Eastern U.S. forests resume decline — New research finds 4.1 percent loss over 3 decades

After increasing during much of the 20th century, forest cover in the eastern United States in recent decades has resumed its previous decline, according to an exhaustive new analysis published in the April 2010 issue of BioScience. The work is described in an article by Mark A. Drummond and Thomas R. Loveland of the US […]

Desert spreading like ‘cancer,’ Egypt conference told

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AFP) – The desert is making a comeback in the Middle East, with fertile lands turning into barren wastes that could further destabilise the region, experts said at a water conference on Thursday. “Desertification spreads like cancer, it can’t be noticed immediately,” said Wadid Erian, a soil expert with the Arab League, at […]

Depopulation may be harming the Amazon rainforest

By Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.comMarch 31, 2010 Urbanization may be having unexpected impacts in the Amazon rainforest by leaving forest areas vulnerable to exploitation by outsiders, report researchers writing in Conservation Letters. Conducting field surveys during the course of 10,000-kilometers of travel along remote Amazon rivers, Luke Parry of Lancaster University found that a sharp […]

Indonesia to raze 700,000 hectares of forest for food estate

  By Sunanda Creagh, Editing by David FogartyJAKARTAThu Mar 25, 2010 8:52am EDT (Reuters) – Indonesia would have to clear about 700,000 hectares of forest, an area 10 times the size of Singapore, if it proceeds with plans for a vast agricultural estate in Papua province, an activist group said on Thursday. Indonesia wants to […]

Waste water kills millions of children, pollutes sea

Reporting by Tim Cocks; editing by Ralph Boulton ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Human beings are flushing millions of tonnes of solid waste into rivers and oceans every day, poisoning marine life and spreading diseases that kill millions of children annually, the U.N. said on Monday. “The sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die […]

Mau settlers disrupt demarcation process

By Margaret Kalekye / KNA, Posted: Sun, Mar 14, 2010 Tension was high on Sunday in Maasai Mau forest in Narok South District where government surveyors are marking new boundaries ahead of the third phase of Mau evictions. The over 15,000 settlers earlier blocked the demarcation exercise following reports that the team of surveyors was […]

44 of 172 Detroit schools slated to close in June

By COREY WILLIAMS (AP) DETROIT — Doors are expected to shut on more than a quarter of Detroit’s 172 public schools in June as the district fights through steadily declining enrollment and a budget deficit of more than $219 million, an emergency financial manager said Wednesday. Three aging, traditional and underpopulated high schools would be […]

Graphics from the near future: Children of Men

25 December 2016 (Desdemona Despair) – Don’t tell Desdemona that you haven’t seen Children of Men. This film is pure doomer porn, executed with the deft and utterly convincing cinematic touch of the great Alfonso Cuarón. Hie thee to the nearest video store / Red Box / Netflix queue and consume immediately. It’s 2027, and […]

Large animals in India face extinction even in protected areas

By David DeFranza  on 03.11.10 India has had a system of wildlife sanctuaries since 1928. Now, there are more than 500 in the country ranging from dedicated tiger and bird reserves to more general areas intend to protect habitats rich in biological diversity. Unfortunately, according to a new study, even these efforts may not be […]

Coastal erosion threatens evolutionary hotspots in Gulf Region

By Karin Kloosterman on March 5, 2010 – 12:09 pm Coastal waters are evolutionary hotspots, says Jerry Berne, a shoreline expert from the NGO Sustainable Shorelines in the US. Based in Charlotte, NC, USA, Berne is concerned about the toll construction and shoreline projects are having on the world’s marine ecosystems. Looking at the intensive […]

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