One of the driest springs on record has sparked fears for agriculture and wildlife, while crews ‘work to the point of exhaustion’ to battle forest fires By Matt Chorley and Tom Moseley15 May 2011 Ministers are to hold an emergency drought summit in an attempt to avert a crisis caused by one of the driest […]
Budapest (AFP) April 6, 2011 – Wildlife has still not returned to the area in western Hungary that was devastated by the country’s worst chemical accident six months ago, the World Wildlife Fund said Wednesday. “Wildlife and fishlife were totally devastated or displaced from the area, and six months later, the banks of rivers Marcal […]
By Lewis SmithMonday, 28 March 2011 Catherton Common reverberates with the distinctive song of skylarks. It boasts stunning views over the Shropshire countryside and is one of the most valuable spots for plants anywhere in Britain. Just two years ago, its huge botanical diversity and nationally important populations of adders and other struggling native reptiles […]
By Jason G. Goldman 22 March 2011 On Friday, March 11, Japan was rocked by an earthquake. People were displaced, a nuclear reactor was in trouble, and the world watched as a tsunami flooded Japan, threatened the islands of the Pacific, and ultimately hit the western coasts of North and South America. Chris Rowan pointed […]
By Sajjad Tarakzai (AFP)31 December 2010 KUND, Pakistan — Disaster struck out of nowhere. The flash floods were so sudden that wardens at one of Pakistan’s most famed parks could do nothing to save their animals. Leopards, deer and bears all drowned as the murky waters quickly engulfed them. Kund park, a tourist spot located […]
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 15, 2010 (AP) A baby sea turtle escaped from the jaws of a shark, only to get stuck in oil spilled from BP’s well in the Gulf of Mexico. A young dolphin apparently was attacked by his mother, then swam into oil. The animals are among thousands rescued since more than 200 […]
By MALIA WOLLANSeptember 12, 2010 DAVIS, Calif. — To Ron Ringen, a retired veterinarian, roadkill is a calling. Nearly every week for the last seven months, Mr. Ringen, 69, has driven the roads north of this college town near Sacramento, scanning the pavement for telltale bits of fur and feathers. Pulling over, Mr. Ringen gets […]
By TODD PITMAN, Associated Pressupdated 7/3/2010 9:39:02 PM ET THE ITURI FOREST, Congo — They emerge from the stillness of the rainforest like a lost tribe of prehistoric warriors forgotten by time — a barefoot band of Mbuti Pygmies wielding iron-tipped spears. The men come first, cloaked head to toe in coiled hunting nets shaved […]
Beijing (AFP) June 22, 2010 – A massive floating expanse of green algae is heading towards China’s east coast, potentially threatening wildlife and the region’s tourist industry, state media reported on Tuesday. The algae bloom covered 200 square kilometres (80 square miles) and was about 13 kilometres (eight miles) offshore and floating towards the coastal […]
By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com June 24, 2010 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) has condemned Malaysia’s booming practice of converting tropical forests into rubberwood plantations, arguing that the conversion threatens Malaysia’s biodiversity, endangered species, and releases significant greenhouse gas emissions. According to the resolution, rubberwood plantations in Malaysia have expanded nearly 30-fold in […]
