In 2003, a geneticist used DNA markers called microsatellites to show that a fishing vessel had violated its quota by catching too many cod from the North Sea. It was a rare victory against the massive problem of illegal fishing. For technical reasons, however, microsatellite tests for identifying the local origins of caught fish haven't been widely adopted.
Here's a simple idea you may have heard for improving food security: Eat less meat. The logic goes like this. People in the developed world eat a huge amount of animal protein. And consumption of meat, eggs, and milk is already growing globally as people in poorer nations get richer and shift their diets.
After a controversial projection that wild caught fish will disappear, top researchers buried the Dhatchet to examine the status of fisheries-and what to do about it.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators, and the electric power industry are struggling to come to grips with the impact of a surprise court decision last month that dismantled a major air-pollution regulation.
An $11 billion plan to restore the Everglades will likely get an overhaul after a major land deal last week by the state of Florida. The state's $1.75 billion purchase is intended to create wetlands that will speed up the delivery of water to the thirsty ecosystem.
The nonpartisan Heinz Center this week issued a comprehensive update on the health of U.S. ecosystems--along with a plea for the U.S. government to coordinate and fund future assessments.
If there is an example of a silver bullet among genetically modified (GM) crops, it would be virus-resistant papaya trees. They saved the papaya industry in Hawaii from devastation by the ringspot virus, a serious pathogen that deforms fruit and eventually kills conventional trees.
In one of the most significant wetlands regulations in 2 decades, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has spelled out what developers must do to mitigate damage from their construction projects.
In December 2005, Stephen Johnson dunked himself in hot water. Johnson, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), decided to discard advice from a scientific advisory committee when he set a major air-quality standard for soot. Scientists and environmental groups were outraged. This time Johnson did it again with ozone, the main component of smog and the hand of the White House was plain to see.
