Archive for the ‘Enviroment’ Category

Endangered animals caught in the tourist trap

Wildlife tourism generates conservation cash that many at-risk species now rely on to a startling degree. Curb it at their peril INDIA is home to the largest remaining wild populations of the tiger. Even so, there are estimated to be just 1500 to 2000 Bengal tigers left. They are the poster species of the country’s […]

Sierra Leone ‘pirate’ fishing boats sell catches in EU

Illegal fishing boats in Sierra Leonean waters are costing the country’s economy $30 million each year – and some of their hauls end up in the European Union, according to a UK campaign group. The EU says it is taking action to prevent the practice. The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a non-profit group based in […]

Tidal records expose surge in hurricanes

The world really is getting stormier. US tide records have provided compelling evidence that global warming is making large storms and cyclones more frequent. If current trends continue, the US will be battered increasingly often, and by more big storms like Hurricane Katrina. Many studies have claimed that hurricanes are becoming more common, or stronger, […]

Greenland loses ice in fits and starts

The surge of ice loss from Greenland between 2005 and 2010, which drove up sea levels around the world, was not unprecedented. A similar spurt happened in the late 1980s, and possibly decades earlier as well. While such surges will be tricky to predict, better models of the ice sheet mean that we can make […]

Japan could become second biggest solar power nation

WITH nuclear power on the ropes in Japan, it could be solar power’s time to shine. Minamisoma City in Fukushima prefecture has signed an agreement with Toshiba to build the country’s biggest solar park. The deal comes weeks after Japan introduced feed-in tariffs to subsidise renewable energy – a move that could see the nation […]

Geologists to gather data for Danish North Pole claim

Does the North Pole belong to Greenland and by extension to Denmark, to which it is politically linked? That’s the question Danish geologists heading for the Arctic this week will be trying to answer. They hope the seismic data they collect between now and mid-September will support the claim of Denmark and Greenland to 150,000 […]

The price of preserving fossils for the future

IT’S a decision few would envy: what to do with a patch of land contested by palaeontologists, gas companies and indigenous peoples? All three groups claim that James Price Point in Western Australia is invaluable: for its fossil record, its proximity to offshore gas and its place in their beliefs, respectively (see “Lost world of […]

Lost world of dinosaurs threatened by gas industry

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First skin cancer found in wild fish

THE local fishermen call them the Rambo fish: their scarred, blackened skin makes them look as if they have survived wars. In fact, these are the first wild fish known to have skin cancer. The diseased coral trout, living on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, were brought to the attention of Michael Sweet at the University […]

Ex-sceptic says humans to blame for global warming

It’s a road-to-Damascus moment. Long-standing climate sceptic Richard Muller, a physicist at the University of California at Berkeley, now says there is strong evidence that humans are indeed warming the planet. His results are under attack from all sides. Climate sceptics slate him for his apparent betrayal, while mainstream climate scientists say his results are […]

Ex-sceptic says humans to blame for global warming

It’s a road-to-Damascus moment. Long-standing climate sceptic Richard Muller, a physicist at the University of California at Berkeley, now says there is strong evidence that humans are indeed warming the planet. His results are under attack from all sides. Climate sceptics slate him for his apparent betrayal, while mainstream climate scientists say his results are […]

‘We need to maintain a human presence under the sea’

Aquanaut Sylvia Earle, co-leader of the final mission to the world’s only undersea lab, says the oceans need protecting more than ever – don’t pull funding As we speak, you are 18 metres underwater in the Aquarius Reef Base off Key Largo in Florida. Why are you there?It’s 50 years since underwater habitats for people […]

Inequality: Why it helps the planet

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Robots move into the mining business

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Human error blamed for Fukushima meltdown

CATASTROPHIC meltdowns of reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had less to do with the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March last year, and more to do with the plant owners’ and government’s failure to anticipate and prepare for emergencies on such an epic scale. That’s according to a report by […]

Fungus-powered superplants may beat the heat

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97% of Greenland surface ice turns to slush

The surface of Greenland has turned to slush. Satellite data shows that a warm spell earlier this month melted nearly the entire surface of the nation’s ice cap. The melt is unusual: normally about half of the ice sheet melts at the surface during summer, mostly at low elevations. This year the thaw was stunningly […]

Hardy polar bears have survived past global warming

POLAR bears have patrolled the planet’s icy regions for millions of years longer than previously thought – riding out several episodes of global warming in that time. While this suggests their future might not be so bleak, it is no guarantee they will survive the melting occurring in the polar regions today. Charlotte Lindqvist of […]

River diversion created new land in Mississippi Delta

The destructive floods along the Mississippi river last year helped create new land in the delta. Generating more land there in the future could help protect New Orleans and the surrounding area from rising sea levels. As the 2011 Mississippi river flood moved downstream, it quickly became apparent that it threatened to inundate New Orleans. […]

River diversion created new land in Mississippi Delta

The destructive floods along the Mississippi river last year helped create new land in the delta. Generating more land there in the future could help protect New Orleans and the surrounding area from rising sea levels. As the 2011 Mississippi river flood moved downstream, it quickly became apparent that it threatened to inundate New Orleans. […]

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