Environment

Algae blooms irk Canaries beachgoers

TENERIFE, Spain (AFP) — Microalgae blooms proliferating in hot weather in Spain’s Canary Islands are irritating beachgoers, who should avoid direct contact with them, local authorities said Monday. Tenerife in particular is awash with visitors at this time of year but some of those having an Atlantic dip have come out scratching themselves after brushing up against the tiny algae. The spreading algae have produced a greenish brown hue in the waters off some beaches […]

China’s bikes-for-sharing hit Manchester streets

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (CCTV) — China’s bike-sharing operator Mobike is gaining traction in UK’s Manchester just a few weeks after its arrival in the city. Steve Pyer, general manager of Mobike’s UK division, while expressing the service’s popularity, said each bike gets used nine times a day. “There were 20 bikes there 10 minutes ago, and the last two are about to disappear. So they are being used every day, up to nine times a […]

Panda gives birth to twins at French zoo, one cub dies

SAINT-AIGNAN-SUR-CHER,France (AFP) — There was joy and pain for French zookeepers Friday as their female panda gave birth to twins, but one died soon afterwards. Huan Huan, on loan to Beauval zoo in central France from China, delivered the first cub at 10:18 pm (2018 GMT) and the second at 10:32. But soon after birth, the first, which weighed just 121 grams (4.2 ounces), began having problems breathing and died despite the best efforts of […]

Russia’s Lake Baikal ‘extremely polluted’, Putin warns

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest freshwater lake, has extremely high pollution levels, President Vladimir Putin warned Friday while visiting the Siberian lake. Lake Baikal is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the world’s deepest lake at 1,700 meters (5,580 feet) and also the oldest at 25 million years. Tourists flock there to enjoy the unique wildlife and clear waters. Putin, while meeting officials in a room looking onto the shimmering waters […]

Watch: Six giant panda cubs born in one week at Sichuan’s panda base

SICHUAN Province, southwest China (Reuters) — A total of six giant panda cubs were born in succession from four different giant pandas within a week at the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The giant pandas namely “Jun Zhu”, “Qing Qing”, “Hai Zi” and “Zhen Zhen” gave births to two twins and two singles from July 23 till July 30. “Followed by giant panda ‘Jun Zhu’ giving birth on July 23, four […]

Idle spiders’ epic sea journey from Africa to Australia: study

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A species of spider that usually travels no further than a few feet from where it was hatched, likely made an epic sea journey on a “land raft” from South Africa to call Australia home, a study said Thursday. The Australian trapdoor spider, known scientifically as Moggridgea rainbow, is only found on Kangaroo Island off the south Australian coast and lives a sedentary land-based lifestyle, rarely moving far. Research in the […]

Heat in S. Asia could exceed survivable levels by 2100: study

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — South Asia, home to one-fifth of the world’s population, could see humid heat rise to unsurvivable levels by century’s end if nothing is done to halt global warming, researchers said Wednesday. The study in the journal Science Advances warned of “summer heat waves with levels of heat and humidity that exceed what humans can survive without protection.” The research is based on two climate models. One is a “business-as-usual” scenario […]

Global warming reduces protein in key crops: study

    by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Rising carbon dioxide levels from global warming will drastically reduce the amount of protein in staple crops like rice and wheat, leaving vulnerable populations at risk of growth stunting and early death, experts warned Wednesday. Researchers say they still don’t understand how or why carbon dioxide emissions sap protein and other nutrients from plants, but the mystery is one that could have […]

Satellite launched to monitor climate change and vegetation

  CAYENNE, France (AFP) — Two satellites including one dedicated to monitoring the effects of climate change on vegetation were successfully launched into orbit late Tuesday, launch company Arianespace said. They were launched from Korou, in French Guiana, at 10:56 pm (0136 GMT). The Vegetation and Environment monitoring on a New Micro Satellite — or Venus — is a joint effort between France’s National Center for Space Studies (CNES) and Israel’s space agency. Venus will […]

World’s biggest heart – from a blue whale – displayed in Toronto

TORONTO, Canada (Reuters) — The largest heart ever seen has gone on display at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The organ belonged to one of two blue whales whose carcasses washed up on the shores of Trout River in Newfoundland and Labrador province three years ago. “Blue whale carcasses are very rare because most of the time they sink, as they don’t have as much fat or blubber as other whale species,” Burton Lim, Assistant […]

Australian Polar Bear cub explores new ‘cub kindy’ enclosure

GOLD COAST, Australia (Reuters) — Sea World Australia’s three-month-old polar bear cub started a new stage in her development last week with her keepers introducing her to ‘Cub Kindy.’ The ‘Cub Kindy’ enclosure was especially designed for the cub at Sea World on the Gold Coast which “allows for the cub to develop her life-skills and explore new substrates such as shaved ice all under the watchful eye of doting mum, Liya,” said Sea World […]

Los Angeles to have fully electric bus fleet by 2030

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Known for its bouts of heavy smog, the city of Los Angeles on Thursday announced plans to have a fleet of fully electric, zero-emissions buses by 2030. Authorities in the United States metropolis said the project, which involves the purchase of 2,200 vehicles, would cost some $1 billion over the next ten years. “Today’s vote represents an enormous investment in the future of a healthy and prosperous Los Angeles,” […]