Ethiopia drought
Air/Climate

Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Highest in 800,000 Years

GENEVA, Switzerland, October 30, 2017 (ENS) – Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere surged at record-breaking speed in 2016 to the highest level in 800,000 years, the World Meteorological Organization says in its latest annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. […]

elephants
Latest News

African Elephant Poaching Down, Ivory Seizures Up

GENEVA, Switzerland, October 26, 2017 (ENS) – Elephant poaching in Africa continued trending downward in 2016, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, reports. Records show the highest level of seizures of illegally traded ivory since commercial trade was banned by CITES in 1989. But conservationists warn it is too early to celebrate. […]

bayou
Air/Climate

Flooding Swamps 1st Native American Climate Refugees

SEATTLE, Washington, October 24, 2017 (ENS) – On the front lines of coastal erosion and the effects of global warming, Rising sea levels and human activities are quickly creating a worst case scenario for Native Americans of the Mississippi Delta who stand to lose their homes and their cultural heritage to climate change. […]

volunteers
At Risk

Presidents Honor Disaster Volunteers as Points of Light

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, October 18, 2017 (ENS) – Five volunteers who performed outstanding work in their communities following the devastation of recent hurricanes in the Southeastern United States and in the Caribbean will receive Point of Light Awards for their efforts from the five living former U.S. presidents. […]

rice farmers
Latest News

Greenpeace Seeks Viewers’ Votes in Documentary Festival

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, October 17, 2017 (ENS) – The international nonprofit Greenpeace is running an online festival of documentaries to raise awareness of environmental issues and highlight solutions. Viewers are asked to view the seven final films and vote for the one they think should be given the Prix du Public, the People’s Award. […]

vaquita
Latest News

Mexico Launches Vaquita Roundup Using U.S. Dolphins

SAN FELIPE, Mexico, October 13, 2017 (ENS) – An international team of experts has gathered in San Felipe at the request of the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and has begun a unique plan to save from extinction the world’s smallest porpoise, the critically endangered vaquita. […]

power plant
Air/Climate

Obama’s Clean Power Plan on Trump Chopping Block

WASHINGTON, DC, October 12, 2017 (ENS) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is proposing to repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electrical power generation by 32 percent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. […]

fire
At Risk

Wild California Fires Claim 17 Lives, Blister Vineyards

SACRAMENTO, California, October 10, 2017 (ENS) – At least 20,000 people have fled their homes, as 17 wildfires rage on in eight counties across northern California’s wine country. Vineyards are scorched, forests have gone up in smoke and hundreds of houses are burned to the ground. […]

tusks
Latest News

Brothers in Wildlife Crime Arrested in Malawi

LILONGWE, Malawi, October 7, 2017 (ENS) – Two brothers who are among East Africa’s most wanted wildlife criminals were arrested in Malawi this week on charges of attempting to smuggle hundreds of elephant tusks, according to Interpol, the world’s largest police organization. […]

mynah
Latest News

Asian Songbirds Vanishing Into Cages

EMMEN, The Netherlands, October 1, 2017 (ENS) – The songbirds of Asia are disappearing from their native forests as increasingly wealthy Asians satisfy their desire to own a brilliantly colored singing bird. “The Asian songbird crisis has reached a tipping point: without immediate action, it is almost certain their voices will be silenced forever in the forest,” warned Kanitha Krishnasamy of TRAFFIC. […]

mouse fetuses
Health

Zika Virus in Mice Blocked by New Drug

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, September 27, 2017 (ENS) – An antibody that protects against the dengue virus has also proved to be effective against the Zika virus in mice, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis announced Wednesday. […]

beach
Latest News

Chile Safeguards Ocean at S. America’s Southern Tip

SANTIAGO, Chile, September 25, 2017 (ENS) – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has pledged to create a new marine protected area in Admiralty Sound in Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. The designation will safeguard marine wildlife and the area’s cultural heritage, while promoting artisanal fisheries and sustainable tourism. […]

No Picture
At Risk

225 Die as Second Earthquake Shakes Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, September 20, 2017 (ENS) – A deadly earthquake struck Mexico on Tuesday afternoon, sending buildings crashing to the ground, killing children in their collapsing school, cracking highways, rocking the capital and sending thousands of people into the streets for the second time in two weeks. […]

monument
Land Use/Forests

Zinke Would Turn U.S. Monuments Over to Commercial Use

WASHINGTON, DC, September 19, 2017 (ENS) – Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s review of national monuments, leaked to the media on Monday, recommends that President Donald Trump make major changes to 10 U.S. national monuments. Zinke recommends more roads, timber harvesting, grazing, mining, drilling and commercial fishing in these protected places. […]

snow leopard
Latest News

Snow Leopards Not ‘Endangered’ Yet Not Out of Danger

NEW YORK, New York, September 14, 2017 (ENS) – The elusive snow leopards of the high Himalayas have been listed as Endangered for the past 25 years on the authoritative Red List of Threatened Species kept by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, but that has changed. […]

hurricanes
At Risk

Powerful Hurricane Irma Punishes Florida

MIAMI, Florida, September 10, 2017 (ENS) – Hurricane Irma made landfall twice in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday morning and is currently blasting up the state’s Gulf coast. Irma first touched land just after 9 am at Cudjoe Key in the Florida Keys archipelago; the second landfall occurred at Marco Island, at 3:35 pm local time. […]

map
At Risk

Category 5 Hurricane Irma on a Caribbean Rampage

MIAMI, Florida, September 6, 2017 (ENS) – Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, slammed Puerto Rico’s north shore Wednesday night after devastating several small northern Caribbean islands. At least three people have lost their lives to the storm. […]