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Eco-news archive: May-June 2006
Last chance for China's dolphin
(Jun 28, 2006)
Zoologists have developed a plan to save the Yangtze River dolphin,
probably the world's most endangered mammal, from extinction.
They hope to take some dolphins from the Yangtze and rear them
in a nearby lake, protected from fishermen. The species is threatened
by overfishing which removes its food, industrialisation, boat
collisions, and through being caught in fishing nets.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Glaciers are melting at their fastest
rate for 5,000 years
(Jun 27, 2006)
Mountain glaciers are melting faster now than at any time in the
past 5,000 years because of an unprecedented period of global
warming, a study has found. Ice cores taken from mountains as
far apart as the Andes in South America and the Himalayas in Asia
have revealed how climate change is leading to a full-scale retreat
of the world's tropical glaciers.
Read
more. Source: Independent |
'Warm' species invading Antarctic
(Jun 24, 2006)
Scientists are calling for action to prevent foreign species from
taking hold in Antarctica and wrecking the continent's unique
ecosystems. Despite Antarctica's inhospitable environment, non-native
species introduced by tourists, scientists and explorers are gaining
a foothold. Species can hitch a ride on ships and planes carrying
visitors and supplies.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Backing for 'hockey stick' graph
(Jun 24, 2006)
The Earth was hotter in the late 20th Century than it had been
in the last 400 or possibly 1,000 years, a report requested by
the US Congress concludes. It backs some of the key findings of
the original study that gave rise to the iconic "hockey stick"
graph. The diagram, which shows a sharp upturn in temperatures
in recent decades, has been a prime target for groups who doubt
humans are warming the planet.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Southern California due major earthquake
(Jun 22, 2006)
Southern California could be in line for a serious quake along
the infamous San Andreas fault, seismologists have found. New
measurements suggest that the region close to Los Angeles, the
traditional earthquake location in Hollywood disaster movies,
could feel the effects of a real-life tremor within the next few
years.
Read
more. Source: Nature |
Work begins on Arctic seed vault
(Jun 20, 2006)
Norway is starting construction on a "doomsday vault" in the Arctic
which is designed to house all known varieties of the world's
crops. Dug into a frozen mountainside on the island of Svalbard,
it is hoped the project will safeguard crop diversity in the event
of a global catastrophe.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Hope for future of giant panda
(Jun 19, 2006)
Fears that the giant panda is on the brink of extinction may be
unjustified, research suggests. Scientists believe populations
have been underestimated in past surveys and there may be as many
as 3,000 pandas left in the wild. Numbers in reserves could be
restored if conservation efforts continue, they write in Current
Biology.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Arctic dips as global waters rise
(Jun 16, 2006)
Arctic sea level has been falling by a little over 2mm a year
– a movement that sets the region against the global trend
of rising waters. A Dutch-UK team made the discovery after analysing
radar altimetry data gathered by Europe's ERS-2 satellite. It
is well known that the world's oceans do not share a uniform height;
but even so, the scientists are somewhat puzzled by their results.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Night flights much worse for global
warming
(Jun 15, 2006)
Restrictions on night-time aircraft flights could help in the
fight against global warming as well as making life easier for
people living near airports. A study found the condensation trails,
or contrails, left by the exhaust of aircraft engines contribute
more to global warming during the night than by day.
Read
more. Source: Independent |
Portugal starts huge solar plant
(Jun 12, 2006)
Construction work has begun in southern Portugal on what is set
to be the world's largest solar power station. The 58m euro (£40m)
plant near Serpa, 200km (125 miles) south of Lisbon, will produce
enough electricity for 8,000 homes when it starts next January.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Deserts 'need better management'
(Jun 6, 2006)
Climate change, high water demand and even tourism are putting
unprecedented pressures on the world's desert ecosystems, according
to a report. The Global Deserts Outlook, produced by the UN's
Environment Programme, is described as the first comprehensive
look at the Earth's driest regions.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
China slows spread of encroaching deserts
(May 30, 2006)
China has announced it has managed to slow the rate at which the
desert is eating up farm and other land, but the problem is still
serious in a country where sand already covers one third of its
land mass. To the disbelief of many who endure the sandstorms
that sweep the country every spring, officials also expressed
confidence that the 2008 Olympics in Beijing would not be affected
by them.
