Environment

War on plastic leaves manufacturers clutching at straws

  by Pierre Donadieu and Marie Heuclin © Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP)–For decades, plastic straws have been essential props for cocktail makers, smoothie lovers and fast food addicts. But that may be starting to change, thanks largely to vigorous environmental campaigning. Under pressure from activists, the European Union, Britain, India and even fast food giants like McDonald’s have all made some headway towards bringing the use of plastic straws to an end. And with […]

Climate change sinking Arctic archeological treasures

by Michel Comte Agence France Presse A mad rush is needed to preserve or catalogue thousands of Arctic archeological sites before they are washed away by warming hastening the thaw of permafrost and coastal erosion, a study said Thursday. For millennia, the cold has conserved ivory artifacts, driftwood houses and human remains in often near-perfect conditions. But with faster and more severe climate change in the poles than the rest of the world, the situation […]

New York’s Central Park goes officially car-free

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – New York’s iconic Central Park officially goes car-free Wednesday after the final vehicle drives through the green oasis and tourist magnet in the heart of America’s most populous urban jungle. City officials, park and cycling advocates were to join a bike ride late Tuesday behind the last car driving through the Manhattan park at 7:00 pm, restoring the green space to its original use as a refuge and […]

Last straw for McDonald’s, Burger King in Mumbai plastic ban

MUMBAI, India (AFP) — Burger King, McDonald’s and Starbucks are among dozens of companies fined for violating a new ban on single-use plastics in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, an official said Tuesday. The rules, in force since Saturday, prohibit the use of disposable plastic items such as bags, cutlery, cups and bottles under a certain size. Businesses and residents face fines of between 5,000 rupees ($73) for a first-time offense to 25,000 rupees ($367) or […]

Air pollution, sanhi ng malnutrisyon sa mga puno

(Eagle News) — Nagiging sanhi ng malnutrisyon sa mga puno ang air pollution mula sa mga bukid, diesel engine at factory. Ayon sa researchers ng Imperial College at Kew Gardens ng Britain, ito ay dahil sa pinapatay ng air pollution ang fungi na nagbibigay sustansiya sa mga puno. Makikita sa mga puno sa Britanya at Europa ang pag-kupas ng kulay at kaunting pag-lago ng mga dahon. Nasa pagitan ng 15 hanggang 90 percent ng mga […]

Palm oil giant still linked to Indonesia logging: Greenpeace

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — The world’s largest palm oil trader is still linked to deforestation in Indonesia despite committing five years ago to stop logging the archipelago’s vast tracts of jungle, Greenpeace said Monday. Singapore-listed Wilmar International has close family ties to Gama, a major Indonesian palm oil plantation company which the environmental group said has destroyed an area of rainforest twice the size of Paris. Gama was set up by Wilmar’s co-founder and his […]

Bear necessities: cooler home for last polar bear in SoKor

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The last polar bear kept in South Korea will be sent to Britain to escape the country’s stifling, humid summers and live out his days in more appropriate surroundings, zookeepers said Thursday, June 21. Tongki — a 23-year-old male named after a Japanese cartoon character of the 1980s — lives in a 330-square-metre (3500-square-foot) concrete enclosure at the Everland theme park outside Seoul. Born in captivity at a zoo […]

Dead plankton, stunned fish: the harms of man-made ocean noise

by Ivan Couronne Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Human-caused ocean noise and its dangers to marine life are the focus of meetings at the United Nations this week, a victory for advocacy groups that have long warned of the problem. – What are the causes of ocean noise? The main human activity that causes noise is maritime shipping. Among the loudest sounds are explosions aimed at demolishing offshore oil platforms, though these events […]

Earth’s intact forests vanishing at accelerating pace: scientists

  by Marlowe Hood  Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Earth’s intact forests shrank by an area larger than Austria every year from 2014 to 2016 at a 20 percent faster rate than during the previous decade, scientists said Wednesday as the UN unveiled an initiative to harness the “untapped potential” of the land sector to fight climate change. Despite a decades-long effort to halt deforestation, nearly 10 percent of undisturbed forests have been fragmented, […]

Record 68.5 million people displaced worldwide: UN

by Nina LARSON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A record 68.5 million people have been forced flee their homes due to war, violence and persecution, notably in places like Myanmar and Syria, the UN said on Tuesday. By the end of 2017, the number was nearly three million higher than the previous year and showed a 50-percent increase from the 42.7 million uprooted from their homes a decade ago, according to a report by […]

Global warming will make veggies harder to find: study

TAMPA, United States (AFP)—Global warming is expected to make vegetables significantly scarcer around the world, unless new growing practices and resilient crop varieties are adopted, researchers warned on Monday. By the end of this century, less water and hotter air will combine to cut average yields of vegetables — which are crucial to a healthy diet — by nearly one-third, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A 7.2 Fahrenheit […]

US property crisis looms as sea level rises, experts warn

  by Kerry Sheridan © Agence France-Presse SARASOTA, United States (AFP) — Along sun-splashed shorelines in the US state of Florida, home prices are on the rise, developers are busy building new complexes, and listings just blocks from the beach describe homes that are “not in a flood zone,” meaning no flood insurance is required. But experts warn that ignoring sea level rise won’t prevent a looming economic crisis caused by water-logged homes that will someday […]