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Archive for February, 2011
Hope as rare rhino calves filmed in Indonesia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 28th, 2011
AFP: Hidden cameras have captured proof that Javan rhinos are breeding in Indonesia's Ujung Kulon National Park, the last redoubt for the endangered mammals, conservationists said Monday.
Footage of two adults with two calves was taken in November and December last year by cameras hidden in the jungle of the rhino sanctuary on the southwestern tip of Java island, environmental group WWF said.
"This is fantastic news because before these camera trap images surfaced, only 12 other Javan rhino births...
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China minister warns pollution, resource waste imperil growth
Posted by Reuters: Chris Buckley on February 28th, 2011
Reuters: China faces acute environmental and resource strains that threaten to choke growth unless the world's second-biggest economy cleans up, the nation's environment minister said in an unusually blunt warning. In an essay published on Monday, Zhou Shengxian also said his agency wants to make assessing projected greenhouse gas emissions a part of evaluating proposed development projects. That could give China's Ministry of Environmental Protection more sway in climate change issues, an area dominated...
Judge suspends Brazil’s monster dam: contractor ‘imposing’ its interests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2011
Mongabay: Judge suspends Brazil's monster dam: contractor 'imposing' its interests
Construction on Brazil's planned mega-dam, the Belo Monte, has been ordered suspended by a federal judge, citing unmet environmental and social conditions. Just last month, the hugely controversial dam, was handed a partial license from Brazil's Environmental Agency (IBAMA). However, the judge, Ronaldo Destêrro, found that the partial license, the first of its kind in Brazil, was granted under pressure from the dam's contractor,...
Whaling Policy in Choppy Waters
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2011
Inter Press Service: After years of stiff resistance, the Japanese government has announced a temporary halt to its controversial research whaling programme in the Antarctic Ocean, a decision that will finally stir the debate to promote sustainable fishing, say conservationists here.
"We welcome the decision to halt whaling this season as a step towards preserving whales which are an endangered species. The message is that whales have to be protected which is all the more valuable since it comes from a nation that...
Drilling Down: Regulation Is Lax for Water From Gas Wells
Posted by New York Times: Ian Urbina on February 27th, 2011
New York Times: The American landscape is dotted with hundreds of thousands of new wells and drilling rigs, as the country scrambles to tap into this century’s gold rush — for natural gas. The gas has always been there, of course, trapped deep underground in countless tiny bubbles, like frozen spills of seltzer water between thin layers of shale rock. But drilling companies have only in recent years developed techniques to unlock the enormous reserves, thought to be enough to supply the country with gas for heating...
Judge suspends hydroelectric dam project in Amazon rainforest
Posted by Scotland on Sunday Online: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Scotland on Sunday Online: A BRAZILIAN judge has suspended plans for construction of the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon rainforest, citing environmental concerns. Belo Monte, which would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam, has sparked protests in Brazil and abroad over its impact on the environment and native Indian tribes in the region.
Federal judge Ronaldo Desterro, in the northern Para stateADVERTISEMENT, said environmental requirements to build the dam had not been met. Those measures...
Overfertilising corn undermines ethanol
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Science Centric: Rice University scientists and their colleagues have found that when growing corn crops for ethanol, more means less.
A new paper in today's online edition of the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science and Technology shows how farmers can save money on fertiliser while they improve their production of feedstock for ethanol and alleviate damage to the environment.
The research has implications for an industry that has grown dramatically in recent years to satisfy America's...
Philippines considers climate change ‘survival fund.’
Posted by Alert Net: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Alert Net: Lawmakers, aid workers and activists in the Philippines are throwing their weight behind a national "survival fund" to tackle climate change after severe flooding caused by unseasonal and persistent heavy rains.
The abnormal weather over the last two months shows the urgent need to adapt to the changing climate, according to Snehal Soneji, Philippines country director of aid agency Oxfam.
"The climate is changing, weather events are becoming more erratic and frequent. Therefore the solution...
Indigenous People Declare They Are On The Foot Of War And Permanent Mobilization In Defense Of Their Territories
Posted by Indigenous People Declare: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Indigenous People Declare: Peru: Indigenous People Declare They Are On The Foot Of War And Permanent Mobilization In Defense Of Their Territories
Translated from Spanish, Original Below
At a press conference, the Board of AIDESEP and regional organizations today announced that Amazonian indigenous peoples are reported on a war footing and in permanent mobilization in defense of their ancestral territories, due to the insistence of this administration to develop policies behind the query as demanded by international conventions...
Brazilian judge blocks plans for construction of Belo Monte dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 26th, 2011
Guardian: Plans for the construction of the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon rainforest have been suspended by a Brazilian judge over environmental concerns.
The proposal to build Belo Monte, which would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam, has sparked protests in Brazil and abroad because of its impact on the environment and native Indian tribes in the area.
A federal court in Para state, under judge Ronaldo Desterro, has halted plans for the construction because...