Tiny Wings – Dinosaur’s Had Them
Dino wings discovered intact in amber. Feathers apparently
100 million years old.
Two tiny wings entombed in amber reveal that
plumage (the layering, patterning, coloring, and arrangement of feathers) seen
in birds today already existed in at least some of their predecessors nearly a
hundred million years ago.
A study of the mummified wings,
published in the June 28 issue of Nature Communications and funded in part by
the National Geographic Society's Expeditions Council, indicated they most
likely belonged to enantiornithes , a group of avian dinosaurs that became
extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period. (Read more about the evolution
from dinosaurs to modern birds.)
While the fact that many, if not nearly all,
dinosaurs were feathered has been generally accepted since the 1990s, our
knowledge of prehistoric plumage until now has come from feather imprints in
carbonized compression fossils and individual feathers fossilized in amber.
What Good Are Zoo - # Infinity
Lacking genetic diversity, cheetahs in the wild are in worse
health and more susceptible to disease. The most diverse and strongest gene pool resides in the world’s zoos.
The planet's last
stronghold of wild cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) is losing genetic diversity at
an alarming rate according to a new
study from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and
partners published June 21 in the journal Biological Conservation. This is in
direct contrast with the population of cheetahs in zoos, which is as
genetically diverse as it was 30 years ago because of cooperative and
strategically managed breeding programs, including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums'
Cheetah Species Survival Plan.
"This study
provides objective proof that management of cheetahs in zoos is working,"
said Kim Terrell, lead author on the study, former SCBI doctoral student and
current director of research and conservation at the Memphis Zoo. "It is
crucial that wildlife institutions continue to work together to invest in
methods to complement conservation efforts in the wild, ensuring the long-term
survival of the species."
Genetic diversity
plays a key role in the overall health of a species, its ability to fight
disease and even whether it can easily reproduce. Cheetahs survived a
population collapse more than 12,000 years ago that led to inbreeding and a
loss of genetic diversity. As a result, modern cheetahs are prone to disease
and have poor sperm quality.
SCBI has a cheetah
breeding center at its headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia, designed to help
create a genetically diverse and self-sustaining insurance population of
cheetahs in human care. Since it was opened in 2007, 25 surviving cubs have
been born there. SCBI is also a member of the Conservation Centers for Species
Survival (C2S2), a partnership of eight facilities collectively managing more
than 25,000 acres devoted to studying and breeding endangered species. Six of
those facilities study cheetahs and have cheetah breeding centers.
The International Union
for Conservation of Nature classifies cheetahs as vulnerable to extinction. The
population in Namibia--the species' last stronghold--faces numerous threats,
including habitat loss and conflict with livestock farmers. According to the
study's authors, conservation efforts in the wild need to focus both on
protecting habitat and reducing conflict with humans.
No Coals to Newcastle
For Britain to go without using coal even for a few hours is a major accomplishment. Not that big a deal in the light of Portugal
and Germany both running for significantly longer periods on sustainables
only. Still it’s a start.
I'm going to declare my bias upfront: I am
very, very mad at my homeland right now. But international politics and market
turmoil aside, it's not all bad news coming from the British Isles. And who
better than Robert Llewellyn to deliver a little dose of sunshine:
It turns out that recently, for a brief
period of time, and for the first time since 1882, Britain burned absolutely no
coal for electricity. That's a pretty important milestone. True, as Robert
says, it was in the middle of the night. And true, it was only for a few hours.
But it still marks an important turning point—and it's one more sign of Death
by Capacity Factor that's making fossil fuel generation more expensive. As coal
plants sit idle, the cost to run them when they are fired up again goes up. And
that makes the economic case for renewables, efficiency, conservation and
storage just that little but more compelling.
Speaking of Coal
At approximately 9:00 PM on Monday, June
27th, 2016, after likely more than a hundred public speakers, the Oakland City
Council, by votes of 7-0 and 7-0, banned coal processing in Oakland and
specifically banned the processing, loading and unloading of coal at a proposed
bulk loading facility at an old Army Base facility in West Oakland.
This had been a bitter battle between the
developers of the project — who had originally given written and verbal assurances
that coal was not part of the plan and then reneged — and most of the Oakland
community who wanted no part of the health, safety and environmental dangers
associated with coal.
OBOT is a $250 million component of Tagami's
project, aimed at moving 10 million tons of bulk freight per year. Under a deal
with four Utah counties — Carbon, Emery, Sevier and Sanpete — half that
capacity would be reserved for Utah products in exchange for $50 million.
Many speakers were unhappy with Tagami, a
politically connected developer and friend to California Gov. Jerry Brown,
himself a former Oakland mayor, for promising city officials that coal would
not be part of the port project before he won approvals to redevelop the
decommissioned Army base.
Spectacular Photos
The overall awards winners have been
announced in the 2016 Atkins Ciwem environmental photographer of the year
competition, an annual international showcase for thought-provoking photography
and video that tackles a wide range of environmental themes.
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