Lead Story
California moves to protect new stretch of Central Coast ocean with proposed marine reserves
California regulators advanced two new state marine protected area proposals for the Central Coast this week, including the proposed Point Sal State Marine Conservation Area, which would cover roughly nine square miles of ocean off the Santa Barbara County coast. The proposals, part of a broader push to expand the state's network of protected waters, would restrict fishing and other extractive activity to let fish populations, kelp forests and other marine habitat recover, building on California's existing statewide network of protected areas first established in 2012.
Read more →Lead Story
California moves to protect new stretch of Central Coast ocean with proposed marine reserves
California regulators advanced two new state marine protected area proposals for the Central Coast this week, including the proposed Point Sal State Marine Conservation Area, which would cover roughly nine square miles of ocean off the Santa Barbara County coast. The proposals, part of a broader push to expand the state's network of protected waters, would restrict fishing and other extractive activity to let fish populations, kelp forests and other marine habitat recover, building on California's existing statewide network of protected areas first established in 2012.
North Atlantic right whales have best calving season since 2009
NOAA Fisheries reported that this calving season produced 23 North Atlantic right whale calves, the highest count since 2009, offering a rare bright spot for one of the world's most endangered large whale species. The population has been battered for years by ship strikes and fishing-gear entanglements, and conservationists caution that one strong season doesn't reverse the species' long-term decline, but the uptick in births is being read as a hopeful sign that protective measures such as shipping-speed restrictions may be helping.
Read more →North Atlantic right whales have best calving season since 2009
NOAA Fisheries reported that this calving season produced 23 North Atlantic right whale calves, the highest count since 2009, offering a rare bright spot for one of the world's most endangered large whale species. The population has been battered for years by ship strikes and fishing-gear entanglements, and conservationists caution that one strong season doesn't reverse the species' long-term decline, but the uptick in births is being read as a hopeful sign that protective measures such as shipping-speed restrictions may be helping.
Atlantic bluefin tuna rebound in British waters after near-collapse
Atlantic bluefin tuna, whose numbers fell roughly 80% by 2010 due to overfishing, are once again being spotted and caught in British waters, a recovery conservationists point to as evidence that strict catch limits and international management can let a severely depleted species bounce back. The comeback has been significant enough that the UK reopened a small, tightly regulated recreational bluefin fishery in recent years, a step that would have been unthinkable a decade ago when the species appeared headed toward commercial extinction in the region.
Read more →Atlantic bluefin tuna rebound in British waters after near-collapse
Atlantic bluefin tuna, whose numbers fell roughly 80% by 2010 due to overfishing, are once again being spotted and caught in British waters, a recovery conservationists point to as evidence that strict catch limits and international management can let a severely depleted species bounce back. The comeback has been significant enough that the UK reopened a small, tightly regulated recreational bluefin fishery in recent years, a step that would have been unthinkable a decade ago when the species appeared headed toward commercial extinction in the region.
Wood byproduct could make lithium-ion batteries safer, Michigan State researchers find
Michigan State University researchers reported developing a sturdier battery separator made from lignin, a byproduct of wood and paper processing, that could reduce the risk of the short circuits and fires that plague conventional lithium-ion batteries. Battery separators keep a cell's positive and negative electrodes apart while letting ions pass through; using an abundant, low-cost material like lignin to make them tougher could improve safety in everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles without the expense of exotic materials.
Read more →Wood byproduct could make lithium-ion batteries safer, Michigan State researchers find
Michigan State University researchers reported developing a sturdier battery separator made from lignin, a byproduct of wood and paper processing, that could reduce the risk of the short circuits and fires that plague conventional lithium-ion batteries. Battery separators keep a cell's positive and negative electrodes apart while letting ions pass through; using an abundant, low-cost material like lignin to make them tougher could improve safety in everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles without the expense of exotic materials.
Aldabra's giant tortoises hit record population of roughly 180,000
A new survey of the Aldabra giant tortoise population on Seychelles' Aldabra Atoll found roughly 180,000 individuals, the highest count on record for a species that had dwindled to only about 1,000 animals in the 19th century after being hunted for food by passing ships. The rebound, built on more than a century of protection on the remote atoll, is being cited as one of the clearest examples of a species recovering once the pressure that nearly wiped it out was removed.
Read more →Aldabra's giant tortoises hit record population of roughly 180,000
A new survey of the Aldabra giant tortoise population on Seychelles' Aldabra Atoll found roughly 180,000 individuals, the highest count on record for a species that had dwindled to only about 1,000 animals in the 19th century after being hunted for food by passing ships. The rebound, built on more than a century of protection on the remote atoll, is being cited as one of the clearest examples of a species recovering once the pressure that nearly wiped it out was removed.