“Animal Extinctions From Climate Rival End of Dinosaurs”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-28/humans-are-the-new-asteroids-as-animals-driven-extinct.html
Animals are dying off in the wild at a pace as great as the extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago because of human activity and climate change.
Current extinction rates are at least 12 times faster than normal because people kill them for food, money or destroy their habitat, said Anthony Barnosky, a biology professor at the University of California-Berkeley.
“Go, Dog, Go! South Africa Is Sick of the Rhino Poachers”
Venom is part of an army of dogs being trained as South African defense company Paramount Group’s contribution to fighting the poachers in South Africa, home to most of the world’s rhinos.
The Malinois, as the breed is also known, ‘can work in extreme conditions,’ Henry Holsthyzen, who runs Paramount’s K9 Solutions dog academy, said at a presentation of the year-old school yesterday. ‘It’s been proven useful in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s high energy, highly intelligent and very fast. It’s an awesome package.’
Man’s best friend is also the rhino’s best friend.
“Kenya’s iconic Nairobi national park is under threat, conservationists warn”
Kenya’s capital Nairobi, east Africa’s oldest national park is under threat.
“U.S.-China Climate Agreement Won’t Slow Warming Enough, World Bank Says”
An agreement between the U.S. and China to curb greenhouse-gas emissions won’t slow global warming enough to prevent extreme weather that damages crops,World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said.
“Rhino Poaching Death Toll Reaches Record in South Africa”
A record 1,020 rhinos have been killed by poachers for their horns in South Africathis year, more than all of 2013 and triple the number four years ago.
“Great White Shark Pulled From Nets at Bondi Beach in Australia”
A great white shark was caught in nets off Bondi Beach, amid concerns the potential man-eaters are increasing in Australian waters after attacks north of Sydney and off the nation’s west coast.
Do the nets catch food for sharks as well as the sharks themselves?
“Jellyfish are stepping up their ocean invasions—and humans are helping them”
http://qz.com/290657/jellyfish-are-stepping-up-their-ocean-invasions-and-humans-are-helping-them/
Though scientists have only begun to unravel the secrets to jellyfish reproduction, what they’re finding is frightening. Research emerging in the last year or so increasingly confirms that apocalyptic blooms aren’t thanks to biology alone. Jellyfish are getting a lot of help—from humans.
Man’s best friend is his dog; and Jellyfishes best friend is man.
“Peru’s forests store more CO2 than US emits in a year, research shows”
Peru, the host for December’s UN climate change summit, stores nearly seven billion metric tons of carbon stocks, mostly in its Amazon rainforest. That’s more than US annual carbon emissions for 2013 which were calculated at 5.38 billion tons, the new research by the Carnegie Institute for Science (CIS) shows.
I’ll be there in seven months’ time.
“What Climate Scientists Have To Say About Obama’s Deal With China”
Scientists confirmed that the announcement, which has China agreeing to cap its emissions by 2030 and the U.S. committing to a 26 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2025, represented a huge first step toward building the kind of political cooperation needed to effectively combat a global problem.
Baby steps towards cooperation from the two largest polluters.
“Fossil fuel promises are being broken, report says”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29985382
The Overseas Development Institute says G20 nations spent almost £56bn ($90bn) a year finding oil, gas and coal.
It comes despite evidence that two thirds of existing reserves must be left in the ground if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change.
My Trip To The Amazon 
Recent Comments