Environment

• Wednesday, October 28th 2009 - 08:17 UTC

  “Scientific route” one of this season’s amenities at Torres del Paine Park

  

  The Chilean National Service of Tourism (SERNATUR) in November will open a new route through the Torres del Paine National Park, in Chile’s Patagonia, that will offer geologic and physical information about eleven specific sites within the park.

• Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 07:36 UTC

  Climate change causes and potential effects divide scientific community

  

  A growing number of scientists, along with the general public, are disputing the common consensus over the causes and potential effects of climate change. Recent studies have shown that the hottest year on record in recent history was in fact 1998 and that no increase in global temperature has been observed for the last 11 years, adding further scepticism to the climate debate.

• Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 07:33 UTC

  Argentina, Paraguay pledge to save what is left of the Atlantic Forest

  

  Argentina and Paraguay have made a historic pledge to save one of the world’s most threatened forests. During a special ceremony at the XIIIth World Forestry Congress, the two governments agreed to work towards zero net deforestation in the Atlantic Forest, and to implement a package of measures that include national legislation to enforce those commitments.

• Thursday, October 22nd 2009 - 00:14 UTC

  FAO working to recover fisheries in world’s second largest mountain lake

  

  FAO is implementing a trust fund project to improve fisheries and aquaculture management in the Asian Kyrgyz Republic which aims to increase the capacity of the fisheries sector to generate food, employment and income for the rural population in an environmentally sustainable manner.

• Wednesday, October 21st 2009 - 10:32 UTC

  FAO provides satellite high-resolution data to combat deforestation

  

  The UN Food and Agriculture organization, FAO, and other partners have made available a worldwide, free and ready-to-use high-resolution satellite data with the purpose of monitoring forests and help reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

• Thursday, October 15th 2009 - 12:08 UTC

  Arctic ocean an “open sea” free of ice within a decade

  

  The Arctic Ocean will be an “open sea” almost entirely free from ice within a decade, newly-released data has indicated. Ice cover during the summer months will have entirely disappeared within 20 years, but most of the decrease will happen before 2020, leaving the Arctic Ocean clear for marine transport.

• Thursday, October 15th 2009 - 07:43 UTC

  “Alternative Nobel” honors for climate-change awareness

  

  Environmentalist David Suzuki has received a prestigious award known as the “alternative Nobel” for his work to raise awareness about climate change. Suzuki, 73, received the Right Livelihood Award, along with three other activists.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2009 - 06:15 UTC

  China begins 26th Antarctica season with a team of 251 scientists

  

  Chinese scientists have set off from Shanghai for their 26th research mission to the Antarctic. The “Snow Dragon”, China's main research ship in the polar region, has gone through a series of maintenance and technical readjustments, according to Global Times.

• Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 04:06 UTC

  Freshwater ecosystems the most threatened

  

  Mismanagement and growing needs for water are causing freshwater ecosystems to collapse, making freshwater species the most threatened on Earth with extinction rates 4 to 6 times higher than their terrestrial and marine cousins, say scientists at the Diversitas 2nd Open Science Conference, in Cape Town, South Africa.

• Wednesday, October 7th 2009 - 10:10 UTC

  Peru’s Machu Picchu among list of world cultural sites threatened

  

  Peru's Machu Picchu ancient ruins, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona and a New Orleans elementary school are among the cultural heritage sites threatened by neglect or overdevelopment, a preservationist group said.