Environment

• Thursday, November 17th 2011 - 22:11 UTC

  Brazilian federal police open a probe into an oil spill from a Chevron well

  

  Brazilian federal police have opened a probe into US oil giant Chevron over alleged pollution linked to an oil spill at its offshore Frade project, local media reported Thursday.

• Tuesday, November 15th 2011 - 23:09 UTC

  Uruguay puts a 65 dollar per MW-hour cap for developing wind power projects

  

  Uruguay won’t accept bids above 65 dollars a megawatt-hour from developers bidding to sell power from wind farms as concerns mount that rates have dropped too low.

• Tuesday, November 15th 2011 - 17:23 UTC

  Pod of 65 pilot whales stranded in New Zealand; high tide could save 34

  

  Half of a pod of sixty-five pilot whales stranded on the northern tip of New Zealand’s southern island have died and the surviving 34 are stuck in shallow water, between two and three kilometres offshore.

• Monday, November 14th 2011 - 07:13 UTC

  Chevron halts drilling off the coast of Brazil following an oil-spill

  

  Oil giant Chevron halted drilling of a well off the coast of Brazil as it looks into the possible causes of an oil spill in the region. Chevron said in a statement e-mailed that an oil sheen had appeared on the surface of the ocean near the Frade project it operates, which it attributed to oil seeps in the area.

• Saturday, November 12th 2011 - 11:22 UTC

  Iguazu Falls chosen as one of the natural seven wonders of the world

  

  The Iguazú Falls located on the border of Argentina and Brazi and consisting of approximately 257 individual falls over 2.7 kilometres were chosen as one of the new natural seven wonders of the world in a contest in which thousands of people voted via text messages, by phone and online. The result will be made official in 2012 with a big celebration.

• Friday, November 11th 2011 - 08:28 UTC

  Puyehue volcanic ashes are back forcing delays in Buenos Aires and links to Chile

  

  Buenos Aires City two main air terminals, Ezeiza and Aeroparque faced on Thursday disruptions and flight complications because of the presence of the ash cloud from the Chilean Puyehue volcano, affecting particularly Patagonia to the south of Argentina and links with Santiago de Chile.

• Thursday, November 10th 2011 - 07:57 UTC

  Brazilean court allows construction of controversial gigantic dam to continue

  

  A Brazilian federal court on Wednesday rejected an appeal for suspending construction of the controversial 11 billion dollars Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the heart of the Amazon until after indigenous people has been consulted.

• Friday, November 4th 2011 - 01:06 UTC

  Prepare for a huge iceberg, 880 sq kilometres anticipated NASA

  

  A massive crack is growing wider in the Antarctic ice sheet and could break apart in the coming months, forming an iceberg the size of the island of Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain), NASA scientists warned Thursday.

• Thursday, November 3rd 2011 - 01:35 UTC

  UN publishes blueprint for ocean and coastal sustainability

  

  Four United Nations organizations presented a project to preserve oceans and coastal areas threatened with environmental degradation. The document, released during the XXXVI UNESCO General Conference, warns of the danger faced by large aquifers, which play the role of climate regulators and are food sources and support for the economy of millions of people.

• Thursday, November 3rd 2011 - 00:11 UTC

  International coalition promotes network of Antarctica marine protected areas

  

  A new international coalition is working to set up a network of designated marine protected areas (MPA) and no-take marine reserves in the oceans surrounding Antarctica.