Cheetahs From Zoo Get Workout at Horse Track

As the world's fastest animals, the big cats can run up to 65 mph and need to get up to speed to burn off metabolic compounds. But the two who live at the Houston Zoo don't have much opportunity to do that. Until now. In early November, an entourage of 10 people took a pair of 5-year-old cheetah brothers to the Sam Houston Race Park.

By Jeanne Goddard

21 December 41 Views

Virgin Develops Jet Fuel With Half the Carbon Footprint of Others

Virgin Atlantic Airways and LanzaTech are developing an aviation fuel that will cut in half the carbon footprint of conventional flights. Instead of using plant stock for the fuel, waste gases are being captured from steel mills. The gases, which would otherwise burn up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, are fermented and chemically converted into jet fuel.

By Jeanne Goddard

13 October 33 Views

Artificial Trees Capture Both Sun and Wind Energy

Using cutting edge materials and proven technology to harvest energy from the sun and wind, SolarBotanic is planning to produce artificial trees that look like real plants, but produce electricity when the wind blows and sun shines.

By Jeanne Goddard

27 November 37 Views

Amazon Forest More Resilient to Climate Change Than Feared

The Amazon rainforest is less vulnerable to die off because of global warming than widely believed because the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide also acts as an airborne fertilizer, a study showed on Wednesday.

By Jeanne Goddard

08 February 36 Views

Retired Parking Meters Raise Funds for Rainforests

Many people would be willing to donate a quarter for wildlife conservation, reckoned Norman Gershenz, a conservation biologist at San Francisco State University.

By Omar J.

19 February 39 Views

Mexico City Roof Gardens Take Root to Combat Smog, Warming

In one of the world's biggest and most polluted cities, rooftop gardens are springing up in an effort to battle the smog, part of an initiative driven by Mexico City's government --mainly targeting schools and hospitals.

By Jeanne Goddard

22 June 39 Views

Sea Lion Pup Jumps on Boat, Cuddles With Driver (WATCH)

While sailing off Newport Beach, California, James Gilkinson and his niece got the surprise of a lifetime when a sea lion cub jumped onto their boat. The young mammal seemed tired but also became quite affectionate, rubbing against the captain and angling for pats on the head for an hour or more.

By Jeanne Goddard

14 June 35 Views

Animal Odd Couples: PBS Features Cross-Species Compassion (WATCH)

According to Dr. Marc Bekoff Ph.D., emotions like joy, love, empathy, compassion, kindness, and grief can readily be shared by improbable friends including predators and prey such as a cat and a bird, a snake and a hamster, and a lioness and a baby oryx.

By Jeanne Goddard

12 November 38 Views

Over 6 Million Acres of New Protected Areas Established in the Amazon

On June 6, 2006 the Brazilian government announced the creation of protected areas of the Amazon rainforest totaling 6.2 million acres, including The Juruena National Park, now the third largest park in Brazil (4.7 million acres).

By Jeanne Goddard

28 June 31 Views

Hidden Borneo Orangutans Provide Population Bump of 5-7 Percent

A team of conservationists have uncovered a hidden population of around 200 of the world's rarest Bornean orangutans in Malaysian Borneo. The Sarawak government has pledged protection.

By Jeanne Goddard

12 April 40 Views

Turkmenistan Begins Planting 3 Million Trees to Transform Desert Nation

A decree recently signed by the Turkmen President ordered government ministries to plant 3 million trees in 2013 with the aim of transforming the desert Central Asian nation into a blooming garden. Radio Free Europe reports that 465,000 public-sector employees, including those working at schools and universities in the country, took shovels in hand on March 10 and spent the day planting 755,000 trees.

By Jeanne Goddard

12 March 34 Views

Harley-Davidson Mobilizes Bikers to Plant 50 Million Trees

Dedicated to the goal of preserving the open road for future generations of riders, Harley-Davidson is mobilizing its riders worldwide to help plant 50 million trees by 2025. The initiative, called Renew the Ride and announced last week, is the latest global mission and call to action for Harley riders.

By Jeanne Goddard

05 November 37 Views

Rarest of Tiny Birds Adapt to Thrive in Surprising New Habitat

With its natural habitat mostly gone, one of North America's rarest songbirds has found a surprising workaround: It's thriving in the industrial pine plantations of the southeastern United States, reports Nat Geo.

By Jeanne Goddard

15 November 36 Views

Ex-NASA Engineer to Plant One Billion Trees a Year Using Drones

A start-up plans to help solve the world's climate problems by using drones to plant forests of seedlings – a billion trees a year.

By Jeanne Goddard

25 April 31 Views

Dyson Award-winner Makes Water Out of Thin Air for Farmers

An Australian designer from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne is the winner of the 2011 James Dyson award for his Airdrop – a low-cost, low-maintenance tecnology for farming in arid areas. Dyson, an Inventor and entrepreneur, said Edward Linacre's invention shows how simple, natural principles such as the condensation of water can be applied to good effect through skilled design and robust engineering.

By Jeanne Goddard

23 November 44 Views