This post contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs  Another example of the ingenuity of nature: researchers are finding inspiration in the extraordinarily strong exoskeleton of a deep-sea snail, Crysomallon squamiferum. The mollusk’s iron-plated shell is giving researchers insights that could lead to stronger materials for airplane hulls, cars, and military equipment. Researchers at the National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported…
This post was contributed by Piper Corp, ESA Science Policy Analyst, and Katie Kline A lot has happened over the last couple of weeks when it comes to climate change: 2009 was tied for the second warmest year on record, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski took aim at the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and China joined…
This post was contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Public Affairs Director When the hacked Climatic Research Unit email story broke shortly before the Copenhagen climate summit, there seemed to be a collective groan of dismay and frustration in the scientific community. Just when positive momentum appeared to be gathering for policymakers to address climate change, this had to happen, casting…
 This post was contributed by Piper Corp, ESA Science Policy Analyst. In a recent op-ed, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd recently astonished the coal industry by criticizing its lack of flexibility and unwillingness to work constructively with the federal government. The following excerpt summarizes much of the senator’s message: Most people understand that America cannot meet its current energy needs…
As many of us once again rouse ourselves from festivities filled with an overabundance of food, it might be sombering to ponder that a recent PLoS ONE study suggests that nearly 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted. As noted in a recent ScienceNOW article, physiologist Kevin Hall and mathematician Carson Chow, both at the National Institute…
 This post was contributed by ESA Science Policy Analyst Piper Corp.  Carl at the shack. Photo: Aldo Leopold Foundation Archives.  On November 18, 2009, A. Carl Leopold, son of the celebrated ecologist Aldo Leopold, passed away at his home in Ithaca, New York, at the age of 89. Carl Leopold was an accomplished plant physiologist and World War II…
 Most people schussing down a ski slope probably don’t wonder if it’s been cleared or graded and why the answer makes a big difference to the surrounding environment. A new study out in December’s Ecological Applications finds that there is a big difference between a downhill ski slope that’s been cleared (cutting and removing shrubs and trees) versus one that…
 Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by ESA’s Science Policy Analyst, Piper Corp. Read the full Policy News here.  COPENHAGEN SUMMIT ENDS IN NON-BINDING ACCORD–The UN climate summit in Copenhagen concluded on December 19, with the world’s largest emitters vowing to cut emissions and help developing countries adapt to the changing climate, and with…
This post was contributed by Meg Lowman, ESA Vice President for Education and Human Resources, who just recently returned from the Copenhagen climate summit. Â With good intentions, delegates arrived from 192 nations in Copenhagen, Denmark last week for the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention). Their goal was to meet, talk, draft, edit and finalize a document to…
This post was contributed by Piper Corp, ESA Science Policy Analyst. Pope Benedict XVI has received his share of criticism from the scientific community, most recently because of his statement that condoms increase the risk of HIV transmission. But in his December 15 message for the Catholic Church’s annual World Day of Peace, he gave ecological scientists and environmentalists something…
Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) is typically associated with mammals, but birds too can become infected by black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), the principal vector of the pathogen. Moreover, birds may figure significantly in the range expansion of both the Lyme bacterium and black-legged ticks. So say Jory Brinkerhoff and colleagues of Yale University in a paper published today in Frontiers in…
The human industrial and agricultural sectors contribute to air pollution by releasing nitrogen oxides (sometimes denoted NOx) into the atmosphere. And just like ocean acidification occurs when carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, soil acidification can occur when nitrogen oxides dissolve into soils. But we also know that nitrogen is a major component of fertilizers, which add nutrients to soils. …