The first fossil of a bird, or a bird-dinosaur relative, the archaeopteryx, has fascinated scientists for 150 years since it was first discovered in a quarry in Germany. For all that time there has been a debate, was archaeopteryx, a bird or a dinosaur? Could it fly or were the wings, tipped with claws, helping […]
Tag: Study
Oil spill caused "unexpected lethal impact" on herring, study shows
December 26, 2011
Scientists from the University of California at Davis and NOAA studying herring spawning beds in San Francisco Bay after the Costco Busan oil spill. (UC Davis) A 53,569 gallon (202,780 litre) spill of bunker oil in San Francisco Bay in 2007 had an "unexpected lethal impact on embryonic fish," according to scientists from the […]
A UBC study shows that some mussel beds in the Salish Sea have decreased by 51 per cent over the past 52 years, a consequence of gradually rising temperatures off Vancouver Island, the Gulf and San Juan Islands and Washington's Olympic peninsula. The study shows that the climate change is already affecting species by not […]
A University of Washington study says that using trees from the northwest as a building material is good for carbon mitigation in the atmosphere, especially if the wood waste is also used as a biofuel to replace gasoline and other fossil fuels. The article, published in the journal Forests, says that if timber from northwestern […]
Salmons' extra large guts are a survival tactic
September 16, 2011
Image via Wikipedia Environment Fishery Science Salmon have extra large guts--up to three times larger than its body would suggest--that help it survive, scientists at the University of Washington say. The study "Excess digestive capacity in predators reflects a life of feast and famine" is published in Nature. A news release from the university […]
Energy Environment The Guardian Niger delta oil spills clean-up will take 30 years, says UN The Guardian has obtained a copy of a special United Nations report on oil spills in the Niger River delta. Devastating oil spills in the Niger delta over the past five decades will cost $1 billion to rectify and take […]
Environment-Science-Fishery A study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is warning that mollusks, especially oysters and mussels, are increasingly vulnerable to the acidification of the oceans caused by rising carbon dioxide emissions. A news release from the institute on Aug. 2 notes As CO2 levels driven by fossil fuel use have increased in the atmosphere […]
EnvironmentPost Media News Feds silence scientist over West Coast salmon study Post Media News reports that the Privy Council Office, part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office, is refusing to allow a prominent scientist speak to the media and the public about her study on the collapse of salmon stocks on the west coast, suggesting […]
Vancouver Sun Enbridge to improve risk assessment on proposed Northern Gateway pipeline Enbridge acknowledged Thursday it needs to improve its risk assessment of potential accidents along the route of a controversial proposed pipeline that would deliver crude oil to the west coast of British Columbia. A company spokesman made the comments in response to […]