Pacific nations alarmed by tuna overfishing – ‘The deployment of tens of thousands of drifting fish aggregating devices is extremely worrisome’

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press   2 December 2012 MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Pacific island nations and environmentalists raised an alarm Sunday over destructive fishing methods and overfishing that they say are threatening bigeye tuna – the fish popular among sushi lovers worldwide. Palau fisheries official Nanette Malsol, who leads a bloc of Pacific island nations, […]

Dispersant made oil 50 times more toxic to Gulf of Mexico microorganisms

By Bob Berwyn3 December 2012 The massive amounts of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico after BP’s Deepwater Horizon drill rig exploded was devastating to marine life, but the dispersant used in the aftermath to try and break down the oil slicks may have been even worse for some species, according to new […]

Video: Appetite for Destruction: China’s Trade in Illegal Timber

BEIJING, 29 November 2012 (EIA) – China, emergent superpower and the world’s second biggest economy, is effectively standing on the sidelines as its exponential growth devastates forests in a trade worth billions of dollars a year. In the new report Appetite for Destruction: China’s Trade in Illegal Timber, launched today in Beijing, the London-based Environmental […]

‘Exporting deforestation’: China is the kingpin of illegal logging

By Jeremy Hance29 November 2012 (mongabay.com) – Runaway economic growth comes with costs: in the case of China’s economic engine, one of them has been the world’s forests. According to a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), China has become the number one importer of illegal wood products from around the world. Illegal […]

Video: Japan tsunami debris covers Hawaii beach

28 November 2012 (NBC News) – On the Big Island of Hawaii, debris is changing the landscape as thousands of pounds of trash hit Kamilo Beach – much of it from Japan. The refuse is already impacting wildlife such as fish and birds. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports. Tsunami debris washes up in Hawaii Technorati Tags: […]

Rising acidity levels threaten ocean food chain, study finds

26 November 2012 (SMH) – The shells of some marine snails in the seas around Antarctica are dissolving as the water becomes more acidic, threatening the food chain, a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience said on Sunday. The tiny snails, known as ‘‘sea butterflies’’, live in the seas around Antarctica and are left […]

Photos reveal destruction of Cameroon rainforest for palm oil

By Jeremy Hance26 November 2012 (mongabay.com) – Newly released photos by Greenpeace show the dramatic destruction of tropical forest in Cameroon for an oil palm plantation operated by SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon (SGSOC), a subsidiary of the U.S. company Herakles Farm. The agriculture company is planning to convert 73,000 hectares to palm oil plantations on […]

Swallowing rainforest, cities surge in Amazon

By SIMON ROMERO24 November 2012 PARAUAPEBAS, Brazil (The New York Times) — The Amazon has been viewed for ages as a vast quilt of rain forest interspersed by remote river outposts. But the surging population growth of cities in the jungle is turning that rural vision on its head and alarming scientists, as an array […]

U.N. urges foreign fishing fleets to halt ‘ocean grabbing’

By Alister Doyle; Editing by Andrew Osborn30 October 2012 OSLO (Reuters) – “Ocean grabbing” or aggressive industrial fishing by foreign fleets is a threat to food security in developing nations where governments should do more to promote local, small-scale fisheries, a study by a U.N. expert said on Tuesday. The report said emerging nations should […]

Smuggling of illegally logged rosewood in Madagascar continues, report alleges

25 October 2012 (mongabay.com) – Timber traders in Madagascar are smuggling illegally logged rosewood despite an official export ban, alleges a new report published by a Malagasy researcher. The report, authored by Hery Randriamalala and based on press clippings, cargo manifests, and eye-witness accounts, indicates that traders are covertly reducing rosewood stockpiles accumulated during a […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial