Reports of the mysterious white nose syndrome, a fungal phenomenon that has reduced certain bat populations to near extinction levels, seem to have died down of late. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the disease is doing the same.

One species in particular has scientists worried. This fall, when the Virginia Big-Eared Bats return to their caves for their six-month hibernation, there’s some concern that they won’t emerge in the spring. Learn more about what the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park is doing to keep the species alive (thanks to a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and about white nose syndrome itself.

Photo by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation; Little Brown Bat showing symptoms of white nose syndrome.

We asked you recently what kind of food you think it's most important to limit your intake of. From the poll options, an overwhelming number of you chose Processed Foods as the food to eat less of, with Sugar coming in a distant second. Here are the complete results:

Of the following, which food do you think it's most important to limit your intake of?

There are many other foods and ingredients that people choose not to consume that weren't in the poll, from caffeine and artificial sweeteners to gluten or any kind of meat. The reasons why we choose to limit some foods are just as varied: flavor, health reasons, weight loss, personal ethics, political statements. For some, it's not a choice but a neccessity, either for financial reasons or as the result of a food intolerance or severe allergy.

Knowing that MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers are often health-conscience and choose to grow their own food, we're curious: Have you cut back or eliminated certain ingredients or foods from your diet? If so, why, and what affects have you noticed as a result?

Today, all over the world, bloggers are writing about climate change as part of Blog Action Day.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS is participating in this event for the third year in a row, and as it happens, we write about climate change all the time!

So, for a quick look at this important issue, here are three of our recent articles we think are helpful in understanding the problem and thinking about possible solutions. 

1. Climate Change and Your Garden. For gardeners everywhere, the issue of climate change is getting personal. Here’s how changing climate patterns are affecting what you can grow in your garden.

2. The Amazing Benefits of Grass-fed Meat. Here’s a piece of the climate change puzzle you might not have heard before. Raising cattle on grass instead of grain (and buying grass-fed meat) can help sequester carbon, build more fertile soil, and produce healthier meat — all at the same time.

3. A Plan for the Solar Revolution. Burning fossil fuels is a big part of the problem. Renewable energy is a big part of the solution. 

(And for the MOTHER-lode of information on global warming, you can find all the climate change articles we’ve ever written here on our website.)

It’s fall — leaves are changing color, song birds are migrating, Vs of ducks and geese gracefully and noisily wend their way south for the winter, and scores of species are eating and storing, preparing for the cold months ahead. If you’re like millions of other Americans, this is one of your favorite times of year to watch the seasonal changes in your particular eco-nich. And what better place to view the seasonal highlights but at a National Wildlife Refuge?

The Federal Government has been in the business of protecting wildlife resources since 1864. According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: “The first Federal action aimed in part at protecting wildlife resources on a designated area appears to be an Act of Congress on June 30, 1864, that transferred the Yosemite Valley from the public domain to the State of California. One of the terms of the transfer was that State authorities ‘shall provide against the wanton destruction of the fish and game found within the said reservation and against their capture and destruction for purposes of merchandise or profit.’” 

Today, the National Wildlife Refuge System has designated more than 520 units in all 50 states, plus American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Johnson Atoll, Midway Atoll and several other Pacific Islands, encompassing over 93 million acres of valuable wildlife habitat.

Next week, October 11 thru 17, has been designated National Wildlife Refuge Week. There’s at least one Refuge in every state and you can find if there are special activities happening in your state next week on this Special Events Calendar. But whether or not there is a special event in your state, this would be a great time to visit the National Wildlife Refuge closest to your home.

The recent PBS series National Parks: America's Best Idea has drawn some great attention to our nation's protected wilderness areas and, hopefully, has reinvigorated our appreciation of the parks in the process. Along those lines, as pointed in Don't Be a National Park Bagger (from Utne Reader, MOTHER EARTH NEWS's sister magazine), it also elicits some important questions about the environmental impact of travel and about how we travel, specifically, the impact of taking fewer but more engaged trips versus that of taking many more cursory trips.

From carbon footprints to added wear and tear on everything from trails to monuments, travel of any kind leaves its mark on the environment, a point that's been discussed in MOTHER EARTH NEWS and, even more so, in travel-oriented blogs such as Vagablogging and World Hum. The difficulty of balancing the environmental effects of your travels with a desire to see and appreciate firsthand the natural and manmade marvels of the world isn't an easy task, and is an issue that's inspired numerous blog posts, articles and passionate discussions on travel forums and other online communities. What do you think? Would you travel less, or otherwise change the way you travel, out of concern for the environment?

Photo by ISTOCKPHOTO