As of October 16, 2011, officials noted that a total of 97 harbor seals, the vast majority of whom were one-year-old pups, had been found perished since September 1 along the beaches of Massachusetts and other New England states, with scientists saying the regions elevated water temperatures may have been the cause.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/us-usa-seals-idUSTRE7944XE20111005
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/u-s-government-joins-probe-of-mysterious-seal-deaths/
http://www.wmur.com/r/29408900/detail.html

Seeking a more eco-friendly way to handle the one billion tires that are disposed globally each year, Australian researchers from Deakin University and industry partner VR TEK Global develop technology that converts the tires into powders without the use of chemicals for easy recycling into new rubber products.

http://www.deakin.edu.au/news/2011/300911tyrerecycling.php
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-tyres-environmental-hazard-recycling-technology.html