Conservation in The News

The Good

Energy Conservation Technologies, Inc. Installs its Energy Saving HID Electronic Ballasts in Sheridan, Wyoming
Whitney Benefits, Inc. and the City of Sheridan will jointly monitor this test installation for energy savings and light quality. ECTI’s patented product technology is more advanced, cost competitive, reliable, and substantially more energy efficient than magnetic ballasts. In addition, unlike its competitors, ECTI’s innovative and patented ballast housing design allows simpler retrofit to existing light fixtures.

Conservation group calls for stronger deep ocean protection measures
AS major fishing nations gather today to determine the future of the Northwest Atlantic, members of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) are calling upon states to implement the United Nations General Assembly (UN GA) mandate for deep ocean protection.

LessWatts.org Powers Up Linux Energy Conservation Program
At the Intel Developer Forum on Friday, the company took the wrapper off LessWatts.org, a program to encourage innovations that could drive down the energy requirements of Linux servers, PCs and household devices. The program has won the support of The Linux Foundation as well as big names in the industry like Red Hat and Novell.

Clinton surrogate talks energy conservation

The focus of Inslee’s visits was on energy policy and energy efficiency. With a book coming out in October called “Apollo’s Fire,” which discusses ways that the government can re-energize their energy policy and energize the economy, Inslee was interested in seeing how both locations have developed a focus on energy efficiency in their locations.

$2 Million Raised for Conservation by Selling Naming Rights to 10 New Fish Species 

Monte Carlo: Ten recently discovered species of fish from Indonesia will be getting new names after an auction for the naming rights raised $2 million for local conservation programs.

Conservation foundation offering incentive for establishing cover crops 

MADISON —The Sand County Foundation, a non-profit conservation foundation located in Madison, is offering an incentive payment to farmers located in the Rock River Watershed to establish cover crops.

Conservation group buys fish habitat
An Iowa conservation group has finished a nearly $7 million fundraising campaign - the biggest in its nearly three-decade history - to preserve key fish habitat at Spirit Lake that once was threatened by development.

Less Auto-Dependent Development is Key to Reducing Global Warming Pollution, According to New Report 

OAKLAND, Calif. (September 20, 2007) – California needs to harness the power of smart growth if it’s going to achieve its ambitious global warming pollution reduction targets, according to a coalition of conservation and planning groups. The groups released a new national report, which shows that meeting demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, reducing global warming pollution while giving people more housing choices.

The Bad

Canadians negotiate fisheries agreement critics pan as weak, risky

HALIFAX - Canadian officials will be under close scrutiny this week when they sit down with international partners to negotiate a new fisheries agreement that critics have already condemned as weak and possibly dangerous to domestic fish stocks.

Nelson: Conservation critical, but more needed 

A Level 4 drought response policy, such as the one now in effect for Clarke, Barrow, Jackson and Oconee counties, call for a complete ban on outdoor watering for residential and commercial uses. A total ban naturally hurts landscaping businesses and nurseries, but if rain remains absent - mandating the ban - the pain will spread to other areas of our economy.

The Ugly

Northern conservation could be paralyzed during Environment Canada review 

Environmentalists fear conservation in the Western Arctic has been paralyzed by a federal review that has frozen spending at the Canadian Wildlife Service - just as the northern area comes under increased pressure from energy and mining claims.

The Good

Climate turns miners green
The major coalminers’ union and a key conservation group say they will join forces today to head off any attempt by the Government to “wedge” them by recreating the divisions that exist between timber workers and conservationists in Tasmania.

Conservation effort targeting plastics
CLIFTON — San Francisco banned plastic bags in supermarkets. Now Clifton, with a line of free reusable shopping bags, is joining a growing movement of American towns to ditch plastic.

 D.C.-Area Power Conservation Urged
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - Pepco on Friday urged some customers in Prince George’s County to conserve electricity by turning off major appliances such as washers and dryers and setting their thermostats to at least 78 degrees.

Science Minister urges for more energy-saving awareness
Chinese Minister of Science and Technology has called for enhancement of citizens’ awareness on energy-saving in a campaign recently held to publicize knowledge in the area.

Author donates land to conservation trust 

OTTAWA - Famed Canadian author Farley Mowat made a generous donation of land on Friday in an effort to protect Nova Scotia’s coastline.

Preserving property: A tale of two ranches 

Wendy McNulty and her family faced financial difficulties that threatened to force them to sell their ranch.
Mike and Kit Strang and their family faced no such financial burdens, but still felt compelled to settle the fate of their property.
Both families turned to Aspen Valley Land Trust to help conserve their Missouri Heights ranches despite their different needs.

The Bad

Pricey pandas eat up conservation funds
The zoo has sent $1.1 million annually to China since the two pandas came to Atlanta in 1999. To date, it has spent more than $7 million in a loan agreement with the Asian nation, said Dennis Kelly, the zoo’s president and CEO. From a strictly bottom-line perspective, the pandas are “consuming all the money we could spend on other conservation efforts,” he said.

 Conservation group calls for charges against whale killing
A Canadian anti-whaling conservationist is calling on the U.S. government to lay charges after a grey whale was killed in coastal waters off Washington State near Vancouver Island.

Rush to ethanol may put federal conservation programs at risk 

Funding for conservation programs and wildlife habitat may be at risk as lawmakers put together a new farm bill that encourages fence-row-to-fence-row planting in pursuit of biofuels, said Dan Stahr, executive director of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation.

Study looks at acid rainfall in the ocean 

WOODS HOLE, Mass., Sept. 10 (UPI) — A U.S. study shows that while acid rainfall plays a minor role in ocean acidity, the impact is much greater in the shallower waters of the coastal ocean.

The Ugly

Renewed DR Congo fighting threatens rare gorillas

NAIROBI (AFP) — Renewed fighting between the army and renegade troops in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo poses a fresh threat to critically endangered mountain gorillas, experts said Sunday.

Record Cache of Snow Leopard Parts Seized in China
The pelts of 27 snow leopards were recently seized from a black market trader in China. The record bust highlights the menacing threat to one of the world’s most endangered cats, experts say.

In this first addition of the weekly conservation news roundup, I hope to highlight some good and bad news going on regarding conservation of our dear planet:

The Good:

The Ontario Power Authority plan filed with the province’s energy regulator this week calls for an aggressive reduction in power use through conservation instead of adding more nuclear power, the province’s chief energy conservation officer said in Cobourg last week.  Read full article

NRCS prioritizes conservation planning
The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Colorado is encouraging farmers and ranchers to develop comprehensive conservation plans. Many landowners are interested in enhancing the condition and productivity of their natural resources and reaping greater returns from their efforts. Whatever the case the may be, the first step is to know and understand the condition of the resources you’re working with. A conservation plan provides that information. Read full article

Tibetan Sacred Lands: A Values-Based Approach to Conservation
For most people, images of prayer flags blowing in the wind, intricately decorated monasteries, and nomads riding across open grasslands do not immediately bring to mind national parks and bird watching. But as Deghe, a middle-aged lama at the Tibetan Phags Mo Gling Lamasary in China’s western Sichuan Province, explains, “conservation is a monk’s work, it is in our religion.” Using the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism as guidance and supported by a multi-year project of the U.S.-based group Conservation International (CI), Deghe and his fellow lamas are transforming their lamasery into a hub of conservation and environmental education. Read full article

The Bad:

Group urges more conservation in farm bill
The so-called dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is among the largest ever mapped and Iowa environmental activists urge Congress to inject more conservation into the farm bill to help prevent more pollution from reaching the Mississippi River from farm chemical run-off. Susan Heathcote, water program director of the Iowa Environmental Council, says the Gulf’s dead zone is now 79-hundred square miles, about the size of New Jersey.  Read full article

‘Dysfunctional’ African parks losing wildlife species
NAIROBI (AFP) — ‘Dysfunctional’ African parks are losing species due to poor conservation and pressure on resources, researchers warned in a paper published Tuesday in the African Journal of Ecology.

Africa’s national parks, formerly bastions of biodiversity, were losing many of their species, they wrote in a policy piece: “When protection falters”. Read full article