Blogging the End of the World™
By Jeremy Hance4 February 2013 (mongabay.com) – Responding to an investigative report by National Geographic, the Vatican has condemned elephant poaching for ivory and pledged three steps to help in the battle to save the world’s elephants. The National Geographic article Ivory Worship by Bryan Christy, looked at how religions—specifically religious items for Christians and […]
By Peter Hannam, Carbon economy editor5 February 2013 Victoria faces days of heightened fire risk with the return of hot weather and little sign of rainfall relief for much of the state. Fire resources have been mobilised to fight five continuing fires in expectation of warmer conditions lasting until Sunday. A “severe fire danger” rating […]
1 February 2013 (mongabay.com) – The rate of tree mortality in the Amazon rainforest due to storm damage and drought is 9-17 percent higher than conventionally believed, reports a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Comparing Landsat satellite images with on-the-ground observations, researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, […]
By Jim Lynch 2 February 2013 (The Detroit News) – In the nearly 100 years researchers have catalogued the rise and fall of the Great Lakes, Michigan and Huron have never seen a month like January. The two-lake system recorded its lowest-ever level for a month, a mean of 576.02 feet above sea level. It’s […]
By Beth Walker1 February 2013 (China Dialog) – China has confirmed it will resurrect a series of controversial hydropower dams in south-west China on rivers originating on the Tibetan Plateau, causing ripples of consternation from India and other downstream neighbours. The 2011-15 energy sector blueprint, released by China’s State Council last week, confirmed plans to […]
30 January 2013 (Bloomberg News) – Beijing’s air, which has exceeded the World Health Organization’s “healthy” limit every day this year, is similar to that in an airport smoking lounge. The CHART OF THE DAY shows Beijing’s daily peak and average concentrations of PM2.5, the airborne particulate matter that raises risks for lung and heart […]
By Mereseini Marau4 February 2013 NEW DELHI (Fiji Times) – The government of Kiribati will buy about 6000 acres of land near Savusavu for its food security as the country has started feeling the effects of the rising sea level. And it will ensure that it protects whatever part of Kiribati that can be saved […]
By Jessica M. Morrison31 January 2013 Three-Eleven is what they call the disaster. On March 11, 2011, all hell broke loose when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern coast of Japan. As if that weren’t enough, a massive tsunami followed about an hour later, churning over everything in its path for some 200 square […]
By Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet 1 February 2013 The scene of the crime: The Arctic. The suspect: The Great Arctic Cyclone of August 2012. The victim: The Arctic sea ice, which melted to a record low area last year. “The Great Arctic Cyclone of August 2012″ arose in Siberia on 2 August 2012 and crossed the […]
By David Ariosto, CNN31 January 2013 (CNN) – An old wooden carving known as “the Sacred Cod” hangs in the Massachusetts State House. That figurine has stared down at lawmakers for more than two centuries as a reminder of how important cod fishing has been to New England, where generations have made a living by […]
