tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34855473373313225332024-02-08T12:07:08.842-08:00GreenlandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-23133179607172760242007-11-09T01:23:00.000-08:002007-11-09T01:27:09.692-08:00Unexpected growth' in CO2 found<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44193000/jpg/_44193047_powerlant_large203.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44193000/jpg/_44193047_powerlant_large203.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Power plant (Image: CSIRO)<br /><br /><br /><br />Inefficient use of fossil fuels has been singled out<br />Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have risen 35% faster than expected since 2000, says a study.International scientists found that inefficiency in the use of fossil fuels increased levels of CO2 by 17%.<br /><br />The other 18% came from a decline in the natural ability of land and oceans to soak up CO2 from the atmosphere.<br /><br />About half of emissions from human activity are absorbed by natural "sinks" but the efficiency of these sinks has fallen, the study suggests.<br /><br />The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was carried out by the Global Carbon Project, the University of East Anglia, UK, and the British Antarctic Survey.<br /><br />It found that improvements in the carbon intensity of the global economy have stalled since 2000, leading to an unexpected jump in atmospheric CO2.<br /><br />"In addition to the growth of global population and wealth, we now know that significant contributions to the growth of atmospheric CO2 arise from the slow-down of natural sinks and the halt to improvements in the carbon intensity of wealth production," said the study's lead author, Dr Pep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project.<br /><br />Global sink:The weakening of the Earth's ability to cope with greenhouse gases is thought to be a result of changing wind patterns over seas and droughts on land.<br /><br />"The decline in global sink efficiency suggests that stabilisation of atmospheric CO2 is even more difficult to achieve than previously thought," said report co-author Dr Corinne Le Quere of the British Antarctic Survey.<br /><br />"We found that nearly half of the decline in the efficiency of the ocean CO2 sink is due to the intensification of the winds in the Southern Ocean."<br /><br />The declining power of the seas to soak up industrial pollution is not only being recorded in the southern hemisphere, however.According to a separate 10-year study published recently, the effect is also being seen in the North Atlantic.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-85707921175499279862007-11-08T06:01:00.000-08:002007-11-08T06:05:22.518-08:00Palm oil warning for Indonesia<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42489000/jpg/_42489602_borneo203bbc.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42489000/jpg/_42489602_borneo203bbc.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Jungle in Borneo, Indonesia<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Huge swathes of Indonesia's jungles are under threat.Land clearances in Indonesia to meet the growing global demand for palm oil pose a serious threat to the environment, a report has warned.<br /><br />Forests are being burned and peat wetlands drained for plantations, causing huge releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Greenpeace said.<br /><br />The environmental group warned of a potential "climate bomb" and called for the clearances to stop.<br /><br />Palm oil is an ingredient in foods and a bio-fuel added to diesel for cars.<br /><br />It is already controversial because it is often grown on rainforest land in South-East Asia, says the BBC's environment analyst Roger Harrabin.<br /><br />But Greenpeace's "Cooking the Climate" report investigates the cultivation of the crop in Indonesian peat swamps, thought to be one of the most valuable stores of carbon in the world.<br /><br />Carbon store<br /><br />In normal rainforest there is much more carbon stored in microbes in the soil than in the leaves and branches of the trees.<br /><br />In peat wetlands that is magnified with soils many metres deep. But these wetlands are fast being cleared and drained, causing large quantities of carbon dioxide to be emitted.<br /><br />According to the report, every year 1.8bn tonnes of carbon dioxide - a major cause of climate change - are released by the destruction of Indonesia's peat wetlands.<br /><br />"Unless efforts are made to halt forest and peatland destruction, emissions from these peatlands may trigger a 'climate bomb'," Greenpeace warned.<br /><br />Indonesia is looking to become the world's top producer of palm oil.<br /><br />But in July, environmental groups said a huge project planned for Borneo would cause irreparable harm to the territory and culture of indigenous people.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-68037347923081334502007-10-27T12:31:00.000-07:002007-10-27T12:33:41.966-07:00Biofuels 'crime against humanityA United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity.The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger.<br /><br />The growth in the production of biofuels has helped to push the price of some crops to record levels.Mr Ziegler's remarks, made at the UN headquarters in New York, are clearly designed to grab attention.<br /><br />He complained of an ill-conceived dash to convert foodstuffs such as maize and sugar into fuel, which created a recipe for disaster.<br /><br />Food price rises<br /><br />It was, he said, a crime against humanity to divert arable land to the production of crops which are then burned for fuel.He called for a five-year ban on the practice.<br />Within that time, according to Mr Ziegler, technological advances would enable the use of agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and banana leaves, rather than crops themselves to produce fuel.The growth in the production of biofuels has been driven, in part, by the desire to find less environmentally-damaging alternatives to oil.<br /><br />The United States is also keen to reduce its reliance on oil imported from politically unstable regions.But the trend has contributed to a sharp rise in food prices as farmers, particularly in the US, switch production from wheat and soya to corn, which is then turned into ethanol.<br /><br />Mr Ziegler is not alone in warning of the problem.The IMF last week voiced concern that the increasing global reliance on grain as a source of fuel could have serious implications for the world's poor.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-63623120592270615682007-10-24T08:49:00.000-07:002007-10-24T08:51:56.975-07:00Cruise worry over California fire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44190000/gif/_44190784_malibu_fires_sat416.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44190000/gif/_44190784_malibu_fires_sat416.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Cruise spoke about the fires at the London premiere of Lions for Lambs<br />Actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta have spoken of their anguish as California fires led to a quarter of a million people being evacuated.<br /><br />At least one person has died during wildfires across the Los Angeles region, home to many celebrities.<br /><br />At the London premiere of movie Lions for Lambs, Cruise said: "It's unfortunate it really is. I wish everybody well back there."<br /><br />Travolta said: "All I know is the people I know are safe and I'm glad."<br /><br />See map of Malibu blazes and nearby celebrity homes<br /><br />He added: "I flew over that today and it's always a dramatic impression you get from this."<br /><br />At least 655 homes have been destroyed in fires which followed a record summer heatwave.<br /><br />Fires stretch south to the Mexican border, putting homes at risk in seven counties where 200,000 acres (81,000 hectares) have been scorched.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Thousands more homes are threatened as hotter temperatures and high winds are forecast.<br /><br />'Real scared'<br /><br />The coastal area is home to many celebrities, including actors Mel Gibson, Barbra Streisand, Richard Gere, Pierce Brosnan, Dick Van Dyke and Ted Danson, singers Sting and Olivia Newton-John, director James Cameron and music mogul David Geffen.<br /><br />Singer Britney Spears said: "I don't think it touched my house. I'm real scared."<br /><br />About 1,500 National Guardsmen have been brought in to help firefighters.<br /><br />After visiting charred homes in Malibu, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said it was a "tragic time" for the US state.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-46692497439493309702007-09-09T12:09:00.000-07:002007-09-09T12:11:22.448-07:00Rise in divers mystifies experts<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"><br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44098000/jpg/_44098365_redthroat300rspb.jpg" alt="Red throated diver. Picture by RSPB Images" border="0" height="300" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">A red-throated diver pictured on Shetland</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>The success of a wild bird in Scotland despite declining numbers in the rest of Europe has mystified experts.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">RSPB Scotland said it was delighted but puzzled by breeding figures for the red-throated diver. