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Indigenous tribe opposes hydropower projects in Tawang | Janaki Lenin
An indigenous tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, the Monpa, fears its religious and cultural sites will be affected by 15 hydroelectric projects
On 24 and 25 August, the Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects of the Ministry of Environment and Forests is scheduled to discuss the impact of 15 hydroelectric projects planned for the Tawang river basin in western Arunachal Pradesh. In an area wedged between China and Bhutan, these dams, with a combined capacity of about 2800MW of power, will submerge 249 hectares (615 acres) of forest. Other construction work such as roads will affect an even larger area of forest.
The Buddhist Monpa tribe, which lives in Tawang, fears its sacred sites, monasteries, and springs will be affected by the various components of these hydel projects. Villagers organised a huge rally from Tawang monastery to protest the construction of hydroelectric projects, defying a ban on public gathering in December 2012.
Continue reading...Quarterly Update of Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: March 2015
Quarterly Update of Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: March 2015
New Zealand hunters apologise over accidental shooting of takahē
An inquiry is under way into how a cull of somewhat similar-looking pukeko birds has led to the slaughter of 5% of the wild population of takahē
The head of New Zealand’s national deerstalkers’ association has apologised “to the country at large” after four critically endangered takahē were mistakenly shot by hunters carrying out a cull of a somewhat similar-looking bird.
Deerstalkers were contracted by the Department of Conservation to carry out a cull of pukeko, a non-endangered, very common relative of the takahē, on an island sanctuary in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.
Continue reading...Ants hold protest calling for protection of Amazon rainforest - video
Around half a million ants hold a protest in Cologne, Germany, calling for Angela Merkel, the country’s chancellor, to continue supporting the protection of the Amazon rainforest. As Merkel makes a visit to Brazil, conservation organisation the World Wildlife Fund lazered messages onto leaves, which read, ‘Stand up’ and ‘Save the Amazon’. Ants then carried the messages on their backs as they crawled across their ant farm
Continue reading...Climate philanthropist George Soros invests millions in coal
Billionaire has previously funded renewable energy and low-carbon initiatives and has called coal a ‘lethal bullet’ for climate change
Billionaire climate philanthropist George Soros invested more than $2m (£1.3m) in struggling coal giants Peabody Energy and Arch Coal in recent months, despite having once called the fuel “lethal” to the climate.
Filings with the Securities and Exchange commission show that between April and June this year Soros Fund Management (SFM) bought more than 1m shares in Peabody ($2.25m), the world’s largest private coal company, and 500,000 shares in Arch ($188,000).
Continue reading...South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery
Great white shark and seal in mid-air clash above the ocean – video
Researchers with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy capture the moment a great white shark jumps out of the water as it chases a seal off the Massachusetts coast. The seal can be seen leaping out of the water and hitting the shark with its tail
Coalition to restrict green groups' right to challenge after Carmichael setback
Decision to place restrictions on environment groups that can bring legal action comes after federal court overturned approval for the Queensland coalmine
The government will remove the right of most environmental organisations to challenge developments under federal laws unless they can show they are “directly affected” – a direct response to the federal court decision this month on Adani’s Carmichael coalmine.
Related: George Brandis: vigilante green groups destroying thousands of mining jobs
Continue reading...Invitation to comment on listing assessment for Pterostylis psammophila
Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery
A place where monsters hide
Ohio zoo takes cubs of bear euthanized after Yellowstone hiker killed and eaten
Cubs’ mother was killed because she ate part of hiker Lance Crosby and hid the rest of the body, say park officials
A zoo in the state of Ohio will take two cubs of a grizzly bear that was euthanized after it killed a hiker in Yellowstone national park.
Park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said the cubs’ mother was killed in Montana because she ate part of hiker Lance Crosby, 63, and hid the rest of the body — an abnormal behavior for a female bear defending its young.
Continue reading...Clarification: statement from the Climate Change Authority
Great white shark 'Deep Blue' swims near divers off coast of Mexico – video
Close-up footage of a great white shark near Guadalupe Island. The female shark, known as Deep Blue, is thought to be at least 50 years old. This clip was posted to Facebook by Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, a marine conservationist who is fundraising to protect sharks in the area, especially females with pups, from threats such as fishing nets and illegal hunters
The moment Australian eagle punches a drone out of the sky – video
A wedge-tailed eagle, also known as an eaglehawk, takes down a drone as it is flown over grassland in Victoria, Australia. Melbourne Aerial Video, the company which captured the footage, says the eagle – Australia’s largest bird of prey, highly-territorial and known to fly at 6,000ft – escaped unharmed
- The moment territorial goose swipes drone out of air - video
- Bird v machine: hawk attacks drone cam – video
Humans have already used up 2015's supply of Earth's resources – analysis
Earth ‘overshoot day’ – the day each year when our demands on the planet outstrip its ability to regenerate – comes six days earlier than 2014, with world’s population currently consuming the equivalent of 1.6 planets a year
Humans have exhausted a year’s supply of natural resources in less than eight months, according to an analysis of the demands the world’s population are placing on the planet.
The Earth’s “overshoot day” for 2015, the point at which humanity goes into ecological debt, will occur on Thursday six days earlier than last year, based on an estimate by the Global Footprint Network (GFN).
Continue reading...96m water-saving shade balls released into LA reservoir – video
The final tranche of 96m black plastic shade balls is released into the Los Angeles reservoir at Sylmar, to help improve water quality and prevent evaporation. The LA water and power department began pouring the balls into the water two months ago, as can be seen in the first clip, and the final balls are introduced this week.
The idea was conceived in 2007 in an effort to prevent the reservoir becoming contaminated with bromate, a substance formed when chemicals in the water react with sunlight. The balls are a relatively low-cost solution, at $34.5m, and are expected to save about $250m over 10 years, and prevent 300m gallons of water evaporating
Produced but never eaten: a visual guide to food waste
Whether the wastage is measured in tonnes of spoiled goods, hectares of agricultural land or household expenditure, the scale is frightening
Continue reading...'Slippery customer': police snare carpet python in London park
Met officer tweets details of snake chase in Wandsworth, which came a day after two royal pythons were found in Twickenham
Police have captured a “feisty” 1.5-metre snake that was on the loose in south London. Officers were called to a park in Wandsworth where the carpet python was found slithering along the edge of a fence.
In a series of tweets, Supt Steve Wallace of the Metropolitan police revealed how a team of three officers snared the “slippery customer” – thought to have been an escaped or dumped exotic pet – using a ballistic bag.
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