Blogs & Ecology

It’s not often you have the chance to view insects up close, they usually fly, jump or scurry away – either that or get swatted, squashed or stamped on. So when we came across these unbelievable insect images we just had to share them with you.

These photographs by German photographer Martin Amm are taken in macro, highlighting the wonderful color and detail we very rarely see in our creepy crawly friends. We’re sure you’ll agree that, whether a blowfly or butterfly, Mother Nature certainly seems to know what she’s doing.

Hurricane Fay by NOAA

If you can’t quite get enough lava flows, images of Earth from space and weird and wonderful factoids about this awesome planet of ours, then check out the Geography section over at About. Written and managed by Matt Rosenberg, a professional, published geographer who has been the guide on About for over a decade, the collection of articles and images compiled is phenomenal.

Whoever said that Tokyo - the world's largest megalopolis, with over 35 million people living in the Greater Tokyo Area - didn't have any nature?

I know of at least one cheeky monkey that would beg to disagree.

Image courtesy of Pink Tentacle

This little fella, properly known as a Japanese macaque, has been making waves in national and international media with his impromptu appearance at Shibuya Station in Tokyo.

Shibuya is

Image by: Evan Leeson/ecstaticist

There are days when you come across photographs that make you stop in your tracks, amazed at both the raw beauty of the image and the genuine talent of the photographer; then there are days when you discover images so jaw-droppingly gorgeous that you subconsciously take ten seconds out of this crazy world and say, “Wow”. Today is one of those days.

Image by: orlando72

Remember those long hot sunny days when you’d walk barefoot across the tarmac only to have it melt between your toes? It was curious even then, how could the road be so tough yet malliable; it was more interesting than gross. Now, melting tarmac has grabbed the attention of researchers.

Image by: salvezdodd

A couple of years ago, when a bird flu pandemic threatened to spread across the globe there was wide-spread panic. Borders were shut, authorities suggested we didn’t fly to countries already infected with the disease and hospitals prepared with equipment normally saved for outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus. It was big news.

Scientist Ian Bell measures a Hawksbill Turtle off the Great Barrier Reef. Photo credit: Ian Bell.

This is the first post from guest contributor and Planet Green NGO partner EarthWatch Institute.

ucumari

Cuba has for a long time had to wrangle its resources using various wiley ways because of imposed sanctions. Most recently, the oil starved island struck a bargain with old ally Venezuela – the South American country will ship oil to Cuba in return for a collection of zoo animals.

Currently, Cuba has a deal going that sees doctors going to Venezuela in exchange for 92,000 barrels of oil a day but in this new deal, along with the oil shipment, Cuba will receive some much needed medical equipment.

Inhabitat is a must-read architecture and design site packed with information about new housing, architecture, transportation and design products. What happens when its editor-in-chief gets pregnant...Inhabitots is born. It's a new website with a baby and parenting focus; its motto: “Sustainable design for the next generation“. They say that "becoming a parent does not constitute having to sacrifice style" which is a bit optimistic (try that line out after a sleepless night with a cranky baby) but their postings so far have some pretty cool stuff.

photo by Sheila via flickr

We’ve written about the concept of Eco-Footprint a number of times—what it is, how to calculate it, and how to reduce yours—and with the Olympics upon us it comes as no surprise that China’s environmental footprint might come into the spotlight.

Image by: Joe Carr

It’s always a testament to human nature’s creative tendencies when, even in war torn areas, people club together to produce great works of public art. In Baghdad, in an effort to reintroduce color into an area that was once covered in lush green vegetation, artists of all ages are decorating the concrete security barricades with elaborate murals.

Imagine taking a nose-dive from the top of a 75 foot bamboo tower, plummeting to the ground with nothing but vines attached to your feet. Hundreds of your fellow tribesmen stand patiently in awe and expectation, jeering at your demise. Well, that’s exactly what happens during the Naghol festival on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu.

image source

It’s no secret that we’re all doomed but now scientists have found that the underwater world isn’t having such a rad time either.

Image by: jurvetson

Since the sea sequesters carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere its pH levels are rising. This means sea animals whose shells or skeletons are made of calcium carbonate are literally dissolving due to the increased acidity in the water, and in some cases failing to reproduce.

photo: Matthew McDermott

We’ve written a number of times about the importance of wetlands in sequestering carbon, preserving biodiversity, and preventing natural disaster. Now researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have put a dollar value on the ecosystem services provided by one type of wetland, Mexican mangrove forest. The figure? US$37,500 per hectare per year.
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Image credit: Shall.us

In part two of our in-depth discussion, Paul Hawken unpacks his new opensource, wiki-based Web entity, WISER Earth. He also offers up some details on Blessed Unrest the movie (and the remix), and brings it back to basics with the news no one wants to talk about. ::TreeHugger Radio