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The Earth stands on the brink of its sixth mass extinction and the fault is ours
The rate at which vertebrate species are dying far exceeds the norm
Life on Earth is in trouble. That much we know. But how bad have things become – and how fast are events moving? How soon, indeed, before the Earth’s biological treasures are trashed, in what will be the sixth great mass extinction event? This is what Gerardo Caballos of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and his colleagues have assessed, in a paper that came out on Friday.
These are extraordinarily difficult questions. There are many millions of species, many elusive and rare, and inhabiting remote and dangerous places. There are too few skilled biologists in the field to keep track of them all. Demonstrating beyond reasonable doubt that any single species is extinct is arduous and painstaking (think how long it took to show – to most people, at least – that Loch Ness probably does not harbour a large monster).
Continue reading...Humans creating sixth great extinction of animal species, say scientists
Study reveals rate of extinction for species in the 20th century has been up to 100 times higher than would have been normal without human impact
The modern world is experiencing a “sixth great extinction” of animal species even when the lowest estimates of extinction rates are considered, scientists have warned.
The rate of extinction for species in the 20th century was up to 100 times higher than it would have been without man’s impact, they said.
You're really spoiling us: has Ferrero been wrongly accused over Nutella?
Industry observers including Greenpeace have defended the confectionery firm on sourcing sustainable palm oil after a French minister urged citizens to stop buying its spread
It is not often that government ministers urge their citizens to boycott a specific product. But that is just what the French environment minister Ségolène Royal did with Nutella this week – claiming that the palm oil it is made from contributes to deforestation and does “considerable damage” to the environment.
Cue irritation from the Italian company Ferrero that makes the chocolatey spread and a backlash from Royal’s opposite number in Italy. Industry observers including Greenpeace and WWF also leapt to the defence of the company, pointing out that it has in fact led the industry in cleaning up its act and goes much further than most competitors on responsible sourcing of palm oil.
Western Sydney Dry Rainforest and Moist Woodland on Shale
US west coast toxic algae bloom might be largest ever, say scientists
Researchers on NOAA research vessel begin survey of massive toxic algae bloom recorded in region that has led to shutdown of shellfish harvests, reports the Seattle Times
A team of federal biologists set out from Oregon on Monday to survey what could be the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded off the west coast.
The effects stretch from central California to British Columbia, and possibly as far north as Alaska. Dangerous levels of the natural toxin domoic acid have shut down recreational and commercial shellfish harvests in Washington, Oregon and California this spring, including the lucrative Dungeness crab fishery off Washington’s southern coast and the state’s popular razor-clam season.
Continue reading...Western Australian Temperate Demersal Gillnet and Demersal Longline Fisheries
Eastern Cougar extinct, no longer needs protection, says US conservation agency
The US Fish and Wildlife service has called for the eastern cougar to be removed from endangered species list after four-year review confirms their extinction
Eastern cougars that once roamed North America from Canada to South Carolina are extinct and no longer warrant federal Endangered Species Act protections, US wildlife managers have said.
The proposal to remove so-called eastern cougars from the list of endangered and threatened species comes nearly 80 years after the last of those mountain lions was believed to have been trapped and killed in New England, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Continue reading...Polar bears eat dolphins as Arctic warms
Global warming is driving more species further north, scientists say, as polar bears are spotted devouring dolphins for the first time
Norwegian scientists have seen polar bears eating dolphins in the Arctic for the first time ever and blame global warming for the bears expanding their diet.
Polar bears feed mainly on seals but Jon Aars at the Norwegian Polar Institute has photographed dolphins being devoured by a bear and published his findings in the latest edition of Polar Research this month.
Continue reading...Sustainable Cities through Intentional Communities
Sustainable Cities through Intentional Communities
5th June 2015, Adelaide City Library, Adelaide, South Australia
Host: Ed Wilby- Cofounder, Intentional Communities Australia Alliance
Panellist:
Brett Aylen - Architect, TS4 Architecture
Ken Long - Sustainability Consultant, dsquared Consulting & Chair, Adelaide Sustainable Building Network
Joise McLean - Principle Coach, The Partnership
Phil Donaldson - Founder, SustainSA
This session is also available as a podcast:
soundcloud.com/adelaidesbn/sustainable-cities-through-intentional-communities
Cast: AdelaideSBN and ESM
Science in Australia's environmental policy
Review of the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000
Giant great white shark circles diving cage near Guadeloupe – video
My generation does give a damn about climate change, says 14-year-old activist
Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez has been campaigning since he was six. He explains why young people are not afraid to take on the fossil fuel industry
Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez is 14, but has a confidence beyond his years. He carries on his back an organisation that his mother Tamara founded almost 10 years before his birth, created to inspire young people to defend the environment.
Roske-Martinez is its spokesperson, its youth director, and a self-defined eco hip hop artist, activist and change-agent. He raps. He lectures children younger and older than him at schools around the United States. He rallies before state politicians. And he has addressed world leaders in the United Nations.
Continue reading...Robin wins vote for UK's national bird
More than 224,000 people cast their ballot in the National Bird Vote with robin taking 34%, followed by barn owl and blackbird, at 12% and 11%
It’s territorial, chippy and punches above its weight – and that’s why Britons have voted for the robin to be the country’s national bird, according to the organiser of a nationwide poll.
More than 224,000 people cast their ballot in the National Bird Vote, organised by “urban birder” David Lindo, which finished on the day of the general election.
Continue reading...Sea Shepherd agrees $2.55m payment to Japanese whalers for injunction breach
Radical environmental group does not accept it is in contempt, but agrees payout after getting involved in confrontations with whalers in 2013
A radical environmental group has agreed to pay $2.55m (£1.6m) to Japanese whalers for breaching a US court injunction to stay clear of their vessels in the Antarctic Ocean.
The United States-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and former senior officials of the group last week agreed to pay the sum to resolve civil contempt charges against them in the US ninth circuit court of appeals.
Continue reading...Yellow-breasted buntings 'being eaten to extinction by China'
Birds once abundant in Europe and Asia could share the same fate as passenger pigeon as they are killed in millions for food
A bird that was once one of the most abundant in Europe and Asia is being hunted to near extinction because of Chinese eating habits, according to a study published on Tuesday.
The population of the yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola) has plunged by 90% since 1980, all but disappearing from eastern Europe, Japan and large parts of Russia, said the study, published in the Conservation Biology journal.
Continue reading...Dynamic EcoLibrium registrations open. Can SA go 100% renewable?
Former BP executive not guilty of reporting false information after 2010 spill
David Rainey was accused of lying about amount of oil being expelled into Gulf of Mexico after Deepwater Horizon explosion to match government reports
A federal jury found a former BP executive not guilty Friday of making false statements to investigators in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Related: Deepwater Horizon: jury selection begins for BP exec charged in oil spill
Continue reading...Can Sea Shepherd survive its own success?
With a new $12m ship on the way and the Japanese whaling fleet on the retreat, the conservation organization is having a banner year – provided the Whale Wars stars can navigate a rising tide of multimillion-dollar lawsuits
In 2010, the world watched a $3m eco-action boat called the Ady Gil sink off Antarctica after being run through by a Japanese whaling ship. In many ways, it was a moment that defined the last five years for Sea Shepherd, the vigilante conservation group to which the trimaran belonged. With the sinking came renewed public support for their mission to do anything necessary to stop whaling.
The collision is likely to make headlines again this summer, as three separate multimillion-dollar lawsuits against Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) come to a head.
Continue reading...Why an opinion article on Delhi's air pollution upset many Indians | Janaki Lenin
A New York Times story of an eight-year-old’s struggle to draw a breath of air set off a storm of protest. Was it a case of shooting the messenger?
Gardiner Harris, the South Asia correspondent for The New York Times, wrote a critique of Delhi’s abysmal air quality before fleeing to the US. Since then his story has been re-published by major news websites and shared widely online.
Within nine months of the family moving to Delhi, Harris’ eight-year-old son Bram suffered respiratory distress, lost half his breathing ability, and had to take steroids regularly. Then the Harrises agonised if it was ethical to continue living in the city at the cost of their children’s health, especially when they had a choice. They could move elsewhere, while most of the city’s residents were grounded.
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