Cloud Computing, Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster, and Ecological Communities

Today we investigate the potential environmental benefits of cloud computing, a system where computer resources, like data and applications, are no longer stored on your home computer but rather accessed from servers on the internet. We also take a look back at the BP oil spill and its effect on the Gulf of Mexico. We find out just what’s meant when scientists refer to ecological communities. And we’ll hear about the need to protect the bluefin tuna.

photo by badjonni (Flickr Creative Commons)

Environmental News Headlines

US inquiry into the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster

Sea lice from BC fish farms spreding

Extracting energy from frozen gas hydrates in the NWT

Plastic waste polluting Manitoba lakes

New renewable energy projects:

Wind farm in Tumbler Ridge, BC
Wind farm in Chatham-Kent, Ontario
Tidal energy in the Bay of Fundy

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Cloud Computing

Earlier this week computer giant Microsoft released a report on cloud computing that stated that if companies implemented a cloud computing solution to their IT needs, they could cut electricity use and emissions by up to 90%. Now, Terra Informa correspondent Brett Tegart takes a critical look at the report and cloud computing. Can it live up to the promise?

BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster

A few months ago the eyes of the world were focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the most serious spill ever to hit the US, but there’s still debate as to exactly how much oil entered the Gulf. There’s also uncertainty as to the environmental repercussions that will result. This week, Seon-Ah looks into the ongoing story of the Gulf oil spill.

Frontline (PBS) The Spill

The Breakdown (The Nation): What Is the True Cost of BP’s Oil Spill?

Ecological Communities

Often when we use the word community we’re talking about the support and companionship we get from the social network we belong to. But when ecologists use the term they mean something totally different. This week Rebecca Rooney helps clarify what it is they mean with this week’s EcoBabble on – the community.

Protection of Blue Fin Tuna

One of the world’s most highly prized fish, the northern bluefin Tuna, is severely endangered. An international meeting of nations held in March decided, however, that the risk of further collapse or extinction of this species did not warrant an international trade ban. In this opinion piece, David Kaczan discusses the reasons for the failure of the ban to pass, and what it means for the bluefin tuna. This piece originally aired in May.

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