Roads are ruining the rainforests

By William Laurance “THE best thing you could do for the Amazon is to bomb all the roads.” That might sound like an eco-terrorist’s threat, but they’re actually the words of Eneas Salati, one of Brazil’s most respected scientists. Thomas Lovejoy, a leading American biologist, is equally emphatic: “Roads are the seeds of tropical forest […]

Water crisis threatens Yemen's swelling population

By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent SANAA (Reuters) – Gentle showers temporarily damp the dust and cool the August heat of Sanaa, but cannot remedy a grim water outlook for the Yemeni capital’s 2 million people. Some residents receive piped city water only once every nine days and others get none at all. The sinking water […]

Graph of the Day: World Oil Production, 1850-2200

SOMEBODY was having a graph in Sandown last week after a mysterious image appeared on the beach.A County Press reader sent this photograph of what looks like a graph with a set of dates on it, plus a ‘you are here’ message.The graph attracted lots of attention from early-morning joggers and dog walkers, before it […]

Unique Mexican amphibian nears extinction

By John Platt in 60-Second Extinction Countdown Urban growth is quickly driving one of the world’s most bizarre creatures into extinction. According to a new study, the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), a Mexican amphibian that never metamorphoses past its larval stage, has seen a 90 percent population drop in the last four years. Only an estimated […]

Poachers threaten spider tortoise

By Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News Poachers are threatening the survival of the northern Madagascar spider tortoise, which only lives along a narrow strip of the island’s coast. The animal has disappeared from swathes of its habitat, taken by collectors to supply the exotic pet trade. Wild numbers of the tortoise may have already fallen […]

California holds massive garage sale

By AP / JUDY LIN (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is hoping that the “Great California Garage Sale” will turn government clutter like surplus prison uniforms and office furniture into cash to bulk up the state’s depleted finances. On offer as the state clears out clutter are nearly 600 state-owned vehicles and thousands of […]

World's rarest duck near extinction

By Jeremy Hance The Madagascar pochard, the world’s rarest duck, was already thought to be extinct once. After a last sighting in 1991 the species was thought to have vanished until nine adults and four hatchlings were discovered in 2006. However, conservationists have begun to fear that the species will never recover after a survey […]

Nepal villagers on climate change frontline

Bhattegaun, Nepal (AFP) Aug 28, 2009 – Three years ago Naina Shahi’s husband left their small village in rural Nepal to seek work in neighbouring India, leaving her to bring up their three children alone. The dry winters and unpredictable monsoons Nepal has experienced in recent years had hit crop production on the couple’s land […]

Japan reports record unemployment rate

By John Letzing, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Japan issued sobering July economic data on Friday, including a record unemployment rate and the biggest decline in consumer prices in roughly 38 years. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said the country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.7% in July from 5.4% in the previous month. […]

Scientists study ‘Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch’

ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2009) — Scientists have just completed an unprecedented journey into the vast and little-explored “Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.” On the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX), researchers got the first detailed view of plastic debris floating in a remote ocean region. It wasn’t a pretty sight. The Scripps research vessel […]

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