Chile flood: Death toll rises to 23 after record rains in world’s driest region – Four relief workers killed in helicopter crash

By Cedar Attanasio30 March 2015 (Latin Times) – Fourteen are confirmed dead and dozens are still missing following heavy rains in the Chilean Andes that flooded the northern regions of Atacama, Antofagasta, and Coquimbo last week. The rains started on Tuesday March 24th but have since ceased. Rescue workers are racing to evacuate residents that […]

Massive amounts of fresh water, glacial melt pouring into Gulf of Alaska – Melt adds 57 cubic kilometers of water per year

CORVALLIS, Oregon, 19 March 2015 (OSU) – Incessant mountain rain, snow and melting glaciers in a comparatively small region of land that hugs the southern Alaska coast and empties fresh water into the Gulf of Alaska would create the sixth largest coastal river in the world if it emerged as a single stream, a recent […]

Photo gallery: Every single vertebrate that became extinct in the last 100 years

2013: Formosan Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa brachyura By Mitchell Friedman16 September 2014 (Pixable) – The number of extinct animals is difficult to calculate and always higher than the estimate. In some cases, a species is presumed extinct — none have been seen in years — but it’s yet to receive official extinction status by the […]

State of emergency as Super Typhoon Maysak batters Micronesia, kills 5, takes aim at Philippines

Hagatna (Guam), 1 April 2015 (AFP) – Residents of the Micronesian State of Chuuk were struggling to clear the roads of huge pieces of debris and return to damaged homes Wednesday as Super Typhoon Maysak cut a destructive path across the central Pacific leaving at least five dead. Crops were ruined and water supplies contaminated, […]

Nitrogen emissions in smog threatens to ‘massacre’ world’s forests – ‘If the situation remains as it is, most forests in southern China will be destroyed within decades’

By Stephen Chen29 March 2015 (SCMP) – Thick smog could kill off most southern China’s natural forests within decades and threatens trees around the world unless nations take action, say scientists. A 13-year study by Chinese scientists has revealed strong evidence to show the danger is being caused by nitrogen emissions in the atmosphere. “It […]

Investing in the world’s water crisis

By Jack Brewer27 March 2015 (CNBC) – UNICEF and the World Health Organization estimate that 768 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. As economies and populations expand, more water is needed to support this growth. For example, Sao Paulo, which is home to more than 20 million people, is starting to […]

Graph of the Day: Drivers of declines in status for pollinator birds and mammals

10 February 2015 (Conservation Letters) – Drivers of declines in status for pollinator birds (1988-2012) and mammals (1996-2008). ABSTRACT: Biodiversity is declining, with direct and indirect effects on ecosystem functions and services that are poorly quantified. Here we develop the first global assessment of trends in pollinators, focusing on pollinating birds and mammals. A Red […]

China main reason Africa is losing war to stop wipe-out of rhinos and elephants – Poaching has reached ‘catastrophic levels’

By Kylie Knott 28 March 2015 (SCMP) – Michael Dyer looks a little awkward in a suit and tie. And no wonder. His usual garb is a safari suit, and his natural environment is the African bush where he runs Borana, an eco-resort and wildlife sanctuary located 200km north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. But Dyer, […]

Brazil to import electricity from Argentina, Uruguay – Water crisis also an energy crisis

By Priscila Jordao and Silvio Cascione; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn26 March 2015 SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil will import electricity from Argentina and Uruguay this year, the government said in its official gazette on Thursday, the latest step to fend off energy rationing as reservoirs of local hydroelectric plants remain at very low levels. […]

São Paulo drought pits water prospectors against wildcatters

By Lourdes Garcia-Navarro10 March 2015 (NPR) – Geologists say the problem with wildcatters is that new wells are contaminating São Paulo’s natural aquifer not to mention damaging the structure of many buildings. Transcript RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: In Brazil, prospectors are hoping to strike the mother load. And what they are drilling for isn’t your usual […]

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