the buzz log

Signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has recently been pitting man against man (more specifically, Republican against Democrat) over significant proposed changes.

An alarm cry by environmentalists and scientists (as well as kids under 13 likely doing homework assignments) has renewed searches for "endangered species." Requests for a "list of endangered animals" focus on the struggling breeds. While the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service page lists North American denizens from abalone (white) to the Zebra (Mountain), the World Wildlife Fund tracks more than 26,000 species across the globe. (In a twist, blog Webecoist recently singled out 20 of the "strangest" diminishing populations in the animal kingdom.)

News has long been grim for creatures dodging the dangers of clearcutting, melting ice, tribal warfare, and even prescription drugs. The past month has been no different. Australia's distinctive koala mascot may soon sign up for the endangered list because of brush clearing. New worries surround the rare oriental white-backed vulture, native to Pakistan and India with a wingspan wider than Michael Phelps. While birds who circle corpses aren't exactly viewed as cuddly, these vultures partake in a religious tradition by eating the dead of Parsi practitioners. They're being poisoned en masse from feasting on the carcass of animals fed an inflammatory drug.

Luckily, evolving conservation efforts have produced some results on the endangered front. Not long after a community of African Western Lowland gorillas were discovered in the Congo, soldiers left a Sengalese national park to give those mountain gorillas their space. Snub-nosed monkeys have doubled their population in China. Canada boasts a rescue service for North Atlantic right whales caught in fishing nets. In an unlikely rehab, an endangered Asian elephant kicked a heroin habit that started after animal poachers snared him with bananas laced with the drug.

Propagation of the species may ultimately lie in cyberspace. Zookeepers have also ventured into the online dating world with a matchmaking service for animals in captivity. Among 20 test sites to bring these "studbooks" online: Walt Disney World in Orlando. That's putting the magic back in the Magic Kingdom.

As for the proposed Act changes, the 30-day public comment period (which can also be done online by reviewing the document and commenting in eRulemaking page) is set to end Sept. 15. Meanwhile, the fight over the 1973 act still wages on in the capitol and the habitats.

Filed under: Politics, Animals, Government, Environment, Plants

When it comes to catalogs, we're pro-choice. Yes, to this one. No, to that one. End of story. Thanks to Catalog Choice, we can now pick to our heart's content. This complimentary service, hosted by the non-profit group Ecology Center, "lets you decline paper catalogs that you no longer wish to receive."

We're not the only ones happily casting our votes, either. Searches for "catalog choice" have been buzzing for months. According to the site's blog, over 28,000 people registered for the service between last Friday and Monday alone. That sounds like a movement to us.

It's hard to junk the old ways, though. Even as buzz spikes for the save-the-paper project (and more and more people use the Web for shopping), "catalog" searches have remained strong.

Over the past seven days, a huge number of shoppers used Search to find merchandisers's mailers. Who got the most buzz? Mark thousands of consumers down as pro-L.L. Bean...

Filed under: Shopping, Environment

Reduce, reuse, recycle. For some, the mantra is as simple as brushing teeth. But in the months since "An Inconvenient Truth" hit the theaters, the topic of recycling shows weekly spikes in searches. It's almost as if people are only thinking about it when trash day rolls around.

This week, "recycling" is up 13%. Is it because last week's "Project Runway" had contestants create an outfit from recyclables, giving a whole new meaning to dressing "trashy"? Searches on the term are split 50/50 between genders, with people ages 35-44 accounting for 21% of the buzz.

Looking to reduce your ecological footprint, or just interested in designing a cool vest out of newspapers? Here are the top 20 "recycling" searches...

Filed under: Environment, Recycling