Illegal logging, the bushmeat trade, mining, the charcoal trade and a new strain of the Ebola virus could drive gorillas into extinction in central Africa in as little as 15 years, according to a new report from the U.N. and Interpol.

Three of the four gorilla subspecies are already considered critically endangered, and the fourth is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

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Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids has come on strong over the past year or so, pushed relentlessly by carmakers promoting a newer, greener generation of transportation. As the Chevy Volt , Ford Transit Connect Electric , Nissan Leaf and others trickle out into the marketplace over the next year, it’s clear that they will go only as far as their lithium ion batteries can take them (which right now isn’t all that far). [More]

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Dear EarthTalk: Some time ago there were issues with Native American tribes storing nuclear waste on their land, something that was both unhealthy to the communities and caused considerable controversy among tribal leaders. Where is this issue today? –M. Spenser, via e-mail

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If you ask the average person whether in the long run it is climate change or an asteroid/comet impact that’s expected to kill more people annually, you’ll undoubtedly get some confused replies. Those asteroid movies are scary, but there are no verified instances of an asteroid strike killing any humans, are there? Meanwhile, the science of climate change is currently being overshadowed by a media-driven public debate , mainly in the U.S. [More]

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These super-sized ears and handsome face belong to Dillon, a 9 year old Doberman/Pointer cross who would love an active home with a large garden and lots of lovely walks. Dillon has an excellent temperament, is good with kids and people generally and gets on well with other dogs. Above all, he is a very soft and affectionate dog … he’s irresistible!

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Workers who apply certain pesticides to farm fields are twice as likely to contract melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, according to a new scientific study. [More]

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Is your family short of a playmate? If so, then Madge could be just perfect for you – she gets on well with everyone, including other dogs and is still full of fun – she doesn’t act her age at all and would love to show her new family that there’s life in the old girl yet!

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Even as scientists and politicians from around the world debated in December how to deal with a practical problem of profound importance–global climate change–another international group of physicists was waiting with bated breath for a more esoteric development. In both cases, at the conclusion of events, the participants were left salivating and unsatisfied.

The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment, located in the deep Soudan mine in Minnesota, is designed to directly detect new elementary particles that might make up the dark matter known to dominate our galaxy. In early December rumors started circulating that the CDMS experiment might actually have seen a signal.

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Whatever your opinion on the healthcare bill recently passed by Congress and signed by President Obama, the passage of it has at least allowed discussions on other important topics to resurface. Topics like energy reform. Details of the Kerry-Grahm-Lieberman energy reform bill have started leaking out. Among the topics that stuck out: a new gas tax.

The details don’t make clear how much this new gas tax would be, but it would likely be linked to the carbon content of the fuel. A higher gas tax has been bandied about for decades, and has always shot down rather quickly. The Fed’s collect 18.4 cents per gallon, while the average state gas tax is about 27 cents. So 45 cents of every gallon already goes to either the Feds or the state, and while it may sound like a lot, in actuality it is amongst the lowest tax rates on fuel in the world. How much higher should it go?

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Comfort is a 14 year old GSD and hopes that there is someone out there who will fall for her. She’s such a sweet soul and just wants someone to love who will love her back for the rest of her days.

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Sadly, Millie and Lily have been in kennels for 2 years after being found dumped in the middle of a dual carriageway. They are both absolutely beautiful dogs who are now struggling with kennel life, but they have hearts of gold and just want to be loved. Please read their stories and maybe give them a chance to enjoy a full, loving home life they so deserve.

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Ford Motor Co. was in New York City on Tuesday (in anticipation of the upcoming International Auto Show that starts later this week) to show off its first attempt to go gas-free–the Transit Connect Electric .  Scientific American went for a spin in the all-electric compact van (about the size of a minivan but with much more headroom) on the rain-slicked streets of New York to get some idea of what the vehicle looks, sounds and feels like. [More]

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Industry standards and innovation took center stage at MIX10, as Microsoft Corp. made a series of announcements that underscore the company’s commitment to interoperability and performance on the Web. Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer at Microsoft, unveiled the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview including expanded support for HTML5, hardware-accelerated graphics and text, and a new JavaScript engine. Together these allow developers to use the same markup and deliver graphically and functionally rich Web applications that take advantage of modern PC hardware through a modern operating system.

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In 1983, a Columbia University undergraduate named Barack Obama wrote an article, “Breaking the War Mentality,” for the school publication Sundial. Obama expressed the hope that someday humanity would abolish nuclear weapons and create a “nuclear free world.” Obama never abandoned that dream. The Nobel Foundation awarded him its Peace Prize last December in large part because of his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.” [More]

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First Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson warned in September 2009 that reform of chemical regulations was coming and that bisphenol A, or BPA–a building block of many plastics–was among those that might be due for enhanced scrutiny. Then the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it had concerns about BPA and would conduct further testing of its safety in January. Now the EPA has made it official by designating BPA as a "chemical of concern" for its human health and environmental impacts. [More]

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Microsoft Corp. today brightens your video calls with TrueColor Technology, a groundbreaking new image processing technology that provides superior color and brightness in even the worst lighting conditions. TrueColor Technology automatically adjusts the picture quality to provide a more colorful video whether out on the porch with bright sunshine in the morning or in the living room with low light in the evening. This technology will be available in three new webcams launching today, the LifeCam HD-5000, LifeCam HD-5001 and LifeCam HD-6000 for Notebooks. These LifeCams will also feature 720p HD sensors and Auto Focus technology at a value price. In addition, TrueColor will be available with the recently launched LifeCam Cinema through a software update.

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Microsoft Corp. today announced new investments around desktop virtualization technologies and solutions, including virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), to help organizations of all sizes increase flexibility, employee productivity and IT cost savings. During a webcast at 9 a.m. PDT, the company will detail new technologies, simplified licensing models and an alliance with Citrix Systems Inc., furthering its virtualization strategy from the desktop to the datacenter.

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Only 8 percent of respondents believe their utility has a technology architecture that is adequate to support new business processes and new technologies. To fund all of these investments, 77 percent of respondents expect their budgets for smart grid technologies to increase over the next two to three years.

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DISH, Tex.–A satellite broadcasting company bought the rights to rename this town a few years ago in exchange for a decade of free television, but it is another industry that dominates the 200 or so residents: natural gas. Five facilities perched on the north Texas town ‘s outskirts compress the gas newly flowing to the surface from the cracked Barnett Shale more than two kilometers beneath the surface, collectively contributing a brew of toxic chemicals to the air. [More]

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The Great Exhibition of 2010 was held at London’s La Scala nightclub,
with over a thousand costumed attendees. Have a look at the
BBC video which won’t embed – lots of the stuff we are familiar
with through such luminaries as gmjhowe, but other, less traditional
imagery as well, especially in som…
By: Kiteman

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No turtle protections, no shrimp. That’s the word from the U.S. Department of State, which ruled on Thursday to ban imports of wild-caught Mexican shrimp if they are collected in ways that threaten endangered sea turtles . The ban does not include aquacultural shrimp or those caught in shallow waters. [More]

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