During the Fall and Winter of 2007-08, RTNA worked extensively with Native Forest Network-Gulf of Maine (NFN) and other groups in Maine to stop Plum Creek Timber and Real Estate’s proposed massive development of the Moosehead Lake Region in northern Maine’s North Woods. Part of the Great North Woods of eastern North America-this particular region is the largest undeveloped wildland in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River; this region is home to such species such as the Canada lynx, black bear, wolves, moose, loon, and many other native species. This region has also for many generations supported a traditional local economy that included subsistence hunting & fishing, primitive recreation, and eco-tourism. Plum Creek plans to impose luxury vacation resorts, golf courses, gated communities, marinas, and more-along with significant introduction and expansion of roads and other invasive infrastructure.
Author: postMigrator
Earth May Lose Up To Half Its Plant Species
SCIENCE
23 MAY 2008 VOL 320
The Threat to the World’s Plants
A day after polar bears made headlines last week, the world’s leading
botanical gardens issued a call to remember threatened plants, too.
Their new report, Plants and Climate Change: Which Future? makes the
case for protecting the botanical foundations of terrestrial life.
“If you read any report about the impact of climate change, it’s
almost always about polar bears or tigers,” said Suzanne Sharrock,
director of Global Programmes for Botanic Gardens Conservation
International (BGCI) in London and a co-author of the report.
More on Upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season
U.S. government sees active Atlantic hurricane season
Thu May 22, 2008 2:27pm EDT By Christopher Doering
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season will be active with 12 to 16 named storms, six to nine of which are expected to become hurricanes, the U.S. government’s top climate agency predicted on Thursday.
Of the six to nine hurricanes forecast for the season starting June 1, two to five will be major ones of Category 3 or higher with winds above 110 miles per hour, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its annual preseason forecast.
Human Carbon Emissions Leading to Ocean Corrosivity
Human carbon emissions make oceans corrosive: study
Thu May 22, 2008 3:08pm EDT By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Carbon dioxide spewed by human activities has made ocean water so acidic that it is eating away at the shells and skeletons of starfish, coral, clams and other sea creatures, scientists said on Thursday.
Marine researchers knew that ocean acidification, as it’s called, was occurring in deep water far from land. What they called “truly astonishing” was the appearance of this damaging phenomenon on the Pacific North American continental shelf, stretching from Mexico to Canada.
“This means that ocean acidification may be seriously impacting our marine life on our continental shelf right now, today,” said Richard Feely of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, part of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.