By Jeremy Hance The first global report on the state of shellfish was released today at the International Marine Conservation Congress in Washington, DC. Painting a dire picture for shellfish worldwide, the report found that 85 percent of oyster reefs have vanished. Threats such as over-development on coasts, destructive fishing practices, altered river flows, dams, […]
The most extensive study of pollutants in marine mammals’ brains reveals that these animals are exposed to a hazardous cocktail of pesticides such as DDTs and PCBs, as well as emerging contaminants such as brominated flame retardants. Eric Montie, the lead author on the study currently in press and published online April 17 in Environmental […]
By Azad Majumder DHAKA (Reuters) – It was once the lifeline of the Bangladeshi capital. But the once mighty Buriganga river, which flows by Dhaka, is now one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh because of rampant dumping of industrial and human waste. “Much of the Buriganga is now gone, having fallen to ever […]
By David Derbyshire Chemicals in food, cosmetics and cleaning products are ‘feminising’ unborn boys and raising their risk of cancer and infertility later in life, an expert warns today. Professor Richard Sharpe, one of Britain’s leading reproductive biologists, says everyday substances are linked to soaring rates of birth defects and testicular cancer, and to falling […]
MANADO, Indonesia (AFP) — The destruction of the world’s oceans due to climate change and overuse is a “life and death issue” for humanity, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday. “We must come to the rescue of the oceans. We must save them from the ravages of abuse and over-exploitation by humankind, from the […]
Beijing (AFP) April 23, 2009 – Air pollution in China’s cities remains very serious, state media on Thursday quoted a minister as saying, amid an ongoing battle to clean up the skies in the world’s largest coal-consuming nation. … China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal and its appetite for the cheap […]
There are now 46000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre of the world’s oceans killing a million seabirds and 100000 marine mammals each year. Worse still there seems to be nothing we can do to clean it up. So how do we turn the tide? By Richard Grant Way out in the Pacific Ocean, in […]
SEATTLE, Washington, April 21, 2009 (ENS) – Three pesticides – carbaryl, carbofuran, and methomyl – jeopardize the existence of protected salmon and steelhead, the National Marine Fisheries Service said in a formal biological opinion released Monday. All three of the pesticides assessed are neurotoxins. Exposure either immediately kills salmon or impairs their feeding, predator avoidance, […]
By Becky Kramer, The Spokesman-Review ROSE LAKE, Idaho — Even near death, tundra swans are graceful. Snowy necks arch and flex as the birds — victims of lead poisoning — gasp for breath. Wings rise and fall in rhythmic sweeps, but the birds are too weak to take flight. Their cries are soft, trilling sounds. […]
“Leatherback turtles are ancient creatures with a modern problem: Plastic.” A new study has looked at “necropsy reports of more than 400 leatherback” turtles and found that about 1/3 of them had plastic in their digestive system. They’re not saying it was the immediate cause of death, but as Mike James, a marine biologist […]