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The rarer black-throated diver is also on the increase, possibly thanks to the anchoring of man-made rafts in lochs. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A survey of divers by the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) found the two species had increased in the UK by 16 and 34% in the last 12 years. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Both have declined in Europe and the black-throated diver was last week made a conservation priority by the UK government because of the declines elsewhere. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In Scotland, its numbers rose from 187 pairs in 1994 to 217 pairs in 2006. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In the Highlands - their stronghold - they were declining because some nests were being drowned in floods while eggs at other sites were lost to collectors and predators. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" border="0" height="13" width="24" /> <b>We feared the numbers of red-throated divers might drop because the warming of the North Sea seems to be reducing stocks of the fish they feed on</b> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" align="right" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" width="23" /><br /> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>Dr Mark Eaton<br />RSPB scientist</div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The new study shows the greatest increase in the Western Isles, but also improved figures in the Highlands. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A total of 58 rafts have been installed on remote lochs in the region. They protect the birds from flooding and animals that prey on them and their eggs. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Stuart Benn, senior conservation officer for the RSPB, said: "We can't say hand on heart that the overall increase is due to the rafts because we haven't ringed the chicks, but there is no doubt that the rafts have turned out to be very, very good at what they do." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The RSPB said it was a mystery as to why red-throated divers had done so well. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Its numbers have risen from 935 to 1,255 breeding pairs in 12 years. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>'Rain goose'</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">However, in Shetland the population has dropped from 700 pairs to 407. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The red-throated diver is steeped in mythology and is known as the rain goose in Orkney and Shetland. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In the 19th Century, it was regarded as a foreteller of storms in many parts of the world. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Dr Mark Eaton, an RSPB scientist, said: "We feared the numbers of red-throated divers might drop because the warming of the North Sea seems to be reducing stocks of the fish they feed on. </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"The black-throated diver could also be at risk in the future, despite the recent increases. If climate change causes loch temperatures to rise, the small fish the birds feed on could grow too large to eat." <!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-89477240057332842612007-08-28T08:42:00.000-07:002007-08-28T08:44:19.584-07:00Hedgehogs join 'protection' list<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44069000/jpg/_44069597_hedgehog203uist.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44069000/jpg/_44069597_hedgehog203uist.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Hedgehogs join 'protection' list<br />Hedgehog (Image: Uist Hedgehog Rescue Centre)<br />Tidier gardens and urbanisation are blamed for hedgehogs' decline<br />Hedgehogs and house sparrows have been included on an updated list of species and habitats which need protection.<br /><br />The new Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has identified 1,149 species and 65 habitats in the UK as being in need of conservation and greater protection.<br /><br />When the action plan was launched in 1997, it listed 577 species - half the number included in the updated version.<br /><br />Wildlife experts said this was a result of wider research and not necessarily down to more habitat being destroyed.<br /><br />Other animals added to the list for the first time include the grass snake and the garden tiger moth; while otters, bottlenose dolphins and red squirrels are deemed to remain in need of habitat protection.<br /><br /> <br />BAP PRIORITY SPECIES<br />Birds - 59 species<br />Fish (freshwater) - 14 species<br />Reptiles/amphibians (herptiles) - 10 species<br />Lower plants and fungi - 337 species<br />Marine fauna and flora - 88 species<br />Invertebrates - 411 species<br />Terrestrial mammals - 18 species<br />Vascular plants - 212 species<br />(Source: UK Biodiversity Action Plan 2007)<br /><br />'Tidy gardens' are hog threat<br />In pictures: Species at risk<br /><br />But the latest BAP shows that a number of species have benefited from being featured on the original list 10 years ago. The numbers of ladybird spiders and lady's slipper orchids are at a 50-year high.<br /><br />The BAP is considered to be one of the most authoritative reference sources for the state of the UK's wildlife.<br /><br />The result of more than two years of research by more than 500 wildlife experts and a large number of volunteers, it brings together key scientific data on all the listed species in one document.<br /><br />As well as outlining the state of British species, it also contributes to global conservation commitments, outlined in the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).<br /><br />Biodiversity Minister Joan Ruddock said the updated action plan would help shape the government's conservation policy.<br /><br />"Conserving biodiversity is essential if we are to pass on a healthy environment to the next generation," Ms Ruddock said.<br /><br />"The new list will help us target our resources and efforts where they are needed, and demonstrates our commitment to publish new priorities, targets and plans for halting biodiversity loss by 2010."<br /><br />'Cause for alarm'<br /><br />The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said that as well as the house sparrow, the starling was another familiar garden bird to feature on the BAP list of 59 bird species.<br /><br />House sparrow (Picture Nigel Blake)<br />House sparrows are one of the new additions to the action plan<br /><br />"The fact that the bird list now includes more than a fifth of all the UK's regularly occurring birds is a cause for alarm, " said Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director.<br /><br />"We will have to act fast if we are to meet obligations of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010."<br /><br />But Dr Avery added that the BAP had focused efforts on stemming the decline in a number of vulnerable species.<br /><br />"To its credit, we have seen dramatic increases in key species, like bittern, stone-curlew, corncrake, nightjar, cirl bunting and woodlark."<br /><br />A separate study, also published on Tuesday, also highlighted the decline in the UK's hedgehog population.<br /><br />The study by the University of London for the People's Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society listed tidier gardens and urbanisation as key factors affecting the fall in the number of the small mammals.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Nigel Bourne, chairman of the Wildlife and Countryside Link's biodiversity working group, welcomed the updated list and called it a "major boost".<br /><br />"The list will focus efforts on the real, shared conservation priorities in the UK.<br /><br />"The conservation charities that make up Link... look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the government," Dr Bourne added.<br /><br />"Together we can turn the list into targeted action to deliver the conservation of our very special habitats and species."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-82857841748267153462007-08-26T12:46:00.000-07:002007-08-26T12:48:36.739-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41584000/jpg/_41584488_cameltrain203.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41584000/jpg/_41584488_cameltrain203.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Mystery deaths hit Saudi camels<br />Camel train<br />Camels are traded for thousands of dollars<br />Nearly 2,000 camels have died in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia due to suspected poisoned animal feed.<br /><br />So far this month 1,982 camels have died. Symptoms include sweating, excitability, vomiting and fainting.<br /><br />The country's Agriculture Ministry has said tests suggested the deaths were caused by animal feed which was contaminated by insecticide.<br /><br />Owners have been promised compensation by King Abdullah. Camels are big business in Saudi Arabia.<br /><br />The animals began dying in the Dawasir Valley south of the capital Riyadh but other camel deaths have been recorded from Mecca to the border of Yemen.<br /><br />Camels are traded by Bedouin tribes for thousands of dollars each. The animals are used for racing and are also eaten.<br /><br />Agriculture Minister Fahd Bilghoneim told a news conference: "Veterinary experts say the symptoms indicate cases of poisoning and not an infectious disease, and this accords with what camel owners have said about animal feed they bought."