<p>
	<span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; ">Stressed Aquifers, New Owls Discovered, Citizen Science and the ESA, Underwater Art, Green Olympics, and Other News</span></p>
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		<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}ground-blog480.jpg" style="width: 480px; height: 288px; " /></p>
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		Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/">www.nytimes.com</a>&nbsp;(Gleeson et al., <em>Nature</em>)</p>
	<h2>
		Species Conservation</h2>
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			<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/imperiled-blue-iguanas-on-the-rebound-in-grand-cayman-thanks-to-captive-breeding-program/2012/08/15/8758bba2-e6f7-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html"><strong>B</strong></a><strong><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/imperiled-blue-iguanas-on-the-rebound-in-grand-cayman-thanks-to-captive-breeding-program/2012/08/15/8758bba2-e6f7-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html">lue iguanas</a></strong>&nbsp;are on the rebound through a conservation program in the Cayman islands.</li>
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			Environmental groups in the US have requested that&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/13/local/la-me-great-white-20120813">great white sharks</a></strong> be placed on the Endangered Species list.</li>
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			Conservation groups are fighting to save the endangered <strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19255703">Indian dolphin</a></strong>.</li>
		<li style="text-align: left; ">
			&quot;...Citizens, on average, do a better job of picking species that are threatened than does the Fish and Wildlife Service.&quot; &nbsp;So says an interesting study on <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816141533.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">citizen involvement in the Endangered Species Act</a></strong> out of Emory University.</li>
	</ul>
	<h2>
		Conservation Science</h2>
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		<li>
			The first experiment demonstrating that&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120814213500.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29">losing a key species from a food web can lead to a series of extinctions</a></strong>&nbsp;was performed by researchers at the University of Exeter.</li>
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			<a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/in-fragmented-brazilian-forest-few-species-survive/?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss"><strong>Tropical forest fragments</strong></a>&nbsp;resulting in deforestation are leading to widespread species extinctions, according to a paper from the University of East Anglia.</li>
		<li>
			Protected areas play a key role in allowing species to&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120814213404.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">migrate in response to climate change</a></strong>, according to a study from the University of York.</li>
	</ul>
	<h2>
		Discoveries</h2>
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		<li style="text-align: left; ">
			<strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120817135542.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">Two new species of owl</a></strong> -- Camiguin Hawk-owl and the Cebu Hawk-owl -- were discovered in the Philippines.</li>
	</ul>
	<h2>
		Coral Reefs</h2>
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		<li>
			Can underwater art help to protect coral reefs? &nbsp;An artist in Cancun is attempting to do just that through his <strong><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/world/americas/in-cancun-trying-to-protect-reef-with-underwater-statues.html?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss">Museo Subacuatico de Arte</a></strong>, but scientists have their questions. &nbsp;See <strong><a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/the-art-of-reef-conservation/?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss">video here</a></strong>.</li>
		<li>
			As a scientist in the previous article mentions, the key to protecting coral reefs is improved water quality. &nbsp;A new study <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120819153617.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">backs this up</a></strong>.</li>
	</ul>
	<h2>
		Climate Science</h2>
	<ul>
		<li>
			<strong><a href="http://www.livescience.com/22387-greenland-melting-breaks-record.html">Greenland Ice Sheet</a></strong>&nbsp;is melting at record pace, and <strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19244895">Arctic sea ice</a></strong> is disappearing faster than scientists expected.</li>
		<li>
			<strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120808121920.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29">Species diversity in grasslands</a></strong> is a buffer to drought conditions.</li>
		<li>
			The NYTimes offers a <strong><a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/a-closer-look-at-extreme-drought-in-a-warming-climate/?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss">treasure trove of information</a><a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/a-closer-look-at-extreme-drought-in-a-warming-climate/?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss"> on extreme drought conditions</a></strong> we are seeing in the West and Midwest this year.</li>
		<li>
			A Harvard study has charted the <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120819153741.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">northern migration of Massachusetts butterflies</a></strong> due to a warming climate.</li>
	</ul>
	<h2>
		Water Stewardship</h2>
	<ul>
		<li>
			Scientists have published a fascinating map of <strong><a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/stressed-aquifers-around-the-globe/?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss">stressed aquifers around the globe</a></strong>&nbsp;in <em>Nature.</em></li>
		<li>
			A Brasilian court has <strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19263675">suspended the building of the country&#39;s third largest dam</a></strong> due to lack of consultation with indigenous people groups and concerns about flooding.</li>
		<li>
			The EPA is in the middle of a <strong><a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/cleaning-a-river-that-was-given-up-for-dead/?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss">complex clean-up process</a></strong> of the heavily contaminated Passaic river.</li>
		<li>
			Researchers at Michigan State University look at the complex human-nature interactions that need to be understood in order to solve <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120809141621.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">China -- and the world&#39;s -- water sustainability issues</a></strong>.</li>
	</ul>
	<h2>
		Animal Behavior</h2>
	<ul>
		<li>
			Wasps advertise the <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120819211204.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">size of their poison glands</a></strong>, finds researchers.</li>
		<li>
			Scientists have found <strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19245818">&quot;severe abnormalities&quot; in butterflies</a></strong> exposed to radiation following the Fukushima accident.&nbsp;</li>
	</ul>
	<h2>
		Energy/Sustainability</h2>
	<ul>
		<li>
			An award-winning paper looks at how <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120817203903.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">solar energy can be stored</a></strong> in residential power networks, which would be a big breakthrough for this renewable energy source that are currently &quot;&#39;intermittent, seasonal, and non-dispatchable.&#39;&quot;</li>
		<li>
			Migrating geese seem to be <strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19208400">avoiding wind farms</a></strong>, according to a four-year study of off-shore windfarms in the UK.&nbsp;</li>
		<li>
			A new report finds that the US is the <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120814121119.htm?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">second fastest-growing wind power market</a></strong>, second only to China.</li>
		<li>
			<strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19220847">London Olympics</a></strong> were the &quot;greenest ever.&quot;</li>
	</ul>
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