Having frequently pedaled his bike over the Gowanus Canal's bridges in Brooklyn, Ludger Batan was familar with it's sticky green tint,oil-slicked surface and rotten-egg smell. Then, one day eight years ago, he looked into the canal and saw a school of striped bass chasing minnows. Soon he was putting his diving gear and jumping in. He wanted to demystify urban waters like the Gowanus to change from environments that are ignored to those that are protected and loved.

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I was first introduced to this concept in a story about an island community whose economy relied almost entirely on the capture and export of seahorses for use in novelty items in foreign markets. Over fishing have resulted in increasingly diminishing catches and increasing levels of poverty and desperation. However, once they set aside a reserve for the seahorses, an area they determined to be an ideal breeding ground, from which the community agreed never to fish, the seahorse populations steadily rose.  read more »

Seek wisdom over knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future.
Lumbee

As our cultural trends yearn towards the ideals of "green," "sustainability" and "eco-consciousness," be it out of a sense of necessity or a sense of responsibility. It amuses me the see how much our goals seem to strive towards old wisdoms of the indigenous cultures. I believe, if nothing else, a basic re-introduction to the culture and beliefs of the Native Americans would provide strength to the journey and light to the path we take towards these trendy goals, hopefully helping them to endure.  read more »

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges United States and China, the two largest polluters, to do more to decrease their impact on global warming. He said, "Only urgent, global action will do."

According to the U.N. panel of scientists, whose latest report is a
synthesis of three previous ones, enough carbon dioxide already has built up to imperil islands, coastlines and one-fifth to two-thirds of the world's species.  read more »

Ever have questions about environmental or health issues? Ever wish you could speak with a top environmental official? Believe it or not, now you can. Earlier this month the EPA launched an online forum named Ask EPA. The forum is a series of live chat sessions to which you can submit questions up to two days in advance or even during the live chat.

You can submit questions or sign up for alerts on upcomging speakers and topics at the Ask EPA website