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DAKAR, Senegal (AFP) – Untapped groundwater resources have “vast potential,” the UN’s cultural agency said Monday, potentially alleviating demand for ever-scarcer water supplies across the world. In a report, cultural agency UNESCO stated that about 99 percent of all of the liquid groundwater on Earth is groundwater, although the resource is often poorly understood or undervalued. “In the context of growing water scarcity in many parts of the world, the vast potential of groundwater and the […]
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) – Two subsidiaries of Swiss mining company Solway Investment Group hid reports of pollution in an indigenous area of northeastern Guatemala, an international consortium of media companies said Sunday. The “Mining Secrets” investigation — in which 65 journalists from 15 countries participated — also accused Solway subsidiaries Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN) and PRONICO of intimidation and influence peddling. The investigation run by the Forbidden Stories NGO “reveals the strategies that Solway […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – China will help its coal-fired power plants run at full capacity, the government has announced, raising further alarm about the fate of Beijing’s climate pledges. Swathes of the world’s second-biggest economy were paralysed last year because of power shortages, partly caused by a drop in coal supply as global prices of the fossil fuel soared. China is the world’s biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, and has pledged […]
by Stéphane ORJOLLET Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Plastic has infiltrated all parts of the ocean and is now found “in the smallest plankton up to the largest whale” wildlife group WWF said on Tuesday, calling for urgent efforts to create an international treaty on plastics. Tiny fragments of plastic have reached even the most remote and seemingly-pristine regions of the planet: it peppers Arctic sea ice and has been found inside fish in […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The US government announced Monday it wants to revive a regulation limiting air emissions of mercury and other toxic substances from fossil fuel-fired power plants that had been undermined by the previous administration. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “is proposing to reaffirm that it is appropriate and necessary to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants,” the agency said in a statement. In May […]
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) – An oil spill in eastern Ecuador has reached a nature reserve and polluted a river that supplies water to indigenous communities, the country’s environmental ministry said Monday. Nearly two hectares (five acres) of a protected area of the Cayambe-Coca national park have been contaminated, as well as the Coca river — one of the biggest in the Ecuadoran Amazon, the ministry said in a statement. The park of some 400,000 hectares […]
RAYONG, Thailand (AFP) – Oil washing up on a beach on Thailand’s east coast could be the “nail in the coffin” for pandemic-hit hotels and restaurants, local hospitality businesses said Saturday. The Thai navy and pollution experts are scrambling to clean up Tuesday night’s spill in the Gulf of Thailand where at least 60 tonnes of crude leaked about 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast of Rayong province. Crews in yellow plastic protective suits […]
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) – Ecuador said it was monitoring the progress of an operation to clean up an oil leak in the Amazon jungle that threatens to pollute a river. Heavy rains caused a mudslide at Piedra Fina in the eastern Napo province on Friday. A rock struck and ruptured an oil pipeline resulting in the leak of a “huge quantity” of oil, a ministry official said on Saturday. The environment ministry said on Sunday […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – Beijing warned Monday that heavy air pollution is likely during the Winter Olympics, but said emergency plans were in place to ensure the Games are not disrupted by smog. The Chinese capital declared “war on pollution” after winning the Olympics bid in 2015, shutting down dozens of coal plants and relocating heavy industries to shed its status as one of the world’s most polluted cities. But air quality is still far […]
KALWARIA ZEBRZYDOWSKA, Poland (AFP) – In a battle against Poland’s constant smog, scientists are testing out a new “cannon” that uses soundwaves to push toxic particles higher into the atmosphere to allow residents to breathe. Installed on top of a metal container, the experimental device consists of a large upside-down cone that makes a loud sound every six seconds. The aim is to chase the smog from Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which like many Polish towns and cities […]
by Laure FILLON / Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Expanding nature preserves will not be enough to stem a rising tide of extinctions, a panel of experts warned Wednesday, taking aim at a draft treaty tasked with rescuing Earth’s animal and plant life. Setting aside at least 30 percent of both land and oceans as protected zones is the cornerstone target of the so-called global biodiversity framework to be finalised in May at […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – Beijing’s air pollution is far below acceptable World Health Organization levels with the Chinese capital a month away from hosting the Winter Olympics –- but environmental data shows its skies have improved dramatically in recent years. The city declared a “war on pollution” after winning the Olympics bid in 2015, shutting down dozens of coal plants and relocating heavy industries in order to shed its status as one of the world’s […]
