The power of green goo

Germany debuts the first-ever algae-powered building. A residential complex in Hamburg, Germany, known as the BIQ House, has made its debut with algae as the main power source. It is a net-zero structure. Surprisingly, it only took three years to be completed.

Like fermented grapes? Like public lands and wildlife? You may have to choose…

Changing temperatures have cascading effects. Growing areas for wine-producing regions are in jeopardy as temperatures rise. Wine-producers from around the world explore alternate lands for vineyards. Not surprisingly, prime vineyard lands happen to fall in primo regions like the already densely inhabited Mediterranean or wildlife corridors of the Yellowstone to Yukon ranch land.

Why go hybrid when methane is cheaper?

Russia deals with “pain at the gas pump” by adopting natural gas cars which run on methane. Despite fears that cars will explode while using natural gas in tanks on cars, the savings is enough for people to install aftermarket conversion kits. One user reportedly gets 140 miles on about a gallon of gas, which costs him the equivalent of $3.80 in Russian rubles.

Honeybee in peril

Dramatic decreases in honeybee populations across Spain and the United States have prompted evaluation of the die-offs. Many signs point to the use of neonics, a class of pesticide that is widely used. However, disparities exist as honeybee populations in Canada and Australia – both countries that use pesticides – seem to be unaffected. Recently, a new Harvard Study was released and links widespread colony collapse disorder to a specific pesticide called imidacloprid.

Noble Discoverer by jkbrooks85 via flickr

Shell Oil to suspend drilling for 2013

Big news this week as Shell Oil Company announced the decision to suspend drilling in the Arctic Ocean for 2013. Give them some applause, if you’d like, for taking safety precautions, but hold off on the standing-ovation; they plan to resume drilling in 2014.

Big Food = Big Problems

Research by Oxfam America shows that big food companies like General Mills and Kellogg’s are “failing the poor.” This negative impact is a direct hit to their supply chains, which are made up of the folks in developing countries that supply the land, labor, water and commodities needed for production.

Shanghai, China adopting urban farming practices

Shanghai, China turns to urban farming as the city grows and demand for food rises. This is just one aspect of the Sustainable Urban Masterplan for Shanghai, which includes plans for vertical farms and community gardens.

Australia reef shallows at risk

Increasing evidence points to global warming as a major contributor to the impending extinction of the coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef is “likely to pass critical damage thresholds in roughly 30 years” due to extreme changes in acidity and temperature shifts.

shore crab by Diving Ben via flickr

Crabs bothered by noise pollution

Did you know that ship noise affects crab metabolism? A study out of the University of Bristol found that reducing harbor noises may lead to higher yields per season, as there’s no evidence of crab adaptation in the form of noise acclimatization.

feature coral image: Great Barrier Reef by Phil Camill via flickr

Photo by NS Newsflash via Flickr.

The top stories included a climate rally over a proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a simple way New York City could reduce its carbon footprint, the rapid loss of grasslands due to federal biofuel mandates, the outlook for wild weather, and what happens when fish take antianxiety drugs.

Thousands Rally in D.C. Against Keystone XL Pipeline
The Feb. 17 climate-change protest drew about 35,000 people who called on President Obama to reject the pipeline plan, which would transport crude oil from tar sands in Alberta to refineries and ports in Texas. Environmentalists say the extraction process creates more greenhouse gases than traditional oil drilling, and that the oil is dirtier. Two days after the rally, TransCanada claimed the pipeline will have no measurable effect on global warming.

Report Claims N.Y. City Can Reduce Its Carbon Footprint 90% by 2050
Research by the non-profit group Urban Green Council details how retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient, thus reducing heating and cooling loads, would take the city most of the way toward this goal. In a review article, Slate calls the approach “The Triple-Pane Windows Theory.”

Biofuel Rush Wiping Out Grasslands at Fastest Rate Since Dust Bowl
Scientists at South Dakota State University found that U.S. farmers converted more than 1.6 million acres of grasslands to corn and soybean fields between 2006 and 2011. This trend has implications for climate, because grasslands retain more carbon in the soil than crops do. Switching to crops also appears to be reducing populations of ducks and other ground-nesting birds, which breed in the northern prairies.

Scientists Say Wild Weather Is Here to Stay
Researchers at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), held Feb. 14-18 in Boston, said human-driven climate change has made severe weather events more intense and more frequent, according to an AAAS press release.

Traces of Antianxiety Drug in Rivers Alter Way Fish Act
The Wall Street Journal reported that a new study shows that wild perch in a Swedish river have six times the amount of the drug oxazepam in their tissue than is found in the water. Perch raised in the lab in water with trace amounts of the drug separated themselves from each other, acted more adventurously than wild perch, and put themselves in danger more often.