Blogging the End of the World™
HONOLULU, Hawaii, June 7, 2011 (ENS) – A potent toxic chemical that affects the nervous system has been identified in the bodies of Critically Endangered Hawaiian monk seals. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, have found that Hawaiian monk seals are exposed to ciguatoxin, a toxin produced by marine algae common on […]
June 8 (Asahi Shimbun) – Radioactive sewage sludge is quickly filling up treatment facilities in eastern Japan as recycling companies have refused to accept it for safety reasons. The central government, which has only presented guidelines for temporary storage, plans to set standards on final disposal. Radioactive cesium was first detected in sludge at a […]
By Nina Chestney; Editing by James Jukwey8 Jun 2011 LONDON (Reuters) – China’s carbon dioxide emissions rose 10.4 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year as it surpassed the United States as the world’s biggest energy consumer, data released by BP on Wednesday showed. China’s emissions from energy use totaled 8.33 billion tonnes last […]
By Johan van Slooten3 June 2011 Thousands of people in India’s northern state of Orissa are facing serious health risks as a reservoir at the state’s biggest aluminum refinery is reported to be leaking. Amnesty International and local human rights organisations warn that the reservoir at Vedanta Aluminum could overflow during the upcoming monsoon season. […]
By Jonathan Watts3 June 2011 The Chinese government issued its annual “State of the Environment” report on Friday. Here are the highlights along with my interpretation and year-end grade for each subject based on the following standard: A – World classB – GoodC – PassableD – Poor but showing signs of improvementE – Poor and […]
TOKYO, June 7 (AP) – Japan will for the first time report to the UN nuclear watchdog that fuel in its crippled Fukushima plant may have melted through the bottoms of three reactor core vessels, a news report said Tuesday. The Yomiuri Shimbun daily report came a day after Japan more than doubled its estimate […]
June 5 (ABC) – A new report on the risk of climate change to Australia’s coasts predicts sea level rises could claim thousands of buildings and significant infrastructure by the end of the century. The report, titled Risk to Coastal Settlements and Communities [pdf], was commissioned by the Federal Government and assesses the potential damage […]
June 7 (Asahi Shimbun) – Residents outside the planned evacuation zone near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are trying to lead normal lives, but radiation levels exceeding the safety standard are posing an increasing threat. A report released June 3 by the science ministry said annual accumulated radiation levels are estimated at 20.1, […]
By Shunsuke Kimura, Jin Nishikawa, Eisuke Sasaki, and Hidenori Tsuboya7 June 2011 As workers struggle to bring the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control, signs are increasing that the eventual cleanup of the disaster will take much longer than previously thought. Containers of rubble, unwanted and of unknown levels of contamination, line the […]
Map of total nitrogen emissions from Spain according to the EMEP model for the period 1990-2006 (data from EMEP reduced to half-degree cell). A nitrophilous index was calculated using over 750,000 occurrence records of plants that had been indexed at GBIF for the Iberian Peninsula by March, 2009. To construct this index, the annual number […]
