U.N. court orders Japan to halt whale hunt – ‘A fair and just stance on the right side of history that protects the whales of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and the vital marine ecosystem of Antarctica’

By Saeed Ahmed31 March 2014 (CNN) – The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that Japan can no longer continue its annual whale hunt, rejecting the country’s argument that it was for scientific purposes. “Japan shall revoke any extant authorization, permit or license granted in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of landslide and barrier lake near Oso, Washington

By Adam Voiland23 March 2014 (NASA) – On 22 March 2014, a rainfall-triggered landslide near Oso, Washington, sent muddy debris spilling across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River. The debris swamped numerous homes, resulting in the deaths of at least 24 people, according to news reports. As of March 25, dozens of people were […]

Over 9,000 primates killed each year for single bushmeat market in West Africa

By Ariel Mark 24 March 2014 (mongabay.com) – Over the past 25 years, West Africa’s primates have been put at risk due to an escalating bushmeat trade compounded with forest loss from expanding human populations. In fact, many endemic primates in the Upper Guinea forests of Liberia and Ivory Coast have been pushed to the […]

25 years after Exxon Valdez, we still haven’t learned to limit oil drilling

By  Frances Beinecke28 March 2014 (Washington Post) – Twenty-five years ago this month, the Exxon Valdez struck a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound and dumped 11 million gallons of crude oil into the water. The public was shocked by photos of oil-soaked otters and reports that coastal residents had lost their livelihoods. The cleanup effort […]

Just how bad is the logging crisis in Myanmar? 72 percent of exports are illegal – ‘A ban is only as good as the enforcement that governs it’

By Jeremy Hance26 March 2014 (mongabay.com) – Just days before Myanmar, also known as Burma, implements a ban on exporting raw logs, the Environmental Investigative Agency (EIA) has released a new report that captures the sheer scale of the country’s illegal logging crisis. According to the EIA, new data shows that 72 percent of logs […]

Graph of the Day: Precipitation anomalies over South America during the active monsoon season, September 2012 – May 2013

Geneva, 24 March 2014 (WMO) – Temperatures in South America were dominated by hot conditions in most parts of the continent, except for some limited areas in southern Brazil and the north-central and western parts of South America, which had near to colder than average temperatures. A warm October–December period – including the hottest December […]

Climate change here and now: Interview with climate scientist Michael Mann – ‘Many regions of the globe will literally be unlivable’

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is meeting in Japan to release its latest report, on the impact of climate change on society and the planet. Penn State professor Michael Mann and host Steve Curwood discuss how the report anticipates that increased conflict and declining supplies of food and water lie ahead. Transcript CURWOOD: From […]

Seattle smashes record for all-time wettest March

By Scott Sistek   28 March 2014 SEATTLE (KOMO News) – We all know it’s been a soggy month of March. Now we have the trophy to prove it. The rains Friday were enough to set the record for the all-time wettest March in Seattle history. That’s not just Sea-Tac Airport,which goes back to 1945, but […]

RCMP descend on native community on central coast of British Columbia in herring fishery conflict

By Larry Pynn29 March 2014 Vancouver (Vancouver Sun) – The federal government has chosen a remote stretch of B.C. coastline to square off against aboriginals in a fight over an imminent commercial roe-herring fishery. Federal fisheries minister Gail Shea is being blamed for an escalating conflict over a forthcoming commercial gillnet fishery that has resulted […]

Study blames BP oil spill for heart defects in fish – ‘They can’t swim as fast, so they are either going to get eaten or they won’t be able to eat enough. That leads to reduced survival.’

By Arielle Duhaime-Ross24 March 2014 (The Verge) – Last December, scientists announced that dolphins in Louisiana were experiencing lung diseases and low birthrates in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that released more than 636 million liters of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Now, researchers have also found evidence […]

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