Maldives first carbon neutral country?
March 24, 2009
The pioneering new president of the Indian Ocean nation announces plans for his country – under grave threat from climate change – to go carbon-neutral in a decade
The president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, will today unveil a plan to make his country carbon-neutral within a decade. The announcement comes only days after scientists issued stark new warnings that rising seas caused by climate change could engulf the Maldives and other low-lying nations this century.
The president will formally announce the scheme – and make a plea for other countries to follow the Maldives’ lead – this evening, following the world premiere of The Age of Stupid, a major new climate change film in which a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055 looks at old footage from 2008 and asks why people didn’t stop climate change when they had the chance.
From The Guardian: Read full article here
Loggerhead turtles current-riding 20,000km round-trip
March 16, 2009
A marine biologist has helped fill in the so-called lost years of Australia’s loggerhead turtles by discovering they are using ocean currents to undertake a 20,000-kilometre, round trip across the Pacific Ocean.
Dr Michelle Boyle, of the School of Marine and Tropical Ecology at James Cook University, Queensland, and colleagues used genetic testing to track the migratory behaviour of the Australian-born loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), which hatches in rookeries on the Queensland coast.
Boyle says it appears the endangered turtles use the ocean currents that make up the South Pacific gyre to travel across the southern Pacific Ocean to the waters off Peru and Chile.
In scenes reminiscent of the animated movie Finding Nemo, they then pick up the East Australian Current (EAC), which they “ride” down the coast of eastern Australia.
From ABC Science, Full Article HERE
38cm baby Whale Shark rescued in Philippines
March 12, 2009
A 38cm-long whale shark, the size of a forearm, was rescued and released last week by activists in the waters off Pilar in eastern Philippines. The World Wide Fund for Nature called it “arguably the smallest living whale shark in recorded history.” The group said the tiny whale shark was tied to a small rope on a beach and said the discovery is the first indication that the Philippines coastline may be their birthing ground. In this photo, biologist Embet holds the baby whale shark.
Click HERE for ABC News Baby Animals photograph library.
Diving the Twighlight Zone
March 11, 2009
In this video talk from TED.com, Richard Pyle presents thriving life on the cliffs of coral reefs and groundbreaking diving technologies he has pioneered to explore it. He and his team risk everything to reveal the secrets of undiscovered species.
A pioneer of the dive world, Richard Pyle discovers new biodiversity on the cliffs of coral reefs. He was among the first to use rebreather technology to explore depths between 200 and 500 feet, an area often called the “Twilight Zone.” During his dives, he has identified and documented hundreds of new species. Author of scientific, technical and popular articles, his expeditions have also been featured in the IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure, the BBC series Pacific Abyss and many more. In 2005, he received the NOGI Award, the most prestigious distinction of the diving world.
Currently, he is continuing his research at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, outside Honolulu, Hawai’i, and is affiliated with the museum’s comprehensive Hawaii Biological Survey. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Marine Exploration, of which he is a founding member. He continues to explore the sea and spearhead rebreather technology, and is a major contributor to the Encyclopedia of Life.
Click HERE to watch the video at TED.com
Creating Nitrogen from water, the natural way
August 26, 2008
Researchers have split water into hydrogen and oxygen by replicating how plants use photosynthesis to make carbohydrates.
The team of Australian and US researchers says their findings could lead to a cheap and easy way of making hydrogen, which many experts believe is the green fuel of the future.
Although scientists have been able to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for years, current techniques use expensive chemicals as the catalyst which prohibits any move to a commercial product.
This latest research is different in its approach to other water splitting research because it copies nature by using similar processes and chemicals to those used in plants.
The team plans to further that connection by using chlorophyll-like molecules to harvest light rather than an electric current.
From ABC Science
