July 29th, 2011

It’s hard to live in Texas this summer and not consider the havoc that climate change has in store for us.

In Dallas, the last 27 days have hit 100 degrees or more. People have abandoned even pools in favor of air conditioning. Longhorn cattle, bred for heat, droop under mesquite trees, and pipes have begun breaking as the cracked earth shifts underneath our streets and homes.
Like an expanding fissure across baked earth, the damage stretches across the state, encompassing the northern plains region, West Texas and the Hill Country.
Texas livestock farmers have sold off herds they cannot risk keeping for longer. Crop farmers cut their losses and stopped irrigating fields because it no longer made financial sense. Corn, hay and other crops have dried up.

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January 13th, 2010

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Endangered jaguars have won a concession from the federal government that could lead to their recovery from the brink of extinction in the United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that it will designate critical habitat for the wild cat, whose population has dwindled in the U.S. to the point where it is unknown how many, if any, remain in the country.

The FWS will propose specific areas for jaguar habitat by January 2011, according to a Federal Register announcement on Tuesday.

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