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-22740600541564493352007-08-21T04:01:00.000-07:002007-08-21T04:04:51.482-07:00vidéo Terre réduite à 100 personnes<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rvTFKpIaQhM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rvTFKpIaQhM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-87710536101318969022007-08-15T00:06:00.000-07:002007-08-15T00:08:06.234-07:00Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven'<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> </span><div class="mvb"> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="bottom"> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Mark Kinver </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> Science and nature reporter, BBC News </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /><br /> </span></div> <!-- E IBYL --> <p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41593000/jpg/_41593592_chern_sign300afp.jpg" alt="Radiation warning sign at Chernobyl (Image: AFP)" border="0" height="300" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">Scientific opinion is divided on the impact of Chernobyl on wildlife</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>The idea that the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has created a wildlife haven is not scientifically justified, a study says.</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Recent studies said rare species had thrived despite raised radiation levels as a result of no human activity. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">But scientists who assessed the 1986 disaster's impact on birds said the ecological effects were "considerably greater than previously assumed". </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The findings appear in the Royal Society's journal, Biology Letters. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In April 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">After the accident, traces of radioactive deposits were found in nearly every country in the northern hemisphere. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The paper's authors, Anders Moller of University Pierre and Marie Curie, France, and Tim Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US, said their research did not support the idea that low-level radiation was not affecting animals. </span></p><p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41577000/gif/_41577138_chernobyl_zone_map203_1.gif" alt="Map showing location of Chernobyl zone" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Recent conclusions from the UN Chernobyl Forum and reports in the popular media concerning the effects of radiation from Chernobyl has left the impression that the exclusion zone is a thriving ecosystem, filled with an increasing number of rare species," they wrote. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Instead, they added: "Species richness, abundance and population density of breeding birds decreased with increasing levels of radiation." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The study, which recorded 1,570 birds from 57 species, found that the number of birds in the most contaminated areas declined by 66% compared with sites that had normal background radiation levels. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">It also reported a decline of more than 50% in the range of species as radiation levels increase. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IINC --><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_enl_1145878286/html/1.stm" onclick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_enl_1145878286/html/1.stm', '1145878406', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=400,height=278,left=312,top=100'); return false;"><img alt="" src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_enl_1145878286/img/laun.jpg" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /></a></div> <div class="pva">Photos showing normal (left) and partial albino barn swallow</div> <img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="203" /><br /> <div class="pva"><a href="javascript: void window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_enl_1145878286/html/1.stm', '1145878406', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=400,height=278,left=312,top=100');"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/opennews.gif" alt="" align="left" border="0" height="13" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="54" />Enlarge Image</a><br /></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><!-- E IINC --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The findings build on a previous study of barn swallows in the affected area, which showed that the number of the birds declined sharply in contaminated areas. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The birds' decline was probably the result of depressed level of antioxidants after its long migration back to the area, making it more vulnerable to the low-level radiation, the researchers concluded. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"It suggests to us that barn swallows are not alone; there are many other species that appear to be affected in a similar way," Professor Mousseau told BBC News. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"This paper also suggests that birds feeding on insects that are living in the upper surface of the soil, where contaminates are highest, seem to be most likely to be missing or depressed." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He added that they were currently carrying out research to find out whether the decline was a result of the birds eating contaminated insects, or whether it was a result of fewer insects living in affected areas. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"We are also looking for funding to expand the range of ecological studies to include invertebrates, as well as plants and animals." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Radioactive retreat</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A recent paper published in the American Scientist magazine suggested that plants and animals were better off in the exclusion zone than specimens outside the 30km radius surrounding the site of the destroyed nuclear reactor. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41577000/jpg/_41577128_horse203.jpg" alt="Przewalski's horse (Image: Sergey Gaschak)" border="0" height="300" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="203" /><br /> </div> <div class="miiib"> <!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4923342.stm"><b>How wildlife is coping inside the exclusion zone</b></a> </div> <!-- E ILIN --> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">One of the paper's co-authors, Robert Baker from the Texas Tech University, said that the benefits for wildlife from the lack of human activity outweighed the risks of low-level radiation. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Writing on his university web page, Professor Baker said: "The elimination of human activities such as farming, ranching, hunting and logging are the greatest benefits. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"It can be said that the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster is not as destructive to wildlife populations as are normal human activities." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Professor Mousseau acknowledged Professor Baker's description: "It is true that the Chernobyl region gives the appearance of a thriving ecosystem because of its protection from other human activities. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"However, when you do controlled ecological studies, what we see is a very clear signature of negative effects of contamination on diversity and abundance of organisms. </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"We clearly need to be applying scientific method to ecological studies before we can conclude, based on anecdotal observations, that there are no consequences."<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-90380329998906755782007-08-11T02:24:00.000-07:002007-08-11T02:26:18.606-07:00Now Danes test claim on Pole<div class="articleToolsItem1"> <script type="text/javascript">document.write('<a href="javascript:openWin(">Email story</a>'); </script></div><div id="articleTools" style="clear: right;"><br /><div id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___articleNavigationRelation__"> </div> </div> <!-- QUOTE CONTAINER --> <div class="associatedStoryContainer" style="padding: 20px 10px 5px 0px; clear: left;"> <div class="picColumn"> <span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25px;"><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___PullQuotte1__">There is a lot of prestige and vast resources at stake Oystein Jensen , maritime law expert</span></span> </div> </div> <!-- SUB TITLE 1 --> <span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_article_NavWebPart_Article_ctl00___SubTitle1__" class="subhead1">Expedition seeks proof underwater ridge is connected to their Greenland territory</span><br /> <!-- PUBLISH DATE --> <div style="margin: 20px 0px;"> <span style="text-transform: capitalize;"> Aug 11,<span class="jajahWraper"><a class="jajahLink" title="Click to call this number with JAJAH..." jajahtargetnumber=" 2007 04" href="javascript:void(0)"><span class="jajahInLink"> 2007 04</span></a></span>:30 AM</span> </div> <!