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Archive for October 7th, 2010
Wildlife of the UK overseas territories
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
Guardian: The UK Government has launched a new section of the ARKive website featuring some of the unique plants and animals that live in the British overseas territories. The project aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.
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Japan: Climate Change Concerns Give Aid A Green Hue
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
Inter Press Service: It may not be easy to imagine Japan as a jolly green giant, but to several Asian countries that have been enjoying environmental projects funded by Japanese aid, that's what this nation has resembled in the last two decades. Since the early 1990s, Japan has been involved in several green initiatives across Asia, with its participation usually in the form of overseas development assistance (ODA) loans, grants, and technology transfer. One of the most recent ones, in fact, ...
Paraguayan ‘Jewel’ Lake Loses Its Lustre
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
Inter Press Service: Just two months before the austral summer season begins, Lake Ypacaraí, centrepiece of Paraguay's campaign to promote tourism, has become the centre of attention for its polluted waters. The state of Lake Ypacaraí is cause for concern because it is a major destination for domestic tourism during the Southern Hemisphere summer, especially in the municipality of San Bernardino, 48 kilometres from the capital. The main attraction in San Bernardino, which has been dubbed "summer ...
White House ‘Asian Carp Czar’ Outlines His Strategy For Eradicating Species
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
National Public Radio: As we've reported, the Asian carp, a species that was introduced in the 1970s, threatens the Great Lakes ecosystem. Almost a month ago, the Obama administration appointed an "Asian carp czar." John Goss, who reports to an office in the White House, oversees the government-led effort to eradicate the species. In an interview with NPR's Robert Siegel, he detailed his game plan, which includes "removal of carp from the Chicago area, strengthening the electric fish barrier system ...
Green heron makes rare UK visit
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
BBC: A green heron has been spotted in the UK, the first since 2008. The bird is only thought to have been sighted in the country on ten previous occasions since records began. Green herons usually live on the other side of the Atlantic, being widespread across their native countries of the United States and southern Canada. The bird is thought to have been blown off course, arriving in Pentewan, Cornwall yesterday where it was sighted in the Lost Gardens of ...
Toxic Hungarian sludge spill reaches River Danube
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
Reuters: Toxic red sludge from a Hungarian alumina plant reached the Danube on Thursday and crews struggled to dilute it to protect the river from what the prime minister called an "unprecedented ecological catastrophe." Experts said damage beyond the borders of Hungary was unlikely to be great but the threat had to be monitored closely. Tibor Dobson, a spokesman for Hungarian disaster crews, told Reuters there were sporadic fish deaths in the Raba and the Mosoni-Danube rivers. He said ...
Illinois files lawsuit against Enbridge
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
Reuters: The Illinois attorney general filed a lawsuit against Enbridge Inc's U.S. affiliate Enbridge Energy Partners on Thursday, as the state seeks to have the company pay the costs incurred cleaning up an oil pipeline spill last month. Attorney-General Lisa Madigan and James Glasgow, the state's attorney for Will County, filed an eight-count complaint against the company. The complaint alleges that the September 9 spill of about 6,100 barrels of oil from Enbridge's 670,000 barrel per ...
Crop Failures to Increase on Climate Change, Researchers Say
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
Bloomberg: Crop failures such as this year in Russia are likely to become more common as climate change causes more extreme weather with heat and drought stress, according to a study led by the U.K.'s University of Leeds. A simulation of climate change's effect on spring wheat in northeast China showed that in the worst case, more than 35 percent of crops may fail through 2099, compared with a baseline rate of about 13 percent, the study showed. "More extreme weather events are expected ...
Hungary: Hungarian Toxic Sludge Reaches The Mighty Danube
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
National Public Radio: In Hungary, several villages were devastated earlier this week when a highly caustic waste product from an aluminum factory poured out of its holding reservoir. Four people were killed as the red sludge spread through the villages and into rivers and creeks. Those waterways in turn have now carried the sludge to the Danube -- Europe's second-longest river. And neighboring countries are monitoring the water to make sure the sludge is effectively diluted. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with ...
Study Links Honeybee Deaths To Fungus, Insect Virus
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 7th, 2010
National Public Radio: There's a lot of buzz in the scientific community about a new study linking the collapse of honeybee colonies to a fungus and insect virus first seen in Asian bees. "Our data suggests that these two pathogens interacting together may be playing a pretty big role," says study author Robert Cramer of Montana State University. The Nosema ceranae fungus can sicken bees when they ingest spores, and Cramer explains that the occurrence of both the iridescent virus and the fungus at the same ...