Image via Wikipedia It's a sad day for Michigan, which lost its only known wolverine. The species has been on the decline, especially as snowpacks have shrunk. And now the wolverine state now really has no reason to call itself that. The last known wolverine - a 28-pound female that was first spotted in 2004 - was found by hikers over the weekend, dead from natural causes. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

World consumption of most common commodity triglyceride vegetable oils. Image credit:Wikipedia Certain plant oils, especially palm oil, have a reputation of being produced unsustainably. Many plant oils are low-cost commodities (see table above for recent global volumes). Certain of the commodity plant oils are used extensively in soap and personal care products; and demand for these is increasing (a growing market segment does not accept animal fat-based product). For personal care products of the future, a key challenge is to find sustainable feedstoc...Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Wikipedia This is one you definitely don't hear about too often: Over at Green Biz Marc Gunther is highlighting the efforts of Contour Global to extract methane from Lake Kivu, on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here's how they are doing it:...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Without a commercial trade ban, illustrations and photos will be the only Atlantic bluefin tuna the world sees. Image: Wikipedia. Some good news for critically endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna: The Obama administration says it will back a proposal to place the species in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, thereby prohibiting further trade. At current fishi...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Wikipedia National anthems are unique in their ability to stir patriotism, create solidarity, and inspire achievement--which makes them hugely important compositions. In fact, although the tradition of creating a national song didn't gain popularity until the 19th century, nearly every nation on earth has an anthem of its own today. And, as with all official, political texts, the lyrics to these anthems were selected deliberately to best embody the best qualities of the national identity: Some national anthems celebrate and praise Read the full story on TreeHugger