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by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Scientists have identified Earth’s smallest known reptile, warning at the same time that sustained destruction of forests in northern Madagascar threatens its survival. Tiny enough to perch comfortably on a fingertip, the ultra-compact chameleon — dubbed Brookesia nana — has the same proportions and world-weary expression as its larger cousins around the world. “We discovered it in the mountains of northern of Madagascar,” Frank […]
by Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse Climate change may have played a “key role” in the transmission of the novel coronavirus to humans by driving several species of pathogen-carrying bats into closer contact, research showed on Friday. The virus, which has killed more than two million people and caused unprecedented global disruption, is thought to have originated in bats in Southeast Asia. Researchers from the University of Cambridge used temperature and rainfall data over […]
by Adam PLOWRIGHT Agence France-Presse WITTELSHEIM, France (AFP) — Jean-Pierre Hecht, a miner in eastern France, remembers how attractive the idea sounded when he first heard about it: a dying pit could be turned into something useful and environmentally friendly. Back in the 1990s, the local state mining group MDPA approached the community in the town of Wittelsheim in Alsace with an idea for stocking hazardous waste in a nearby potash mine. “The pitch was […]
by John BIERS Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP)— Ford announced Thursday a dramatic acceleration of its investment push into electric autos and signaled deepening collaborations with technology giants on the increased digitization of driving. The US auto giant, released fourth-quarter and annual results, and said it plans $22 billion in electric car investment through 2025, nearly twice the earlier plan. The announcement is the latest big bet on electric autos by a legacy […]
by Ben PERRY Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday became the latest oil major to reveal huge annual losses as the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand and prices in 2020. Shell dived into a net loss of $21.7 billion (18.1 billion euros) last year as factories shut and planes were grounded. The Anglo-Dutch group’s loss compared with a net profit of $15.8 billion in 2019, the company said in […]
by Taimaz SZIRNIKS Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Demand for electric vehicles soared in the EU last year as buyers took advantage of government subsidies for clean cars aimed at helping manufacturers weather the unprecedented hit from the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said Thursday. Some 538,772 fully electric autos were sold across the bloc, up 117 percent from 2019, while sales of plug-in hybrids more than tripled, to 507,059 from […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — US and EU firms are importing large amounts of wood potentially linked to illegal deforestation after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration controversially lifted sanctions against the country’s biggest flooring exporter, a report said Tuesday. The report, published by London-based environmental group Earthsight, said that Brazilian firm Indusparquet was “thriving across the US and EU” after being “let off the hook” by Bolsonaro’s far-right government despite evidence apparently linking it […]
by Stéphane ORJOLLET Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A French court on Wednesday held the state responsible for its failure to take sufficient measures to halt climate change, a first in the country hailed as a victory by NGOs who brought the case with the backing of over two million citizens. The administrative court in Paris ruled that the government’s failure to convert its commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions into policy made it […]
by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France Presse Overfishing has wiped out over 70 percent of some shark and ray populations in the last half-century, leaving a “gaping, growing hole” in ocean life, according to a new study. Researchers found alarming declines in species ranging from hammerhead sharks to manta rays. Among the worst affected is the oceanic whitetip, a powerful shark often described as particularly dangerous to man, which now hovers on the edge of […]
by Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse Almost half a million people have died in natural disasters linked to extreme weather events in the last 20 years, according to a new assessment of the direct threat posed to humanity by climate change. The mortality burden of climate-related catastrophes such as storms, flooding and heatwaves is overwhelmingly borne by developing countries. At the start of the Climate Adaptation Summit, held virtually this year due to the pandemic, […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The United Nations said Tuesday that $76 million was urgently needed to help over one million people in southern Madagascar facing potentially life-threating shortages of food, water and health assistance. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA issued its so-called flash appeal after the impoverished island country in eastern Africa saw its agricultural season ruined by the worst drought in a decade. At the same time, the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic […]
by Carlos MANDUJANO Agence France-Presse CARAL, Peru (AFP) — Having survived for 5,000 years, the oldest archeological site in the Americas is under threat from squatters claiming the coronavirus pandemic has left them with no other option but to occupy the sacred city. The situation has become so bad that archeologist Ruth Shady, who discovered the Caral site in Peru, has been threatened with death if she doesn’t abandon investigating its treasures. Archeologists told an […]
