23) Oil Companies under Fire over Peruvian tribes

A coalition of more than fifty NGOs has called for three major oil companies: Perenco, Repsol-YPF and ConocoPhillips, to withdraw from an area of Peruvian Amazon containing two uncontacted tribes. A letter sent by the Survival International and co-signed by more than fifty other NGOs states that "Uncontacted Indians are extremely vulnerable as they lack immunity to outsiders' diseases and they face the very real threat of extinction if they are contacted". The work planned by the oil companies could also breach international law which requires indigenous peoples to be consulted about projects that affect them. According to the letter, Perenco have applied to the Peruvian government for permission to build a 207km pipeline which would impact upon a tract of rainforest 500m either side along its length. Meanwhile companies Repsol-YPF and ConocoPhillips plan to cut 454km of seismic lines in a bid to find oil in 'block 39' one of most biologically diverse areas on the planet, a process which involved clearing paths through the forest and detonating explosives. The fact that the oil companies are withdrawing from this area is a huge accomplishment for these uncontacted tribes. Hopefully more companies learn to respect the land of others and not interfere with their lifestyle.

Link to site: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/686968/oil_companies_perenco_repsolypf_and_conocophillips_under_fire_over_peruvian_tribes.html

22) Saturn Moon Has Oxygen Atmosphere

An oxygen atmosphere has been found on Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea, astronomers announced Thursday. The 932-mile-wide ice-covered moon is more than 932 million miles from Earth and the average surface temperature is -292 degrees Fahrenheit. At less than 62 miles thick, the newfound oxygen layer is so thin that, at Earthlike temperatures and pressure, Rhea's entire atmosphere would fit in a single midsize building. Still, the discovery implies that worlds with oxygen-filled air may not be so unusual in the cosmos. Rhea's oxygen atmosphere is believed to be maintained by the ongoing chemical breakdown of water ice on the moon's surface, driven by radiation from Saturn's magnetosphere. Knowing where and how oxygen exists in the universe may in turn help scientists plan future robotic and manned missions. NASA's Cassini spacecraft also identified the distinctive chemical fingerprint of carbon dioxide in Rhea's atmosphere, indicating the presence of carbon on the moon's surface. The combination of carbon and oxygen holds implications for finding possible life on ice moons, such as Europa, thought to harbor subsurface liquid oceans. This discovery is extremely useful when thinking ahead into the future because frozen reservoirs of oxygen on moons such as Rhea may one day become pivotal for deep-space exploration involving human missions. And in some very distant future, one can imagine that the ices on these moons might be heated or melted to extract oxygen and carbon dioxide, both of which are necessities for the survival of plant and animal life.

Link to site: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101125-saturn-moon-oxygen-atmosphere-discovered-science-space/

21) Shark Scales Give Predators Deadly Speed

The teeth covering a shark's body is what makes this fish such a good hunter, new research shows. Sharks are covered in flexible scales, nearly invisible to the human eye, that are made of the same material as teeth. Previous research had suggested that a shark can "bristle" or manipulate its scales to change its direction mid-sprint-agility that's crucial for capturing fast-moving prey such as tuna. A recent experiment shows that sharks don't actively move their scales which are loosely embedded in the skin via rubber band-like tendons. Instead, the structures bristle when water flowing around the shark "detaches" from the fish's aerodynamic body. The way the scales turn helps reduce the water's drag on the speeding shark. Overall, sharks' 400 million years of evolution for strength and speed may someday inspire better designs for machines that are prone to drag, such as aircrafts. I think studying the mechanism of species such as sharks can later on be incredibly helpful towards making other man made artifacts have the same speed and strength such as mentioned, aircrafts but also trains, rockets, boats, etc.

Link to site: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101123-shark-scales-speed-animals-environment/

20) Polar Bears Get Thanksgiving Present this Year

More than 187,000 square miles along the north coast of Alaska were designated today as "critical habitat" for the polar bear as a result of a partial settlement in an ongoing lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Greenpeace against the Department of the Interior. This designation under the Endangered Species Act is intended to safeguard those coastal lands and waters under U.S. jurisdiction that are vital to the polar bears' survival and recovery. "The critical habitat designation clearly identifies the areas that need to be protected if the polar bear is to survive in a rapidly melting Arctic". Federal agencies are prohibited from taking any actions that may harm or damage critical habitat. Species that have critical habitat designated are more than twice as likely to be recovering, and less than half as likely to be declining, as those without it. "Polar bears are slipping away" said Andrew Wetzler, Director of NRDC's Land and Wildlife Program "but we know that there are crucial protections that can keep them around. Today's designation is a start, especially in warding off ill-considered oil and gas development in America's most important polar bear habitat."

