Environment

Sea of solar panels turns Mexican desert green

by Yussel GONZALEZ Agence France Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — From a distance, it looks like a deep-blue sea has formed in the middle of the Mexican desert. But this is no mirage — it’s the largest solar park in Latin America. With 2.3 million solar panels — covering the equivalent of 2,200 football fields in the arid northern state of Coahuila — the Villanueva power plant, built by Italian energy company Enel, is […]

Japan’s Akita dogs melt foreign hearts

by Natsuko Fukue Agence France Presse TAKASAKI, Japan (AFP) — Hollywood actor Richard Gere, French film star Alain Delon and Russia’s figure skating sensation Alina Zagitova have one thing in common: They adore Japan’s Akita dogs. And they’re not alone. In recent years, foreign ownership of one of Japan’s most famous indigenous breeds has skyrocketed, outstripping domestic demand for the fluffy, perky-eared pooches. Earlier this year, the trend hit the headlines when Zagitova proclaimed her […]

First genetic adaptation to diving discovered in ‘Sea Nomads’

by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — Researchers have discovered the first evidence that people can genetically adapt to deep diving, as shown by the unusually large spleens in indigenous people of Indonesia known as the “Sea Nomads,” a study said Thursday. The spear-fishing Bajau people regularly free-dive to depths of up to 230 feet (70 meters), with only weights and a wooden mask. They spend up to 60 percent of […]

Meteor shower, masasaksihan sa April 22-23

MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Isa na namang space event ang masasaksihan sa iba’t-ibang bahagi ng mundo. Ayon sa Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), masasaksihan ang Lyrids Meteor Shower sa gabi ng Abril 22 hanggang madaling araw ng Abril 23. Mararating nito ang peak point sa pagitan ng 1:30 ng madaling araw. Paglalarawan pa ng PAGASA, ang mga meteor shower ay dulot ng maliit na bilang ng debris na naiwan at paulit-ulit […]

Japan whalers return from Antarctic hunt after killing 333 whales

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese whaling vessels returned to port on Saturday after catching more than 300 of the mammals in the Antarctic Ocean without facing any protests by anti-whaling groups, officials said. A fleet of five whalers set sail for the Southern Ocean in November, as Tokyo pursues its “research whaling” in defiance of global criticism. Three of the vessels, including the fleet’s main ship, the Nisshin Maru, arrived in the morning at Shimonoseki […]

Look: Space junk

(AFP) — Millions of pieces of man-made debris are currently orbiting the earth. This huge cloud of space junk is suspended between 800 and 2,000 kilometers above us. Since space exploration began in 1957, fragments from more than 5,000 space launches and 290 orbital explosions have been accumulating. Old rockets, satellites, tools lost by astronauts and even flecks of paint pose a serious threat to future space exploration, particularly manned flights and stations. Sensors carried […]

Mama bear keeps cubs longer as shield against hunters

by Hazel Ward Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Female brown bears have learned to protect themselves from being shot by spending more time caring for their young as they adapt to legislation banning the hunting of mothers with cubs. The finding, published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, was made by a team of international researchers who spent 22 years studying data on the reproductive strategy and survival of Scandinavian brown bears. “Man […]

Mama bear keeps cubs longer as shield against hunters

by Hazel Ward Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Female brown bears have learned to protect themselves from being shot by spending more time caring for their young as they adapt to legislation banning the hunting of mothers with cubs. The finding, published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, was made by a team of international researchers who spent 22 years studying data on the reproductive strategy and survival of Scandinavian brown bears. […]

Videographics: Polar ice caps melting as Arctic heats up

The world’s polar ice caps are shrinking little by little. The Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the planet…with Greenland’s glaciers receding particularly quickly. This process is speeding up all by itself. Melting snow exposes ice underneath, which then absorbs the sun’s rays and increases thawing. At the opposite end of the earth, 90% of the ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula are starting to disintegrate. Ice melt is also […]

Indonesian ‘house pet’ orangutans rescued by activists

  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Young orangutan Utu clings to one of his rescuers as he is freed from the tiny wooden cage that has been home for five years. The tiny primate, covered in fuzzy auburn hair, is one of three Bornean orangutans saved in Indonesia over the past two weeks. Environmentalists and local officials rescued Utu and another youngster, Joy, from tiny 1.5 by one meter (five by three feet) cages where they were […]

More than 130 pilot whales die in mass Australia beaching

PERTH, Australia (AFP) — At least 135 short-finned pilot whales died Friday after a mass beaching in Australia as rescuers worked to herd those still alive back out to sea. The stranding of 150 whales at Hamelin Bay, some 315 kilometres (195 miles) south of Perth, was spotted by a commercial fisherman at daybreak, with fears the carcasses will attract sharks. Western Australia state’s Parks and Wildlife Service said its staff were on site and […]