waters from the farmed fish.

Baltic Sea Countries Do Not Live Up To Commitments: WWF

The nine countries with a Baltic Sea coast are not doing enough to protect the very polluted body of water, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in the Baltic Sea Scorecard 2011, a report that assesses how good the countries around the Baltic Sea are at implementing environmental measures and agreements.

Kelp Farming Is On Its Way

The Norwegian coastline, including all its islands, is twice as long as the Equator, thus possesses huge areas suitable for cultivating seaweed and kelp, and could provide two billion litres of kelp-based fuel a year, in a 15 million tons worldwide kelp-based industry. However, stricts quotas would need to be implemented as kelp forests are important nursery and feeding grounds for a wide range of invertebrates and fish…