Oceans Paying For Growing Energy Demands

The latest leak from an gas rig in the North Sea is throwing up concerns about the safety of energy. The latest leak comes on the back of the Gulf of Mexico spill and the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. In the Gulf of Mexico 675 dolphins have stranded themselves since the spill compared to the normal 74. Even renewable energy sources like wind are being criticised for potentially impacting fish.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17538730

Farming and Food Consumption need Changes

The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change says that there needs to be a major change in agriculture and food consumption in order to deal with climate change. They said that more organic alternatives should be looked at, but also said that where GM crops have been proved to be safe, that they also could be used. The report also said that we need to reduce the amount of food waste produced in some developed countries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17495031

Planning to become more sustainable?

The UK government say that new planning regulations will create jobs and protect the environment. However, some environmental groups have said that it will lead to increase environmental damage. Proposals have included allowing town cntres to have more parking to fight against out-of-town shopping centres and to give communities greater say in where renewable energy sources should be located.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17514730

Niger's Growing Hunger Crisis

The UN predicts that 400,000 children could be at threat from starvation this summer in Niger. The region is suffering from growing food shortages for a number of reasons, including:

• Crop failure
• 4 droughts in last six years
• Rising food prices
• Insecurity through growing terrorism
• Climate change
• Desertification
• Population growth
• Poverty
• Lack of education

The WFP is asking for donations as it predicts it has an 80% shortfall in the necessary funds to deal with the impending disaster.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17506421

Water War in Chile's Atacama Desert

In Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the world's driest places, two industries are competing for limited supplies of water. Agriculture which accounts for 25% of Chile's exports is competing with mining which accounts for a whopping 70% of Chile's exports. Not surprisingly with this amount of power, mining is currently running out and buying water rights of many farmers who are now seeing their crops die.

 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17423097

Portugal's Young Look Abroad

In a country that has been hit hard by the global recession and debt crisis, unemployment stands at nearly 22%. As such may young people in Portugal are looking for opportunities abroad. For some this might mean fruit picking in Europe, for others this means a return to some of Portugal's former colonies like Angola, Brazil and Mozambique where the economies of these countries are growing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17461172

India loses $210 billion from selling coalfields too cheaply

A draft report has suggested that the Indian government has lost $210 billion from selling coalfields too cheaply. Private and state companies bought the fields between 2004-2010. The government is accused of selling the fields cheaply because of the non-competitive nature of the sale.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17471359

Super Connected Cities Announced in Budget

The chancellor George Osbourne has announced that 100 million pounds will be spent on increasing internet speeds in 10 major cities in the UK and a further 50 million pounds spent on improving internet speeds in smaller cities. The Chancellor also announced plans to improve mobile coverage to 60,000 homes and many road links. The announcements have been made in the aim to keep the UK at the forefront on technology.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17457975

Illegal Logging Worth Billions

Recent analysis by the World Bank suggest that illegal logging is worth between $10-15 billion a year. A lot of illegal logging is run by criminal gangs, with some of the profits going to corrupt officials. Countries like Madagascar and Indonesia are badly affected. Estimates suggest that the an area the size of a football pitch is illegally logged each second. The report calls for greater funding for enforcement of logging laws and greater punishment for offenders.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17448581

Mexico Hit By Large Earthquake

Mexico was hit by a large earthquake today (Tuesday 20th March). The quake measured 7.6 on the Richter Scale and was centred near Acapulco. The earthquake was quite shallow at only 18km. Reporters in Mexico City over 300km said buildings swayed for over 1 minute sending people into the streets. At present there are no reports of damage, deaths or injury.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17452834

What should be done with plastic bags?