-- ARTICLE CONTENT--> <p> OSLO, Norway–Danish scientists head for the Arctic ice pack tomorrow seeking evidence to position Denmark in the race to claim the North Pole region's potentially vast oil and other resources.</p><p> Canada has been making its own moves to strengthen its territorial claims in the Arctic, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper announcing northern initiatives on a three-day swing through the region that ended yesterday. </p><p> The month-long Danish expedition will seek evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 2,000-kilometre underwater mountain range, is attached to the Danish territory of Greenland, making it a geological extension of the Arctic island.</p><p> That might allow the Nordic country to stake a claim, under a United Nations treaty, that could stretch all the way to the North Pole, although Canada and Russia also claim the ridge.</p><p> "The preliminary investigations done so far are very promising," Helge Sander, Denmark's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, told Denmark's TV2 on Thursday. </p><p>"There are things suggesting that Denmark could be given the North Pole."</p><p> The Danes plan to set off from Norway's remote Arctic islands of Svalbard aboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden, which will be assisted by a powerful Russian nuclear icebreaker to plow through ice as thick as five metres, north of Greenland.</p><p> "No one has ever sailed in that area. Ships have sailed on the edges of the ice but no one has been in there," said expedition leader Christian Marcussen of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen. "The challenge for us will be the ice."</p><p> The team includes 40 scientists, 10 of them Danish, and the crews of the icebreakers, which will use sophisticated equipment, including sonar, to map the seabed.</p><p> "We will be collecting data for a possible (sovereignty) demand," Marcussen said. "It is not our duty to formulate a demand of ownership."</p><p> A team of Swedish researchers studying glacial history in the Arctic is also part of the expedition.</p><p> Canada, the United States, Russia and Norway have competing claims in the vast Arctic region, where a U.S. study suggests as much as 25 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas could be hidden.</p><p> Russia sent two small submarines to plant a tiny national flag under the North Pole two weeks ago, a move Canada ridiculed. </p><p> "The Russians sent a submarine to drop a small flag at the bottom of the ocean. We're sending our prime minister to reassert Canadian sovereignty," said one senior government official earlier this week as Harper was set to begin his northern swing. </p><p> The race for sovereignty in the Arctic is heating up partly because global warming is shrinking the polar ice, which could one day open up resource development and new shipping lanes.</p><p> The pressure is also on the Arctic nations because of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which gives them 10 years after ratification to prove their claims under the largely uncharted polar ice pack. All but the United States have ratified the treaty.</p><p> "The Russians, Canadians and Danes all have overlapping claims in the polar region. It is unclear how this can be resolved," said maritime law expert Oystein Jensen, of Oslo's Fridtjof Nansen Institute. "There is a lot of prestige and vast resources at stake."</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-88187635117428286042007-08-10T00:25:00.000-07:002007-08-10T00:26:19.354-07:00China building more power plants<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> China building more power plants </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> </span><div class="mvb"> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="bottom"> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Roger Harrabin </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> BBC Environment Analyst </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /><br /> </span></div> <!-- E IBYL --> <p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43006000/jpg/_43006073_china_afp203b.jpg" alt="Power station in China" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">China is building two large power stations every week</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>China is now building about two power stations every week, the top climate change official at the UK Foreign Office, John Ashton, has said.</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He said there was no point blaming China for rising global CO2 emissions. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Rich nations had to set an example of low-carbon development for China to follow, Mr Ashton told the BBC. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">His statement came as a new report suggested that China may have already become the world's biggest polluter - much earlier than expected. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency said China's CO2 emissions had risen by 9% last year, compared with 1.4% in the US. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Carbon footprint</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"It is a massive challenge," Mr Ashton told the BBC following a recent trip to China. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"We need to convince China that they don't have to make a choice between prosperity and protecting the climate. We need to help them towards a low-carbon future. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"There is also a moral case. Most of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been put there by developed countries without the constraint of having to worry about the climate. That means we should bear the leading edge of responsibility. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Mr Ashton added that the Chinese had put out their first climate strategy, in an effort "to get to grips with their emissions and use energy efficiently". </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He pointed out that much of China's emissions growth was being driven by consumers in the West buying Chinese goods, and noted that China's emissions per person were still well below those of rich nations. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43006000/jpg/_43006437_windturbines.jpg" alt="Wind turbines" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="203" /><br /> </div> <div class="miiib"> <!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6769105.stm"><b>Profile: John Ashton</b></a> </div> <!-- E ILIN --> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">It is estimated that the average American still pollutes between five and six times more than the average Chinese person. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Climate sceptics in the UK have been asking why Britons should switch off lights, turn down central heating and avoid foreign flights in order to save carbon when the Chinese are increasing emissions at their current rate. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Responsibility for China's soaring emissions lies not just in Beijing but also in Washington, Brussels and Tokyo," said Greenpeace UK director John Sauven. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"All we've done is export a great slice of the West's carbon footprint to China, and today we see the result. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Let us not forget that the average Chinese emits just 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year, whereas Britons emit nearly 10 tonnes and Americans 20 tonnes. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"The West moved its manufacturing base to China knowing it was vastly more polluting than Japan, Europe or the US," he added. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"No environmental conditions were attached to this move; in fact the only thing manufacturers were interested in was the price of labour. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"This trend kept the price of our products down but at the cost of soaring greenhouse gas emissions. Long term, this policy has been a climate disaster. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"We should export clean energy technology to China to increase low carbon and renewable energy take-up so the products we import have a smaller carbon footprint." </span></p><!-- E BO --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-560844037174720942007-08-10T00:12:00.000-07:002007-08-10T00:13:54.800-07:00GodzillaGodzilla' croc hunted in Ukraine <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> </span><div class="mvb"> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="bottom"> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Helen Fawkes </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> BBC News, Kiev </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /><br /> </span></div> <!-- E IBYL --> <p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44049000/jpg/_44049871_croc_203.jpg" alt="Photo of crocodile" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">A photograph appears to show Godzilla on a rusting boat (pic: Gazeta Priazovsky Rabochy)</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>Emergency workers are hunting a crocodile which has escaped from a travelling circus in southern Ukraine.</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">It went missing in the sea at Mariupol, close to Ukraine's border with Russia. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">There have been a number of sightings of the animal, including a photo in a local newspaper, but all attempts to capture it have so far failed. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The crocodile, named Godzilla, was being paraded on a beach in Mariupol on the south coast of Ukraine when it suddenly ran into the Azov Sea. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">But despite its name, the creature has been keeping a low profile. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Elusive creature</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Godzilla, who is only is one metre long, is said to be scared of humans. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">More than two months after its escape, a local newspaper in southern Ukraine has printed a picture of what it says is Godzilla. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The photo appears to show a small crocodile resting on a rusting boat. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Emergency workers are now trying to catch the animal. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">But Godzilla is proving elusive and has not been temped by slabs of meat left on the shore. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A Russian news agency has claimed that the team is planning to use live guinea pigs to lure the crocodile out of the water. </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">However, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's emergency ministry denied this and said the workers are just going to sit and wait for Godzilla to wander onto the beach.<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-22532873757905661702007-08-09T08:19:00.000-07:002007-08-09T08:20:35.135-07:00video battle lions v buffalos<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LU8DDYz68kM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LU8DDYz68kM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-47284337160526191772007-08-09T08:14:00.000-07:002007-08-09T08:15:34.459-07:00Animal battle video becomes hit<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"><br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44048000/jpg/_44048624_battle203.jpg" alt="A clip from the YouTube video" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">The footage has already been watched by nearly 9.5m people</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>An amateur video of an amazing animal confrontation on the African savannah is fast becoming one of the biggest hits on video-sharing website YouTube.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The footage first shows how several lions attack a group of buffalo, snatching a buffalo calf. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">As the lions wrestle with a calf by a watering hole, a crocodile joins in the battle, pouncing on the buffalo. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The lions win the tug-of-war, but then the buffalo herd returns, chasing away the lions and freeing the calf. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>'Battle at Kruger'</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The eight-minute-long footage - filmed in South Africa's Kruger National Park - shows how a big buffalo from the herd gores one of the lions and tosses it in the air. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The buffalo calf is then seen running away to rejoin the herd, while the lions are forced to retreat. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">It remains unclear if the calf survived the ordeal. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Almost 9.5m people have already watched the video, dubbed the Battle at Kruger, which was filmed by US tourist Dave Budzinski while he was on a guided safari. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The footage is the envy of professional wildlife snappers, who might be marvelling at Mr Budzinski's luck. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He told ABC News that he used his video camera "once a year" and was not "adept at this sort of thing". </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"I'm not a camera person. I'm just lucky to have it!" </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">His safari guide Frank Watts told ABC: "I have never seen anything like that in my life before".<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-64135971331584574112007-08-08T08:59:00.000-07:002007-08-08T09:02:02.769-07:00Adolphin found only in China is now "likely to be extinct"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44044000/jpg/_44044661_riverdolphin203leatherwood.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44044000/jpg/_44044661_riverdolphin203leatherwood.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The researchers failed to spot any Yangtze river dolphins, also known as baijis, during an extensive six-week survey of the mammals' habitat. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The team, writing in Biology Letters journal, blamed unregulated fishing as the main reason behind their demise. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">If confirmed, it would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The World Conservation Union's Red List of Threaten Species currently classifies the creature as "critically endangered". </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" border="0" height="13" width="24" /> <b>We have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet</b> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" align="right" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" width="23" /> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>Dr Sam Turvey,<br />Zoological Society of London</div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), one of the paper's co-authors, described the findings as a "shocking tragedy". </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20 million years ago," Dr Turvey explained. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasises that we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">If confirmed, it would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>'Incidental impact'</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The species <i>(Lipotes vexillifer)</i> was the only remaining member of the Lipotidae, an ancient mammal family that is understood to have separated from other marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, about 40-20 million years ago. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The white, freshwater dolphin had a long, narrow beak and low dorsal fin; lived in groups of three or four and fed on fish. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The team carried out six-week visual and acoustic survey, using two research vessels, in November and December 2006. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"While it is conceivable that a couple of surviving individuals were missed by the survey teams," the team wrote, "our inability to detect any baiji despite this intensive search effort indicates that the prospect of finding and translocating them to a [reserve] has all but vanished." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The scientists added that there were a number of human activities that caused baiji numbers to decline, including construction of dams and boat collisions. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"However, the primary factor was probably unsustainable by-catch in local fisheries, which used rolling hooks, nets and electrofishing," they suggested. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Unlike most historical-era extinctions of large bodied animals, the baiji was the victim not of active persecution but incidental mortality resulting from massive-scale human environmental impacts - primarily uncontrolled and unselective fishing," the researchers concluded. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-48525335101561213842007-08-03T08:13:00.000-07:002007-08-03T08:14:11.034-07:00a couple<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sRYHP8TnWLk"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sRYHP8TnWLk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-25390251025988344182007-08-01T09:27:00.000-07:002007-08-01T09:32:08.837-07:00top ten endangered species!<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HGGQiCHZBkI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HGGQiCHZBkI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-11543035890116912242007-07-30T07:32:00.000-07:002007-07-30T07:33:19.118-07:00US pigeons to get contraceptives<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"><br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44028000/jpg/_44028538_us_pigeon_getty2.jpg" alt="Pigeon in Central Park, New York City" border="0" height="300" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">The pigeon population has risen to 5,000 in Hollywood</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>Birth control is to be used on pigeons in California in an effort to combat the "unmanageable" mess their increasing numbers are causing.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Animal rights groups support using the contraceptive in preference to other methods such as gates which give electric shocks and poisoning. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">OvoControl P, which interferes with egg development, will be put in bird food in new rooftop feeders in Hollywood. