Environment

• Monday, June 11th 2012 - 19:23 UTC

  Extended blooming phytoplankton discovered under thinning Arctic ice cap

  

  Scientists have made a biological discovery in Arctic Ocean waters as dramatic and unexpected as finding a rainforest in the middle of a desert. A NASA-sponsored expedition punched through three-foot thick sea ice to find waters richer in microscopic marine plants, essential to all sea life, than any other ocean region on Earth.

• Monday, June 11th 2012 - 03:15 UTC

  “Depraved” sexual activities among penguins come to light a century later

  

  Accounts of unusual sexual activities among penguins, observed a century ago by a member of Captain Scott's polar team are finally being made public.

• Friday, June 8th 2012 - 23:18 UTC

  Environmentalists propose a whales’ sanctuary ring along the American continent

  

  Environment organizations meeting in Panama will demand the creation of a whales’ sanctuary in the south Atlantic and south Pacific, at the coming meeting of the International Whaling Commission.

• Thursday, June 7th 2012 - 05:28 UTC

  In anticipation of Rio+20, Brazil creates new nature reserves and closes major land-fill

  

  Brazil announced plans to protect an additional 10 000km² of land and pledged not to let economic woes stop it from implementing other measures to protect the environment.

• Monday, June 4th 2012 - 22:38 UTC

  Bright side of the Puyehue eruption: volcanic ash bricks and natural insecticides

  

  Argentine scientists developed bricks and are analyzing the possibility of making natural insecticides with the ashes from the Chilean Puyehue volcano eruption which this month a year ago covered several cities in Patagonia and caused millions of dollars losses, sources of the University that coordinates the studies announced.

• Friday, June 1st 2012 - 06:46 UTC

  Lack of political support freezes Chile’s biggest multi-dam project

  

  Chile’s biggest dam project involving 7 billion dollars and already delayed by protests over plans to flood 14,000 acres of Patagonia wilderness, suffered a fresh setback after one of its investors said the venture lacks political support to proceed.

• Wednesday, May 30th 2012 - 04:22 UTC

  GLOBE convening first World Summit of Legislators at Rio, ahead of Earth summit

  

  How many times have government leaders pledged to reduce carbon emissions or tackle the accelerating loss of biodiversity? If statements and pledges were all that it took to fix the biggest global challenges, the world would not be faced with dangerous concentrations of greenhouse gases, shrinking rainforests and extinctions at up to 1,000 times the natural rate.

• Monday, May 28th 2012 - 10:01 UTC

  Reforestation of Chilean Patagonia takes off: 60.000 trees donated in first week

  

  Planting the first of what it hopes will be a million trees, “Reforestemos (reforest) Patagonia” officially launched a campaign that will restore large swathes of Chilean Patagonia to pristine wilderness.

• Monday, May 28th 2012 - 07:53 UTC

  How do you remove and relocate half a million hogs? Chile is trying

  

  How do you move and relocate half a million hogs? That is the challenge faced by Chilean sanitary authorities following the closure of the country’s largest pig farm forced after months of complaints from protesting neighbours about the persistent odours and infested waters.

• Monday, May 28th 2012 - 01:01 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil celebrate naming of Iguazú Falls as one of New7Wonders

  

  A huge orchestra comprising 700 children from seven Latin American countries, plus China and South Korea, played music from the soundtrack of “The Mission” as the Iguazú Falls shared by Argentina and Brazil were officially inaugurated one of the New7Wonders of Nature.