The ASM Biodiversity Committee stewards the Mammal Diversity Database, an updatable and online database of mammal taxonomic and biodiversity information. This database aims to serve the global scientific community by providing the latest information on species-level and higher taxonomic changes, thereby promoting more rigorous study of mammalian biodiversity worldwide. The initial objective for this online database is to aggregate, curate, and compile new citations on species descriptions and taxonomic revisions into regular releases that are downloadable in comma-delimited format.
Day: February 7, 2018
Biodegradable Plastics: Yes or No?
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
When it comes to “sustainable packaging,” there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It’s important for brand owners, food producers and manufacturers to consider very carefully what packaging format they use and to make an informed decision based on the reality of our current waste management infrastructure and level of public understanding, says Richard McKinlay, head of circular economy at resource recovery specialist Axion. “They also need to understand what actually happens to their materials at end-of-life and what their environmental impact could be.”
The Biblioracle: University presses deserve protection
Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.
Publishing is a difficult business under the best of circumstances. Margins are small, it’s difficult to know what will sell, and even relative blockbusters are unlikely to provide long-term security against downturns.
Publishing is even more difficult when you’re not doing it strictly as a business, when you have a mission not necessarily rooted in profit and loss, but are instead oriented around bringing otherwise unknown or previously hidden knowledge into the public domain.
This is the work of university presses, and this work is under threat.
Powerful new dataset reveals patterns of global ozone pollution
Read the full story at Science Daily.
Although ozone pollution is dropping across many parts of the United States, western Europe and Japan, many people living in those countries still experience more than a dozen days every year in which levels of the lung irritant exceed health-based standards.
That’s one conclusion from a new health assessment based on the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report or TOAR, an effort by the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project to create the world’s most comprehensive database of surface ozone observations from all available ozone monitoring stations around the globe. The paper was published today in the journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.
Need some free images for your academic work / poster / presentation / website? Look no further
Read the full story at LLRX.com. The Biodiversity Heritage Library also is a rich source of open access biological and zoological images.
We all need images for essays, presentations, posters, art-projects, and lots of other reasons, but we don’t necessarily want to pay for them. Neither do we want to break the law by using copyrighted material we aren’t allowed to reproduce. So where do we find them?
Raleigh, NC partners with Simple Recycling for curbside textiles
Read the full story at Waste Dive.
Raleigh, NC is partnering with Simple Recycling to bring curbside collection of textiles to its residents beginning Feb. 20, as reported by ABC 11. Simple Recycling will follow Raleigh’s recycling collection routes.
Despite Progress, Cities Struggle With Ambitious Climate Goals
Read the full story from NPR.
Cities’ climate efforts got a lot of attention after Trump’s Paris announcement. Many of them have actually been working at reducing emissions for years. But measuring progress on all those goals can be tough, and critics say much more needs to be done to help avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
From Scraps To Snacks: Pulp Left Over From Juice Bars Is Reborn In New Foods
Read the full story from NPR.
Cold-pressed juice fills refrigerator cases at juice bars, health food shops, even big box stores – especially at the beginning of the year, when people are trying to “cleanse” after holiday excess. Fans of these elixirs, extracted at high pressure and low temperatures, believe they contain more nutrients and enzymes than conventional juices; they now generate $500 million in sales worldwide each year.
But what happens to all the parts of the fruits and vegetables that are left over after juicing? Once thrown out as compost, that fiber is now sneaking its way into snacks, breakfast foods and even burgers.
Normal could pass recycling mandates next month
Read the full story in the Pantagraph.
As the Normal City Council considers a new, 20-year McLean County solid waste plan, officials are working on included recycling mandates that proved contentious when the plan was passed by the County Board last month.
The council could approve the plan when it meets Monday, then pass two related ordinances next month: one requiring recycling of construction and demolition waste, and a second making landlords offer recycling services to renters at multifamily facilities, said Normal City Manager Mark Peterson.
The Lego Group Joins How2Recycle for Clearer Toy Packaging Recycling
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
The Lego Group has joined the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s How2Recycle program, announcing plans to begin labeling the toy packaging for US consumers this year.
By the end of 2018, Lego says that more than 60% of the company’s new toy boxes will have the How2Recycle label. The Lego Group plans to extend the labeling to nearly all of its North American products next year.
Environmental News Bits 