| Inherit the emissions: Industry wants to put climate change on trial In a bid to avoid regulations on the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to put the science of global warming on trial. "It would be evolution versus creationism," the chamber's William Kovacs, senior vice president for environment, technology and regulatory affairs, told the Los Angeles Times . [More] rss.sciam.com |
Cutbacks Will Affect State Park Enthusiasts Padlocked toilets are coming soon to California’s once-fabled state parks. nytimes.com |
Sea Change: Environmental Group Gives First-Time Nod to Sustainable Salmon-Farming Method Farm-raised salmon has long been the poster child of unsustainable aquaculture practices. Issues of escape, pollution and inefficiency have plunged it deeply into the "avoid" territory of environmental groups--until now. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Truffles Serve Up Environmental Info Quality truffles can sell for more than a $1000 a pound. They’re also valuable in environmental research, work that’s discussed in an article called The Hidden Life of Truffles in the April issue of Scientific American magazine, by Oregon State University’s James Trappe and Andrew Claridge, visiting fellow at the University of New South Wales in Australia. [See http://bit.ly/9IDzGF ]Claridge is getting better estimates of Australian endangered species populations, thanks to truffles. Some marsupials are as crazy for truffles as some humans are. Claridge soaked foam pads with olive oil infused with the scent of European black Perigord truffles, and left the pads near motion-sensing cameras. The animals came in droves, with 50 times as many individuals counted as with other techniques. Claridge used the European truffle product because it was easy to get--his team will next see the reaction of native animals to native truffles. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Money Buys Unhappiness “ ’Tis the gift to be simple,” the Shakers sing. Catholic nuns and Buddhist monks take vows of poverty. Why? A new study published online in May in Psychological Science offers a hint. Money--even the thought of it--reduces satisfaction from life’s simple pleasures.Studies have shown that a person’s ability to savor experiences predicts their degree of happiness. Savoring is defined as the emotions of joy, awe, excitement and gratitude derived during an experience. Psychologist Jordi Quoidbach of the University of Liège in Belgium and his colleagues divided 374 adults, ranging from custodians to senior administrators, into two randomly assigned groups. The first group was shown a picture of a stack of money; the control group was shown the same picture blurred beyond recognition. Then the participants were given psychological tests to measure their ability to savor pleasant experiences. The results showed that people who had been shown the money scored significantly lower. [More] Psychology - Belgium - Happiness - Scientific control - Jordi Quoidbach rss.sciam.com |