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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, December 16th 2025 - 06:34 UTC

Environment

  • Thursday, August 6th 2015 - 05:31 UTC

    Researchers identify characteristics of fish most vulnerable to trawlers

    Dr. Killen said that “Selective harvest of animals by humans probably represents one of the strongest drivers of evolutionary change for wild animals.”

    Using laboratory-based experiments, researchers have identified the common characteristics of fish most vulnerable to being caught by trawlers. They found fish that were less able to produce fast burst-type swimming to evade capture were more likely to end up in trawlers' nets.

  • Wednesday, August 5th 2015 - 08:13 UTC

    Galapagos penguin numbers recovering with shifts in trade winds and ocean currents

    The Galapagos Islands, a chain of islands 1,000 kilometers west of mainland Ecuador, are home to the only penguins in the Northern Hemisphere.

    Shifts in trade winds and ocean currents powered a resurgence of endangered Galapagos Penguins over the past 30 years, according to a new study led by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). These changes enlarged a cold pool of water the penguins rely on for food and breeding-an expansion that could continue as the climate changes over the coming decades, according to the study.

  • Wednesday, August 5th 2015 - 06:52 UTC

    Lost humpback whale which ended in Buenos Aires lured back to sea

    The mammal, apparently a humpback, measuring some seven meters appeared near a posh Buenos Aires Yacht Club on Monday morning

    A lost whale which made a surprise visit to a marina in the Buenos Aires port area, periodically surfacing among the yachts while hundreds of onlookers tried to capture the moment with smartphones, finally on Tuesday was lured back to the open sea in a combined operation.

  • Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 13:16 UTC

    Humpback whale surfaces in Buenos Aires alongside luxury yachts

    News of the whale quickly spread on social media and was broadcast live by local stations; hundreds lined up along the port area to catch a glimpse.

    A whale appeared in the marina of one of Buenos Aires' most exclusive up market neighborhoods on Monday, periodically surfacing alongside luxury yachts while hundreds of onlookers tried to capture the moment with smart phones.

  • Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 09:48 UTC

    Obama unveils his climate change initiative: “no greater challenge to the future of the planet”

    “I'm convinced no challenge provides a greater threat to the future of the planet,” Mr Obama said. “There is such a thing as being too late.”

    US President Barack Obama has unveiled what he called “the biggest, most important step we have ever taken” in tackling climate change. The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years.

  • Thursday, July 30th 2015 - 15:55 UTC

    Warren Buffett And Elon Musk To Spark A Lithium Boom

    Smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other consumer electronics demand more lithium. But the largest driver for lithium use will be in electric vehicles

    The age of electrification across the transportation sector, the solar panel revolution, and Tesla's battery giga-factory are igniting a battle for the cheapest battery. That will transform lithium into a boom-time mineral and the hottest commodity on the energy investor's radar. It has been easy to take lithium for granted.

  • Wednesday, July 22nd 2015 - 07:00 UTC

    Australia debates effects of warming ocean waters on its fisheries

    “My research is showing that some of these things look like they have already increased in abundance because of climate change” says Prof Shauna Murray (Pic C. Pearce)

    New evidence is emerging that climate change could join overfishing as a major threat to the world's seafood supplies. While Australia – a small producer on a global scale, accounting for only 0.2% of the world's seafood – has relatively healthy fisheries, it is suddenly and quite brutally feeling the effects of warming ocean waters.

  • Tuesday, July 21st 2015 - 05:18 UTC

    UK Territories’ Environment Ministers chart a course for a sustainable future

    The session was opened by Gibraltar Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, who stressed the importance of good environmental governance

    Environment Ministers from the UK Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) gathered together for the first time ever in Gibraltar’s Garrison Library last week to consider the environmental challenges facing the Territories.

  • Thursday, July 16th 2015 - 08:15 UTC

    Aphids beat latest 'odor' efforts to repel them and protect GM crops

    GM crops are being grown commercially since 1996. Land with GM crops has increased from 1.7m in 1996 to around 175.2m hectares worldwide in 2013.

    In what is described as a major blow to genetic modification of crops, a variety of wheat developed in the UK to repel pests has failed in field trials. The variety engineered to produce an odor that repels aphids, failed in the field test after it was successfully tested in the lab, proving a wide gap between lab and commercial application of the process.

  • Saturday, July 11th 2015 - 06:45 UTC

    Keeping Falklands pristine: waste fuels and oil recycled into energy

    Miller at the oil yard depot and the IBC's. A four ton oil tank currently being pumped comes from the current Noble Energy Humpback exploration drill.

    The Falkland Islands have been for many years utilizing waste fuels and oil for energy from a variety of different sources and now the oil companies operating in the Falklands, having complied with all the safety regulations on storage and handling, are also contributing to the local 'processing' industry managed by Tim Miller and his greenhouse fresh vegetables enterprise.