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Winter 2012

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Technology+Design

Bee Line

Crop-raiding elephants don’t mess with beehive fences

Culture+Health

Captive Breeding

Behind bars, prisoners work to rehabilitate endangered species

Business+Economics

A Feathered Nest

Bird diversity linked to increased home values

Flora+Fauna

Backfire

Protected status makes rare species more valuable to trophy hunters

Oceans

Dirty Laundry

Clothes washers are pumping plastic into the ocean

Technology+Design

In-Shoe Technology

A quick stroll could recharge your phone

Flora+Fauna

Body Count

Assessing the impact of bird collisions with television towers and skyscrapers

Oceans

Net Gain

Fishing regulations vastly reduce sea turtle deaths

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A Global Sunshade
January 25, 2012

A Global Sunshade

Controversial geoengineering concept could help crops, perhaps

It’s one of the more controversial ideas out there for confronting climate change: Use high-flying airplanes to constantly replenish a layer of small particles in the stratosphere that would scatter sunlight back to space. But researchers have worried that such “sunshade geoengineering” could have unintended consequences for the world’s farmers. A preliminary modeling study, […] Read More »

Missing Moths
January 24, 2012

Missing Moths

What’s happening to Britain’s night flyers?

Just a decade ago, moths were a bit of a dark secret for biologists. Dependable population statistics were scarce, leaving conservationists guessing about trends. Now, British biologists are getting a better idea of how the insects are doing in the United Kingdom (U.K.) – and the news is worrying. A new study takes a […] Read More »

Wither The Windcatcher?
January 23, 2012

Wither The Windcatcher?

Old ventilation idea gets new look for saving energy

Forget the dreamcatcher. The new age in energy savings could be the windcatcher, argues a recent analysis.
Windcatchers – towers or specially designed roof vents that pull fresh air into a building — aren’t a new idea, a trio of researchers note in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Windcatchers have been “utilized in the […] Read More »

Make My Day
January 22, 2012

Make My Day

In a fight, invasive tilapia aren’t afraid of bigger native foes

If you want to be a successful invasive species, it helps to have a bad attitude. Take the Nile Tilapia. Even when pitted against a bigger foe in a watery arena, it won’t back down. That aggressiveness may explain why the exotic tilapia is displacing a native fish in Brazilian waters, a new study […] Read More »

Permission To Land
January 18, 2012

Permission To Land

Airports could host alternative energy projects

Finding suitable sites for solar, wind and biofuel projects can be a challenge. The facilities often need big chunks of land that aren’t used to grow food, and don’t have much wildlife or conservation value. That’s one reason some experts have urged using degraded land or abandoned industrial sites. Now, one group of researchers […] Read More »

Do Not Disturb
January 17, 2012

Do Not Disturb

Jedi knights famously feel disturbances in the Force. Invasive species, on the other hand, react to disturbances to natural communities, often exploding following a destructive wildfire or flood. Or, at least, that’s the common thinking among ecologists. A new study challenges that maxim, however, showing that how the frequency of fires or storms changes […] Read More »

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