Sierra Leone’s ex-civil war fighters battle poachers

By Aurelie Marrier d’Unienville10 April 2016 GOLA FOREST, Sierra Leone (Al Jazeera) – Beneath the dense forest canopy, Vandi Konneh carefully picks his way along the rocky footpath. Beads of sweat gather at his temples as he scans the undergrowth for signs of the poachers who roam here. Working as a park ranger in the […]

In Louisiana, a football field of land sinks into the Gulf each hour – ‘If a hurricane comes, we’re wide open’

Editor’s Note: John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN Opinion who focuses on climate change and social justice. Follow him on Snapchat, Facebook and email. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. By John D. Sutter8 April 2016 Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana (CNN) – Wenceslaus Billiot, an 89-year-old with suede-soft eyes and […]

March ends a most interesting winter in the Arctic

6 April 2016 (NSIDC) – Low Arctic sea ice extent for March caps a highly unusual winter in the Arctic, characterized by persistent warmth in the atmosphere that helped to limit ice growth. Above-average influx of ocean heat from the Atlantic and southerly winds helped to keep ice extent especially low in the Barents and […]

Scientists blame El Niño and global warming for ‘gruesome’ coral deaths – ‘This is absolutely the most intense response, the most dramatic death of a coral reef from an El Niño event’

By Seth Borenstein6 April 2016 (ABC News) – The coral on the sea floor around the Pacific island of Kiritimati looked like a boneyard in November — stark, white and lifeless. But there was still some hope. This month, color returned with fuzzy reds and browns, but that’s not good news. Algae has overtaken the […]

Indonesia’s orangutans suffer as fires rage and businesses grow – ‘Every day we’re losing forests the size of a football field, and that’s orangutan habitat’

By Joe Cochrane5 April 2016 NYARU MENTENG, Indonesia (The New York Times) – Katty, a docile, orange-haired preschooler, fell from a tree with a thump. Her teacher quickly picked her up, dusted off her bottom, refastened her white disposable diaper and placed her back on a branch more than seven feet off the ground. Katty […]

Colombia: Ethnocide and political violence on the rise – More than 60 percent of all indigenous peoples in Colombia are at risk of extinction

By Dan Kovalik28 March 2016 (Libya 360) – While Colombia, the U.S.’s staunchest ally in the Hemisphere, is held out as some beacon of democracy in Latin America, the facts on the ground tell a very different story. Of course, you will rarely hear those facts, or about Colombia at all, given the general laziness […]

Vietnam’s southern Mekong Delta faces worst drought in history – ‘Those who have rice in hands will make fat profits’

HANOI, Vietnam, 17 March 2016 (AP) – Vietnam’s southern Mekong Delta, the country’s main rice growing region, is experiencing the worst drought and saline intrusion in recent history that has affected more than half a million people, officials said Thursday. The drought could result in the loss of up to 1 million tons of rice, […]

Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching at 95 per cent in northern section, aerial survey reveals – ‘This will change the Great Barrier Reef forever’

By Peter McCutcheon28 March 2016 (ABC News) – An aerial survey of the northern Great Barrier Reef has shown that 95 per cent of the reefs are now severely bleached — far worse than previously thought. Professor Terry Hughes, a coral reef expert based at James Cook University in Townsville who led the survey team, […]

Another record low for Arctic sea ice maximum winter extent – ‘The Arctic is in crisis. Year by year, it’s slipping into a new state, and it’s hard to see how this won’t have an effect on weather throughout the Northern Hemisphere.’

  BOULDER, Colorado, 28 March 2016 (NSIDC) – Arctic sea ice was at a record low maximum extent for the second straight year, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA. “I’ve never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic,” said NSIDC director Mark Serreze. “The heat […]

Poland approves large-scale logging in Europe’s last primeval forest

25 March 2016 (AFP) – Poland has approved large-scale logging in Europe’s last primeval woodland in a bid to combat a beetle infestation despite protests from scientists, ecologists and the European Union. The action in the Białowieża forest is intended to fight the spread of the spruce bark beetle. “We’re acting to curb the degradation […]

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