The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 02/03/2004

EarthTalk: Can mercury in seafood harm a fetus?
Methyl mercury — emitted by smokestacks and released to the environment from common household products like old thermometers — is a persistent heavy metal that ends up in rivers, lakes, and oceans and accumulates in the tissues of fish and animals, including people.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12468.asp

Ornithologist pushes for awareness of birds' biggest threat: glass
Daniel Klem Jr. cradles a small, dead bird with chestnut-mottled wings, another victim of what he says is a largely unrecognized environmental hazard that kills birds in flight.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12704.asp

U.N. wants rules for bioprospecting in Antarctica
The United Nations said recently rules were needed to prevent a free-for-all search for unique Antarctic organisms that can be used for pharmaceutical and other commercial purposes.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12692.asp

Mexico designates 34 new areas as protected marshland
Mexico's Environmental Department designated 34 areas as protected marshland on Monday, ensuring they will fall under the protection of the international Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12697.asp

Bush budget cuts environmental funding by 7 percent
The Bush administration proposed a 2005 budget Monday for the Environmental Protection Agency, which is down more than 7 percent from levels Congress enacted in 2004. It includes more money to clean up toxic waste sites, while slashing funds for clean water projects by about $500 million.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12690.asp

E.U. sees GM import soon, Belgium bans rapeseed crop
The E.U.'s food safety chief said on Monday the bloc would allow imports of genetically modified sweetcorn in a few months, raising the prospect of a partial end to Europe's five-year ban on new biotech products.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12694.asp

Experimental sonar sparks debate over how best to protect whales
In a boat off the central California coast, scientists huddle around a computer screen sprinkled with slow-moving white dots, each one representing a migrating whale detected with sonar.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12703.asp

Hubble detects oxygen and carbon around a distant planet
The Hubble Space Telescope has detected oxygen and carbon in the atmosphere of a distant planet, the first time these elements have been found around a world outside our solar system, scientists said Monday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12695.asp

Northwest follows Europe, New England fish failures
Fossils reveal Pacific salmon have been around about 6 million years, surviving volcanoes and ice ages.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-02-03/s_12700.asp

Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy:
President's Budget Fuels Natural Gas Crisis

International Fund for Animal Welfare:
"Remarkable" IFAW Partnership to Protect Endangered Right Whales Receives Federal Funding

The Green Guide Institute:
Organic Blooms, Bon-Bons & Fine Wines

Center for Biological Diversity:
Burrowing owl report suppressed by fish and game comes to light, "Owlgate" incident suggests decision not to protect the species was improper