Bryan Nelson has been making up for lost time since finishing his graduate degree in Philosophy by traveling and working to change the world. He has worked with groups like The Sierra Club, Environment America & U.S. PIRG, Environment Oregon & OSPIRG, and Progressive Future on local and national political campaigns. His environmental journalism can be found throughout the web, which also includes regular contributions to MNN.com. Between adventure and activism, he currently can be found doing freelance writing from his home in Portland, Oregon.
A team of researchers at MIT are engineering a strain of bacteria, which is similar to the type that causes tuberculosis, to produce biofuel.
The researchers say that the bacteria are useful because they are hungry for a number of sugars and toxic compounds and produce lipids that can be converted to biodiesel.
Dogs and their guides have been transported to the Galapagos Islands as part of a K9 project to track down poachers and reduce crime against wildlife.
The K9 units are now set for regular inspections, beginning at airports, harbors and random checkpoints on all three islands in order to halt illegal poaching activities which have plagued many of the islands’ unique flora and fauna.
The world’s very first floating fullscale offshore wind turbine has officially been inaugurated in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.
The turbine even has a name: Hywind. It measures 213 feet tall and weighs 5,300 tonnes, and it rests on a floating stand which is filled with water and rocks to provide balast. Three powerful cables anchor the stand to the seafloor.
[UPDATE: Japanese Dolphin Slaughter to Continue Despite Current Suspension]
Ric O’Barry reports that the horrific annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji has been suspended due to publicity from the film, The Cove.
September 1st usually marks the first day of the year for the brutal killings, but for the first time the Japanese media has arrived in Taiji en masse, causing the local fishermen to pause while the world takes notice.
One mountain lion in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona is single-handedly hunting the refuge’s endangered big horn sheep population to extinction.
The puma has already culled at least 15 sheep since last February, a remarkable pace which, if continued, would total 37 deaths by the end of the year. By comparison, the estimated annual yearling recruitment from the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge bighorn sheep herd is only 39 animals.
Herbs and spices like thyme, rosemary and mint, usually used to flavor food, can also offer a green alternative to synthetic pesticides.
Research has shown that oils derived from the herbs interfere with insect nervous systems, causing them to spasm haphazardly until they die. Best of all, these all-natural pesticides are inexpensive to produce.
Austrian scientists are putting the ‘fun’ in ‘fungus’ by forcing organisms which are usually asexual to have sex instead.
The hope is that the fungus would then be easier to breed, which would allow researchers to create organisms that are more efficient at degrading cellulose for the purpose of making biofuel.
A team of engineers have invented a breakthrough device that will make more accurate weather forecasts and give more advanced projections of climate change.
The high performance electronic device, known as a dual-polarized Frequency Selective Surface filter, can detect thermal emissions in the Earth’s atmosphere in ways never done before.
Giant poisonous jellyfish are poised to assault Japanese waters, experts warn.
Reports of massive bloomings indicate that this season’s Nomura’s jellyfish spawn should be a big one. The good news is that there may not be a nation on Earth more psychologically prepared for the invasion of giant monsters.
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