Amazon river dolphins are showing alarming levels of contamination mainly because of illegal panning for gold, conservationists say. Researchers measured contamination levels in 46 of these large freshwater creatures known for long, bottle-like snouts in major basins of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.
A court in Marseille fined an American master mariner US$ 110,000 for using fuel with a sulfur content measuring 0.18 percentage points above a disputed limit. It is the first ruling of its kind in France, and it is contrary to the French government's previous stance on sulfur content rules for cruise ships.
An international law enforcement operation against maritime pollution has revealed hundreds of violations and exposed serious cases of contamination worldwide. Codenamed 30 Days at Sea, the month-long (1 to 31 October) operation saw some 276 law enforcement and environmental agencies across 58 countries detect over 500 offences, including illegal discharges of oil and garbage from vessels, ship-breaking, breaches of ship emissions regulations, and pollution on rivers and land-based runoff to the sea.
Chinese companies present a pattern of violations of human and environmental rights in Latin America, according to a report revealed by the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
Air pollution levels remain dangerously high in many parts of the world. New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Updated estimations reveal an alarming death toll of 7 million people every year caused by ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution.