ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Fundamental steps needed now in global redesign of Earth system governance, experts say
• Past in monsoon changes linked to major shifts in Indian civilizations
• Highly exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives
• Live cells 'printed' using standard inkjet printer
• Glacier-fed river systems threatened by climate change
• Increase in Arctic shipping is risk to marine mammals
• Early spring drives butterfly population declines: 'Ahead-of-time' snowmelt triggers chains of events in the Mormon Fritillary butterfly
• Lyme disease surge predicted for Northeastern US: Due to acorns and mice, not mild winter
• Australian saltwater crocodiles are world’s most powerful biters
• European grasslands challenge rainforests as the most species-rich spaces on Earth
• Deprived of sex, jilted flies drink more alcohol

Fundamental steps needed now in global redesign of Earth system governance, experts say Posted: 16 Mar 2012 04:53 PM PDT Some 32 social scientists and researchers from around the world have concluded that fundamental reforms of global environmental governance are needed to avoid dangerous changes in the Earth system. The scientists argued in the journal Science that the time is now for a "constitutional moment" in world politics.

Past in monsoon changes linked to major shifts in Indian civilizations Posted: 16 Mar 2012 11:58 AM PDT A fundamental shift in the Indian monsoon has occurred over the last few millennia, from a steady humid monsoon that favored lush vegetation to extended periods of drought, researchers report. Their study has implications for our understanding of the monsoon's response to climate change.

Highly exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:26 AM PDT Many environmental and public health officials are concerned about the potential health effects of phthalates, which are common chemicals used to make plastics softer and more pliable. In the first study to examine what effect in utero doses of phthalates have on the reproductive system of mice, toxicologists found that extremely high doses were associated with significant changes, such as a shortened reproductive lifespan and abnormal cell growth in mammary glands.

Live cells 'printed' using standard inkjet printer Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:26 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to create temporary holes in the membranes of live cells using a standard inkjet printer. Creating temporary pores allow researchers to put molecules inside of cells that wouldn't otherwise fit, and study how the cells react.

Glacier-fed river systems threatened by climate change Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:26 AM PDT As glaciers vanish due to global warming, so will those species dependent upon the icy runoff.

Increase in Arctic shipping is risk to marine mammals Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:25 AM PDT A rapid increase in shipping in the formerly ice-choked waterways of the Arctic poses a significant increase in risk to the region's marine mammals and the local communities that rely on them for food security and cultural identity, according to experts.

Early spring drives butterfly population declines: 'Ahead-of-time' snowmelt triggers chains of events in the Mormon Fritillary butterfly Posted: 16 Mar 2012 07:16 AM PDT Early snowmelt caused by climate change in the Colorado Rocky Mountains snowballs into two chains of events: a decrease in the number of flowers, which, in turn, decreases available nectar. The result is decline in a population of the Mormon Fritillary butterfly, Speyeria mormonia.

Lyme disease surge predicted for Northeastern US: Due to acorns and mice, not mild winter Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:44 AM PDT The northeastern US should prepare for a surge in Lyme disease this spring. And we can blame fluctuations in acorns and mouse populations, not the mild winter.

Australian saltwater crocodiles are world’s most powerful biters Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:34 AM PDT Marine biologists have been pondering a particularly painful-sounding question: How hard do alligators and crocodiles bite? The answer is a bite force value of 3,700 pounds for a 17-foot saltwater crocodile (as well as tooth pressures of 350,000 pounds per square inch). That's the highest bite force ever recorded.

European grasslands challenge rainforests as the most species-rich spaces on Earth Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:57 PM PDT The city of Manila holds the human world record for the most densely populated space and now an international team of ecologists are seeking the natural equivalent, the most species rich area on earth. The team's findings reveal the record is contested between South America's tropical rainforests and Central European meadows.

Deprived of sex, jilted flies drink more alcohol Posted: 15 Mar 2012 11:50 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that a tiny molecule in the fly's brain called neuropeptide F governs this behavior—as the levels of the molecule change in their brains, the flies' behavior changes as well.

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