Environment

• Tuesday, October 18th 2016 - 18:58 UTC

  The tiny crustacean which plays a key role in fertilizing the Southern Ocean

  

  Scientists have discovered that Antarctic krill – a tiny shrimp-like crustacean – plays a key role in fertilising the Southern Ocean with iron, which stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, the microscopic plants at the base of the marine food web. This finding is important for understanding the oceans’ capacity for carbon capture.

• Monday, October 17th 2016 - 19:25 UTC

  Historic agreement to phase down HFC gases in air conditioners and refrigerators

  

  Negotiators from nearly 200 nations reached a historic deal to phase down emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) — potent greenhouse gases used in air conditioners and refrigerators. The agreement, a major expansion of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which eliminated the use of the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, was finalized during a United Nations meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

• Monday, October 17th 2016 - 09:34 UTC

  Global momentum to protect the Antarctic Ocean builds as international talks begin in Hobart

  

  The Antarctic Ocean Alliance is calling on nations to secure the future of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, at the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) currently meeting in Hobart, Australia. This week, representatives from 25 governments are gathering in Hobart to address three proposed marine protected areas, amounting to more than five million square kilometers of Antarctic waters.

• Monday, October 17th 2016 - 06:28 UTC

  Uruguayan scientists on HMS Protector en route to Antarctica for a joint research project

  

  Two Uruguayan young scientists are on board Ice Patrol HMS Protector en route to the Falkland Islands and Antarctica and will be participating in a research program on human impact on the Antarctic marine environment including pollution mainly by plastic made products. Federico Weinstein and Carolina Rodríguez belong to the Faculty of Sciences and represent the resumption of long standing links between the Ice Patrol and Montevideo.

• Saturday, October 15th 2016 - 10:48 UTC

  Russia Is Vital to Protecting Antarctica’s Ross Sea

  

  By José María Figueres (*) - The key to protecting Antarctica’s Ross Sea may well lie with Russia. On Monday the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, comprising 24 nations and the European Union, will discuss, once again, the creation of a large, marine protected area in the Southern Ocean.

• Friday, October 14th 2016 - 11:47 UTC

  Symbolic trial will try to hold Monsanto accountable for “ecocide”

  

  This weekend 30 witnesses and legal experts from five different continents will testify before five international judges at the three-day Monsanto Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Their testimonies will attempt to hold the agrochemical giant accountable for their alleged “crimes against humanity” and destruction of the environment, or “ecocide”

• Wednesday, October 12th 2016 - 11:00 UTC

  UN mission in Haiti to be extended six months in aftermath of hurricane Matthew

  

  With Haiti facing the dual challenges of addressing the impact of Hurricane Matthew and restarting preparations for the holding of the much-anticipated elections, the United Nations envoy for the Caribbean country on Tuesday expressed support for the recommended extension of the UN mission there by six months until mid-April 2017.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 09:46 UTC

  Haiti: 1.000 dead and counting, and first cases of cholera; three days official mourning

  

  Matthew, meanwhile, lost its hurricane status, subsiding to a “post-tropical cyclone” after cutting a swath from Florida to South Carolina in United States. Matthew crashed ashore on Haiti’s southern coast on Tuesday as a monster Category 4 storm, packing 230 km winds.

• Saturday, October 8th 2016 - 11:13 UTC

  Antarctica celebrates 25th anniversary of the Environment Protection Protocol

  

  Tuesday 4 October was the 25th anniversary of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty which was created in order to protect the unique and pristine Antarctic landscape. The Protocol designates Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science; and bans the commercial extraction of minerals (mining and drilling).

• Saturday, October 8th 2016 - 10:47 UTC

  Fracking controversy erupts in UK following approval of shale gas industry request

  

  Horizontal fracking can go ahead, the British government has said, in a landmark ruling for the UK shale gas industry. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has approved plans for fracking at Cuadrilla's Preston New Road site at Little Plumpton in Lancashire.