Archive for July, 2010

RELEASE/VICTORY: Ecuador Sets Major Rainforest and Climate Protection Precedent

By Earth's Newsdesk and the Rainforest Portal, projects of Ecological Internet CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org It is reported Ecuador will be compensated for leaving oil reserves in Yasuni National Park untouched. This is a major victory for Ecuador, the rainforest movement, and Ecological Internet – who was the first to campaign internationally on the issue. Ecuador’s government announced today it has reached a deal with the United Nations Development Program under which donor countries will compensate Quito for leaving oil reserves untouched in a large primary rainforest filled national park. Yasuni National Park [search] – covering some 9,820 km2, or about the size of Massachusetts – is thought to be one of Earth’s most biodiversity rich sites and is also home to several nomadic Indian tribes. Yasuni’s preservation (total protection, not “sustainable management” or “conservation”) would spare Earth some 410 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that contribute to global warming; while keeping biodiversity, ecosystems and cultures fully intact. The official signing is reported to be held on Tuesday. Ecological Internet’s Earth Action Network [1] was the first to campaign internationally on threats to Yasuni from oil exploration, successfully internationalizing the issue. “This marvelous rainforest and climate victory is very ...

United States: Giant hailstone breaks US record

BBC: A hailstone weighing almost a kilo that fell in the state of South Dakota has been confirmed as the largest ever recovered in the USA. According to the National Weather Service, the hailstone that landed in the town of Vivian eclipsed previous record-setters in Nebraska in 2003 and Kansas in 1970.

BP Hires Gulf Scientists; Are They Buying Silence?

National Public Radio: For months now, local scientists have been out on Gulf waters, advising the cleanup and measuring the damage. But there is growing concern that some of the best minds are being sidelined, since they've signed on as paid consultants to BP. "Everybody's arming up for the big day in court," says Richard Shaw, the director of Louisiana State University's Coastal Fisheries Institute. He's one of many concerned that BP is buying up too much of the region's brainpower. "You would ...

United States: Saving Wildlife From The Midwestern Oil Spill

National Public Radio: A response effort is under way on the Kalamazoo River in western Michigan, where the EPA reports that a pipe belonging to Enbridge Inc. has spilled more than 1 million gallons of oil. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Michigan Radio's Rebecca Williams about efforts to save river animals.

Deep in Colombian jungle, a first in eco gold

Agence France-Presse: His worn hands have worked tirelessly since dawn, churning the soil, cleaning sand in a pan and finally revealing tiny flakes of "green gold", the world's first certified fair trade gold. Luis Americo Mosquera, 52, is repeating the same gestures passed on from generation to generation of Colombia's black slaves brought by the Spanish conquistadors to toil in gold mines for centuries. In the city of Tado in the western Colombian department of Choco, known for its large ...

Enbridge says no restart date for ruptured line

Reuters: Enbridge Inc's chief executive said on Friday he was unable to say when the company would be able to restart the Michigan pipeline that ruptured earlier this week, spilling more than 800,000 gallons of oil. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said she was "very confident" that the oil's progress toward Lake Michigan has been stopped. Jackson on Friday flew over the spill area including the oil-fouled Kalamazoo River with Michigan Gov. Jennifer ...

Expert Says China’s Oil Spill Figure May Be Much Too Low

New York Times: Greenpeace is raising questions about whether the Chinese government has been underreporting the size of one of the country's worst oil spills, near the northern port city of Dalian. The spill occurred two weeks ago, after a pipeline explosion at an oil terminal. Chinese officials, who reported a spill of about 11,000 barrels, which caused a 170-square-mile slick, reopened the terminal 13 days later. This week, the mayor of Dalian declared the cleanup "a decisive victory." But ...

Everglades on Unesco danger list

BBC: A UN panel has added Florida's Everglades National Park and Madagascar's tropical rainforest to a list of world heritage sites at risk. Unesco's World Heritage Committee said development in the Everglades had caused water flow to fall 60% in the wetland, a major wildlife sanctuary. The pollution level there was so high it was killing marine life, it added. Illegal logging and poaching following last year's military coup has meanwhile imperilled Madagascar's ...

Climate change blamed for Portugal’s “probable” first case of West Nile virus

Portugal News: Experts are warning that climate change could heighten the risk of surges of infectious diseases more common to warmer climates, such as the West Nile virus or Malaria, in Europe. Last weekend the National Health Board (DGS) confirmed an investigation was taking place into a "probable case of West Nile Virus" in Portugal. DGS general sub-director José Robalo said this week that the disease had still not been confirmed, but there is a "great probability" that it would ...

Russia calls in army as fires escalate

Financial Times: Russia called in the army on Friday to combat fires sweeping across the drought-stricken European part of the country and forcing thousands of people to flee. The emergencies ministry said at least 25 people had been killed as high winds fanned fires in forests and farmland parched by a prolonged heatwave. More than 2,170 people fled their homes as fires engulfed large swathes of the Moscow, Voronezh, Nizhnenovogorod, Vladimir and Ryazan regions. Hot summers are not ...