Summit agrees tiger recovery plan

BBC News, November 24, 2010

Governments of 13 countries where tigers still live have endorsed a plan to save the big cats from extinction.

Delegates at a summit in St Petersburg, Russia, agreed to double tiger numbers by 2022.
The countries will focus on protecting tiger habitats, addressing poaching, illegal trade and providing the financial resources for the plan. In the last 100 years, tiger numbers have dropped from about 100,000 to less than 3,500 tigers in the wild today. Read more...

Italy Goes Solar With First Sun-Powered Road

ENN, November 11, 2010


Most people will be surprised, but Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways. In fact, the A8 "Milano-Laghi" motorway ("Milan-Lakes", as it connects the city of Milan to Lake Como and Maggiore) was completed in 1926. Time has passed and all developed nations now boast wide motorway networks, a strategic infrastructure that helps interconnecting people, places and is ultimately essential to economic growth. But Italy will soon be able to claim a new "first": the A18 Catania-Siracusa motorway, a 30km addition to Sicily's 600km motorway network, will be a fully solar-powered motorway, the first in its kind. Read more...

Environmental Sustainability Index 2010

The 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 163 countries on 25 performance indicators tracked across ten policy categories covering both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. These indicators provide a gauge at a national government scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy goals.Visit the site...

Black magic behind illegal owl trade in India

ENN, November 07, 2010

Use of owls in black magic and sorcery driven by superstition, totems and taboos is one of the prime drivers of the covert owl trade, finds a TRAFFIC India investigation into the illegal trade, trapping and utilization of owls in India. TRAFFIC India’s report entitled "Imperilled Custodians of the Night" was launched today by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Hon. Minister of Environment and Forests at his office in New Delhi. Read more...

Organic farms better at potato beetle control

ENN, November 03, 2010

A study suggesting that organic agriculture gives better pest control and larger plants than conventional farming is sure to reignite longstanding debates about the merits of organic versus conventional agriculture. It also highlights an often-neglected aspect of biodiversity. "Organic agriculture promotes more balanced communities of predators," says David Crowder, author of the new study published today in Nature. Read more...

When the Water Ends: Africa’s Climate Conflicts

Yale 360, November 04, 2010

Watch the Yale Environment 360 video report on the conflicts now arising in parts of East Africa as temperatures climb and water supplies dwindle. This powerful 16-minute video, “When the Water Ends,” shows the plight of four tribes of nomadic herdsmen in Kenya and Ethiopia who now must range more widely in search of water and grazing land, bringing them increasingly into conflict with each other. Watch the video

Πρωτεύουσα της οικολογίας

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 04 Νοεμβρίου 2010

Η Βιτόρια-Γκαστέις, µια πόλη στην ισπανική Χώρα των Βάσκων, κέρδισε το Μάλµε, το Ρέικιαβικ και τη Νυρεµβέργη στη «µάχη» για τον τίτλο της Πράσινης Ευρωπαϊκής Πρωτεύουσας 2012. Στην πόλη αυτή, επτά στα δέκα κτίρια έχουν ηλιακούς συλλέκτες, ενώ οι κάτοικοι αυξάνονται, αλλά η κατανάλωση νερού µειώνεται. Διαβαστε περισσότερα...

Power lines 'invisible' to birds

BBC News, November 02, 2010


Birds fly into power lines because they have "blind spots" in their field of vision, according to new research. Vision experts found that cranes, bustards and storks were unable to see obstacles straight ahead when they tilted their heads downwards in flight.Birds often look down during flight to find fellow birds as well as nesting and feeding areas, say the researchers.
The new evidence suggests that the problem cannot be prevented by altering the appearance of power lines.Read more...