By Fergus Ryan, with additional reporting by Amber Ziye Wang26 September 2015 Beijing (The Guardian) – While differences on cyber security and talk of sanctions dominated the headlines for Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to the US, the two countries also signed up to a major agreement to end the global trade in ivory. In […]
21 September 2015 (AFP) – A critically endangered Sumatran elephant who had patrolled Indonesia’s jungles to help protect threatened habitats has been killed for his tusks, an official said Monday, sparking a surge of anger online. Yongki, a tame creature who worked with teams of elephant keepers, was found dead close to the camp where […]
By Joel Connelly15 September 2015 (Seattle PI) – Poaching and slaughter of wild creatures, from Africa’s great elephants to manta rays in the Pacific Ocean, has become the Earth’s fourth-largest illegal criminal activity, creating what conservationists call an “extinction economy.” As one watches the new film, Racing Extinction, by Academy Award-winning documentary maker Louie Psihoyos, […]
By Noah Seelam17 September 2015 (AFP) – Outdoor air pollution from sources as varied as cooking fires in India, traffic in the United States and fertiliser use in Russia, claim some 3.3 million lives globally every year, researchers said Wednesday. The vast majority of victims — nearly 75 percent — died from strokes and heart […]
By Angel Canales14 September 2015 (ABC News) – Famous for its pink coloring, the Chinese white dolphin is under threat of extinction in Hong Kong. Among other things, their shrinking habitat has deprived them of food and shelter, experts say. “So that’s why it has seriously impacted the number of dolphins in Hong Kong,” Samantha […]
4 September 2015 (Insurance Journal) – The monthly report for August from Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting catastrophe model development team cites the “severe drought conditions” in the western U.S. as resulting in “economic losses expected to reach at least $3.0 billion – mostly attributable to agricultural damage in California.” Several Caribbean and Central American nations […]
3 September 2015 (The Siberian Times) – At least eight black bears have been killed in terrorised Luchegorsk, as starving wild animals roam streets and go on the attack. The bear blockade in this settlement of 20,000 has been underway since early August with many locals scared to go outside. Up to 36 bears are […]
By Dan Levin 13 August 2015 BEIJING (The New York Times) – Outdoor air pollution contributes to the deaths of an estimated 1.6 million people in China every year, or about 4,400 people a day, according to a newly released scientific paper [pdf]. The paper maps the geographic sources of China’s toxic air and concludes […]
By David Volodzko5 August 2015 CHENGDU, China (Global Post) – While China clamps down on logging within its borders, illegal Chinese loggers are felling the world’s forests with abandon for the sake of teak floors and fancy chairs. In late July, 153 Chinese nationals were sentenced to life in prison for illegal logging in Myanmar’s […]
BERLIN, 4 August 2015 (AP) – Customs officials at Zurich airport have seized 262 kilograms (578 pounds) of ivory that three Chinese men had dispatched from Tanzania, contraband that may have come from up to 50 elephants, Swiss authorities said Tuesday. The ivory was found during a security check on July 6 and packed in […]
