U.S. Embassy Manila celebrates Oceans Month (and Oceans Day on June 8) with Luis Manzano, WWF-Philippines’ “Ambassador”, as he talks about the efforts the U.S. and the Philippines undertake to preserve the ocean and keep it healthy, clean and blue.
Environment
Coral bleaching goes into unprecedented third year: NOAA
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The planet’s coral reefs are likely facing warmer than normal water for an unprecedented third year in a row, extending what is already the longest coral bleaching event on record, US observers said Monday. The global bleaching event began in mid-2014 with global warming and a particularly intense El Nino phenomenon resulting in higher than normal ocean temperatures, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA presented its grim […]
Poisonous lionfish may invade Med, warn environmentalists
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AFP) — The lionfish, a tropical creature with poisonous barbs and a painful sting that can kill humans in rare cases, may be spreading in the Mediterranean, a conservation group warned Monday. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (UICN) said the fish had been spotted in waters around Turkey and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. “That shows that the fish is spreading, and that’s a cause for concern,” Maria del Mar […]
Dolphins to get coastal sanctuary in US
WASHINGTON, United Sates (AFP) — After years of research on dolphin behavior and under pressure from animal rights groups, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has decided to move the marine mammals to a sanctuary, officials said Wednesday. It will be the first sanctuary for dolphins in North America. The transfer from the aquarium in the Atlantic coast port city will not be done before 2020, they said. The venue for the dolphins will be a […]
May goes down as Earth’s hottest on record: NASA
WASHINGTON, united States (AFP) — May’s temperatures broke global records yet again, as the northern hemisphere finishes its hottest spring on record, statistics released Tuesday by NASA showed. The Arctic in particular experienced abnormal heat, causing Arctic sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet to start melting unusually early, said NASA. Alaska recorded its warmest spring on record by a wide margin, and in Finland the average May temperature was between three and five degrees […]
Australian rodent species first victim of climate change?
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Climate change appears to have driven to extinction an Australian Great Barrier Reef rodent, according to a new study, which suggests the species may be the first mammal lost to the global phenomenon. Extensive searches for the Bramble Cay melomys, a small rat-like animal, have failed to find a single specimen from its only known habitat on a sandy island in far northern Australia. Researchers said the key factor behind the […]
Sanctuary offers hope for endangered Philippine eagle
by Karl MALAKUNAS DAVAO, Philippines (AFP) — Surprisingly loud chirps accompany a clumsy flurry of tiny wings as a wispy-haired chick breaks through its shell, its birth offering rare cause for celebration in the struggle to save the Philippine eagle from extinction. Tropical rainforest destruction and relentless hunting have decimated the population of the majestic bird — one of the world’s biggest and most powerful — with just hundreds believed to be left in the […]
A new manatee comes to the Paris Zoo
PARIS, France (AFP) — Husar, a 400-kilogram male manatee, arrived at his new home in the Paris Zoo Thursday morning after travelling from Italy. https://youtu.be/DORpJSOy-vo
Several Philippine fish species may go extinct in the near future
QUEZON City, Philippines – Environmental group, Haribon Foundation reported that 59 native fish species may go extinct within the next 15 to 25 years. Included in the list of fish species are the “talakitok”, “maya-maya” and “lapu-lapu|. Haribon cites over-fishing and the destruction of coral reefs as the main reasons. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing and Uploaded by Vince Alvin Villarin)
Scientists turn CO2 into stone to fight climate change
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Scientists have turned carbon dioxide into stone in a matter of months by pumping it deep underground, offering a revolutionary new way of storing the greenhouse gas to tackle climate change. The pioneering experiment in Iceland mixed CO2 emissions with water and pumped it hundreds of meters (feet) underground into volcanic basalt rock — where it rapidly turned into a solid. “We need to deal with rising carbon emissions. This […]
Fish eyes life inside a jelly’s belly
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A fish has been pictured swimming inside a jellyfish off Australia’s east coast in a remarkable and rare image that has gone viral, with more than two million online views. Underwater photographer Tim Samuel was in the water with a friend near popular tourist resort Byron Bay in December when they came across the little creature trapped inside the only slightly larger jellyfish. The expression on the golden fish’s face — […]
La Niña phenomenon
(AFP) La Nina, a weather phenomenon that periodically causes devastating droughts and storms, will likely occur more frequently and more violently this century as a result of global warming, according to researchers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG04ZyufAl8 Fred Garet Marian Henbest / AFP Videographics / AFP