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The pilot program is expected to show results within a year. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Laura Dodson, president of the Argyle Civic Association, the group leading the effort to try the new contraceptive, said: "We think we've got a good solution to a bad situation. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Cleaning up after the pigeons has become unmanageable and this could be the answer." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Estimates suggest that about 5,000 pigeons live in the Hollywood area. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Their rising numbers have been partially blamed on people feeding the birds. </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Hollywood area's pigeon population is expected to shrink by at least half by 2012, Ms Dodson said.<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-24856092634050872712007-07-26T12:57:00.000-07:002007-07-26T12:58:24.274-07:00Concern over gorilla 'executions'<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"><br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IINC --><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1185469427/html/1.stm" onclick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1185469427/html/1.stm', '1185469577', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=600,height=478,left=312,top=100'); return false;"><img alt="" src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1185469427/img/laun.jpg" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /></a></div> <div class="pva">Some readers may find the enlarged image upsetting</div> <img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="203" /><br /> <div class="pva"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1185469427/html/1.stm" onclick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1185469427/html/1.stm', '1185469577', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=600,height=478,left=312,top=100'); return false;"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/open_icon.gif" alt="" align="left" border="0" height="13" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="49" />Enlarge Image</a><br /></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><!-- E IINC --> <!-- S SF --> <b>Conservationists have expressed concern over the "senseless and tragic" killing of four mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The bodies of three females and one male were discovered by rangers earlier this week in the Virunga National Park. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Officials said the "executions" were not the work of poachers because they would have taken the bodies. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Since January, seven of the large apes in the region have been shot dead. </span></p><p> <!-- E SF --> <span style="font-size:85%;">"This is a senseless and tragic loss of some of the world's most endangered and beloved animals," said Deo Kujirakwinja of the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Congo programme. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"This area must be immediately secured or we stand to lose an entire population of these animals," he added. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>'Scare tactics'</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The four animals belonged to a group of 12 gorillas, known to researchers as the Rugendo family, which was often visited by tourists. </span></p><p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44022000/gif/_44022996_drcongo_virunga0707.gif" alt="Map (Image: BBC)" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Because poachers would have sold the bodies as food or trophies, conservationists think the apes were killed by a group that was trying to scare wardens out of the park. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The IWC said the protected area was coming under increasing pressure from "outside exploitation", including the charcoal trade. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Whatever the motive underlying this tragedy, the gorillas are helpless pawns in a feud between individuals," said Mark Rose, chief executive of Fauna and Flora International. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"We are deeply concerned about this incident, which follows more than 20 years of successful collaboration for mountain gorilla conservation." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A census carried out in 2004 estimated that 380 gorillas, more than half of the world's population, lived in the national park and surrounding Virunga volcanoes region. </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The latest killings take the number of shootings in the area to seven. Earlier this year, two silverback male gorillas were shot dead in the same area of the park, while a female was killed in May.<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-37510335426434313822007-07-26T10:10:00.000-07:002007-07-26T10:11:43.915-07:00US cat 'predicts patient deaths'<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"><br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44021000/jpg/_44021641_oscar_ap203b.jpg" alt="Oscar the cat" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">Oscar meows in protest if removed from the room of a dying patient</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>A US cat that is reportedly able to sense when a nursing home's residents are about to die is baffling doctors.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Oscar has a habit of curling up next to patients at the home in Providence, Rhode Island, in their final hours. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">According to the author of a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the two-year-old cat has been observed to be correct in 25 cases so far. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Staff now alert the families of residents when he sits down next to their ailing loved one. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"He doesn't make many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," David Dosa, a professor at Brown University who carried out the research, told the Associated Press news agency. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <b>'Premonitions'</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Oscar was adopted as a kitten at Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" border="0" height="13" width="24" /> <b>Cats often can sense when their owners are sick or when another animal is sick </b> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" align="right" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" width="23" /><br /> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>Thomas Graves, feline expert</div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The cat is said to do his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses at the home, but is not generally friendly to patients. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Although most families are grateful for the warning Oscar seems to provide, some relatives ask that the pet be taken away while they say their last goodbyes to their loved ones. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">When put outside the room, Oscar is said to pace up and down meowing in protest. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Thomas Graves, a feline expert from the University of Illinois, told the BBC: "Cats often can sense when their owners are sick or when another animal is sick. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"They can sense when the weather will change, they're famous for being sensitive to premonitions of earthquakes." </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A doctor who treats patients at the home said she believed there was probably a biochemical explanation, rather than the cat being psychic.<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-74158769584853916182007-07-20T05:34:00.000-07:002007-07-20T05:35:20.248-07:00Seagull becomes crisp shoplifter<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"><br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44010000/jpg/_44010194_seagullthief203300.jpg" alt="Seagull in action" border="0" height="300" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> <div class="mva">The seagull has ben nicknamed Sam by locals </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="203" /><br /> </div> <div> <!-- S IMED --> <div class="mvtb"> <a onclick="javascript:newsi.utils.av.launch({storyId:6908311, fileLoc: '/player/nol/newsid_6900000/newsid_6908300/', bbram: 1,nbwm: 1,bbwm: 1,nbram: 1});return false;" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_6900000/newsid_6908300?redirect=6908311.stm&news=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gif" alt="" align="left" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" /><b>Shoplifting seagull</b> </a> </div> <!-- E IMED --> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> <!-- S SF --> <b>A seagull has turned shoplifter by wandering into a shop and helping itself to crisps.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The bird walks into the RS McColl newsagents in Aberdeen when the door is open and makes off with cheese Doritos. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The seagull, nicknamed Sam, has now become so popular that locals have started paying for his crisps. