BONN, Germany, February 5, 2010 (ENS) - The Baiji dolphin, which used to live in the Yangtze River, is probably extinct, and the Vaquita porpoise from the northern Gulf of California is facing the same fate. In fact, entanglement and death in gillnets, purse-seine nets, traps, weirs, longlines and trawls threatens 86 percent of all toothed whale species, concludes a new United Nations report released today.
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Bees Can Learn to Recognize Human Faces |
CLAYTON, Victoria, Australia, February 5, 2010 (ENS) - Discoveries by bee researchers from Australia and France could lead to improved artificial intelligence systems and computer programs for facial recognition, the scientists said. "What we have shown is that the bee brain, which contains less than one million neurons, is actually very good at learning to master complex tasks," said Dr. Adrian Dyer of Monash University.
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Obama Advances Biofuels as U.S. Misses Production Targets |
WASHINGTON, DC, February 4, 2010 (ENS) - President Barack Obama has moved to increase America's renewable fuels production, turn biomass into bioenergy, and capture and store the greenhouse gases produced by coal-burning power plants. At the same time, the administration released the first report of the Biofuels Interagency Working Group showing the country is falling short of Congressionally mandated biofuel production targets. >>more
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Winning Battles But Losing the War on Invasive Alien Species |
GLAND, Switzerland, February 4, 2010 (ENS) - Invasive alien species are one of the top three threats to the biodiversity of life on Earth, according to the first global assessment report on this neglected problem. Invasives can be rats, mice, foxes, goats, toads, fish, ants, plants or micro-organisms, to list a few. Spread around the planet by travel, trade, and tourism, these invaders are jeopardizing global biodiversity. >>more
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Thailand's Tiger Temple Sues Conservationists Over Abuse Allegations |
KANCHANABURI, Thailand, February 3, 2010 (ENS) - Three advocates for wildlife conservation and welfare appeared in a Kanchanaburi court this morning to answer charges of defamation brought by the Tiger Temple, a tourist attraction in Kanchanaburi. Edwin Wiek, founder and director of Wildlife Friends of Thailand, a wildlife rescue center near Hua Hin, has been charged along with two others over remarks in an April 2009 article in the "Thai Post." >>more
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World Wetlands Day 2010 Links to Climate Change, Biodiversity |
GLAND, Switzerland, February 2, 2010 (ENS) - Today, World Wetlands Day is being celebrated with the full recognition of Africa's Lake Chad as a wetland of international importance, fulfilling a commitment made 10 years ago by the four nations that share the shrinking lake. This year's theme of Wetlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change links to the UN designation of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity and to the problems of water scarcity on a warming planet. >>more
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Obama's 2011 Budget Trims Environment, Fattens Energy Spending |
WASHINGTON, DC, February 1, 2010 (ENS) - The Obama Administration today sent to Congress an overall budget of $3.8 trillion in fiscal year 2011 that projects a record budget shortfall of $1.6 trillion. Three of the federal agencies that handle environmental issues had their budgets cut - Interior, Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency - while the Department of Energy budget was increased by $1.8 billion. >>more |
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