credit: Agência Brasil

If Florida lawmakers lift a two-decades ban on offshore drilling, the associated seismic testing could harm the state's $6 billion fishing industry, according to researchers, including Felicia Coleman (2000), at an energy symposium at Florida State University. The testing uses giant air guns, which could drown out and disrupt game fish communication, Coleman said.

The Southwest U.S. dries out when Greenland warms and gets wet when Greenland cools, according to a new study of stalagmite cores co-authored by Julia Cole (2008) and her graduate student Jennifer Wagner. Predicted warming in Greenland means the Southwest can expect drying in the future, posing a huge problem for its growing population.

credit: Nataraj Metz (license)

Red grouper excavate holes in the limestone sea floor filled in by sediment, providing habitats for corals, sponges, lobster, shrimp, snapper, and other species, according to a new study led by Felicia Coleman (2000) and co-authored by Selena Heppell (2006). Susan Williams (2000), who collaborated with Coleman previously, called the groupers "'Frank Lloyd Wrights' of the sea floor", saying that "if the groupers are overfished, the suite of species that depends on them is likely to suffer."

Margaret Palmer (2001) explored the implications of mountaintop mining for the environment and society with Stephen Colbert, host of the Colbert Report, on Monday night.

Housing built near protected lands harms wildlife over a much larger area than previously thought, finds a study co-authored by Volker Radeloff (2005). Impacts include light pollution that disrupts animals' nighttime vision and house pets and garden plants that overrun native species. They also expect the rate of new construction to rise faster closer to conserved areas than further away. See more coverage from EurekAlert and Fox station KQDS.

Mountaintop mining in Appalachia has destroyed 1,500 miles of streams and increased rates of lung cancer and chronic diseases in local communities, according to a study led by Margaret Palmer (2001). Given the severity of the impacts, the authors took the unusual step of recommending the federal government halt such mining.