TIGERS FOR RENT: The Year of the Tiger officially begins Feb. 14, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, but it's already under way for conservationists trying to save the big cats from extinction. A three-day conference opens Wednesday in Thailand, hosting officials from 13 Asian countries in hopes of figuring out ways to protect the region's dwindling tiger population. Wild tigers are dying out virtually everywhere they still live, but the crisis is worst in Southeast Asia, says the WWF, largely because tiger bones are in high demand for Chinese medicine and because deforestation is whittling away their habitat. The region's tiger population has fallen from 1,200 in 1998 to about 350 today, and conservationists say governments must step in and do something. But they don't mean anything, and many are in an uproar over a new plan proposed by Indonesia: renting out tigers to millionaires. The country only has 400 Sumatran tigers left, and says rentable tigers could curb illegal hunting and trade in the endangered animals. "There are many orders from rich people who want them, who feel if they own a tiger they are a big shot," explains one Indonesian official. "We have to take concrete steps to protect these animals." Tiger rentals would cost $107,000, and would include three monthly checkups by vets and other officials, but critics say it's just a distraction. "It shows the government is not serious about addressing the real issues threatening Sumatran tigers," says a Greenpeace forest campaigner. "They need to stop issuing forest concessions [to logging companies]." (Sources: Agence France-Presse, MSNBC)

 

TURBINE SPRAWL: Recession schmecession — the U.S. wind power industry exploded in 2009, the NY Times reports, adding 9,900 new megawatts of generating capacity for a growth spurt of 39 percent. The announcement is part of the American Wind Energy Association's annual report, which it releases today, and comes despite stingy credit markets and a festering recession that many feared would clamp down on such clean-energy investments. The turbine boom beats even the wind industry's banner year of 2008, when it grew by 18 percent, and means wind power is now close to supplying 2 percent of the country's electricity — a seemingly small chunk, but up from nearly nothing a few years ago. The news comes on the heels of a recent study suggesting wind power could meet 20 percent of the U.S. East Coast's electricity needs, and as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is deciding whether to approve Cape Wind, a large offshore wind farm in Cape Cod. The AWEA says federal stimulus funding played a major role in last year's growth, but adds that much was also likely a carryover from 2008, and cautions that it probably can't keep this pace up for long. (Source: New York Times)

 

JUST SAY NO2: For the first time in four decades, the EPA updated its federal health standard for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a byproduct of burning fossil fuels that often hangs in the air near major roads and power plants. The agency says the move will protect public health by slashing levels of NO2, which has been linked to lung disease, respiratory infections and aggravation of existing conditions like asthma. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set nationwide standards for NO2 and then periodically review them over time, but while agency officials reviewed the original standard twice since 1971, they never actually updated it until now. The new rule sets a one-hour NO2 limit of 100 parts per billion, and also calls for new monitoring systems to keep tabs on concentrations near busy roadways. "This new one-hour standard is designed to protect the air we breathe and reduce health threats for millions of Americans," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Monday. "For the first time ever, we are working to prevent short-term exposures in high-risk NO2 zones like urban communities and areas near roadways." (Source: Scientific American)

 

RANTIN' AND RAVEN: Crows not only can recognize individual human faces, but they can hold a grudge against you for years, a new study shows. Field biologists have long noticed that wild crows seem to remember them from past experiences of being captured for ID tagging — swooping, attacking and "scolding" any offending biologist who returns for more — but they don't bother biologists they've never met, and it's never been clear how exactly they tell the difference. To find out, researchers from the University of Washington wore a rubber caveman mask while capturing and tagging wild American crows, then sent various other people to approach the crows wearing the same mask. The crows attacked anyone wearing the caveman mask, and when the researchers upped the ante by making plaster casts of real people's faces, the crows continued accosting anyone wearing the mask of someone who'd captured them in the past. "We may think they are just bystanders minding their own business, but we are their business," an evolutionary ecologist tells New Scientist. "It's likely that they're incredibly perceptive of the dog and cat components of their environment, as well." (Source: New Scientist)

 

FUR AND BALANCED: Animal-rights protestors should be careful before throwing red paint onto a debutante's fur coat — she could be wearing eco-friendly nutria fur. Fashion designers such as Billy Reid and Oscar de la Renta have begun embracing the often-overlooked pelts of these invasive water rats, taking part in a growing effort that even included a nutria-fur design competition on Jan. 8. Nutria were introduced to Louisiana fur farms in the 1930s from their native Argentina, but quickly escaped and began running rampant in the bayou. They've since destroyed thousands of acres of wetlands by devouring the roots of plants, making it difficult for them to regenerate and leaving the soil prone to erosion. The demand for their fur faded in the '80s, leaving Louisiana with a growing nutria epidemic that's defied previous control tactics, including several attempts to promote recipes involving nutria meat. But since it was their soft, supple fur that brought nutria there in the first place, many are now hoping it can also help keep them in check. (Source: Discoblog)

 

— Russell McLendon