PEKANBARU, Indonesia, 25 June 2013 (Associated Press) — Indonesian authorities have arrested eight farmers for setting illegal fires on Sumatra island to clear land after numerous blazes created a thick haze choking parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, police said Tuesday. The farmers were arrested Monday and Tuesday after being caught “red-handed,” said local police […]
By Manirajan Ramasamy, Sharon Chen, and Yoga Rusmana; Editing by Stanley James 23 June 2013 (Bloomberg) – Malaysia declared a state of emergency in some areas after air pollution from illegal burning of forests and peat lands in Indonesia reached hazardous levels, while Singapore breathed easier as winds shifted direction. Prime Minister Najib Razak signed […]
By Aaron Kase 20 June 2013 (Salon) – The habitat for half the world supply of wild sockeye salmon — as well as a critical area for other wildlife, tourism and native peoples — is at urgent risk of being filled with pollutants, and sterilized in the name of gold and copper mining. Dillingham is […]
By Craig Pittman16 June 2013 (Tampa Bay Times) – The Indian River Lagoon on Florida’s east coast has long been known as the most diverse ecosystem in North America. Its 156 miles of water boast more than 600 species of fish and more than 300 kinds of birds. The lagoon is not just an ecological […]
By Adam Voiland19 June 2013 On 19 June 2013, NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites captured striking images of smoke billowing from illegal wildfires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The smoke blew east toward southern Malaysia and Singapore, and news media reported that thick clouds of haze had descended on Singapore, pushing pollution to record […]
By Elizabeth Case19 June 2013 (The Oregonian) – An estimated 25,000 bumblebees have been found dead in a Target parking lot in Wilsonville since Saturday, 15 June 2013, the largest known incident of bumblebee deaths in the United States, according to the Xerces Society. Preliminary information suggests pesticides may be at fault. The Oregon Department […]
By Elizabeth Lopatto and Nicole Ostrow; Editing by Reg Gale17 June 2013 (Bloomberg) – Researchers seeking the roots of autism have linked the disorder to chemicals in air pollution and, in a separate study, found that language difficulties of the disorder may be due to a disconnect in brain wiring. Researchers from Harvard University’s School […]
By Jeremy van Loon 17 June 2013 (Bloomberg) – In the farming country of northwest Alberta, heavy oil wells are becoming more common than cattle and combines. Along with money and jobs, the boom has brought smells and fumes that are adding to the greenhouse gas emissions from Canada’s oil sands. Emissions from flaring, or […]
By Melissa Hathaway, guest blogger14 June 2013 It has been well publicized over the last 30 – 40 years that carbon dioxide is driving the greenhouse effect, resulting in: global warming; carbon cycle imbalances; the melting of the polar caps; and changes to the deep sea currents which carry warm water from the equator towards […]
By John Vidal, environment editor 12 June 2013 (The Guardian) – Air pollution from Europe‘s 300 largest coal power stations causes 22,300 premature deaths a year and costs companies and governments billions of pounds in disease treatment and lost working days, says a major study of the health impacts of burning coal to generate electricity. […]
