Environment

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 11:45 UTC

  New species moving into Chilean waters because of climate change

  

  “I felt a rush and a little fear when I saw it,” said Chilean surf champion Diego Medina after spotting what appeared to be a shark off the beaches of La Serena (Region IV). In reality, the creature was one of the large swordfish species that recently migrated to Chile's shores as a consequence of warming water currents.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 09:08 UTC

  Released from glaciers Patagonia mountains are growing taller

  

  Mountains along the southernmost swath of South America are growing taller at a record rate, say researchers, who attribute the growth to the accelerating loss of glaciers.

• Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 14:09 UTC

  NASA surveillance flights to anticipate quakes in Haiti

  

  US space agency NASA will send surveillance flights over Haiti and the Dominican Republic to look for signs that more earthquakes may hit the area after a giant quake that killed as many as 200,000 people two weeks ago.

• Wednesday, January 27th 2010 - 15:00 UTC

  Rains and mudslides strand 1.900 tourists in Machu Picchu

  

  Flooding and mudslides near Peru's Machu Picchu archaeological citadel have killed at least seven people and stranded 1900 tourists. An operation to airlift the foreigners out of the south-eastern disaster zone was suspended because of heavy rain after just 75 were flown out by helicopter.

• Tuesday, January 26th 2010 - 08:50 UTC

  Haiti’s aid and reconstruction plan main challenge: a legacy of failures

  

  Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaking at the International Conference on Haiti taking place in Montreal conceded Monday that countries are in for a decade of “hard work” to rebuild earthquake-shattered Haiti.

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 15:37 UTC

  Ushuaia again feels seismic activity from the Drake Passage

  

  Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, extreme south of Argentina was again rattled this week with seismic activity of 5.3 points intensity in the Richter scale, although there were no human losses and minimum damage to property.

• Thursday, January 21st 2010 - 12:05 UTC

  Pollutants from Asia affecting ozone levels along west coast of North America

  

  Ozone levels over the west coast of North America are rising because of air streams carrying the pollutant from Asia, an international team of researchers says. The analysis of springtime ozone data collected since 1984 indicates the US may be unable to reach its Clean Air Act goals because of ozone emissions from overseas.

• Thursday, January 21st 2010 - 06:56 UTC

  Haiti Football Federation confirms 30 deaths and dozens missing

  

  Thirty members of the Haitian Football Federation have been confirmed dead and dozens others are missing following the massive earthquake that rocked the country. This was confirmed by Caribbean Football Union vice-president Captain Horace Burrell in a report sent to FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, following an assessment carried out last weekend.

• Thursday, January 21st 2010 - 06:46 UTC

  Brazil inaugurates first commercial ethanol-fuelled power plant

  

  Brazil inaugurated this week the world’s first ethanol-fuelled power plant in the state of Minas Gerais. The flex-fuel turbine, which was converted from running solely on natural gas, began operating on December 31 and is currently in its optimization and testing phase.

• Thursday, January 21st 2010 - 06:44 UTC

  Seismologists’ call to prepare for a “great earthquake” in Western Sumatra

  

  The earthquake which rocked Padang, western Sumatra in September last year killing more than 1000 people was not the 'great earthquake' which earth scientists are waiting for. In fact, it may have made the next massive earthquake more likely.