Environment

• Tuesday, February 22nd 2011 - 14:44 UTC

  NZ quake kills 65; 100 people trapped in the rubble; major glacier cracks

  

  More than 100 people are believed to be trapped in rubble after a deadly 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch on Tuesday, killing at least 65 people.

• Tuesday, February 22nd 2011 - 06:19 UTC

  “Multiple fatalities” as quake strikes New Zealand’s second city at busy mid-day

  

  Rescuers dug frantically for bodies and people trapped after a major 6.3 earthquake caused “multiple” deaths in New Zealand's second city of Christchurch Tuesday, crushing buildings and vehicles.

• Monday, February 21st 2011 - 17:16 UTC

  Krill sex caught on camera in 700 metres deep Antarctic waters

  

  In a world first, the sex life of Antarctic Krill in the wild has been caught on camera revealing the shrimp-like creatures are able to mate deeper in the ocean than previously thought.

• Monday, February 21st 2011 - 17:11 UTC

  Pod of 107 pilot whales have died stranded on south New Zealand island

  

  A pod of 107 pilot whales stranded on New Zealand’s south island have died, including 48 killed by authorities, reports said Monday.

• Friday, February 18th 2011 - 23:47 UTC

  Massive decline of predatory fish in the last 100 years threatens ‘wild’ oceans

  

  Researchers at the University of British Columbia say they have the strongest evidence to date that humans are indeed “fishing down the food web,” citing data that show predatory fish such as cod, tuna, and groupers have declined by two-thirds during the past 100 years, while small forage fish such as sardines, anchovy and capelin have more than doubled over the same period.

• Friday, February 18th 2011 - 06:00 UTC

  Japan announces the end of its annual whale hunt in Antarctica

  

  Japan ended its annual whale hunt in Antarctica early following clashes between its fleet and protesters, Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano said.

• Friday, February 18th 2011 - 04:17 UTC

  Ozone layer future recovery linked to climate change, says reports

  

  A report sponsored by the UN Environment Program finds that over the past decade, global ozone levels, and ozone levels in the Arctic and Antarctic regions are at a turnaround point -- no longer decreasing but not yet increasing.

• Wednesday, February 16th 2011 - 13:50 UTC

  Up to 10% of rice sold in Chinese markets tainted with heavy metals

  

  Recent research has concluded that 10% of the rice sold in China’s markets is likely to be tainted with heavy metals, but agricultural experts said the pollution is confined to particular regions and there is no call for panic.

• Wednesday, February 16th 2011 - 13:23 UTC

  Japan cuts short whaling season; Greenpeace says whale-meat market overstocked

  

  The Japanese whaling fleet has called an early end to its whaling season in Antarctica a move which conservationists tentatively say could spell an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean. But Greenpeace Japan said there were other reasons to halt “scientific whaling”.

• Wednesday, February 16th 2011 - 06:01 UTC

  Chevron will appeal 8.6 billion ‘extortive’ fine imposed by Ecuador judges

  

  US oil giant Chevron says it will appeal against an 8.6 billion US dollars fine imposed by Ecuador judges, carrying on a long-running row over pollution. Chevron's Kent Robertson told the BBC the case was an “extortion scheme”, and accused Ecuador's state-run firm of polluting the country's Amazon region.