Environment

• Sunday, April 7th 2013 - 23:58 UTC

  Brazil planning agency to manage fluvial ports, waterways and locks

  

  The administration of President Dilma Rousseff is working on the creation of a new agency which will be responsible for Brazil’s fluvial ports and terminals, waterways and locks. The ‘Hidrobras’ project is being drafted by the Ministries of Transport and Planning and will look after shipping in the fluvial system, “which is currently exploited far below its possibilities and potential”.

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 08:10 UTC

  Death toll of 54 as torrential rain and flash floods hit La Plata and Buenos Aires

  

  The death toll from the heavy rains and flash floods that have pounded Buenos Aires City and La Plata, capital of the Buenos Aires province have climbed to at least 54, and could increase, Argentine authorities said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 02:06 UTC

  Expanding Antarctic sea-ice triggers different scientific explanations

  

  Climate change is expanding Antarctica's sea ice, according to a scientific study in the journal Nature Geoscience. The paradoxical phenomenon is thought to be caused by relatively cold plumes of fresh water derived from melting beneath the Antarctic ice shelves.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 06:48 UTC

  Buenos Aires collapses after 155mm of rainfall in seven hours flood the city

  

  At least eight people are reported dead after torrential rain and powerful winds battered Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and surrounding neighbourhoods flooding streets, knocking out power, downing trees and damaging homes and cars, officials said Tuesday. An estimated 350.000 people have been affected by the floods.

• Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 05:02 UTC

  Brazilian supermarkets will not sell meat from cattle raised in Amazon rainforest

  

  The main group representing supermarkets in Brazil says it will no longer sell meat from cattle raised in the rainforest. The Brazilian Association of Supermarkets, which has 2,800 members, hopes the deal will cut down on the illegal use of rainforest for pasture.

• Friday, March 22nd 2013 - 21:20 UTC

  British Antarctic Survey has a new director: climate expert Professor Jane Francis

  

  Professor Jane Francis has been appointed as the new Director of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Ms Francis, a geologist by training, is Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University of Leeds where she is currently Dean of the Faculty of Environment.

• Friday, March 22nd 2013 - 06:43 UTC

  Chilean experts investigate death of millions of dead prawns washed to the coast

  

  Chilean experts and prosecutors are investigating the appearance of millions of dead prawns that washed up on a beach in southern Chile this week carpeting a three-kilometre strand in red.

• Tuesday, March 19th 2013 - 13:22 UTC

  South Georgia completes first phase of reindeer eradication: 1.900 animals

  

  The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSCSSI) has announced the completion of the first phase of the eradication of reindeer from the island of South Georgia.

• Friday, March 15th 2013 - 06:45 UTC

  World’s largest telescope at a cost of a billion Euros will be built in Chilean Andes

  

  The Chilean Andes will be the location for the world’s largest telescope: the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), costing more than €1bn, which will capture the universe's earliest moments.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2013 - 14:52 UTC

  Britain and Argentina share stringent environmental duties in Antarctica

  

  Divers from Royal Navy ice patrol ship HMS Protector have been exploring beneath the waves of the Antarctic to ensure stringent environmental guidelines are being followed in the region. In the process the diving team on board HMS Protector has been busy capturing rare underwater footage of the Antarctic.