Environment

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 19:53 UTC

  Australia natural disasters costs forecasted to wipe growth in two quarters

  

  Floods in Australia have dragged business conditions particularly in Queensland to depths not seen since the global financial crisis, according to a local analysis that offered a more pessimistic view than the government’s assessments.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 18:13 UTC

  Reported shark attacks increased globally 25% during 2010

  

  The number of reported shark attacks in 2010 increased globally but declined in the state of Florida, the shark capital of the world, according to an annual report released Monday by the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 17:36 UTC

  Shell crushing king crabs move into Antarctica Peninsula warming waters

  

  Warming waters along the Antarctic Peninsula have opened the door to shell-crushing king crabs that threaten a unique ecosystem on the seafloor, according to new research by a US-Sweden team of marine researchers.

• Sunday, February 6th 2011 - 20:43 UTC

  Droughts could turn Amazon basin from greenhouse gas eater to source of gases

  

  A long-lasting drought that affected the Amazon Rain Forest last year was worse than the once-in-a-lifetime drought that the region suffered in 2005, and a team of British and Brazilian scientists say it may have a bigger impact on global warming than the US does in a year.

• Sunday, February 6th 2011 - 08:26 UTC

  Pod of 80 whales beached on New Zealand coast; at least 14 dead

  

  At least fourteen whales from a pod of more than 80 beached on the New Zealand coast have died, with officials fearing others may be stranded elsewhere after freeing themselves on Saturday.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 06:30 UTC

  Coal mine project in Chilean Patagonia triggers Facebook debate

  

  Mina Invierno, a major coal mine project to be located in Chilean Patagonia, has sparked new controversy in the Magallanes Region. The coal mine will be located on Isla Riesco, Chile’s fourth biggest island, just 80 miles from the region’s capital of Punta Arenas.

• Monday, January 31st 2011 - 20:48 UTC

  Loss of Antarctic glacial ice expected to trigger changes in ocean circulation patterns

  

  The loss of a massive “tongue” of glacial ice on the Antarctic coast — a natural protective barrier nearly the size of Luxembourg (2.500 square kilometers) — could affect ocean circulation patterns and anticipate changes to come from global warming, scientists on a mission to the frozen continent say.

• Sunday, January 30th 2011 - 21:24 UTC

  North Pole Waters Will Soon Be Ice Free New Report Says

  

  The north Atlantic current flowing in to the Arctic Ocean is warmer that it has been for at least 2000 years and is a sign that global warming is likely to bring ice free seas around the North Pole in a few years time, a new study finds

• Sunday, January 30th 2011 - 21:16 UTC

  Work Gets Underway on Amazonian Hydro Project

  

  Building will now begin on what will be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam after Ibama, Brazil's environment agency, gave the go-ahead for the controversial $17 billion (£10.6 billion) project.

• Friday, January 28th 2011 - 20:58 UTC

  Tenders for Three Winds Farms in Uruguay Awarded

  

  A Spanish firm and two Argentine ones have been awarded tenders to build wind farms. Spanish Teyma and the Argentine Impsa and Fingano will invest around U$ 300 million in the project.