Maroon 5 Encourages Funs to Support Environmentally Friendly Nonprofits for a Chance of Winning a Guitar

Maroon 5 encourages fans to connect with environmentally friendly non-profit group and sign up for a chance to win a guitar.

From Tree Hugger:

Here it is, No. 9, the last rung in the Green Music Group Challenge. Maroon 5 is encouraging fans to connect with an environmentally friendly nonprofit group. Sign up for an e-mail list, support a conservation or other campaign, or volunteer. Then snap a picture of yourself and the nonprofit's logo, and dream of strumming a cherry wood guitar.

Maroon 5 is a founding member of the Green Music Group, which helps bring local nonprofits out to concerts, giving organizations a platform and helping them connect with fans. The band wants to take it a step further, and is giving away a Martin Sustainable Wood Series acoustic guitar to the person who submits the most creative, greenest and smile-inspiring photograph of a nonprofit connection. Read more

Photo credit:  Reverb.org 

Environmental Group Warns Jordan River Not Safe for Baptism Due to Severe Pollution

The millions of people who flock to the Jordan River to be baptized yearly can't be happy to learn that a group of environmentalists now consider the river to be unsafe for baptisms. The Jordan River, where it has been said Jesus Christ was baptized about two thousand years ago is now severely polluted with untreated sewage, agricultural run-off, saline water and fish pond effluent, according to Gidon Bromberg of Friends of the Earth Middle East.

From Christian Post:

The reason, explains Bromberg, is that "ninety-eight percent of the Jordan's fresh waters [is] being diverted by Israel, Syria, and Jordan."

Friends of the Earth has called on regional authorities to halt baptism in the lower Jordan River until water quality standards for tourism activities are met. The Israeli site, known as Qasar al-Yahud, draws more than two million Christians each year. Thousands of them visit the holy site to be baptized.

Friends of the Earth argues that high levels of coliform bacteria from sewage in the river have made it unsafe for bathing. But water tests released last week suggest otherwise, according to Eli Dror of Israel's Nature and Parks Authority.

"There's absolutely no problem with the quality of the water,” Dror told Reuters. “People can come and baptize here as much as they want; I guarantee it."

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, meanwhile, said he was pleased that tourists would be able to continue visiting and using the site safely.

This can't be good news for the tourists who visit the river to be baptized, but from an environmental perspective it is a sad turn of events.

NPR News: Dengue Fever In Florida Portends A Growing Problem

You may not have heard much about a nasty tropical infection called dengue fever. But that may soon change. Federal health officials have identified the first sizable outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in the U.S. in 55 years, in the Florida Keys. They say the southern U.S. is ripe for more.

The first cases in the recent outbreak occurred last summer and fall. In August, a New York woman recently back from a Key West vacation came down with the characteristic dengue symptoms — fever, wicked headache, chills, muscle and joint pain, and bloody urine. An alert doctor in Rochester, N.Y., diagnosed dengue fever.

Around the same time, the virus showed up in a woman and a married couple in Key West, none of whom had traveled to areas where dengue is common.

Read more:  Dengue Fever In Florida Portends A Growing Problem | NPR

BP PLC Offering Settlement Agreements to Alabama Coastal Residents for $5,000

Here we go. BP PLC is trying to play dirty. According to the Alabama Press-Register, BP was circulating settlement agreements among coastal residents of Alabama and possibly other states, requiring that "people give up the right to sue in exchange for payment of up to $5,000." Alabama's Attorney General Troy King protested and asked BP to stop distribution of the letters.

The company said it will pay for all the cleanup costs for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that could continue spewing crude for at least another week.


The company posted a fact sheet on its Web site saying it took responsibility for the response to the Deepwater Horizon spill and would pay compensation for legitimate claims for property damage, personal injury and commercial losses.