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Shop assistant Sriaram Nagarajan said: "Everyone is amazed by the seagull. For some reason he only takes that one particular kind of crisps." <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The bird first swooped in Aberdeen's Castlegate earlier this month and made off with the 55p crisps, and is now a regular. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Once outside, the crisps are ripped open and the seagull is joined by other birds. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>'Fine art'</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Mr Nagarajan said: "He's got it down to a fine art. He waits until there are no customers around and I'm standing behind the till, then he raids the place. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"At first I didn't believe a seagull was capable of stealing crisps. But I saw it with my own eyes and I was surprised. He's very good at it. </span></p><p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44010000/jpg/_44010196_seagullthief203.jpg" alt="Seagull in action" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">The seagull takes the crisps outside and eats them</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"He's becoming a bit of a celebrity. Seagulls are usually not that popular but Sam is a star because he's so funny." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said: "I've never heard of anything like this before. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Perhaps it tried some crisps in a shiny packet in the street, and was just opportunistic one day at the shop when it saw what was inside. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"As everyone knows, gulls can be very quick and fearless, and clearly this one is no exception." </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He added: "We'd discourage people from feeding gulls though, as gulls in towns generate lots of complaints every year, and the availability of food is the only reason they live in urban settings."<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-55097503777899245062007-07-17T04:38:00.000-07:002007-07-17T04:39:26.223-07:00SA wine farm tackles climate change<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> SA wine farm tackles climate change </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> </span><div class="mvb"> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="bottom"> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Tim Mansel </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> BBC News, Western Cape, South Africa </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /><br /> </span></div> <!-- E IBYL --> <p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42466000/jpg/_42466432_backsberg_vines203b.jpg" alt="Backsberg wine estate, Western Cape, South Africa" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">Backsberg is South Africa's first carbon neutral wine estate</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <b>It is lunchtime on the Backsberg wine estate, a few kilometres from Stellenbosch in South Africa's Western Cape, and all is quiet in the bottling plant.</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Michael Back, the owner, sighs in frustration. "This just shows you the reality of trying to address climate change. Everybody is on lunch, but the lights are still on," he says. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Michael Back has made headlines and history in South Africa by becoming the first wine farmer there - and only the third in the world - to be recognised as carbon neutral. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"We are rather pleased with ourselves at having managed to do that," he says. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"When you see all the issues of the environment all over the newspapers, you start to look at your own place. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"As landowners we are custodians of that land for a very short period of time. We need to leave the land and environment in a better place than in which we found it." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Prized trees</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In order to obtain the precious "Carbon Neutral Approved" sticker that now adorns all Backsberg bottles, Michael had to submit to a carbon audit - carried out in January this year - which measured the farm's carbon footprint and recommended ways to offset his emissions. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" border="0" height="13" width="24" /> <b>If we want to maintain our position on the shelves in the next five to 10 years, we're all going to have to monitor our activities in the environment</b> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" align="right" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" width="23" /><br /> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>Michael Back<br />Backsberg wine estate</div> </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="203" /><br /> </div> <div class="miiib"> <!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6665523.stm"><b>Quick guide Carbon footprints</b></a> </div> <!-- E ILIN --> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The result was a "village greening" project in nearby Klapmuts, a poor community with high unemployment, which provides seasonal labour for the surrounding vineyards. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In some of the small gardens in front of the one-storey breezeblock houses, slender saplings of acacia and willow droop in the winter rain. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Trees are much prized in a region with scorching summers for the shade they provide - and more than 900 have been planted in Klapmuts as part of Mr Back's offset programme. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The project has been overseen by the environmental organisation, Trees For Africa, which also provides his certification. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"People took the trees on a voluntary basis," he explains. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"So hopefully the people who took them are going to look after them. We ourselves go round the village regularly making sure that all the trees are still alive, because if we lose too many then our offset won't be in balance." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Mounting pressure</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">For all his environmental awareness Michael Back is a businessman, and his carbon neutrality programme is designed to keep his business in good shape. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42466000/jpg/_42466430_michael_back203b.jpg" alt="Michael Back of Backsberg wine estate, Western Cape, South Africa" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> <div> <div class="mva"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" border="0" height="13" width="24" /> <b>We have to find ways in which environmental care can be commercialised so that it actually creates employment</b> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" align="right" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" width="23" /><br /> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>Michael Back</div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Some 40% of the wine bottled on the farm goes for export, as does all the fruit he grows - citrus, blueberries, figs and pomegranates. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He is aware that carbon emissions have become a big issue in those European markets on which he relies. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"I think that we are on top of the curve, but it's absolutely crucial that we can demonstrate that we are carbon neutral," he says. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"More and more the retailers are going to be pressurised by their customers, and as this pressure mounts, the pressure is going to be sent back down the line to suppliers. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"If we want to maintain our position on the shelves in the next five to 10 years, we're all going to have to monitor our activities in the environment." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He says every single operation on the farm is now up for review to see if they can save energy. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">As we tour the winery Mr Back points up at two square holes that have been sawn in the ceiling. "We used to have neon tubes up there - now we just have natural light." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Other new projects depend on technology from a previous era. Michael describes with enthusiasm a method of washing barrels using a "hot water donkey". </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"Basically you use waste wood to make hot water, instead of electricity. We're going back to something we had probably 50 or 75 years ago." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Huge issue</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Projects in development include a methane digester which will use as fuel the litter from Michael's poultry sheds. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"> "We're planning to build a small pilot plant in October or November," he says. </span></p><p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42466000/jpg/_42466436_backsbergsign203b.jpg" alt="Backsberg wine estate sign, Western Cape, South Africa" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">South Africa's wine industry is following Mr Back's lead</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA -->"We'll burn the litter, which gives off methane gas, which we can then burn to make heat, for example. We see this is a very important component of our energy replacement." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">On top of the 10% of the farm that has already been set aside for non-cultivation - to allow indigenous species of shrub to be preserved - Michael is planning to reserve another 10% for growing eucalyptus trees, as renewable forms of energy. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In terms of carbon neutrality Michael Back might be even further ahead of the curve than he realises. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">In a recent survey conducted among British wine drinkers by Wine Intelligence, people were more interested in whether wine was organic or Fair Trade. No-one expressed a strong view about carbon neutrality and wine. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Still, it seems that the rest of South Africa's wine industry is gearing up to follow Michael Back's pioneering lead. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Su Birch, CEO of Wines of South Africa, which markets South African wine overseas, says the question now is how to move the whole industry towards being carbon neutral. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"At the end of the day you've got to do what your customers want and that's something the customers are asking of us," she says. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>'Better for all'</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">But Su Birch also sounds a note of caution. Unemployment in South Africa is high and jobs are precious. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">One way of reducing carbon emissions would be to export wine in bulk and have it bottled overseas. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"That would be creating jobs over there and losing them in South Africa, where they are desperately needed," she says. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">"This shouldn't be a one-dimensional issue, because there are other issues here around the welfare of people who work in the wine industry. The societal implications, I think, should be as important as the environmental ones." </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Michael Back agrees: "We have to find ways in which environmental care can be commercialised so that it actually creates employment, and shows that living in a cleaner environment is better for all."<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-18470207981299736832007-07-17T04:35:00.001-07:002007-07-17T04:35:57.044-07:00Experts seek to save rare turtle<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> Experts seek to save rare turtle </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> </span><div class="mvb"> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="bottom"> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Jonathan Kent </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> BBC News, Kuala Lumpur </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /><br /> </span></div> <!-- E IBYL --> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39985000/jpg/_39985598_lback_mgodfrey_203.jpg" alt="A leatherback turtle (Image: Matthew Godfrey)" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">Leatherback turtle numbers are falling in Terengganu</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>Conservationists and scientists are meeting in Malaysia to hatch a plan to save one of the world's most critically endangered sea creatures. </b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Experts say there are fewer than 5,000 leatherback turtles left, but with swift action they believe that their decline can be reversed. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The meeting's organisers say there is a certain irony in their choice of venue. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Terengganu on Malaysia's east coast was once home to one of the world's largest leatherback turtle nesting sites. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Tens of thousands would come ashore each year to lay their eggs. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">But no more. Numbers are so low that the state has dropped the turtle as its symbol. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The creatures have fallen prey to humans who either raid their nests for eggs or who catch them in fishing nets at sea. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Funding needed</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Peter Dutton, the head of a US government marine turtle research programme, says it is a critical time for the leatherback. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He wants to see more action to protect their nests. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Scientists have already identified the most critical nesting sites and hope that this meeting will decide how best to put into action a plan to save them. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">There is broad agreement that the leatherbacks' decline can yet be stemmed. </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">However, campaigners say that without reliable funding for conservation programmes, the task of ensuring the survival of the largest of the world's turtle species will be that much more difficult.<!-- E BO --> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-49015919601091142592007-07-16T14:05:00.000-07:002007-07-16T14:06:28.311-07:00Ibiza marine park 'safe from oil'<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"><br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44001000/jpg/_44001960_beachafp203body.jpg" alt="Clean-up on Talamanca beach, Ibiza, 13 July 2007" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> <div class="cap">Some Ibiza beaches have been polluted by the oilspill</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>Spanish authorities say they have prevented oil from a freighter that ran aground off the holiday island of Ibiza from reaching a nature reserve.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Absorbent barriers are now in place to protect the Ses Salines reserve, a sanctuary for migratory birds. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A clean-up operation is continuing on three Ibiza beaches which were closed last week after oil came ashore. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The freighter Don Pedro hit rocks and sank last Wednesday, with 150 tons of fuel oil and diesel on board. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44002000/gif/_44002107_ibiza_reserve_203xoth.gif" alt="Ibiza map" border="0" height="300" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> Spain's El Pais reports on its website that volunteers have removed about 100 tons of polluted sand from the affected beaches. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The three closed beaches are Talamanca, Figueretes and En Bossa. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">A private firm is working to extract the remaining oil from the ship. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Ibiza is renowned for its buzzing night life and beaches, attracting thousands of holidaymakers - many of them British - every year. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Spanish Public Works Minister Magdalena Alvarez played down the pollution threat at the weekend, saying "there is practically no slick" and predicting that the beaches would be cleaned up "within days". </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485547337331322533.post-9046836775790288712007-07-12T14:01:00.000-07:002007-07-12T14:04:27.418-07:00Major hominid fossil finding in EthiopiaADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) -- Ethiopian scientists said on Tuesday they have discovered hominid fossil fragments dating from between 3.5 million and 3.8 million years ago in what could fill a crucial gap in the understanding of human evolution.<br /><br />Ethiopian archaeologist Yohannes Haile Selassie said the find included several complete jaws and one partial skeleton and were unearthed in the Afar desert at Woranso-Mille, near where the famous fossil skeleton known as Lucy was found in 1974.<br /><br />"This is a major finding that could fill a gap in human evolution," he told a news conference in Addis Ababa.<br /><br />"The fossil hominids from the Woranso-Mille area sample a time period that is poorly known in human evolutionary study."<br /><br />Researchers say the area, about 140 miles northeast of Addis, boasts the most continuous record of human evolution.<br /><br />Last year, an international team of scientists unveiled the discovery of 4.1 million-year-old fossils in the region.<br /><br />Lucy, the most famous find, lived between 3.3 million and 3.6 million years ago. But Yohannes said Afar had yielded early hominid fossil remains spanning the last 6 million years.<br /><br />"This has placed Ethiopia in the forefront of paleoanthropology," he told reporters.<br /><br />"Ethiopia is known to the world as the cradle of humankind."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0