Environment

• Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 16:56 UTC

  Japanese whalers and environmentalist ram vessels in the high seas

  

  Anti-whaling activists have accused a Japanese vessel of ramming their high-tech speed boat during a confrontation in the Southern Ocean. Video of the incident appeared to show the Japanese ship severely damaging the Ady Gil, but all six crew were rescued.

• Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 16:38 UTC

  All luxury cruise ship suffers accident in Antarctic Peninsula

  

  One of the most elegant expedition vessels operating in Antarctica, the Clelia II, has been withdrawn from service during January for repairs following an accident that occurred over Christmas week but is only now coming to light.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2010 - 03:16 UTC

  Coldest winter in a century and snow close down Britain

  

  Britain was in the grip of snow chaos as Arctic conditions forced the closure of schools, roads and airports. Some train services were also cancelled as forecasters predicted one of the coldest winters in 100 years.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2010 - 03:15 UTC

  Major earthquake east of South Georgia & South Sandwich

  

  A major 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Atlantic Ocean early on Tuesday east of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, a sparsely populated British territory, according to a US monitor.

• Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 02:22 UTC

  Scientific warning that Argentina’s hake TAC “high risk scenario”

  

  Measures recently adopted by the Argentina’s Fisheries Federal Council regarding hake TACs imply very high risks for sustainability and, therefore, to the continuity of related economic activities throughout the country, claims the Centre for Development and Sustainable Fisheries (CeDePesca).

• Wednesday, December 30th 2009 - 09:59 UTC

  Special New Year with a blue moon in the Americas and partial eclipse in Asia

  

  The blue moon has long been a subject of poetry and one of those phrases that are used without quite understanding the meaning, but its presence is a scientific marker for a rotating earth that runs by its own clock, ignoring man’s calendar.

• Tuesday, December 29th 2009 - 08:36 UTC

  Massive stranding of whales in several New Zealand’s beaches

  

  More than 120 beached whales have died in two separate incidents in New Zealand, officials have said. Twenty one pilot whales that were beached on the North Island of New Zealand have been buried.

• Tuesday, December 29th 2009 - 08:07 UTC

  Shifting global climate and temperatures has many species on the move

  

  From beetles to barnacles, pikas to pine warblers, many species are already on the move in response to shifting climate regimes. But how fast will they -- and their habitats -- have to move to keep pace with global climate change over the next century?

• Sunday, December 27th 2009 - 05:53 UTC

  Central Chile has lost 38% of forests between 1975 and 2008

  

  A study of satellite images released this week confirmed a 38% decrease in Chile’s Central Valley forest cover between 1975 and 2008. Forests that used to grow between the coast and the central valley have been replaced either by urban growth or agricultural activity. In some cases the forests have become arid lands.

• Friday, December 25th 2009 - 15:54 UTC

  Australia again threatens Japan with legal action for whaling

  

  The Australian government insists it will take international legal action against Japan if it doesn't stop whaling. And it will send surveillance boats to the Southern Ocean to monitor the Japan's annual whaling hunt if it needs to mount a legal case