As with other species, it is really great to see laws passed to be able to protect these endangered animals. There is still the question of wether to allow oil companies to drill for oil in this newly designated critical habitat and I really hope that they don't, and that they consider this area as an area that shouldn't be touched by man and should be left just for the polar bears recovery.

Link to site: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/polar-bear-11-24-2010.html

19) Fishing Nations Agree to Reduction in Tuna Quota

Fishing nations agreed on Saturday to a slim reduction in quotas for catching giant Atlantic bluefin tuna, whose stocks have plunged as fishermen strive to meet demand from sushi lovers. The quota set for 2011 is of 12,900 tones, down 600 from this year. An Atlantic bluefin can grow to the size of a horse and fetch as much as $100,000 in markets such as Japan, but stocks have plunged by more than 80 percent since 1970s according to Western scientists. "Greed and mismanagement have taken priority over sustainability and common sense" WWF said "This measly quota reduction is insufficient to ensure the recovery of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea". France, Italy, and Spain catch most of the Atlantic bluefin consumed in the world and 80% of the haul goes to Japan. Environmental groups lamented the cut as too little while the fishing industry said it was too much. I think this is a great step towards the recovery of the bluefin tuna but of course it is to be expected that the fishing industry would complain. Those greedy people cannot see into the future and how, what they are doing, is going to end with the fish in the sea. Let them keep fishing as much as they do right now and in 10-20 years let's watch them complain of how there is no more tuna to fish. But of course nobody wants to listen to the environmental groups now but in 20 years time people are gonna regret not hearing them out. Hopefully, other endangered fish will also get some sort of protection soon before they go extinct.

Link to site: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AQ1HK20101127

18) Sea Turtles on Cape Cod

More than two dozen rare sea turtles who were cold, hungry and lost were rescued over the Thanksgiving holiday after having washed ashore on Cape Cod. The Kemp's ridley species of turtles are being treated at an animal care center south of Boston for hypothermia, dehydration, and malnourishment, aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse said. He noted that at least half of them are suffering from pneumonia and all have bacterial infections. Thanks to strong northwest winds earlier this week, the charcoal black turtles weighing between two and eight pounds were washed onto beaches along the upper arm of the Cape, a favorite seaside vacation spot in Massachusetts. The turtles' body temperatures are normally in the low to mid 70s Fahrenheit, but these turtles had temperatures only in the low 50s. They will now spend three to nine months at the animal center where their body temperatures will be raised slowly and they will be treated with medicine before released back into the ocean.

The big question that I get from this article is why was their body temperature so low? Does it have to go with global warming and temperatures in the oceans being really cold? Even so, I read about reptiles being able to regulate their temperature and how most of them like the cold water anyway with turtles being able to stay underwater for days at a time. I am sure there is more to this article and to these turtles than we know of right now but I would definitively like to hear more about it later as they find out more and as these turtles get better.

Link to site: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AP34W20101126

17) Dolphins See Themselves in Mirror

There is a video I watched on CNN.com about how dolphins' intelligence rivals that of humans. The reporter, Randi Kaye, climbed down into a small underwater lab with a window into the aquarium where scientist put a two way mirror on the glass. Dolphins figure out its their reflection and they show interest to look at themselves. Some dolphins open their mouth and stick their tongue out, others swim upside down and some others get really up close to look into their eyes. Dolphins aren't the only mammals that recognize themselves, elephants do it too. They do this by marking the elephants with a small mark above their eyes and then the elephants try to look at this mark and figure out what has been done to them by looking into the mirror. By the end of the video, the scientist explains that we need to look at this animals in a new light and in return protect this animals and not believe we are the only intelligent creatures in this planet because we are not alone. I completely agree with this, just as we have in recent years discovered how intelligent chimps are, other animals start to show that their brains work very similarly to ours. I think it is fascinating and I hope to hear more about the dolphin research in coming years.

Link to video: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2010/11/22/ctw.kaye.dolphin.intelligence.cnn?hpt=C2