Blogging the End of the World™
The international commission that sets fishing limits for tuna and other large migratory fish is meeting in Brazil. The commission faces a depressing reality: the bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean is headed toward commercial extinction. From time to time, the commission has marginally reduced the allowable catch, but never by as much […]
By JASON DOWLINGNovember 9, 2009 POWER blackouts could hit Melbourne again this summer if there is a repeat of January and February’s extreme weather conditions, electricity suppliers have warned. A spokesman for Australia’s national power industry body, Australian Energy Market Operator, said Victoria had enough power to cope with average summer temperatures, but would struggle […]
By BRIDIE SMITHNovember 9, 2009 MELBOURNE’S water storage is set to fall for the first time in four months this week, as a record string of hot November days coincides with reduced run-off and a lack of spring rain. While catchments were still benefiting from last month’s falls, water flowing into reservoirs has gradually decreased. […]
By Les Blumenthal | McClatchy Newspapers • Published November 07, 2009 WASHINGTON — Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds, puzzling scientists. A thousand miles off California, researchers have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex roughly twice the size of Texas […]
An environmental lawyer in Indonesia says local fishermen are going bankrupt because the Timor Sea oil spill has ruined fish stocks. The West Atlas oil rig spewed hundreds of thousands of litres of oil and gas into the sea for 10 weeks and last week caught fire. It was plugged earlier this week with mud. […]
A fisherman unloads a sashimi-grade yellowfin tuna from a small boat at the General Santos Fish Port Complex on Mindinao island in the southern Philippines on Aug. 11, 2009. Hand-line fishermen in General Santos bring in some of the best quality — and most expensive — tuna that goes on sale in the large fresh […]
By ANDREW DARBYNovember 7, 2009 HOBART: The Rudd Government has pulled plans to publicise the discovery of massive illegal fishing nets in the Antarctic while the ship that found them, Oceanic Viking, is under a different spotlight. Bottom-set gillnets are presenting a new crisis in Australia’s regional waters. Laid by foreign fishers, they form a […]
By PAUL BIBBY, URBAN AFFAIRSNovember 7, 2009 THE State Government must consider curbing population growth in western Sydney because there will not be enough water to sustain agriculture, recreation and environmental flows in the region, scientists say. More than 600,000 extra residents will live in western Sydney by 2031, according to the State Government’s Metropolitan […]
Gannets on the island of Malgas in South Africa are in a bit of a pinch. Usually they nest with one parent out fishing, while the other parent guards the chick. However, fewer fish to catch means both parents have to go hunting and leave the chick unguarded. This leaves an opportunity open for pelicans […]
Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Matthew Jones GENEVA (Reuters) – Up to 750,000 people in Kenya, nearly half of them Somali refugees, could be caught up in flooding and landslides from heavy rains expected to peak in November, the United Nations warned on Friday. … An estimated 4,600 people along the Indian Ocean coast […]
