Environment

• Thursday, April 7th 2011 - 08:56 UTC

  Brazil rejects as ‘unjustified’ request to halt work on a huge dam in the Amazon

  

  Brazil has said a request to halt work on its massive hydro-electric dam in the Amazon rainforest is unjustified despite environmental concerns. Brazil's foreign ministry was responding to the request by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

• Wednesday, April 6th 2011 - 06:25 UTC

  Unprecedented damage to the ozone layer over the Arctic, says WMO

  

  The ozone layer has seen unprecedented damage in the Arctic this winter due to cold weather in the upper atmosphere. By the end of March, 40% of the ozone in the stratosphere had been destroyed, against a previous record of 30%.

• Wednesday, April 6th 2011 - 05:52 UTC

  Radioactive fish lead to first legal limits for radiation in seafood

  

  High levels of radioactive iodine and cesium were detected by Japan’s Fisheries Ministry in fish caught near the Fukushima nuclear power plant this week. Japan has responded to the findings by announcing its first legal limits for radiation in fish and said it is considering a ban on exports of some marine products.

• Tuesday, April 5th 2011 - 09:04 UTC

  HMS Scott spent weeks in Antarctic seas mapping for cruise vessels’ safety

  

  The Royal Navy hydrographic survey ship HMS Scott is returning to Davenport Sunday April 10 after completing her second deployment to Antarctica. During the 22,500-mile journey she has been working on behalf of the British Foreign Commonwealth Office, British Antarctic Survey & United Kingdom Hydrographic Office.

• Tuesday, April 5th 2011 - 08:59 UTC

  Mountain glaciers in the Andes are melting the fastest in 350 years

  

  Melting mountain glaciers are making sea levels rise faster now than at any time in the last 350 years, according to new research. Universities at Aberystwyth, Exeter and Stockholm looked at longer timescales than usual for their study.

• Saturday, April 2nd 2011 - 07:57 UTC

  Latam wind energy expanded 50% in 2010; Argentina has the greatest potential

  

  Installed wind farm capacity in Latin America grew by 50% during 2010, and more than 2,000 MW of wind power are now operating across the region, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, GWEC.

• Saturday, April 2nd 2011 - 07:22 UTC

  Chilean researchers discover treasure of fossils and micro organisms in Antarctica

  

  Chilean researchers from the 47th scientific expedition to Antarctica returned to the mainland to present their findings and begin follow-up work on their discoveries.

• Friday, April 1st 2011 - 01:42 UTC

  Amazon drought consequences still affect an area 3.5 times the size of Texas

  

  A new study has revealed widespread reductions in the greenness of Amazon forests caused by the last year's record-breaking drought.

• Tuesday, March 29th 2011 - 00:49 UTC

  Gold chain found off Key West; could belong to 17th century Spanish galleon

  

  Divers from Mel Fisher's Treasures in Key West, extreme south Florida, have recovered an antique gold chain believed to be from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which sank during a 1622 hurricane. In 1985, these same treasure hunters had previously found more than 450 million US dollars in artefacts from the wreck.

• Sunday, March 27th 2011 - 05:04 UTC

  Radioactivity levels 1.250 times higher than normal in sea water at Fukushima

  

  Radioactivity levels are soaring in seawater near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japan's nuclear safety agency said, two weeks after the nuclear power plant was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami.