Environment

Australia to ‘vehemently’ oppose Japan push to ease whaling ban

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP)–Australia Thursday vowed to “vehemently” oppose a new push by Japan to undermine a global moratorium on commercial whaling, and urged like-minded nations to stand firm against Tokyo. Japan has regularly sought an easing of the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) prohibition on commercial whaling and continues to kill the animals under what it calls a “scientific research” programme despite international criticism. At September’s IWC meeting in Brazil, Tokyo has said it plans to […]

Continue Reading →

Degrading plastics emit greenhouse gases: study

TAMPA, United States (AFP) – Need another reason to hate plastics piling up in the environment? A study in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday found that degrading plastics emit powerful greenhouse gases like methane and ethylene, and are a previously unaccounted-for source of these heat-trapping pollutants. Plastic water bottles, shopping bags, industrial plastics and food containers were all tested as part of the study. The “most prolific emitter” was polyethylene, which is used in […]

Continue Reading →

World’s biggest king penguin colony shrinks 90 percent

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The planet’s largest colony of king penguins has declined by nearly 90 percent in three decades, alarmed researchers said Monday. The last time scientists set foot on France’s remote Ile aux Cochons — roughly halfway between the tip of Africa and Antarctica — the island was blanketed by two million of the flightless birds, which stand about a meter (three feet) tall. But recent satellite […]

Continue Reading →

Chile to restrict tourists and non-locals on Easter Island

by Paulina ABRAMOVICH © Agence France-Presse SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP)–Easter Island is known for its unique Moai monumental statues carved by the Rapa Nui people, believed to have arrived on the remote landmass in the southeastern Pacific Ocean in around the 12th century. Despite its isolated location some 3,500 kilometers (2,000 miles) from the coast of Chile, the island is a popular tourist destination, not least due to its remarkable collection of around 900 tall human […]

Continue Reading →

Heatwaves from the Arctic to Japan: a sign of things to come?

  by Amélie Bottolier-Depois Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Intense heatwaves like the one which fuelled Greece’s deadly wildfires are set to become increasingly frequent around the world due to climate change, experts warn. – Is the current heatwave exceptional? – Record high temperatures have been registered across the Northern Hemisphere in recent weeks, from Norway to Japan. Sweltering summers are the norm in Greece, where at least 82 people have been killed […]

Continue Reading →

It’s a small world: In Japan, moss wins hearts

by Harumi OZAWA Agence France Presse SAKUHO, Japan (AFP) — Kaori Shibo bent her head down and peered through a magnifying glass in a forest in central Japan, emitting a delighted gasp. The object of her adoration? Moss. “Oh, this baby’s sporophyte is breaking out! I’ve never seen this before,” an enchanted Shibo, 41, shouted, her head nearly close enough to kiss a fallen tree log in the forest in Yatsugatake. She was out on […]

Continue Reading →

Untouched ocean habitats rapidly shrinking: study

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Shipping, pollution and over fishing have reduced areas of “wilderness” to just 13 percent of the world’s oceans, a study showed Friday, warning untouched marine habitats could completely vanish within half a century. International researchers analyzing the impact of human activity, from fertilizer runoff to increased sea transport, on underwater ecosystems have mapped the dwindling zones considered pristine. The bulk of remaining ocean wilderness, classed as “mostly free of human disturbance”, […]

Continue Reading →

US park Yosemite partially closed as deadly fire rages

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — One of the most popular national parks in the United States announced its imminent partial closure on Tuesday as thick plumes of smoke drifted from a deadly wildfire raging in central California. Yosemite National Park said the Yosemite Valley, home to many of the cliffs and waterfalls that make the area famous, would shut at noon on Wednesday. Wawona, a settlement of around 160 people a 25-mile (40-kilometer) drive […]

Continue Reading →

Red planet and ‘blood moon’ pair up to dazzle skygazers

by Mariette le Roux and Pascale Mollard Agence France-Presse The longest “blood moon” eclipse this century will coincide with Mars’ closest approach in 15 years to offer skygazers a thrilling astronomical double bill on Friday, astronomers say. For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth’s shadow from 1714 to 2328 GMT — six hours and 14 minutes in all. The period of complete eclipse — known as “totality”, when […]

Continue Reading →

Japan reopens beaches hit by 2011 nuclear, tsunami disaster

TOKYO, Japan (AFP)  — Japan has reopened three beaches in regions devastated by the 2011 tsunami and resulting Fukushima nuclear disaster after years of reconstruction efforts, officials said Monday. Local officials in Fukushima said they hoped the opening of the Haragamaobama beach would help change perceptions of the region, which has become inextricably linked with the 2011 disaster. One of the reopened waterfronts is Haragamaobama beach in Fukushima prefecture, about 40 kilometres north of the […]

Continue Reading →

Indonesian mob slaughters ‘hundreds’ of crocs in revenge attack

SORONG, Indonesia (AFP)–An angry mob has slaughtered nearly 300 crocodiles in Indonesia after a local man was killed by one of the reptiles, authorities said Monday. The revenge killing happened Saturday in Papua province following the funeral of the man, who perished when he fell into an enclosure at a crocodile farm while looking for grass to feed his livestock, police and conservation officials said. The victim, identified as 48-year-old Sugito, was bitten on the […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 140 141 142 143 144 … 222