Environment

• Tuesday, November 6th 2012 - 20:56 UTC

  NZ scientists in world first discovery of the elusive spade-toothed beaked whale

  

  New Zealand scientists have made a world first discovery when they identified two skeletons belonging to the spade-toothed beaked whale, which is so rare that nobody has seen one alive. A 17-foot whale mother and her calf beached themselves in New Zealand in 2010 and were buried misidentified for a much more common type of whale that occasionally strands on NZ beaches.

• Sunday, November 4th 2012 - 06:31 UTC

  Peru slashes anchovy quota by 68%; fish meal prices forecasted to soar

  

  Peru slashed its commercial fishing quota as warmer water temperatures and controversial practices deplete stocks of anchovy in one of the world’s richest fisheries. The government cut its quota for this summer’s anchovy season by 68% to 810.000 tons, the smallest allowance in 25 years.

• Friday, November 2nd 2012 - 23:12 UTC

  UK confirms BAS first-class scientific research and Antarctica strategic presence

  

  Plans to merge the British Antarctic Survey (closely linked to the Falkland Islands) and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have been ruled out, Science minister David Willetts announced. In a written statement he said the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) had decided not to proceed with the proposal.

• Friday, November 2nd 2012 - 08:36 UTC

  CCAMLR fails to reach agreement on new marine protected areas in Antarctica

  

  Governments meeting in Australia have failed to reach agreement on new marine protected areas for the Antarctic Ocean. A decision has been deferred until July 2013 when all the relevant science will be considered.

• Friday, November 2nd 2012 - 00:02 UTC

  Republican New York Mayor endorses Obama for his record on climate change

  

  New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term, citing the importance of his record on climate change, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating blow dealt to the New York area by storm Sandy.

• Thursday, November 1st 2012 - 06:40 UTC

  Wall Street returned to life with average trading volume; most buildings in the area with no power

  

  The US stock market slowly returned to life on Wednesday after two days in the dark, in the wake of the massive storm Sandy that caused the market's first weather-related two-day closure since the late 19th century.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 05:17 UTC

  Sandy’s destruction along the US East coast estimated in 20bn dollars

  

  Businesses on the US East Coast have continued to be disrupted by storm Sandy, with total damage estimated at between 10bn and 20bn dollars. Sandy has flooded subway and road tunnels in much of Lower Manhattan.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 02:08 UTC

  New York working to restore transit service in wake of historic storm

  

  Thousands of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers began on Tuesday to fan out through the system to inspect and begin repair of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, a massively destructive storm of historic proportions.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 01:43 UTC

  IATTO introduces ‘climate change’ presentation for ‘Antarctic Ambassadors’

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO, announced on Tuesday the availability of a new PowerPoint presentation designed to help the traveller understand how climate change is affecting the Antarctic environment.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2012 - 07:25 UTC

  ‘Atlas of Health and Climate’ to understand the challenges of extreme conditions

  

  As the world’s climate continues to change, hazards to human health are increasing. The Atlas of Health and Climate, published jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), illustrates some of the most pressing current and emerging challenges.