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Eco-news archive: September-October 2005
Europe study shows climate risks
(Oct 29, 2005)
Mediterranean and mountain regions of Europe will be hardest hit
by the changes set to affect the continent's natural resources
this century. That is the conclusion of a Europe-wide assessment
that highlights the threat posed by climate change. The Mediterranean
will be at increased risk of forest fires, water shortages, loss
of agricultural land and from its tree species shifting northward.
The study, by an international team, appears in the journal Science.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Amazon 'stealth' logging revealed
(Oct 21, 2005)
Scientists from Brazil and the US say new research suggests deforestation
of the Brazilian Amazon has been underestimated by at least 60%.
The team has completed a study using a more advanced technique
of satellite imagery that can pick up more types of logging activity.
These include selective logging, where loggers pick out trees
of value but leave the surrounding forest intact. Brazil's government
welcomed the report but said the figures were exaggerated.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
China crisis: threat to the global environment
(Oct 20, 2005)
Western politicians queue up to sing its praises. Economists regard
it with awe and delight. Other countries are desperate to imitate
it. Yet there is another side to China's exploding, double-digit-growth
miracle economy – it is turning into one of the greatest
environmental threats the earth has ever faced. An ominous sign
of the danger is given in a groundbreaking report from Greenpeace,
published today, which maintains that China is now by far the
world's biggest driver of rainforest destruction. The report documents
the vast deforestation driven by the soaring demands of China's
enormous timber trade – the world's largest – as the
country's headlong economic development sucks in ever-more amounts
of the earth's natural resources.
Read
more. Source: Independent |
Ocean warming threatens Antarctic wildlife
(Oct 17, 2005)
Scientists working in Antarctica have discovered an alarming rise
in sea temperature that threatens to disrupt populations of penguins,
whales, seals and a host of smaller creatures within a few decades.
The new study shows the ocean west of the Antarctic Peninsula
has warmed by more than a degree since the 1960s – confounding
computer models and experts who believed that a combination of
ice, winds and currents would keep the water cool and shield fragile
marine creatures from the effects of climate change. This is the
first evidence that the key Southern Ocean is getting warmer:
a finding with potentially severe implications for wildlife.
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Analysis: Is nuclear power the answer?
(Oct 17, 2005)
Nuclear power looks as if it should be the answer to all our energy
conundrums, and perhaps even to climate change. It provides a
steady stream of energy, and does not depend on hydrocarbon supplies
from unstable regimes. It is the nearest thing we have to a non-polluting
energy source, apart from natural renewables. But it still engenders
massive distrust, so much that many people say it can never be
part of the way to avoid a disastrously warming world.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Amazon area threatened by drought
(Oct 8, 2005)
Brazil has adopted emergency measures to deal with one of the
Amazon region's worst droughts in decades. Scientists say water
levels have fallen to a 30-year low, creating difficulties for
river transport – in many cases the only way of moving people
and goods. Many towns along the world's second longest river have
declared alerts amid fears they could become isolated. Experts
are blaming climate cycles, not global warming, for the drought,
which has also led to enormous fires.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
London? Paris? New York? No, Vancouver
is the best place in the world to live, says new survey
(Oct 5, 2005)
The university has a nudist beach. Whistler mountain ski resort
is a quick drive from downtown. The climate is mild in winter
and sunny in summer. Just some of the reasons why Vancouver has
been nominated as the world's most liveable city, beating Melbourne
into second place and leaving London far behind at 47th. Vancouver
eclipsed 127 other cities in a new survey which looked at a wide
range of criteria, including personal risk, healthcare, the availability
of goods and services, and climate.
Read
more. Source: Independent |
Bobbing corks 'could give power'
(Oct 2, 2005)
A study based on the energy provided by a cork bobbing on the
water could lead to wave power outperforming wind forms, scientists
say. University of Manchester scientists have designed a rig that
combines floats to turn waves into electricity. If put into full-scale
use, the "Manchester Bobber" would be attached to a rig 65ft above
the sea.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Arctic ice 'disappearing fast'
(Sep 28, 2005)
The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk for a fourth
consecutive year, according to new data released by US scientists.
They say that this month sees the lowest extent of ice cover for
more than a century. The Arctic climate varies naturally, but
the researchers conclude that human-induced global warming is
at least partially responsible. They warn the shrinkage could
lead to even faster melting in coming years.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Gas threat grows from Cameroon's lethal
lakes
(Sep 27, 2005)
Perched among the highlands of western Cameroon, bordered by green
mountains and cliff faces, Lake Nyos is a scene of breathtaking
beauty. But the picture is deceptive. A detailed study reveals
that without emergency measures, the lake could release a lethal
cloud of carbon dioxide, capable of wiping out entire communities
around its shores. The warning, from a team of scientists, comes
nearly 20 years after the lake belched an estimated 80m cubic
metres of CO2 into the atmosphere. Heavier than air, the cloud
of gas rolled down surrounding hillsides, engulfing villages.
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Killer heatwave may have fuelled global
warming
(Sep 22, 2005)
Europe's great heatwave of 2003, which claimed an estimated 35,000
lives and cost the continent's economies an estimated £7bn altogether,
may also have fuelled further global warming. A team of more than
30 scientists reports in Nature today that the scorching temperatures
and prolonged drought have stifled Europe's forest growth and
released huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,
to feed still warmer summers in future.
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Hunting threat to big amphibians
(Sep 19, 2005)
Illegal hunting is bringing the Chinese giant salamander, the
world's largest amphibian, to the brink of extinction. Numbers
of the salamander, which can grow to 50kg (110lb), have fallen
sharply in recent decades. Ways to stem the decline of amphibians
are being discussed at a meeting in Washington DC, which will
end with the launch of a global action plan. Some experts think
the giant salamander can become a flagship conservation species
like the tiger and elephant.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Warming link' to big hurricanes
(Sep 16, 2005)
Records for the past 35 years show that hurricanes have got stronger
in recent times, according to a global study. This fits with mounting
evidence which suggests the biggest storms around the world –
hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones – are intensifying. Some
US scientists say that greenhouse warming may be driving the most
severe events, such as Katrina, although more research is needed
to be sure.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Global warming 'past the point of no
return'
(Sep 16, 2005)
A record loss of sea ice in the Arctic this summer has convinced
scientists that the northern hemisphere may have crossed a critical
threshold beyond which the climate may never recover. Scientists
fear that the Arctic has now entered an irreversible phase of
warming which will accelerate the loss of the polar sea ice that
has helped to keep the climate stable for thousands of years.
They believe global warming is melting Arctic ice so rapidly that
the region is beginning to absorb more heat from the sun, causing
the ice to melt still further and so reinforcing a vicious cycle
of melting and heating.
Read
more. Source: Independent |
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