By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.comFebruary 02, 2011 Growing populations, expanding agriculture, commodities such as palm oil and paper, logging, urban sprawl, mining, and other human impacts have pushed many of the world’s great forests to the brink. Yet scientists, environmentalists, and even some policymakers increasingly warn that forests are worth more standing than felled. They argue […]
ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2011) — Scientists from Stony Brook University are reporting new evidence that cultivating coca bushes, the source of cocaine, is speeding up destruction of rainforests in Colombia and threatening the region’s “hotspots” of plant and animal diversity. The findings, which they say underscore the need for establishing larger protected areas to help […]
Developers of hydroelectric plant have redrawn the boundaries of a crucial freshwater reserve for rare and economically important species By Jonathan Watts, Asia environment correspondent, www.guardian.co.uk Tuesday 18 January 2011 07.00 GMT The last refuge for many of China’s rarest and most economically important wild fish has mere days to secure public support before it […]
ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2010) — The consequences of the current high levels of socio-economic activity on the extent of biological invasions will probably not be completely realized until decades into the future, according to new research. A new study on biological invasions based on extensive data of alien species from 10 taxonomic groups and 28 […]
The top 100 stories from the 1629 news items recorded by the ApocaDocs in 2010. [A feature that Desdemona is sorely tempted to emulate.] Mon, Jan 11, 2010from BBC: World’s biodiversity ‘crisis’ needs action, says UNEight years ago, governments pledged to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but the pledge will not be […]
Drop in 17 species’ populations indicates a catastrophic loss of flower-rich meadows in many European countries Once there were swarms of butterflies in our skies By Patrick Barkham, www.guardian.co.uk Thursday 9 December 2010 16.57 GMT Butterflies that flourish on grassland across Europe are in steep decline, indicating a catastrophic loss of flower-rich meadows in many […]
The so-called summit in Japan won’t stop anyone trashing the planet. Only economic risks seem to make governments act. By George Monbiot, www.guardian.co.uk Monday, 1 November 2010 21.00 GMT ‘Countries join forces to save life on Earth”, the front page of the Independent told us. “Historic”, “a landmark”, a “much-needed morale booster”, the other papers […]
By David Fogarty; editing by Ron PopeskiWed Oct 27, 2010 7:00am EDT NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) – About a fifth of the world’s vertebrates are threatened with extinction, a major review has found, highlighting the plight of nature that is the focus of global environment talks underway in Japan. The study by more than 170 scientists […]
By Mark Kinver Science and environment reporter, BBC News 22 October 2010 Last updated at 05:53 ET Future warming could have “profound implications” for the stability of freshwater ecosystems, a study warns. Researchers said warmer water affected the distribution and size of plankton – tiny organisms that form the basis of food chains in aquatic […]
By Chisa Fujioka; editing by David FogartyMon Oct 18, 2010 9:44am EDT NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) – The world cannot afford to allow nature’s riches to disappear, the United Nations said on Monday at the start of a major meeting to combat losses in animal and plant species that underpin livelihoods and economies. The United Nations […]
