Environment

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 06:34 UTC

  South Brazil freezing: temperatures below zero force closure of schools

  

  Several cities in the south of Brazil recorded on Monday temperatures below zero Centigrade which caused the death of a man and forced the closure of schools, according to official reports.

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 16:17 UTC

  Falklands, South Georgia success in minimizing long-line fishing seabird bycatch

  

  A study has revealed that at least 160,000 and potentially in excess of 320,000 seabirds are killed annually in longline fisheries globally. Some previous studies have assessed the level of seabird by catching longline fisheries for particular regions and groups of seabirds, but this is the first study to provide a global estimate of by-catch of all seabirds in longline fisheries.

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 15:21 UTC

  Reports of puma attacks on sheep multiplying in Chile

  

  Desperate and decimating. That’s how biologist Agustín Iriarte describes the attitude of livestock farmers and their dwindling number of livestock, as predators take their toll. Chile’s pumas are attacking and killing sheep flocks more than ever.

• Friday, June 24th 2011 - 18:19 UTC

  HMS Protector formally commissioned as the Royal Navy new Ice patrol

  

  HMS Protector the Royal Navy's new Ice patrol ship has been formally commissioned into the fleet on Thursday, 23 June, the 50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty at Portsmouth naval base.

• Thursday, June 23rd 2011 - 17:53 UTC

  The volcanic ash cloud fools forecasts: flights to Argentine Patagonia delayed

  

  The Puyehue volcano ash cloud has again fooled forecasts and submitted air travellers to further misery. A number of flights to Argentine Patagonia were cancelled Thursday morning due to the shift in the movement of the lingering ash cloud and was predicted to reach Buenos Aires Province over the course of the next few hours.

• Thursday, June 23rd 2011 - 17:49 UTC

  Argentine Patagonia faces major agriculture and tourism disaster

  

  While air passengers in the Southern hemisphere continue exposed to the vicissitudes of the volcanic ash cloud Patagonian farmers have a much serious problem: feeding 1.5 million sheep and livestock when fields are covered with sludge of volcanic debris and snow.

• Thursday, June 23rd 2011 - 09:10 UTC

  “Cork” of lava threatens new explosion at Puyehue volcano warns Chile

  

  Chilean experts warned Wednesday that a “cork” of lava could lead to another explosion at the Puyehue volcano, which has caused major flight disruptions from Argentina to Australia.

• Thursday, June 23rd 2011 - 04:11 UTC

  Falkland Islands competitors skip ash cloud and are en route to Island Games

  

  Falkland Islands competitors and delegates, with patience and persistence, finally managed to skip the volcanic ash cloud and are on their way to the Isle of Wight for the NatWest Island Games which open next Saturday.

• Wednesday, June 22nd 2011 - 02:46 UTC

  British Deputy PM Clegg describes Brazil as an “environmental super-power”

  

  British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg praised Brazil as an “environmental super-power” underlining the country’s leadership in areas such as renewable energies which he described as one of the pillars of the ‘green economy’ for a more sustainable world.

• Tuesday, June 21st 2011 - 21:28 UTC

  Young emperor penguin turns up on a New Zealand beach

  

  A young emperor penguin, normally found in the Antarctic, has turned up on a New Zealand beach. It is a rare event, the first confirmed sighting of an Emperor penguin in New Zealand in 44 years.