Tag: Enviroment

• Wednesday, April 10th 2019 - 08:47 UTC

  Torrential rain kills ten in Rio and leaves the city in a state of emergency

  

  Torrential rain left at least 10 people dead in Rio de Janeiro, officials said on Tuesday, as emergency workers rescued people trapped by the downpour and clean-up efforts gathered pace.

• Friday, April 5th 2019 - 08:58 UTC

  Pressure on Russia to release juvenile whales in small pens; apparently to be sold to Chinese marine parks

  

  International pressure is growing for the Russian government to release nearly 100 juvenile whales which have been kept in small pens in the far east for seven months. French marine scientist Jean-Michel Cousteau and other experts are meeting government officials in Moscow. They plan to visit the so-called “whale jail” near Nakhodka on Saturday.

• Saturday, March 30th 2019 - 08:04 UTC

  EU bans use of plastic cutlery and cottons buds by 2021

  

  Single-use plastic items such as straws, forks and knives as well as cotton buds will be banned in the European Union by 2021 following a vote by EU lawmakers last Wednesday as the bloc pushes manufacturers to step up their recycling efforts. 

• Saturday, March 16th 2019 - 09:15 UTC

  The climate strikers should inspire us all to act at the next UN summit

  

  By Antonio Guterres (*) Without ambitious action, the Paris agreement is meaningless. So I’m bringing world leaders together to build the future we need. Tens of thousands of young people took to the streets on Friday with a clear message to world leaders: act now to save our planet and our future from the climate emergency.

• Thursday, March 7th 2019 - 08:43 UTC

  UK and industry plan 30% of electricity from offshore wind farms by 2030

  

  A deal confirmed between the UK government and the wind industry will ensure 30% of electricity comes from offshore wind by 2030. The move will help the UK towards the aim of securing almost all its power from low-carbon sources by 2030.

• Tuesday, February 26th 2019 - 09:18 UTC

  Crack in Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf: further evidence of climate change?

  

  A chasm and a crack on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica are creeping closer and closer to one another, and when the two finally meet, a slab of ice twice the size of New York City will break away and float out to sea. The two glacial flaws are about 4km apart, and it could take days or months for them to finally rendezvous. But when they do, the iceberg that forms in the Weddell Sea will not be the largest to orbit Antarctica. In fact, it might not even make the historical top 20.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:36 UTC

  UK food industry blasts the “catastrophic impact” of a no-deal Brexit

  

  The UK food industry has threatened to stop co-operating with government policy consultations, saying it is busy trying to stave off the “catastrophic impact” of a no-deal Brexit. The warning came in a letter to Environment Secretary Michael Gove from more than 30 business leaders.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:29 UTC

  “Good” insects declining dramatically while houseflies and cockroaches’ boom

  

  Scientific review of insect numbers suggests that 40% of species are undergoing “dramatic rates of decline” around the world. The study says that bees, ants and beetles are disappearing eight times faster than mammals, birds or reptiles. But researchers say that some species, such as houseflies and cockroaches, are likely to boom.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 10:05 UTC

  Dam burst in Brazil: Police arrests five engineers responsible for environment impact licenses

  

  Police in Brazil have arrested five people as part of an investigation into Friday's dam collapse in Brumadinho. At least 65 people died and 300 remain unaccounted for, when toxic sludge engulfed a company canteen and neighboring residential buildings.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2019 - 09:31 UTC

  African swine fever scare in Europe; Denmark builds a 70km fence in the border with Germany

  

  Denmark has started building a 70km fence along its border with Germany in an effort to control the migration of wild boar. There are fears that African swine fever, which has been found in two dead wild boars in Belgium, could threaten Denmark's huge pig industry. If the disease spreads, it could jeopardize almost US$ 1.7bn in pork-product exports from Denmark.