GORILLA WARFARE: Despite years of armed conflict among the area's humans, endangered mountain gorillas in the Congolese jungle have fared relatively well. There are still startlingly few of them, and those remaining face threats of poaching and deforestation, but pockets of them — such as those in Virunga National Park — have actually seen slight population growth amid all the armed conflict. The New York Times reports today from Bukima, Congo, that the gorillas' persistence in this stretch of forest, and researchers' ability to return and document it, may be a sign that things are getting better there in general. Former enemies Rwanda and Congo have now teamed up against rebel insurgents, suggesting a fragile peace is settling over the jungle. Still, the NYT deftly puts that tranquility — as well as our shared primate nature — into perspective, mentioning a territorial battle that's beginning to emerge among two gorilla families. (Sources: Year of the Gorilla, BBC, NY Times)

 

UNWAIVERING: President Obama on Tuesday officially took on his predecessor's softening of the Endangered Species Act, issuing a memorandum instructing the Interior and Commerce departments to review President Bush's rule change. At issue is whether federal agencies must seek scientists' advice about what effects their projects could have on endangered plants and animals — common practice for decades that was undone by a waiver from the Bush administration on Dec. 16. While the rule is under review, however, Obama instructed officials to "follow the prior longstanding consultation and concurrence practices." (Source: Washington Post)

 

RUNNING ON FUMES: Speaking of endangered species, USA Today reports this morning that American automakers sold half as many cars in February as they did a year ago, worsening an already troubling trend for the beleaguered industry. Looking at the bigger picture, the Washington Post reports about the difficult task Obama faces in trying to both revive the flatlining automakers and trying to enact tougher fuel-effiency standards. Taking a harder line against tailpipe emissions and fuel economy could make his already-daunting rescue efforts even more costly and complicated. Still, as Obama argues, such stricter rules should make the companies more viable in the long term, as long as they can swallow the initial pill. (Sources: Washington Post, USA Today)

 

L.A. FITNESS: Two dark horses sit near the top of the EPA's list of the most energy-efficient cities, which the agency released Tuesday. Los Angeles is No. 1, meaning the EPA awarded the nation's highest number of Energy Star ratings to buildings in that city last year, and Houston is No. 3, sandwiching a perhaps more predictable candidate, San Francisco, at No. 2. L.A. and Houston aren't normally named among the greenest U.S. cities, but they benefitted from 2008's dramatic expansion of the Energy Star program, which certified 3,300 buildings, up 130 percent from 2007. That saved $1.1 billion in energy costs and cut 7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA says. (Sources: EPA, Los Angeles Times, USA Today)

 

SHALLOW GENE POOL: Like a cruel joke on species that are already backed against the ledge of extinction, smaller populations are often plagued by inbreeding, which only further hampers their survival. A recent study demonstrated that inbreeding has led to weaker sperm among several endangered species, including the Florida panther, Asiatic lion and cheetah. One ray of hope may lie in proposals to create sperm banks to preserve the genetic diversity of such rapidly declining species. (Source: New Scientist)

 

THUNDERSNOW: Several times last Sunday in Atlanta, as an uncharacteristic torrent of snowflakes streamed onto the city, I distinctly heard the slow rumble of thunder. National Geographic took notice, too, and reports on this rare phenomenon, known as "thundersnow." It's so rare because of the rigidly specific conditions necessary — essentially, a summer-style thunderstorm must suddenly find itself in freezing weather while also being layered beneath even colder masses of air. Last week's thundersnow, which was reported in parts of Georgia and South Carolina, was also accompanied by heavy snowfall, a common attribute of these types of storms. (Source: National Geographic)

 

PAPUA KNOWS BEST: Tree kangaroos — which reportedly look like a cross between "a bear, kangaroo, koala and monkey" — and several other endangered species will have a new 187,000-acre sanctuary, thanks to a deal between the Papua New Guinea government and two U.S. conservation groups. Long criticized for ignoring environmental issues, Papua New Guinea is transforming its image into a responsible steward of its vast natural bounty, aiming to reverse years of ambivalence that caused nearly a quarter of its rain forest to be damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002. (Sources: WAZA, Associated Press)