Increase in cancers and fertility problems may be caused by household chemicals and pharmaceuticals

EEA, May 10, 2012


Chemicals which disrupt the hormone system – also known as 'endocrine disrupting chemicals' (EDCs) – may be a contributing factor behind the significant increases in cancers, diabetes and obesity, falling fertility, and an increased number of neurological development problems in both humans and animals, according to a review of recent scientific literature commissioned by the European Environment Agency (EEA).Read more...

Report: Global Biodiversity Down 30 Percent in 40 Years

ENN, May 15, 2012

The world's biodiversity is down 30 percent since the 1970s, according to a new report, with tropical species taking the biggest hit. And if humanity continues as it has been, the picture could get bleaker. Humanity is outstripping the Earth's resources by 50 percent — essentially using the resources of one and a half Earths every year, according to the 2012 Living Planet Report, produced by conservation agency the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Read more...

Big rise in Pacific plastic waste

BBC News, May 09, 2012

The quantity of small plastic fragments floating in the north-east Pacific Ocean has increased a hundred fold over the past 40 years. Scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography documented the big rise when they trawled the waters off California. They were able to compare their plastic "catch" with previous data for the region. The group reports its findings in the journal Biology Letters. Read more...

Climate change: what do models predict for Europe?

EEA, May 03, 2012

Records show temperatures have increased in Europe – but what changes can we expect to see in the future? Experts at the European Environment Agency (EEA) have produced a series of maps showing projected changes in temperature and precipitation for this century. Read more...

Royal Society: People and the Planet

BBC News, April 26, 2012

Rapid and widespread changes in the world’s human population, coupled with unprecedented levels of consumption present profound challenges to human health and wellbeing, and the natural environment. This report gives an overview of how global population and consumption are linked, and the implications for a finite planet. Read more...

Το «χρυσό» Τσακάλι – Ένας θησαυρός της Σάμου

Αρχιπέλαγος, 10 Απριλίου 2012

“Η Σάμος είναι το μοναδικό νησί στη Μεσόγειο όπου εντοπίζεται το πιο σπάνιο σαρκοφάγο της Ελλάδας, το ευρωπαϊκό «χρυσό» τσακάλι. Αποτελεί αναπόσπαστο μέρος της μοναδικής βιοποικιλότητας της Σάμου, καθώς κοσμεί με την παρουσία του το νησί για χιλιάδες χρόνια. Το «χρυσό» τσακάλι μαζί με την ξεχωριστή χλωρίδα και πανίδα της Σάμου προσφέρουν ένα διαφορετικό συγκριτικό πλεονέκτημα, και ενισχύουν την αειφόρο ανάπτυξη του νησιού.”

Οι μικροί και διάσπαρτοι ευρωπαϊκοί πληθυσμοί του «χρυσού» τσακαλιού συναντώνται κυρίως στις ακτές της Μεσογείου και της Μαύρης Θάλασσας, στο ύψος της Βαλκανικής Χερσονήσου. Αν και αρχικά το είδος ήταν αρκετά διαδεδομένο στην ελληνική επικράτεια, το τσακάλι σημείωσε μια κατακόρυφη πληθυσμιακή πτώση στην Ελλάδα (μέχρι και 90%) τις τελευταίες τρείς δεκαετίες. Η Σάμος είναι το μοναδικό ελληνικό νησί στο οποίο ακόμα συναντάται το τσακάλι. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

First Global Effort to Fight Environmental Crime Takes Shape

Delegates at the International Chiefs of
Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Summit

ENS, March 30, 2012

LYON, France - For the first time, heads of environmental, biodiversity and natural resources agencies from across the world have met with heads of law enforcement agencies to craft a global compliance and enforcement strategy for environmental security.
Convened this week by Interpol and the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Chiefs of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Summit drew some 230 delegates from 70 countries to Interpol headquarters in Lyon. Read more...

Brown Bears Extinct in Austria, European Wildlife Under Pressure

ENS, March 07, 2012

There are no more brown bears to be found in Austria, say European wildlife conservationists, despite the fact that neighboring Slovenia has a stable population of about 400 bears.
"Unfortunately there is no bear left in the Northern Limestone Alps," said Christian Pichler with WWF Austria. "The last bear, Moritz, which was born in Austria could not be found in 2011. The sub-population is deemed to be extinct." Read more...

Στις πολύβουες πόλεις, τα πουλιά αναγκάζονται να αλλάξουν τροπάριο

In.gr, 5 Απριλίου 2012

Τα σπουργίτια του Σαν Φρανσίσκο τιτιβίζουν σήμερα διαφορετικά τραγούδια από ό,τι τη δεκαετία του 1970, και η πιθανότερη εξήγηση είναι ότι προσπαθούν να αντισταθμίσουν την ηχορύπανση της πόλης που ολοένα αυξάνεται.
Η μελέτη που δημοσιεύεται στην επιθεώρηση Animal Behaviour «δείχνει ισχυρό συσχετισμό ανάμεσα στην αλλαγή των τραγουδιών και την αλλαγή στο θόρυβο» αναφέρει ο Ντέιβιντ Λούθερ του Πανεπιστημίου George Mason της Βιρτζίνια. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Senate Republicans Agree to End Big Oil Subsidies After Watching Polar Bear Film

ENN, April 02, 2012

In an stunning reversal, Senate Republicans have accepted President Obama's call to end tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, reversing a procedural vote on Thursday that had killed the Mendendez Bill (S. 2204 - Repeal Subsidies and Tax Breaks for the Big 5 Oil Companies), introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). On Thursday, the bill was defeated by a vote of 51-47, nine votes short of the 60 required to pass.
But in a rare Saturday afternoon session called by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the measure was swiftly rejuvenated—and passed—after nine of the Republicans who voted against the bill on Thursday had a change of heart after watching a sneak preview on Friday of To the Arctic, a documentary that follows the life of a mother polar bear caring for her two seven-month-old cubs in the Arctic. Narrated by three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, To the Arctic arrives in IMAX theaters on April 20. Read more...

