Tag: Environment

‘Once in a century’ floods hit northeast Australia

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Once in a century floods have turned streets into rivers and forced thousands to abandon their homes in northeast Australia, with authorities warning of further downpours over the next few days. Australia’s tropical north experiences heavy rains during the monsoon season at this time of the year, but the recent deluge has surged far above normal levels. Thousands of residents in the city of Townsville in northeast Queensland were without […]

Bangkok governor appeals for help reducing toxic smog

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Bangkok’s governor on Thursday appealed for help to battle the toxic smog shrouding the capital as the deployment of drones left Bangkok residents unimpressed. The city has been blanketed in a murky haze for weeks, inciting criticism from the public over the government’s response, which has veered from playing down the problem to abruptly shutting schools. Authorities have seeded clouds to provoke rain, sprayed overpasses with water to catch micro-pollutants, and […]

Hong Kong seizes record eight tonnes of pangolin scales

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong customs officers unveiled a record seizure of pangolin scales on Friday, the latest huge haul to underscore the city’s central role in the lucrative and booming illegal wildlife trade. Officials said they conducted a joint investigation with mainland customs officers on 16 January, seizing 8,300 kilos of pangolin scales and 2,100 kilos of ivory tusks hidden inside a container at a customs facility. “This is a record high […]

Target na zero waste sa bansa, matatamo kung magtutulungan ang lahat – environmental groups

(Eagle News) — Malaki umano ang tsansa na matamo ng Pilipinas ang target na zero waste. Iyan ay kung kikilos ang local government units, mga korporasyon at maging ang  pamahalaan sa pagpapatupad ng total ban sa single-use plastic sa lahat ng lungsod sa Pilipinas. Sa isinagawang “Zero Waste Cities Forum” ng Global Alliance For Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) at Mother Earth Foundation ay hinikayat ang mga opisyal ng iba’t ibang local government unit sa bansa na […]

Deadly Brazil dam collapse raises fears of environmental woes

by Marc BURLEIGH Agence France Presse RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Nearly a week after a dam storing mining waste collapsed in southeast Brazil, the human cost is clear, with nearly 350 killed or missing, but the environmental impact is still being evaluated. Authorities fear the mineral-laced slurry released by the collapse could eventually pollute the Sao Francisco River, the second-longest in Brazil, which hosts various species of fish and has many towns on […]

Storage of nuclear waste a ‘global crisis’: report

PARIS, France (AFP) — Nuclear waste is piling up around the world even as countries struggle to dispose of spent fuel that will remain highly toxic for many thousands of years, Greenpeace detailed in a report Wednesday. Analysis of waste storage facilities in seven countries with nuclear power revealed that several were near saturation, the anti-nuclear NGO said. All these nations also confronted other problems that have yet to be fully contained: fire risk, venting […]

Arctic air sends temperatures well below zero in midwest US

by Nova SAFO Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A brutal cold wave brought temperatures lower than Antarctica to the American Midwest on Wednesday, grounding flights, closing schools and businesses and raising hypothermia fears for homeless residents. Mail deliveries were suspended and people encouraged to stay home in nearly a dozen US states where the mercury plunged into the negative double digits, the worst freeze to grip the region in a generation. US […]

Hundreds of schools to shut as toxic smog cloaks Bangkok

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Toxic smog forced Bangkok authorities to issue an unprecedented order to shut nearly 450 schools on Wednesday, as authorities struggle to manage a pollution crisis that has stirred widespread concern. The Thai capital has been shrouded in murky haze for weeks, forcing residents to don masks and sparking social media criticism of the uneven response by the government. Reasons given for the lingering pall include exhaust from traffic, unfettered construction, the […]

For some whales, sonar may provoke suicidal behaviour: study

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Scientists have long known that some beaked whales beach themselves and die in agony after exposure to naval sonar, and now they know why: the giant sea mammals suffer decompression sickness, just like scuba divers. At first blush, the explanation laid out Wednesday by 21 experts in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B seems implausible. Millions of years of evolution have turned whales into perfectly […]

Sea of white: ‘Hundreds of thousands’ of fish dead in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — “Hundreds of thousands” of fish have died in drought-stricken Australia in the last few days and more mass deaths are likely to occur, the authorities warned Tuesday. Locals around the Darling River were confronted with a sea of white, as dead fish carpeted the waters near the southeastern Outback town of Menindee. Just weeks after up to a million were killed — with scientists pointing to low water and oxygen levels […]