Japan to Launch World's First Solar-Powered Spaceship, Ikaros, on May 18

Japan will launch the world's first solar-powered spaceship on May 18, 2010. The spacecraft, dubbed Ikaros, will be the first in history to enter deep space using only solar energy. The ship is equipped with 15-meter long ultra thin wings that are covered with special cells which will generate energy from the sun. If successful, the Ikaros, which stands for "Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun," will be the first spacecraft to use solar sails in space as a primary propulsion mechanism.

A ground control station on Earth will navigate the panels of the Japanese invention in the direction of the sun rays. The spacecraft will launch Japan's first satellite to Venus.

Ikaros is also a reference to the Greek myth of Icarus – a young man and his father Daedalus, who attempted to escape exile in Crete by building wings of feathers and wax.

Lamar Advertising to Convert Billboards in Florida to Renewable Energy

PENSACOLA, Fla., Apr 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Lamar Advertising Co., which operates more than 150 outdoor advertising companies in more than 40 states and Puerto Rico, has announced a multidimensional project to convert some 1,370 billboards throughout Florida to renewable energy. The $12.5-million project will place solar or wind power on billboards throughout the state, creating 1,370 individual renewable energy systems that return energy to the electrical grid.

"This represents the largest single deployment of distributed renewable energy devices in Florida history," said Robert B. Switzer, vice president of operations of Lamar Advertising. "With the completion of this historic project, we will be sending a clear message to millions of Florida residents and visitors every day that renewable energy works."

The project, set for completion by April 2012, will install a total of one Megawatt (1,000 kilowatts) of renewable energy generation in the form of solar or wind power on 1,370 separate billboard structures in eight markets from Pensacola to Daytona and Tallahassee to Fort Myers. The installations will be on billboards along interstates and major thoroughfares, giving the project the widest public exposure. The U.S. Department of Energy is providing a $2.5-million grant to the project through the Florida Energy and Climate Commission and the Governor's Energy Office, while Lamar is funding the remaining $10 million.

As part of its initiative, Lamar Advertising is sponsoring Renewable Florida, a Web-based clearinghouse to help Floridians find the easiest and most cost-efficient ways of maximizing renewable energy. To learn more, go to www.renewableflorida.org.

"Over the 20- to 25-year life span of the billboards converted to renewable energy, we will return an untold amount of renewable, emission-free energy to the power grid while demonstrating in a very graphic manner to the public the payoff that comes with renewable energy," Switzer said. "In the long run, this will mean significant savings for Lamar. The lifespan of these systems allows them to be amortized, giving us a very logical business rationale for incorporating systems such as these on a widespread basis."

For more information about the benefits of renewable energy, explore www.renewableflorida.org.

Department of Energy Gives Out $106 Million in Stimulus Fund to 37 Green Tech Projects to Arpa-E

Department of Energy has given out $106 million more in stimulus funds to 37  green technology projects under the banner of its Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (know best as Arpa-E). The money will be funneled into microbe, battery and carbon capture research, VentureBeat reported. The Energy Department first announced Arpa-E funding in March, with the explicit goal of backing technologies that would reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels, or, alternatively, limit the damage caused by those we still use.

The recent initiatives focus on microbes are engineering them to quickly and efficiently convert nonfood feedstocks (switchgrass, sugar cane, and even municpal waste) into biofuels and sustainable chemicals. Some of these projects are even working on feeding microbes with carbon dioxide captured from existing fossil fuel-powered plants, to accelerate the move toward carbon neutrality.

Read more: Arpa-E Green Tech Gets $106 Million

New Caledonian Crows' Ability to Use Three Tools Stuns Scientists

From BBC News: 

New Caledonian crows have given scientists yet another display of their tool-using prowess.

Scientists from New Zealand's University of Auckland have found that the birds are able to use three tools in succession to reach some food. The crows, which use tools in the wild, have also shown other problem-solving behaviour, but this find suggests they are more innovative than was thought. The research is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.  The team headed to the South Pacific island of New Caledonia, the home of Corvus moneduloides.

