Mediterranean marine life in greatest peril, census shows

Bombs, the invasion of alien species and pollution among threats facing fish in the enclosed sea, according to study By Alok Jha, www.guardian.co.uk Monday 2 August 2010 21.05 BST Marine life in the Mediterranean faces the greatest risk of damage and death, the Census of Marine Life shows. “Enclosed seas have the risk that, when […]

Palm oil giant accused of rainforest destruction caught ‘red-handed’

Indonesia’s largest palm oil and pulp group, Sinar Mas, is continuing to destroy rainforests and peatland despite promises to end the practice Ecologist29th July, 2010 A major supplier of palm oil and pulp (paper) to multinationals, including food giant Cargill, has been caught clearing orang-utan habitats and carbon-rich peatlands. The Sinar Mas group, which has […]

20 percent of livestock breeds threatened in global ‘livestock meltdown’

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (SPX) Jul 26, 2010 Urgent action is needed to stop the rapid and alarming loss of genetic diversity of African livestock that provide food and income to 70 percent of rural Africans and include a treasure-trove of drought- and disease-resistant animals, according to a new analysis presented at a major gathering of […]

Illegal logging declining worldwide, but still ‘major problem’

A new report by the Chatham House finds that illegal logging in tropical forest nations is primarily on the decline, providing evidence that new laws and international efforts on the issue are having a positive impact. According to the report, the total global production of illegal timber has fallen by 22 percent since 2002. Yet […]

UN warns biodiversity loss poses greater business risk than climate change

PricewaterhouseCoopers claims UK firms are “biting the hand that feeds” through negligent approach to ecosystem services By James Murray, BusinessGreen, 13 Jul 2010 The threat to businesses arising from unchecked biodiversity loss is larger and more immediate than that presented by climate change. That is the stark conclusion of a long-anticipated UN-backed report to be […]

Thousands of undiscovered plant species face extinction

ScienceDaily (July 7, 2010) — Faced with threats such as habitat loss and climate change, thousands of rare flowering plant species worldwide may become extinct before scientists can even discover them, according to a paper published today by a trio of American and British researchers in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. “Scientists […]

Scientists warn that Malaysia is converting tropical forests to rubberwood plantations

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com June 24, 2010 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) has condemned Malaysia’s booming practice of converting tropical forests into rubberwood plantations, arguing that the conversion threatens Malaysia’s biodiversity, endangered species, and releases significant greenhouse gas emissions. According to the resolution, rubberwood plantations in Malaysia have expanded nearly 30-fold in […]

Oceans choking on CO2, face deadly changes

By Michael Perry, ReutersJune 17, 2010 SYDNEY (Reuters) – The world’s oceans are virtually choking on rising greenhouse gases, destroying marine ecosystems and breaking down the food chain — irreversible changes that have not occurred for several million years, a new study says. The changes could have dire consequences for hundreds of millions of people […]

Climate change made apes vanish in ancient Europe

By Katia Moskvitch Science reporter, BBC News Page last updated at 4:14 GMT, Monday, 7 June 2010 5:14 UK Great apes were wiped out in ancient Europe when their environment changed drastically some nine million years ago, scientists say. A study of fossil teeth from grazing animals sheds light on what Europe was like during […]

Fears grow over oil spill’s long-term effects on food web

By Matthew Cardinale ATLANTA, Georgia, May 31, 2010 (IPS/IFEJ) – As oil continues gushing from the ocean floor into the Gulf of Mexico, with no sign of stopping until a new well is finished this August, scientists, environmentalists and local residents are beginning to reckon with the reality of a massive annihilation of sea creatures […]

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