MNN - Mother Nature Network

WING AND A PRAYER: America's birds are in serious trouble, according to a sweeping report released Thursday by the U.S. Interior Department, which found that nearly a third of the nation's 800 bird species are either endangered, threatened or in significant decline. "The State of the Birds" is the most comprehensive check-up on the continent's avian populations ever conducted, collecting data from thousands of professional and citizen scientists spanning 40 years. It blames habitat loss, pollution and invasive species for much of the problem, but stands out especially for its emphasis on climate change as a factor. "This report is a clarion call to action," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, adding that "we are seeing disturbing downward population trends that should set off environmental alarm bells." The report, summarized in this video, found that U.S. grassland birds fell by 40 percent, arid-region birds by 30 percent and sea birds by 39 percent. Nowhere, however, is the situation more dire than in Hawaii — nearly all the state's birds are in decline, such as the pilala, which lives only on the slopes of Mauna Kea and has dropped from 6,600 birds in 2003 to 2,200 last year. The Hawaiian islands have seen 71 bird species disappear since humans arrived, and at least 10 more haven't been seen for 40 years. Still, the DOI report strikes a positive tone, noting past successes at saving bald eagles and peregrine falcons from DDT as proof that conservation can work. (Sources: stateofthebirds.org, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Scientific American, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle)

 

NEST MESS: One U.S. bird that isn't dying out is the monk parakeet, a small, green exotic species that has flourished in Connecticut and nearby states since being introduced to the region from South America. The parakeets wouldn't be a problem if they weren't so determined to build monumental nests on electrical poles — their constructions, which can weigh up to 440 pounds and house about 20 pairs of birds, have caused power failures and electrical fires. But some animal-rights activists are fighting utility companies' tactic of killing the birds; the companies say they have little other choice, since the birds just keep building more huge nests after workers tear them down. (Source: New York Times)

 

DRIVING FORCE: President Obama took some guff for jetting to California to appear on The Tonight Show while so many crises loom, but he made efficient use of the trip by also visiting an electric-car testing center in Pomona, where he launched a $2.4 billion program to boost development of plug-in electric vehicles. The recent stimulus package already set aside $2 billion to spark electric-vehicle innovation, and the Department of Energy is also offering another $400 million to help build and test the infrastructure plug-in cars will need. The DOE is now taking grant proposals, Obama announced. "Show us that your idea or your company is best-suited to meet America's challenges, and we will give you a chance to prove it." (Sources: Huffington Post, CNET News) 

 

CONFIRMED: The U.S. Senate voted unanimously Thursday to approve two prominent members of the Obama administration's science team — John Holdren is now Obama's top science advisor and Oregon State marine biologist Jane Lubchenco is now administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is responsible for a big chunk of U.S. climate-change research, as well as weather forecasting and commercial-fishing regulation. As many of Obama's science appointees have done, Lubchenco promised to make science, not policy, her agency's compass, and also pledged to help create jobs in coastal areas. In addition to being the first marine scientist to head NOAA, Lubchenco is also the agency's first female chief. (Sources: Los Angeles Times, NY Times, AP)

 

GREEN THUMBS AT WHITE HOUSE: First Lady Michelle Obama breaks ground today on a new South Lawn garden that will provide food for the White House kitchen, the first such garden at the president's residence since Eleanor Roosevelt's WWII victory garden. In addition to filling the First Stomach, the 1,100-square-foot plot will also serve as a sort of teaching garden, with 23 fifth graders from a local Washington school helping tend the vegetables during the growing season and helping harvest them later this year. And, as MNN food blogger Robin Shreeves mentioned yesterday, the garden will officially be organic. (Sources: Huffington Post, NY Times)

 

— Russell McLendon