They are the only birds known to craft and use tools in the wild. The discovery that they whittle branches into hooks and tear leaves into barbed probes to extract food from hard-to-reach nooks astounded scientists, who had previously thought that ability to fashion tools was unique to primates.

And further research in the laboratory and the field has revealed that New Caledonian crows are also innovative problem solvers, often rivaling primates. Experiments have shown that the birds can craft new tools out of unfamiliar materials, as well as use a number of tools in succession.

 Read more:  Clever New Caledonian crows can use three tools

Toxic Stew of Chemicals in Potomac River Causing Male Fish to Carry Eggs in Testes

  Photograph: Rob Heimplaetzer/Potomac Conservancy

SHOCK: More than 80% of the male bass fish in Washington D.C.'s Potomac River are now exhibiting female traits such as egg production due to a "toxic stew" of pollutants, the Potomac Conservancy reported.

Intersex fish probably result from drugs, such as the contraceptive pill, and other chemicals being flushed into the water and have been found right across the US.

The Potomac Conservancy, which focuses on Washington DC's river, called for new research to determine what was causing male small-mouth bass to carry immature eggs in their testes. "We have not been able to identify one particular chemical or one particular source," said Vicki Blazer, a fish biologist with the US geological survey. "We are still trying to get a handle on what chemicals are important."

But she said early evidence pointed to a mix of chemicals – commonly used at home as well as those used in large-scale farming operations – causing the deformities. The suspect chemicals mimic natural hormones and disrupt the endocrine system, with young fish being particularly susceptible.

The chemicals could include birth control pills and other drugs, toiletries especially those with fragrances, products such as tissues treated with antibacterial agents, or goods treated with flame retardants that find their way into waste water. However, Blazer also pointed to runoff from fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural areas.

Read more: 'Toxic stew' of chemicals causing male fish to carry eggs in testes

Princeton Review Names Drury University as a "Green College" for its Environmental Responsibility Focus

The Princeton Review has named Drury University as a "green" college for its focus on environmental responsibility.

"We are honored to be recognized among the top five percent of universities who have made a strong commitment to sustainability," Dr. Wendy Anderson, director of campus sustainability, said in a news release. "We hope this will put Drury on the radar for students who are interested in a university that values sustainability." Source:  News-Leader

Drury was the only Missouri school to make "The Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges." The guide is a free publication for students looking for a sustainable campus.

CDC Study Finds Link Between Lack of Indoor Plumbing and High Rates of Potentially Life Threatening Diseases in Alaska Village

From the Anchorage Daily News:

A new Centers for Disease Control study shows a strong link between a lack of indoor plumbing and high rates of potentially life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis among children in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

"In villages where there was no in-home running water, the rates for disease were about three times higher than they were than in other villages," said Dr. Jay Wenger, lead author of the study. About 40 percent of households in the region lack water service, which could make it more difficult for people to wash their hands and prevent the spread of bacteria, said Dr. Rosalyn Singleton, immunization program director for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and a contributor to the report.

The region is home to some of the poorest, most crowded households in the state, the study says. The report found Alaska Native children younger than 5 years old in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region are five to 10 times more likely to suffer from a bacterial illness called Invasive Pneumococcal Disease than other Alaska kids.

The disease can lead to a serious form of pneumonia -- a lung infection that makes up the majority of Yukon-Kuskokwim cases -- as well as meningitis and blood infections, Singleton said.

To read the complete article, visit www.adn.com.

NOAA: Global Temps Push Last Month to Hottest March on Record

From NOAA:

The world’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made last month the warmest March on record, according to NOAA. Taken separately, average ocean temperatures were the warmest for any March and the global land surface was the fourth warmest for any March on record. Additionally, the planet has seen the fourth warmest January – March period on record.

The monthly National Climatic Data Center analysis, which is based on records going back to 1880, is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides government, business and community leaders so they can make informed decisions.

Read more:  NOAA: Global Temps Push Last Month to Hottest March on Record