Environment

• Thursday, September 16th 2010 - 21:27 UTC

  Efforts to protect ozone layer from depletion have been successful, says UN

  

  International efforts to protect the ozone layer shielding life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays have stopped additional ozone losses, potentially averting scores of millions of cases of skin cancer and eye cataracts, according to a new United Nations report released today.

• Thursday, September 16th 2010 - 21:25 UTC

  Distribution of land deeds among locals defuses conflict in Chile’s Easter Island

  

  Chile’s Interior Ministry Undersecretary Rodrigo Ubilla announced this week that more than 30 Easter Island title deeds will be delivered to Rapa Nui families within the next 60 days.

• Wednesday, September 15th 2010 - 06:00 UTC

  Canada hosts first world conference on survival of threatened seabirds

  

  Concern for the survival of albatrosses, penguins, and other marine birds gathered scientists from 40 countries to the first World Seabird Conference in Victoria, western Canada. The five-day event was sponsored by 26 professional seabird groups and societies from around the world.

• Saturday, September 11th 2010 - 23:02 UTC

  Twenty tons of drilling shafts trucked 4.100 km to help rescue Chilean miners

  

  Three trucks transporting special shafts for drilling equipment to be used in the rescue of the 33 miners trapped 700 metres underground in northern Chile, left from Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile.

• Friday, September 10th 2010 - 03:28 UTC

  Invasive “killer shrimp” discovered at water reservoirs in England

  

  A killer shrimp has been found for the first time in the UK at an Anglian Water reservoir in Cambridgeshire, England. Two anglers spotted the shrimp, which can be as small as three mm, at Grafham Water near St Neots on Friday September 3 and sent samples to the Environment Agency for identification.

• Wednesday, September 8th 2010 - 23:25 UTC

  HMS Endurance to be replaced with vessel from Norway early 2011

  

  Senior Royal Navy sources have confirmed a vessel from Norway will join the fleet early next year to replace Endurance, which almost sank in 2008, reports The News from Portsmouth.

• Friday, September 3rd 2010 - 14:27 UTC

  Humpback whales in Chilean sanctuaries to be tracked with GPS

  

  Starting December, scientists from Chile’s Biomar Foundation will use GPS (Global Positioning System) to follow the movements of humpback whales in protected marine area Francisco Coloane, in the Magellan Strait. The whales are to be monitored for 12 months.

• Friday, September 3rd 2010 - 03:14 UTC

  New York skyscrapers “lights-out” project to protect migratory

  

  A growing number of New York sky-scrapers are switching off their lights to help reduce the number of birds hitting the high-rise buildings. The “lights out” project - organised by NYC Audubon - runs until 1 November, when migratory birds are expected to have completed their autumn migrations.

• Thursday, September 2nd 2010 - 20:15 UTC

  Gulf of Mexico oil/gas production platform catches fire: “no spill” says operator

  

  A well connected to an oil and gas production platform caught on fire in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, engulfing the vessel in flames about 100 miles off the central coast of Louisiana and forcing 13 people overboard, Gov. Bobby Jindal said.

• Thursday, September 2nd 2010 - 06:44 UTC

  NASA experts: “hopelessness”, the worst enemy of trapped miners

  

  A group of NASA specialists arrived Tuesday in Santiago to help the Chilean rescue team and Health and Mining ministers to assure a successful rescue mission for the 33 miners who have been trapped 700 meters underground since August 5.