Green from Newser

Syria's War Triggered by ... Water?

Arden Dier — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:56:01 CDT

Tucked into a piece on the drastically dropping water levels in the Middle East's Tigris-Euphrates Basin comes this theory: The drop helped spur the Syrian civil war. As Joshua Hammer explains for Smithsonian , a pair of satellites tasked with measuring groundwater found that the basin lost the equivalent of all...

Tesla Pays Off US Loan 9 Years Early

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:03:27 CDT

Tesla has come a long way since Mitt Romney labeled it a "loser" in the presidential debates. The company has paid off its $465 million 2010 loan from the Department of Energy—plus interest—nine years before it was due, Businessweek reports. With yesterday's payment for $451.8 million, "Tesla...

As GMO Corn Weakens, Pesticides Are Back

Ruth Brown — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:37:29 CDT

In 2003, Monsanto debuted corn seeds with a gene—Bt—that generates pest-killing toxins designed to resist the ravages of rootworm. Soil insecticide use cratered as a result, with only 9% of corn acreage nationwide treated with it in 2010, down from 25% in 2005. But then things started to...

Alaska Town to Vanish by 2017

Kate Seamons — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:00:05 CDT

When it comes to the fate of the 350 residents of Newtok, Alaska, the Guardian pulls no punches: "Exile is inevitable," it writes. That's because their coastal village, located some 480 miles west of Anchorage, is in the process of being washed into the Bering Sea. As the Guardian explains...

First Gray Whale Seen South of Equator

John Johnson — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:08:09 CDT

Scientists scoping out dolphins off the coast of Namibia this month saw something that by all rights shouldn't have been there: a gray whale. The confirmed sighting marks the first time such a whale has been spotted south of the Equator, reports the Guardian . What's more, gray whales are typically...

GOP Senators Boycott Vote on New EPA Chief

Kevin Spak — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:28:05 CDT

Republicans on the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee refused to show up yesterday for a vote to confirm President Obama's nominee to head the EPA , complaining that Gina McCarthy hadn't responded to their inquiries. "We're not asking to amend any bedrock environmental laws," Wyoming's John Barrasso said, according to...

China Now Turning Away US ... Trash

John Johnson — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:37:32 CDT

If your local recycler starts turning away your cans and bottles in the near future, blame China. Beijing has stopped accepting certain shipments of recycled plastic from the US, reports Quartz . (It reportedly will no longer welcome unwashed plastics and improperly sorted shipments; other reports say items like coffee cup...

Louisiana Is Shrinking, Thanks to Giant Swamp Rats

Matt Cantor — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:16:53 CDT

When it comes to invasive species, Louisiana may have Florida and its giant snails beat: The state's beloved swampland is literally vanishing at the hands of gigantic swamp rats . Nutria—described by a documentarian tracking the creatures as "a cross between a beaver and a New York sewer rat"—are...

O'Hare's New Grounds Crew: Goats

John Johnson — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:27:20 CDT

Chicago has hired a herd of goats to keep vegetation in check around O'Hare airport, reports the Tribune . About 25 goats will arrive in about a month and start chomping on 120 acres, with a focus on hard-to-mow embankments and areas with dense brush. A shepherd will be around to...