By Jethro Mullen1 August 2013 Hong Kong (CNN) – Record-breaking temperatures have been searing large swaths of China, resulting in dozens of heat-related deaths and prompting authorities to issue a national alert. People are packing into swimming pools or taking refuge in caves in their attempts to escape the fierce temperatures. Local governments are resorting […]
By Christopher C. Burt 12 August 2013 (wunderground.com) – An all-time national heat record was set in Japan today (August 12th) when the temperature peaked at 41.0°C (105.8°F) at the Ekawasaki site in Shimanto (part of Kochi Prefecture). The previous record of 40.9°C (105.6°F) was recorded at Tajima and Kumagaya on August 16, 2007. Tokyo […]
[You know that you’ve arrived when your story makes the cover of TIME. The rest is behind the pay wall, unfortunately.] By Bryan Walsh 19 August 2013 (TIME) – You can thank the Apis mellifera, better known as the Western honeybee, for 1 in every 3 mouthfuls you’ll eat today. Honeybees — which pollinate crops […]
22 July 2013 (EEA) – Figure 3.2 shows some examples of European butterfly trends: The Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), a widespread and in many countries common and abundant butterfly, occurring on all kinds of grasslands; the Orangetip (Anthocharis cardamines), a typical spring butterfly; the Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon), a specialist species of dry calcareous grasslands. […]
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent16 August 2013 (BBC News) – Macaque monkeys that have developed the ability to use stone tools to open shellfish are in danger of losing the skill because of human development. Scientists found that illegal palm oil and rubber plantations in Thailand are disrupting the monkeys’ feeding behaviour. Dogs brought in […]
By Max Fisher13 August 2013 (Washington Post) – The United Nations Children’s Fund released this short video from Namibia, a country in southwestern Africa that’s twice the size of California, documenting the effects of the country’s most severe drought in decades. It’s a national emergency, and the United Nations is getting involved. Here are a […]
[Apologies for the tardiness; don’t know how this story got by Des last month.] By Wilfred Chan7 July 2013 (CNN) – For years, China has talked about promoting “green growth.” But this probably isn’t what they had in mind. For the seventh year in a row, monstrous quantities of green algae known as enteromorpha prolifera […]
By Jeremy Hance8 August 2013 (mongabay.com) – A biological survey of forests slated for destruction for a palm oil project in Cameroon has uncovered 23 species of large mammals, including the world’s most endangered chimpanzee subspecies, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). The project in question, operated by U.S.-based company Herakles Farms, has come under […]
By Coral Davenport12 August 2013 (National Journal) – The World Bank, headquartered a block from the White House, was founded after World War II to combat global poverty. But over the past year, fighting climate change has become the bank’s new guiding principal, as economic evidence indicates that global warming will be a driving cause […]
11 August 2013 (NPR) – Algae blooms are green or red or brown, slimy, smelly and you don’t want it coming soon to a waterfront near you. Most of us don’t give a lot of thought to algae until the furry-like monstrosity is spreading over beaches, rivers, lakes and bays, but gigantic algae blooms have […]
