Environment

• Thursday, December 27th 2018 - 04:22 UTC

  Sea Shepherd celebrates Japan will cease whaling around Antarctica

  

  Marine conservationists Sea Shepherd are claiming Japan's decision to abandon whaling around Antarctica as a victory, though their battle will go on with the Asian nation moving to resume hunting elsewhere. On Boxing Day, Japan announced it was leaving the International Whaling Commission so it could resume commercial hunting of the marine mammals in their territorial waters.

• Monday, December 24th 2018 - 09:30 UTC

  Hundreds killed and injured after tsunami hits Indonesian coastal towns

  

  At least 220 people have been killed and 843 injured after a tsunami hit coastal towns on Indonesia's Sunda Strait government officials say. There was no warning of the giant waves which struck at Saturday night, destroying hundreds of buildings, sweeping away cars and uprooting trees.

• Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 07:32 UTC

  Argentina launches the Antarctica Summer Campaign with icebreaker ARA Irizar

  

  With the departure of icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar, Argentina launched this week its Antarctica Summer Campaign 2018/19. The re furbished icebreaker is scheduled to develop an intense scientific activity, supply Argentina's bases and stations and replace the teams that will be spending a whole season in Antarctica.

• Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 07:01 UTC

  Marine Protected Areas controversy in the South Atlantic

  

  In a brief communiqué released on Friday the Falkland Islands government takes note of a recent Argentine announcement indicating the creation of Marine Protected Areas to the south of the Budrwood Bank. The Falklands government said it “believes the designation of this area encroaches on our Fisheries Conservation Zone and steps are being taken to address the matter”.

• Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 06:50 UTC

  South Georgia Island seen from Copernicus Sentinel-2 orbit

  

  The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the island of South Georgia. Linked with the South Sandwich Islands to form a British Overseas Territory, this southern Atlantic island is a haven for a vast array of wildlife.

• Thursday, December 20th 2018 - 08:11 UTC

  Earthquake rocks Chile's Easter Island, but no tsunami

  

  An earthquake measuring 6.2 degrees on the Richter scale struck Chile's Easter Islands in the South Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, US and Chilean seismic centres reported, while an ensuing tsunami was ruled out.

• Wednesday, December 19th 2018 - 10:07 UTC

  Newly discovered amphibian has been named after Donald Trump

  

  United States presidents tend to receive their fair share of honors, but Donald Trump may want to ignore his latest one. A newly discovered amphibian that buries its head in the sand has been named after him, apparently in response to his comments about climate change.

• Wednesday, December 19th 2018 - 08:53 UTC

  Patagonia indigenous peoples suing oil majors for “environmental contamination”

  

  A major group of indigenous people living in Argentine Patagonia are taking some of the world's biggest oil and gas multinationals to court for “environmental contamination,” Greenpeace said this week. The Mapuche are suing American giant Exxon, French company Total and the Argentina-based Pan American Energy, which is part-owned by BP.

• Tuesday, December 18th 2018 - 09:13 UTC

  Antarctica wildlife exposed to human linked pathogens, including antibiotic resistant microbes

  Infectious diseases are commonly passed along from humans to animals, but a new study is the first to document human-linked pathogens on the isolated continent of Antarctica. The researchers discovered antibiotic-resistant microbes and other bacterial strains in bird poop, raising new concerns about the health of Antarctic bird colonies.

• Wednesday, December 12th 2018 - 18:55 UTC

  Environmentalists seek legal injunction to stop pollution of Lake Nahuel Huapi in Bariloche

  

  Lake Nahuel Huapi has been receiving around 75 million litres of untreated sewage for the past three days due to the maintenance and removal of materials in the Elevator Station of the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bariloche and environmentalist organisations have already filed for an amparo remedy to stop the spill.