Read
more. Source: Independent |
Rainforests 'still at great risk'
(May 27, 2006)
Most of the world's managed rainforests are still in great jeopardy
with only 5% being treated in a sustainable way, a new report
has said. Each year 12m hectares of the forests are cleared for
agriculture and other development, the International Tropical
Timber Organisation report says. Forests will continue to be lost
unless there is better management, it adds.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Global warming risk 'much higher'
(May 23, 2006)
Global temperatures will rise further in the future than previous
studies have indicated, according to new research from two scientific
teams. They both used historical records to calculate the likely
amplification of warming as higher temperatures induce release
of CO2 from ecosystems. They both conclude that current estimates
of warming are too low, by anything up to 75%.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Above normal' hurricanes in 2006
(May 23, 2006)
This year's Atlantic hurricane season will be "above normal",
according to the US climate agency. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) predicts there will be 13-16 named storms,
four of which will be "major storms". But it says 2006 will be
less active than last year's record-breaking season which saw
Hurricane Katrina cause widespread devastation. The US hurricane
season starts on 1 June and lasts until 30 November.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Extinct' frog comes back to life
(May 21, 2006)
Scientists have sighted a spectacular South American frog which
had been feared extinct for a decade. The painted frog is found
only in a small remote region of Colombia, and the last sighting
dates back to 1995. Conservationists believed it had gone extinct,
principally due to a fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, which has
caused enormous harm to many species.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Himalayan forests quietly vanishing
(May 18, 2006)
The Himalayas may never be the same again. The forests growing
on the roof of the world are disappearing, and the rate of deforestation
is so rapid that a quarter of animal and plant species native
to this biodiversity hotspot, including tigers and leopards, could
be gone by the end of the century. Worse, the Indian government
is oblivious to the problem because official figures erroneously
suggest that forest cover will rise rather than fall. This mistake
has led to the approval of new schemes, such as hydroelectric
dams, that will exacerbate the devastation.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Fabled ice field 'set to vanish'
(May 17, 2006)
A fabled tropical ice field in Africa could disappear in two decades
because of climate change, a study says. The finding comes from
the first survey in a decade of glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains,
East Africa, often referred to as the "Mountains of the Moon".
A British-Ugandan team says an increase in air temperature over
the last four decades has contributed to a substantial reduction
in glacial cover.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Warming set to 'devastate' coral
(May 16, 2006)
Rising ocean temperatures look set to cause lasting devastation
to coral reef systems, a study suggests. An international team
of researchers looked at reefs in the Seychelles, where an ocean
warming event in 1998 killed much of the live coral. The group
found the oceanic reef had experienced fish extinctions, algal
growth, and only limited recovery.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Plankton blooms linked to quakes
(May 9, 2006)
Concentrations of the natural pigment chlorophyll in coastal waters
have been shown to rise prior to earthquakes. These chlorophyll
increases are due to blooms of plankton, which use the pigment
to convert solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis.
A joint US-Indian team of researchers analysed satellite data
on ocean coastal areas lying near the epicentres of four recent
quakes.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Clear' human impact on climate
(May 4, 2006)
A scientific report commissioned by the US government has concluded
there is "clear evidence" of climate change caused by human activities.
The report, from the federal Climate Change Science Program, said
trends seen over the last 50 years "cannot be explained by natural
processes alone". It found that temperatures have increased in
the lower atmosphere as well as at the Earth's surface.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
More species slide to extinction
(May 2, 2006)
The polar bear and hippopotamus are for the first time listed
as species threatened with extinction by the world's biodiversity
agency. They are included in the Red List of Threatened Species
published by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) which names more
than 16,000 at-risk species. Many sharks, and freshwater fish
in Europe and Africa, are newly included. The IUCN says loss of
biodiversity is increasing despite a global convention committing
governments to stem it.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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