Word: ecosystems
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...news for China's economy, environmentalists are worried. The Tibet plateau, known as the Roof of the World, is an average of 15,000 feet above sea level and is home to rare snow leopards and Tibetan antelope. Much of it is largely untouched. "At that high altitude, the ecosystem is very fragile. Once you damage it will takes decades to recover," says Wen Bo, China program director for Pacific Environment, a San Francisco-based NGO. "Already the plateau is facing serious problems. If you're going to mine it's not going to get better. My position is they...
...support of science’s most unlikely ally: the Wilberforces of the modern world. Composed as a series of letters to a Southern Baptist pastor, Wilson’s work paints a dismal picture of the dramatic and widespread deterioration of the Earth’s various ecosystems. Wilson includes a compelling array of facts, but the true significance of these facts—and, indeed, the true worth of his book—lies in his anecdotal digressions. He recounts, with infectious enthusiasm, his decades-long investigation of the tropical fire ant, a pursuit that took him from...
Everywhere the Heath brothers look, it seems, there is a lesson to be learned. The Nature Conservancy gives tracts of land spiffy names like the Mount Hamilton Wilderness--a better ring than "1,875 square miles of environmentally critical ecosystem"--and donations perk up. Chalk that up to the power of being concrete. The Texas department of transportation casts Dallas Cowboys and Houston Astros in testosterone-soaked ads telling drivers "Don't mess with Texas," and roadside litter drops 29% in a year. Consider it a score for an emotional appeal to identity--a way of getting litterbugs to believe...
...only species harmed by ocean pollution, of course, but they are easier than most to study. They sit at the top of a food chain that may extend less than half a mile from shore. "The sea otter is the canary in the coal mine for the coastal ecosystem," says Monterey's Murray...
Bees may be the summer picnicker's bane, but they're a crucial part of many ecosystems--and their role in pollinating crops makes them important to the economy as well. That's why scientists are alarmed by a new study in the journal Science. Over the past 26 years, say European researchers, the diversity of species in British and Dutch wild bees--and the wildflowers they favor--has plummeted. That's not to say there are fewer bees (some species are thriving) but there are fewer varieties, and that is not good news. An ecosystem with fewer species...