This image shows an area of road building and development adjacent to primary forest in red tones, and secondary forest regrowth in green tones. Credit: Carnegie Institution. You can see the effects of global warming in a new high-resolution map that shows carbon locked up in tropical forest vegetation and emitted by land-use practices in Peru's Amazon. The maps were created with satellite mapping, airborne-laser technology, and ground-based plot surveys. And the images may help pave the way for a new United Nations monitoring system to curb deforestation and forest degradation.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Wikimedia Commons A new study in the Journal of Archaeological Science shows there are exceptions to the conventional eco-wisdom that increased human activity always spells harm for animals: Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered that the size of one mollusk, that's been a food source for Pacific Islanders for thousands of years, has increased in size in conjunction with human population growth. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo from one of Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari Boat Tours In the past week, copious amounts of planktonic krill have drawn large groups of blue whales off the coast of Long Beach in Southern California. As many as 25 whales have been spotted from the shore. Dan Salas, captain of Harbor Breeze Cruises' 65-foot vessel, told reporters that recently as many as 100 blue whales have been spotted swimming in the wate... Read the full story on TreeHugger

MIT's Test Cell Patrick Gillooly, MIT Solar cells are intended to mimic the photosynthesis of plants -- converting light into energy in the most efficient manner possible. But what other characteristics of plants could be handy for the renewable energy sector to mimic? How about the self-assembly of chloroplast, the component of plants that do all the vital photosynthesis. Leaves repair themselves after sun damage again and again to keep up their ability to convert light into energy. Now, MIT researchers believe they've discovered how to use this self-assembly to restore solar cells damaged by the sun.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image: Craig Anderson, Flickr Earlier this summer, when the BP Oil Spill was still at the top of the headlines everywhere, Russian predictions of a toxic rain consequent to the BP oil spill were generally dismissed by the scientific community. But the cultural meme, as well as an underlying level of anxiety for Gulf residents, was planted. Now, reports are appearing that raise the spectre of the Russian prediction. Are people living ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Credit: Photos via facebook.com/meeteater. I like "Meet Eater," at least on Facebook. Not much happened after I hit the "Like" button to express my, um, admiration. Apparently, though, every time this plant makes a friend on Facebook, an electronic system delivers water and nutrients. No friends, no love? Dead plant. Unhappy Meet Eater.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Graham Racher via flickr Go chimps, go! An interesting new paper in the journal Primates documents how a group of chimpanzees in Bossou, Guinea have been successfully deactivating snares set by human bushmeat hunters. Though not always successful, the scienti... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image: Google Maps Thankfully, No Deaths This Time An offshore oil platform exploded and caught fire today in the Gulf of Mexico. It is located about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site of BP's massive oil spill. All 13 people who were on the rig were evacuated and only one was injured, reports the U.S. Coast Guard.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via kalleboo A common complaint about cell phones is that there is no universal charger -- if you don't have the one that works specifically for your phone, well, you're just out of luck when your battery dies. It's not only a hassle for cell phone owners, but it's a huge problem for e-waste as the chargers become useless when the corresponding cell phones are tossed aside for newer models. But progress toward a more environmentally responsible (and plain common sense) solution for a universal charger that works will all phon... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: New Flyer What's the Difference Between CNG and Diesel? The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (the "MTA") has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas ("CNG") heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses. We know that buses are a pretty green way to move lots of people around in urban area, but how much better are CNG buses compared to regular diesel buses? The U.S. Department of Energy has some numbers to allow us to compare.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ahead of its upcoming report Fossil Foolishness: Utah's Pursuit of Tar Sands and Oil Shale Western Resource Advocates has produced the above short video detailing, as you might imagine from the title, why even though it may be ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Flickr, CC Should Access for Regular Hybrids be Phased Out? In California, vehicles that meet certain fuel economy and tailpipe emission criteria are granted special access to the high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV, aka the carpool lane). In car-centric places like Los Angeles, it's a huge advantage. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill (SB 535) into law that extends HOV-lane access to 40,000 qualifying plug-in hybrid ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via KhE O2, a communications company in the United Kingdom, has just launched the country's first green cell phone ranking system -- something of which Apple did not want the iPhone to be part. But G... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Leo Freitas via flickr According to preliminary data from Brazilian NGO Imazon, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down 16% over the past twelve months, with 1,488 square kilometers (574 square miles) of forest cleared. All that tree felling resulted in 95.6 million metric tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere, Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image via Stanford University Fresh, clean, drinkable water is an increasingly rare thing on this planet, especially in places that are suffering through catastrophes like floods or must deal with high levels of pollution without the resources to set up water treatment facilities. But a project from Stanford University researchers could see cheap, simple filtration devices distributed through developing nations. How simple? Well, it's just a piece of cotton cloth coated in nanotubes that filter out nearly all bacteria at a rat... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch The University of Notre Dame is taking the use of e-readers in classrooms seriously, embarking on a one year study of how the devices integrate into classrooms. The first course to have students use an iPad instead of any text books is Project Management, a class with 40 students that will not only use the iPad as a book, but will also be encouraged to use it for everything else in daily life and report back their impressions (hmmm, could that possibly have been at Apple's request?). Apple is making a big push to turn iPads into the next big thin... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Martin Abegglen via flickr All the regulatory paper shuffling required to get the 240 MW Cape Wind project started is finally coming to an end. As Renewable Energy World reports, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the state can give the project a "composite certificate" superseding local regulatory agencies, some of which do not look favorably on the wind f... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Nothing wards off vampire power better than a crucifix powerstrip. Alexander Pincus of Means of Production delivers with a 12 outlet cruciform surge protector that accommodates oversize adapters and provides comprehensive protection from evil, power surges, and AC contamination. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: ((brian)) via flickr Unless you've just started following environmental issues you're probably aware that biodiversity is declining so much that the planet is seeing species go extinct at a rate a thousand times historical rates of extinction--and that we're collectively not do a very good job preventing human activity from accelerating that. Is part of the problem is the way we discuss biodiversity? It's a more complex (and more i... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: GM Hopefully It'll Have More Commercial Success than BYD EVs China will be one of the initial markets to get the Chevy Volt PHEV, and today GM is announcing that the first drivable Volt has landed in the Middle Kingdom. "GM has made a long-term commitment to bringing our industry-leading technology to China," said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. GM delivered two Chevrolet Volts to the Shanghai Expo for use as VIP transportation. The Volt will shuttle special guests to and from Shanghai's 2010 Expo Park and demonstrate what the future of the automobile might look like... Read the full story on TreeHugger