Environment
Porpoises Return to San Francisco Bay
Harbor porpoises haven’t been seen in San Francisco Bay for more than 60 years. Now, they’re returning in growing numbers and researchers are working to understand why.
Audio Report on Dec 02, 2011 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Iron Mining Controversy in Northern Wisconsin
A pristine area in Northern Wisconsin next to Lake Superior, much prized for its clean water and wilderness, is also home to 25 percent of the country’s iron ore reserves, a commercial value of $200 billion.
Post on Dec 02, 2011 by Adam Schrager from QUEST Wisconsin
Bay Area Tides
The daily tides are the Bay's way of breathing, from its windpipe at the Golden Gate to its lungs, the wetlands from the Delta to the coast.
Post on Dec 01, 2011 by Andrew Alden from QUEST Northern California
USGS at the Forefront of Saving Bats From White-Nose Syndrome (WNS)
In the winter of 2007, residents of New York State began finding dead bats in their yards. Since then it’s estimated that more than a million bats have died from white-nose syndrome, a fuzzy white fungus that grows on their noses and wings.
Post on Dec 01, 2011 by Dr. Kimberli MIller from QUEST Wisconsin
Post on Nov 29, 2011 by David McGuire from QUEST Northern California
What’s So “Smart” About a Smart Home?
SmartHome Cleveland was designed to create a vision for sustainable technologies and practices that are available right now to people who are thinking about building or renovating their homes.
Post on Nov 28, 2011 by George Viebranz from QUEST Ohio
Science on the SPOT: National Wildlife Health Center Investigates
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center investigates animal die-offs and threats to endangered species through on-site investigation and necropsies–animal autopsy–at its headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
Video on Nov 23, 2011 by Andy Soth from QUEST Wisconsin
New Research into Disappearing Bees
In 2006, the world learned that honeybees in America and Canada were dying in large numbers, and hives were becoming defunct. Five years later, what have scientists learned about the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder?
Video on Nov 22, 2011 by Spencer Michels from QUEST Northern California
You Say Sweet Potato, I Say New World
As you fill your grocery cart with food for Thanksgiving, pause for a minute and think about where that food came from. I don’t mean is it local or organic or hormone/pesticide /gluten-free—I mean is it Old World or New World? On what continent did that food evolve?
Post on Nov 21, 2011 by Jennifer Skene from QUEST Northern California
Is High-Speed Rail Grinding to a Halt?
In 2008, high speed rail seemed like a game changer, the kind of "Big Idea" that California is famous for. But three years later, the plan is in serious trouble.
Audio Report on Nov 18, 2011 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
The Season of the Gray Whale
One of the more remarkable migrations among marine animals occurs each year right outside the Golden Gate.
Post on Nov 17, 2011 by David McGuire from QUEST Northern California
Your Photos on QUEST: Mike Forsberg
Mike Forsberg, a nationally renowned photographer, conservationist, and author from Nebraska, spent four years traveling 100,000 miles across the Great Plains—from North Dakota to Texas—to create a portrait of under-appreciated species and habitats of what many consider “flyover country.”
Video on Nov 08, 2011 by Gary Hochman from QUEST Nebraska
The Night Sky: Past and Present
For more than 150 years, scientists have captured images of celestial objects scattered across the night sky. The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in North Carolina is attempting to save those historical records before they vanish into a black hole.
Video on Nov 08, 2011 by David Huppert from QUEST North Carolina
Saving Daylight and Energy
In the wee hours of Sunday morning, the little hand on the clock ticked backwards one hour and Daylight Saving Time ended—along with energy savings.
Post on Nov 07, 2011 by Jennifer Skene from QUEST Northern California
Update on the Salt Creek Tiger Beetles: Q & A with Stephen Spomer
Steve Spomer has been involved in Salt Creek Tiger Beetle research for more than two decades. Spomer is now working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a capture and recovery program to save the species.
Post on Nov 02, 2011 by Perry Stoner from QUEST Nebraska
Sharktober Continues in November
To sharks, it's still Sharktober. Weather permitting, we will continue our expeditions through SF Bay Whale Watching over the next few weekends looking for turtles and sharks.
Post on Nov 02, 2011 by David McGuire from QUEST Northern California
Scientists Work to Measure, Understand Jersey Jellyfish Explosion
New Jersey scientists study proliferating populations of sea nettles, which have made some waters un-swimmable.
Post on Nov 02, 2011 by Carolyn Beeler from QUEST Philadelphia
Asian Carp, an "Alien" Threat to Lake Erie
Lake Erie is considered to be the most productive of all five of the Great Lakes.Within its waters are diverse and interdependent plants and animals that make up an intricate web of life. Mostly due to human carelessness, the lake has become home to an increasing number of non-native plants, animals, and micro-organisms which threaten [...]
Post on Nov 01, 2011 by Toivo Motter from QUEST Ohio
Invasive Species on the Move: the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins
Rivers and streams have created pathways along the dividing line between the Great Lakes basin and the Mississippi River basin. These portals could allow water and aquatic nuisance species to move from one basin into the other, endangering the health of both water systems.
Post on Nov 01, 2011 by Donna Crane from QUEST Wisconsin
Collecting "Environmental DNA" (eDNA) in the Fight Against Invasive Species
Scientists from federal and state agencies are regularly collecting samples of the water in the Chicago Area Waterway System looking for DNA cells that have been shed by Asian carp. Finding this environmental DNA (eDNA) would indicate the invasive species is present in the area.
Slideshow on Nov 01, 2011 by Donna Crane from QUEST Wisconsin
