Conservation

Scientists have found more than 200 new species of frogs in Madagascar, but a political crisis appears to be hurting conservation of the Indian Ocean island's unique wildlife. The discovery, which almost doubles the number of known amphibians in Madagascar, illustrates an underestimation of the natural riches that have helped spawn a $390-million-a-year tourism industry. But months of instability culminating in a change of government after street protests have compromised gains in conservation.

Re "Smokey still has his fire lines," Column One, July 24 Though I too would like to celebrate Smokey Bear's 65th birthday, I must concur with the view that suppression policies set in motion during World War II have had negative impacts on the overgrowth of many forests and the subsequent devastating fires. I went to the Angeles National Forest in high school, when Smokey was young, and we revered him and his message. When I became a professor of geography (including conservation)

Re "Demand for water drops to 32-year low, DWP says," July 28 If we all work together to conserve water, we can help assure a bright and prosperous life for future generations. I say that we all become advocates of conservation in our communities. Help promote conservation as a wise and important water-management principle. However, even if we drastically reduce the watering of our urban landscapes, projected population growth will eventually make new water development necessary.

Martin Scorsese is more than just an influential, Oscar-winning filmmaker with such credits as "The Departed," "The Aviator," "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver." He's also a cineaste with an encyclopedic knowledge of film and is perhaps among the most ardent and vocal advocates for film preservation and restoration. In 1990, Scorsese, along with the late Robert Altman, Sydney Pollack and Stanley Kubrick, as well as Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, George Lucas, Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg, created the nonprofit organization the Film Foundation.

Concerned that the growing popularity of big-screen televisions could make it harder for California to keep pace with electricity demand, state energy regulators are poised to crack down on energy-guzzling sets despite opposition from a powerful electronics trade group. The first-in-the-nation TV efficiency standards would require electronics retailers to sell only energy-sipping models starting in 2011. Even tougher efficiency criteria would follow in 2013. The California Energy Commission is slated to unveil the new standards today, followed by a 45-day public comment period.

European gardeners who deal in the seeds of the Lazy Housewife French bean, the ballerina tomato or the Bedford Market rearguard Brussels sprout are the vegetable world's equivalent of drug runners. The tasty traditional varieties are among hundreds of types of fruits and vegetables that fall afoul of a European Union law that decrees that only seeds on an official register may be legally marketed.

Southern California's power companies have a two-pronged message for consumers worried about blackouts: There's plenty of electricity to go around, but please use less of it. Even a 25% reduction in power supplied by outside producers after Saturday's blackout won't affect local residents and businesses, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Southern California Edison Co. said Tuesday.

Southern Californians don't seem to be sweating over calls by local power companies to conserve electricity because of the weekend blackout. It's just too hot for that. Conservation? "I tried that on Monday," said Larry Kendrick, a 37-year-old construction analyst who lives in one of the hottest parts of the San Fernando Valley, Tarzana, and works in one of the hottest parts of the San Gabriel Valley, Monrovia. "We set the air-conditioning at 80 degrees. But when we came home the place was 110.

The brawny floating fish factories that vacuum the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea with their 100-ton nets have become the latest target of the environmental group Greenpeace, which charges that the U.S. fleet threatens one of the nation's last robust fisheries. In a campaign announced Thursday, Greenpeace officials called for a ban on the ocean-going trawlers that scoop up more than 1 million tons of fish a year off the coast of Alaska, much of it processed on board.

State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) announced Monday that he is suing the state Fish and Game Commission, charging that the agency is allowing the spring run of Chinook salmon to approach the brink of extinction. For the sake of lesser interests, Hayden said, water is being sucked out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for farms and cities to the south, killing off thousands of the dwindling fish.