Blogging the End of the World™
SULAIMANI, Kurdistan, Iraq, April 7, 2011 (ENS) – The Tanjero River, which runs southwest of the city of Sulaimani, was once a sizeable river flowing with clean water, but today it is reduced to a polluted stream filled with sewage, says the environmental group Nature Iraq. Anna Bachmann of Nature Iraq says that a visit […]
By Jason Clenfield18 March 2011 The unfolding disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant follows decades of falsified safety reports, fatal accidents and underestimated earthquake risk in Japan’s atomic power industry. The destruction caused by last week’s 9.0 earthquake and tsunami comes less than four years after a 6.8 quake shut the world’s biggest atomic plant, […]
In 2007, Massachusetts commissioned a study of publicly owned sea walls and other coastal-defense structures, grading each on its condition and potential damage to property if it failed. A sea wall can be in poor condition but be a low priority to fix because if it failed, few homes or other infrastructure would be damaged. […]
Budapest (AFP) April 6, 2011 – Wildlife has still not returned to the area in western Hungary that was devastated by the country’s worst chemical accident six months ago, the World Wildlife Fund said Wednesday. “Wildlife and fishlife were totally devastated or displaced from the area, and six months later, the banks of rivers Marcal […]
Kingston, Canada (SPX) Apr 07, 2011 – Queen’s researchers have discovered that nanoparticles, which are now present in everything from socks to salad dressing and suntan lotion, may have irreparably damaging effects on soil systems and the environment. “Millions of tonnes of nanoparticles are now manufactured every year, including silver nanoparticles which are popular as […]
ISIOLO/MANDERA, 6 April 2011 (IRIN) – Thousands more heads of livestock have died in Kenya’s arid Northeastern province as La Niña drought conditions worsen and water shortages become more acute. Drought monitoring and assessment reports indicate that the hardest-hit areas are Marsabit, Moyale and Mandera. Livestock farmers in the three regions have lost more than […]
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune 6 April 2011 The dwarf seahorse, which makes its home in seagrass beds along the coastline of Louisiana and other Gulf states, should be given endangered or threatened species status because of threats to its habitat by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its overcollection for the aquarium trade, […]
Singapore (AFP) April 4, 2011 – A global slowdown in the growth of nuclear power in reaction to the Japan crisis will seriously hamper the fight against climate change, a top International Energy Agency (IEA) official said Monday. IEA chief economist Fatih Birol told AFP that governments must study the implications carefully before making any […]
By Beth Daley, Boston Globe Staff 3 April 2011 SCITUATE — A piercing wail startled Gary and Paula Elsmore awake at 3 a.m. Paula knelt on the bed and peered out the upstairs bedroom window. In the blinding snow, she could barely make out a neighbor waving up at her frantically. The ocean was coming. […]
FUKUSHIMA, Japan, April 6 (Kyodo) – The village of Iitate near a crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture plans to evacuate pregnant women, toddlers and babies amid a growing doubt among villagers about the government’s radiation safety instructions, village officials said Wednesday. The mayor of the nearby city of Minamisoma, however, urged the Fukushima […]
