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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 14th 2025 - 23:58 UTC

Environment

  • Saturday, July 2nd 2016 - 09:20 UTC

    Antarctic ozone hole is finally starting to heal according to study published in Science

    “This is a reminder that when the world gets together, we really can solve environmental problems,” said Susan Solomon, an atmospheric chemist at MIT.

    Nearly thirty years after an international treaty banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons, the Antarctic ozone hole is finally starting to heal. By mid to late century, it should be fully recovered.

  • Thursday, June 30th 2016 - 15:15 UTC

    Convention on Biological Diversity extended to the Falkland Islands

    MLA Poole, Environment Portfolio-Holder, explained CBD allows the Islands to be part of an international club and learn from experience across member states.”

    The United Kingdom ratification to the Convention on Biological Diversity was formally extended to the Falkland Islands on Wednesday (June 29). The CBD is an agreement on environmental management and best practice and originated from the 1992 Rio Conference on environment and development.

  • Saturday, June 25th 2016 - 20:30 UTC

    Beijing sinking because of excessive pumping of groundwater: 11cms per year

    Beijing sits in a dry plain where groundwater has accumulated over millennia. As wells are drilled and the water table drops, the underlying soil compacts

    China’s capital is known for its horrendous smog and occasional sandstorms. Yet one of its major environmental threats lies underground: Beijing is sinking. Excessive pumping of groundwater is causing the geology under the city to collapse, according to a new study using satellite imagery that reveals parts of Beijing – particularly its central business district – are subsiding each year by as much as 11 centimeters.

  • Thursday, June 23rd 2016 - 13:22 UTC

    German coalition bans fracking for shale gas indefinitely, but with parliament reassess in 2021

    German industry is keen to keep the door open to fracking arguing it could help lower energy costs, but opposition from the green lobby is strong

    Germany's coalition government agreed this week to ban fracking for shale gas indefinitely after years of fractious talks over the issue, but environmental groups said the ban did not go far enough and vowed to fight the deal. Test drilling will be allowed but only with the permission of the respective state government, officials said.

  • Thursday, June 23rd 2016 - 02:56 UTC

    Renewables the focus of EU Energy Week in the Falklands

    MLA Michael Poole visited the Sand Bay Wind Farm last week to discuss the benefits of renewable energy.

    The Power & Electrical Department hosted an open day last week at their Sand Bay Wind Farm to showcase the work being undertaken by the Falkland Island’s Government (FIG) to utilise and promote renewable energy sources. The open day, which included guided tours and demonstrations, formed part of wider initiatives recently undertaken by FIG to address issues surrounding climate change.

  • Wednesday, June 15th 2016 - 19:06 UTC

    Federal Reserve cautious about the future, leaves interest rates unchanged

    “The pace of improvement in the labor market has slowed” However “economic activity will expand at a moderate pace”

    United States Federal Reserve in a unanimous vote kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and signaled that it will assess labor market conditions, inflation expectations and financial and international developments before deciding on future actions. The U.S. central bank also lowered its economic growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017 and indicated it would be less aggressive in tightening monetary policy after the end of this year.

  • Sunday, June 5th 2016 - 23:22 UTC

    Brewery creates organic six-pack rings to protect sea life

    Plastic rings, untold numbers of which end up in rivers and oceans, can be fatal traps for fish, turtles and sea birds

    A Florida brewery in the United States has done something bold to try to help the environment: replacing the plastic six-pack rings that can harm sea life with edible ones. Plastic rings, untold numbers of which end up in rivers and oceans, can be fatal to animals like fish, turtles and birds, and Saltwater Brewery thought there had to be a better way.

  • Saturday, June 4th 2016 - 11:22 UTC

    World Environment Day: UN urges help to end illegal wildlife trade

    Elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory, rhinos for their horns, and pangolins for their scales.

    Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message on World Environment Day, to be observed on 5 June:This year’s observance of World Environment Day shines a much-needed spotlight on the illegal trade in wildlife.

  • Friday, June 3rd 2016 - 19:40 UTC

    Argentine hopes dashed on Falklands, Antarctica: Continental Shelf Commission refused to consider three major claims

    The Commission is composed of 21 scientists and its Rules of Procedure forbid consideration of “unresolved land or maritime disputes”.

    In April 2009, Argentina submitted a formal claim to sovereignty over an exceptionally large continental shelf, across hundreds of miles of the sea-bed to the east and south of Argentina. This year, in March, newspapers around the world incorrectly reported the whole Argentine submission had been endorsed.

  • Friday, June 3rd 2016 - 06:40 UTC

    Falklands are “my homeland”, with the right to freely choose our own future

    Ms. Krysteen Ormond, JP, Falkland Islands Government Representative to the United Nations Decolonization Committee

    The Falklands are a people, “my homeland”, with the right to freely choose our own future, as enshrined as leading principle in the UN Charter and safeguarded by the several covenants on civil and political rights, said Falklands' government representative Krysteen Ormond addressing the Pacific Regional Seminar of the C24, Special Decolonization Committee.