by Martin Parry Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s under-pressure Great Barrier Reef is an asset worth Aus$56 billion (US$42 billion) and as an ecosystem and economic driver is “too big to fail”, a study said Monday. The World Heritage-listed reef is the largest living structure on Earth and its economic and social value was calculated for the first time in the Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef […]
Environment
World population to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, UN says
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The world’s current population of 7.6 billion will balloon to 9.8 billion in 2050, with India’s numbers to surpass China’s in just seven years, a United Nations report said Wednesday. Nigeria will overtake the United States by 2050 to become the third most populous country in the world, according to the figures by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “With roughly 83 million people being added […]
Antarctic researchers take icy plunge to mark solstice
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Antarctic researchers welcomed the winter solstice with an exhilarating plunge into icy waters Wednesday as they look forward to brighter days after weeks of darkness. Expeditioners stationed at Australia’s Davis station marked midwinter’s day by taking a chainsaw to the ice, cutting a small pool and taking a dip in the water with a temperature of -1.8 degrees Celsius (28.76 Fahrenheit). Davis station leader Kirsten le Mar said it was the […]
In the Red Sea, coral reefs can take the heat of climate change
ELIAT, Israel (AFP) — In the azure waters of the Red Sea, Maoz Fine and his team dive to study what may be the planet’s most unique coral: one that can survive global warming, at least for now. The corals, striking in their red, orange and green colors, grow on tables some eight meters (26 feet) underwater, put there by the Israeli scientists to unlock their secrets to survival. They are of the same species […]
Even 2C warming means more killer heatwaves: study
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Climate change will sharply boost the frequency of lethal heatwaves even if humanity caps global warming at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the core goal of the Paris Agreement, scientists said Monday. Fulfilling that 196-nation pledge would, by 2100, still leave nearly half the world’s population exposed at least once a year to bouts of heat and humidity that have proven deadly in the […]
Japan zoo releases new images of new born baby panda
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) – Tokyo Ueno Zoo on Sunday (June 18) released new images of a panda cub which was born on June 12. The mother, Shin Shin, 11, had the cub five years after her first cub was found dead just days after it was born. The new cub has yet to be named and the sex of the cub has yet to be determined, but its weight was estimated at around 180 grams, […]
Cyprus struggles to tackle ‘industrial’ songbird poaching
Volunteers and police in Cyprus are struggling to tackle illegal songbird trapping operations that kill millions of birds a year and net huge profits for poaching gangs. (AFP Video) https://youtu.be/y1VEvRgFPIU
Spotting thunderstorms
QUEZON City, Philippines (June 15) – Raise your hand if your mom always reminds you to bring your “foldable” umbrella. Chances are, though, we do not follow our mom’s advice. While you’re in the middle of your commute, the sky darkens and a thunderstorm comes out of nowhere, leaving you drenched and stranded. As always, the start of the Philippine school year coincides with the start of the rainy season. Unlike the bygone days, today’s […]
Indonesia seizes pangolins, scales worth $190,000
MEDAN, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian authorities have seized hundreds of critically endangered pangolins and scales in a haul worth $190,000 after uncovering a major smuggling operation, an official said Wednesday. Two men were also arrested after navy officers raided a warehouse near a port on Sumatra island late Tuesday, acting on a tip-off that it was being used to store the creatures which are also known as “scaly anteaters.” They discovered 223 live pangolins, 24 […]
War-torn Kabul becomes a protected site for migratory birds
by Anne Chaon A rare Afghan marsh that was once a royal hunting ground is set to come under the official protection of the United Nations environment agency, with the aim of saving hundreds of migratory bird species. On the long, arid journey to the Caucasus and Siberia, across the Hindu Kush massif, the Kol-e-Hashmat Khan wetlands outside Kabul provide sanctuary for the thousands of storks, egrets, pelicans and flamingos that head north every spring from southern […]
New ocean drilling findings may change plate tectonics textbooks: scientists
CHINA (Reuters) – The newest outcome of the third expedition to the South China Sea may rewrite the textbooks of plate tectonics, according to a press conference co-hosted by Chinese Office of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and Tongji University in Shanghai on Monday. The Chinese-led international scientific team wrapped up their research on the US drilling ship JOIDES Resolution on Sunday, with much of the new findings pointing towards some interesting discoveries about […]
China’s only artificially-bred snow leopard turns one year old
CHINA (Reuters) – The only snow leopard cub alive by artificial breeding in China turned one year old on Saturday. It lives at a wildlife zoo in Xining, capital of northwest China’s Qinghai Province. It is 80 centimeters in length, 48 centimeters in height and 18.5 kilograms in weight. Given the high death rate of snow leopard cubs, its survival is of great significance to research on and protection of this endangered animal, which in […]