A dramatic increase in the horseshoe crab threatens not only the crabs themselves, but also migratory shorebirds who depend upon their eggs for survival, reports the US National Audubon Society. Horseshoe crabs are used as bait in eel and conch fisheries. The pharmaceutical industry uses them for a substance in their blood that is used in the production of sensitive medical diagnostic testing kits. They also provide food, in the form of their eggs, for migratory shorebirds.

Delaware Bay is the largest migratory shorebird stopover in the lower 48 states. While the fishing industry is lobbying to limit regulations on the horseshoe crab fishery, some states in the crab's range, which extends from Maine to Florida, are passing legislation aimed at preserving crab and shorebird populations. The states of Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware have passed legislation in recent years that curbs the previously unregulated horseshoe crab fishery. The legislation came when thereported landings increased upwards of 10-fold in the 1990s.

Kangaroo harvests defended

Harvesting of wildlife for human use is a controversial topic and inspires considerable passion and debate both for and against. In the fight for the hearts and minds of meat-eating Australians, proponents of kangaroo harvesting have released a report arguing that there are legitimate scientific, economic and ecological benefits to the utilisation of wildlife--specifically kangaroo--as a resource. Dr David Freudenberger, a scientist at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and a kangaroo ecologist who has spent decades studying the grazing impact of kangaroos and sheep on Australia's vast arid rangelands, says that by integrating the kangaroo industry into Australia's grazing activities, wildlife managers can ensure the survival of kangaroos, reduce economic pressure on the sheep and cattle industry and reduce the risk of rangeland degradation. The kangaroo industrycurrently processes more than three million animals a year. It generates $200 million a year in income and employs in excess of 4,000 people.

End sought to wetlands plan

The permit programme that allows land developers to fill wetlands for commercial and residential developments in the US ought to be scrapped until further research is done to determine the full impact of wetlands loss, say US environmental activists. The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed changes to the Nationwide Permit 26 programme in an attempt to curb the adverse impact it has on wetlands and the aquatic environment.

However, the proposed changes will cause even more wetlands loss and are in violation of the Clean Water Act, says Laurie Martin, a conservation associate with the Izaak Walton League of America. ``Everyone's help is needed in telling the Army Corps of Engineers that its new replacement programme for Nationwide Permit 26 is not only unacceptable, but that it violates the Clean Water Act,'' she says. Under theproposed programme to replace Nationwide Permit 26, selected activities can be undertaken without public review or a permit. These activities may destroy up to one, two, three or 10 acres of non-tidal wetlands at a time. Martin says that the Clean Water Act is allegedly violated because the proposed programme does not limit adverse impacts and does not limit permitted activities either in scope or to actions that are similar in nature. Activities exempted from individual or public review include master plan developments, storm water management facilities, residential and commercial development, mining and low-impact recreational facilities.

Beetles threaten US industry

MANY of America's ornamental trees and the maple syrup, lumber and tourism industries are threatened by an invasion of the Asian long-horned wood-boring beetles, according to a recent US government report.

The beetles, which infest trees and render them useless, were discovered in six new states this past summer: California,Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Texas and Washington. A similar invasion of trees took place last summer in the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh in India.

Known to scientists as Anoplophora glabripennis, the pest was first found in the US last year in Brooklyn.

The insects attack maples, horse chestnuts and elms. In Brooklyn and Chicago, workers have had to cut down, chip and burn infested trees. Steve Lingafelter, an entomologist with the Agricultural Research Service, says the pests are more than an inch long. The adult beetle is coal black with yellow or white spots. Its long antennae have black and white bands. The adults' peak activity period--and mating season--extends from about July 5 to September 5. The beetles were first discovered outside New York state in April when cargo inspectors intercepted them in crating material at a port of entry in Elizabeth, NJ.

New gadgets to cut greenhouse gases

There is a direct correlation between the operation of an electrical appliance andthe emission of greenhouse gases, but innovators within the electronics industry are working on energy-efficient products that may help curb the effects of climate change, according to a recent study. Products such as communications systems that help cars navigate around traffic jams and save fuel are lowering costs for companies and their consumers and creating new market opportunities, according to the authors of a report prepared by the World Resources Institute.

``How information and electronics technologies change our environment will be the product of choices by industry, consumers and the government,'' says Frances Irwin, a fellow at the World Resources Institute, and an author of the report, Taking a Byte Out of Carbon: Electronics Innovation for Climate Protection. ``We are convinced that the industry that launched the information revolution can make a big difference in tackling greenhouse gas emissions.'' The report illustrates how ``intelligent technologies'' place the electronics industry in aprime position to provide practical solutions to the climate challenge.

Through profiles of 14 companies that have developed products considered beneficial to the environment, the authors of the report hope to increase awareness of these technologies and stimulate further innovation. The companies were AT&T, Canon, Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Kodak, Lockheed Martin, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Panasonic, Nortel, Sharp, Texas Instruments and United Technologies.

Lasers to clean jet engines Research using lasers to detect and measure pollutants in burning fuel could lead to cleaner-burning jet engines, according to research conducted at Purdue University. Normand Laurendeau, an engineering professor at Purdue, has spent the past 15 years developing novel ways to ``look'' into flames and determine the amount of pollutants, such as nitric oxide, which are produced during combustion. Nitric oxide, a pollutant produced by aircraft engines, is of concern because it can damage the earth's protective ozone layer, saysLaurendeau.

``In our latest work, we measured the amount of nitric oxide produced in spray flames, a process where liquid fuel sprays through a small hole to form droplets, which are then ignited,'' Laurendeau says. ``This is the basic combustion process in jet aircraft engines. Before we did this, there was no evidence at all that these measurements could even be made inside fuel sprays.''

Laurendeau is working with jet-engine manufacturers to determine the amount of pollutants that would be produced in more fuel-efficient, next-generation engines, which are designed to use a kind of fuel spray called lean direct injection.

Based on his research, Laurendeau said this type of engine design could significantly reduce nitric oxide production, although more tests are needed to determine exactly how much. Lean direct injection engines are now under development, and Laurendeau says his research will help assure designers and manufacturers that they can reduce the nitric oxide produced by the newengine.

Lake Tahoe jet ski ban upheld US Federal District Judge Frank Damrell last week dismissed all 18 claims brought by jet ski manufacturers and retailers challenging the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's ordinance banning watercraft propelled by carburetted two-stroke engines from Lake Tahoe commencing June 1, 1999.The TRPA ordinance was the first of its kind to apply to federally regulated waters. It was adopted in June 1997 to curtail the sharp decline in the clarity and purity of the waters of Lake Tahoe. Carburetted two-stroke engines (the type of engine found on most jet skis) discharge up to 40 per cent of their oil and gas, unburned, directly into the water.

Cleaner alternatives, including four-stroke and fuel-injected engines, have been available in the market for many years. Lake Tahoe provides drinking water for thousands of residents, and swimming, fishing and boating opportunities for millions of recreationists each year. The ruling represents nearly a complete victory forproponents of the ordinance, including the League to Save Lake Tahoe, which had intervened to defend the ordinance. ``The Court's ruling cuts the heart out of the jet ski manufacturers' lawsuit,'' stated Stephan Volker, attorney for the League to Save Lake Tahoe. ``The Court rejected all of the plaintiffs' constitutional claims.''

Adds Volker, ``This confirms that the TRPA has broad authority to regulate water pollution from jet skis and other motorboats.''