Environment

• Thursday, July 4th 2019 - 19:13 UTC

  Brazilian leading meat processor is “buying cattle from ranchers operating on deforested land”

  

  Brazilian food processor JBS SA has been buying cattle from ranchers operating on deforested land in the Amazon that the government had said must not be used for grazing, a newspaper report said on Tuesday.

• Thursday, July 4th 2019 - 07:33 UTC

  Amazon deforestation keeps advancing; Brazil warned about EU/Mercosur accord clauses on climate change

  

  Deforestation in Brazil's portion of the Amazon rainforest soared more than 88% in June compared with the same month a year ago, the second consecutive month of rising forest destruction under new President Jair Bolsonaro, who has called for the development of the region.

• Wednesday, July 3rd 2019 - 18:51 UTC

  South Sandwich Islands hold one of the world's enduring eight lava lake in a crater

  

  Satellite pictures confirm there is a persistent lava lake inside the crater of a remote British Overseas Territory (BOT) volcano. Few enduring lava lakes are known globally; the one at Mount Michael on Saunders Island in the South Atlantic may be only the eighth such example.

• Wednesday, July 3rd 2019 - 10:59 UTC

  Sky darkens over Chile and Argentina during last total solar eclipse of the decade

  

  Millions of sky gazers were left in awe on Tuesday as the moon blocked out the sun over Chile and Argentina -- a celestial event that drew worldwide attention. The eclipse was only visible across the southern Pacific Ocean and South America, but people from around the world tuned in to watch it on NASA TV.

• Wednesday, July 3rd 2019 - 09:05 UTC

  Glyphosate case: US Judge lowers damage award against Bayer

  

  A U.S. judge on Tuesday said he would reduce a US$80 million damage award against Bayer AG to US$50 million or less in the case of a man who blamed his cancer on glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the jury's US$75 million punitive damages award to plaintiff Edwin Hardeman in March could not stand.

• Wednesday, July 3rd 2019 - 08:29 UTC

  Greenpeace on campaign against deep sea mining, at least until more information on the ecosystem is available

  

  Greenpeace ship sets sail on Thursday to study an ecosystem beneath the Atlantic Ocean thought to hold clues to the origins of life to press its case for a ban on deep-sea mining, as talks in Jamaica seek to agree on rules of deep-sea mineral exploitation.

• Tuesday, July 2nd 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Loss of Antarctica's sea ice cover, particularly since 2014, baffles scientists

  

  After mysteriously expanding for decades, Antarctica's sea ice cover melted by an area four times greater than France in just a few years and now stands at a record low, according to a study published on Monday.

• Tuesday, July 2nd 2019 - 09:03 UTC

  Deluge of ice pellets up to two meters deep from a hail storm covers Mexican city

  

  A freak hailstorm struck Guadalajara, one of Mexico's most populous cities, shocking residents and trapping vehicles in a deluge of ice pellets up to 2 meters deep.

• Monday, July 1st 2019 - 19:16 UTC

  Japan resumes commercial whaling in defiance of international criticism

  

  Five Japanese whaling vessels have set sail for the country's first commercial hunt in decades, in defiance of international criticism. The whaling ships have a permit to catch 227 minkes, Bryde's and sei whales this year in Japanese waters.

• Monday, July 1st 2019 - 18:40 UTC

  New Acting Executive Director for IAATO

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) confirmed the appointment of Dr. Terry Shaller as Acting Executive Director of IAATO. Mark van der Hulst, Chair of IAATO’s Executive Committee, said, “Terry will lead the Secretariat and work with the Executive Committee to further IAATO’s mission to advocate and promote safe, environmentally responsible private-sector travel to Antarctica.