Monarch Butterfly decline linked to genetically modified crops

ENN, March 21, 2012

A new study suggests that the increased use of genetically modified (GM) crops across the Midwestern U.S. may be causing a decline in monarch butterfly populations. From 1999 to 2010, a period when GM crops became more common on U.S. farms, the number of monarch eggs in the Midwest declined by 81 percent, according to researchers from the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University.

The reason, according to the study, is the near-disappearance of milkweed, an important host plant for monarch eggs and caterpillars. The researchers attribute sharp declines in milkweed to widespread use of genetically modified corn and soybeans that are resistant to the herbicide, Roundup, which is then sprayed on fields, killing milkweed. Read more...

Seattle plants a public food forest

Grist, February 28, 2012

There’s a stretch of arterial in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood that I’ve traveled probably thousands of times without giving a second thought to the empty, grassy hillside it parallels. When I heard about plans to create a seven-acre urban food forest there, I had a hard time picturing the sloped field covered over in rich soil and filled with a tangle of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, and vegetable patches. It seemed like an edible ecosystem too wild to spring from such an unremarkable urban space. But within the next few years, this slice of land adjacent to a city park and golf course will transform from an unofficial off-leash dog run and occasional sledding slope into the Beacon Food Forest, which some say will be the largest of its kind in the U.S. Read more...

Overfishing the Mediterranean

ENN, March 08, 2012

The Mediterranean Sea has played host to some of the greatest civilizations that the world has ever seen. Today, it remains a hub of commerce and travel, connecting different parts of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Over the years, hundreds of millions of people have lived on its shores and exploited its resources. A new study recently released has found that after centuries of exploitation, the Mediterranean Sea is running out of resources. Many formerly healthy ecosystems have been wiped out. Read more...

Denmark tops first-of-its-kind Global Cleantech Innovation Index

ENN, February 27, 2012

Denmark, followed by Israel, Sweden, Finland and the US provide the best conditions today for clean technology start-up creation, with companies in the Asia Pacific region following closely behind when it comes to commercial success, the first Global Cleantech Innovation Index shows.

In Coming Clean: The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012, Cleantech Group and WWF looks at where entrepreneurial cleantech companies are growing today, reasons as to where they will spring-up over the coming years, and which countries are falling above and below the curve for fostering cleantech innovation. Read more...

Republic of Congo Expands National Park to Protect Great Apes

ENN, February 22, 2012

The Nouabale-Ndoki National Park is a lush rainforest park within the equatorial nation of the Republic of Congo (ROC), not to be confused with the much larger Democratic Republic of Congo to the south and east. The ROC has followed through on its commitments to expand the park by 8 percent, from about 1,500 square miles to about 1,630 square miles. The newly included area holds a unique ecosystem known as the Goualougo Triangle. The Goualougo is a very dense, swampy forest that is home to a nearly pristine and untouched great ape population that was first discovered in 1989 by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) scientists. Read more...

Research Reveals the True Cost of a Burger

ScienceDaily, Febreuary 14, 2012

The UK could considerably reduce its carbon footprint if more of us switched to a vegetarian diet, according to new research by Lancaster University.
The report 'Relative greenhouse gas impacts of realistic dietary choices' published in the journal Energy Policy says that if everyone in the UK swapped their current eating habits for a vegetarian or vegan diet, our greenhouse gas emissions savings would be the equivalent of a 50 per cent reduction in exhaust pipe emissions from the entire UK passenger car fleet or 40m tonnes. Read more...

Escaped pet Pythons causing decline in Everglades Wildlife

ENN, February 01, 2012

Non-native Burmese pythons are believed to be the cause of severe mammal declines in the Florida Everglades, according to new research.
Also known as the Asiatic rock python, the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) is a large constricting snake native to Asia. The exact origins of the pythons in the Everglades are unknown, but many have been imported into the United States through the pet trade, and some are likely to have escaped or been released into the wild. Read more...

Palm Oil Biodiesel and greenhouse gas emissions

ENN, January 30, 2012

Greenhouse gas emissions from palm oil-based biodiesel are the highest among major biofuels when the effects of deforestation and peatlands degradation are considered, according to calculations by the European Commission. The emissions estimates, which haven't been officially released, have important implications for the biofuels industry in Europe. Read more...

Watch 131 Years of Global Warming in 26 Seconds

Climate Central, January 25, 2012

From our friends at NASA comes this amazing 26-second video, depicting how temperatures around the globe have warmed since 1880. That year is what scientists call the beginning of the “modern record.” You’ll note an acceleration of those temperatures in the late 1970s as greenhouse gas emissions from energy production increased worldwide and clean air laws reduced emissions of pollutants that had a cooling effect on the climate, and thus were masking some of the global warming signal. The data comes from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures. As NASA notes, “in this animation, reds indicate temperatures higher than the average during a baseline period of 1951-1980, while blues indicate lower temperatures than the baseline average.” Watch the video...

European Commission Aims to Cut Food Waste 50 Percent by 2020

ENN, January 19, 2012

Europe may be facing much larger problem than what to do with its food waste. But being pushed through the European parliament is a bill that will have widespread significance. That is because food waste accounts for one of the largest sources of overall waste going to landfills. Per year, the average person throws away 300 kg (660 lbs) per year, and of this, two thirds is still edible. MEPs are railing against what they see as unsustainable levels of waste. Read more...