In spring the EU is to publish its findings into what should be done to reduce the amount of plastic bags in use. It is estimated that 800,000 tonnes of single use bags are used in the EU each year. Currently only about 6% of bags are recycled. The proposals tro deal with bags include:

• Plastic bag ban
• Plastic bag tax
• Paper bags
• Biodegradable bags
• Long use bags

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17027990

World Water Temperature Updated

Researchers have recently updated figures on HadCRUT using more data from Arctic regions.
HadCRUT is compiled by the UK Met Office's Hadley Centre and the Climatic Research Unit (Cru) at the University of East Anglia. HadCRUT is one of three global records used by scientists to study climate change. The latest version records 2010 as the warmest year. To get the data records from 400 Arctic stations have been used.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17432194

Curacao: Oil Versus Tourism Dilema

Curacao's picture perfect coastline and historical UNESCO listed capital making it a tourism mecca. Many cruise ships currently stop at the island (340,000 a year). However, the centre of the island is blighted by an oil refinery built by Shell to take advantage of Venezuelan oil. The refinery is now leased to the Venezuelan's. However, some want the refinery to close in 2019 when the contract expires.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17290626

Will the UK go green or opt for gas?

With a number of nuclear and coal power stations reaching the end of their lives, the UK government needs to make decisions on future energy supply. When the current government was elected they talked about their green credentials, but with the announcement of new gas fired power stations, these credentials are being seriously questioned. It is argued that gas releases half as much greenhouse gases as coal. However, because of the particulates released by coal, some incoming solar radiation is actually reflected by them, creating a cooling effect. The government's committee on climate change was hoping that by 2030, 30% of energy would be from renewables, but many say this target is unrealistic and some say that gas may grow in importance and account for up to 50% of UK energy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17423877

Are Cloud Whitening Towers the Answer to Climate Change?

A British scientist has suggested building cloud whitening towers on the Faroe Islands as a fix for global warming in the Atlantic. The idea would be to pump seawater up through the towers using renewable energy and then release the seawater as a fine spray. The small white water droplets would then reflect more of the sun's incoming solar radiation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17400804

Indonesia asks UK to remove its waste

Indonesia has asked the UK to take back 1,800 tonnes of contaminated scrap. Indonesia does accept scrap from the UK as long as it reaches certain standards. However, customs officials found teh recent shipment to contain sand, asphalt, plastics and an unidentified white liquid

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17392981

Scientists Trace Moho Boundary

Scientists have recently mapped the Moho boundary which is the boundary between the earth's crust and mantle. The mapping was done using gravity measurements from one of the European Space Agency Satellites. The divide lies between 10 and 70km below the surface of the earth. The boundary was able to mapped because of changes in density of rocks between the crust and mantle which slightly changed the earth's gravitational pull.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17312368

China Accused of Restricting Rare Earths Exports

The US, Japan and the EU have filed a complaint with the WTO about China's restrictions on rare earth exports. Despite their name rare earths are not that rare but are vital in the production of electronics like flat screen televisions and mobile phones. China are limiting exports, for what they say are environmental reasons. However, this could mean that they control up to 95% of the market. The complaint gainst China could be the first step towards sanctions against China

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17348648

Europe's Water Used Inefficiently

A recent report has suggested that insufficient use of water in Europe could threaten its economy, productivity and ecosystems. The report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) said limited supplies were being wasted. Agriculture is the biggest user of water, so the report suggested there should be greater investment in things like drip irrigation. The report also said that awareness of the issue needs to be improved and there needs to be better education on how to avoid wastage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17343034

UK drought leads to hosepipe ban

Seven UK water firms are introducing hosepipe bans in the south and the east of the UK. The bans come after two back-to-back dry winters. However, the UK's Environment Agency say that drought conditions could move further north. The drought area covers about 20 million people. Farmers are most worried about any possible restrictions as they have already planted less than normal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17340844

Has MDG of reducing poverty been met?

The World Bank has recently declared that the MDG on poverty reduction has been met. However, it is still shocking to know how many people live on less than $1 a day. The $1 a day poverty line is actually measured by calculating the cost of a basket of goods. This is because $1 is worth different amounts in different countries. This is known as PPP (Purchasing Power Parity). However, despite the World Bank claiming to have met the target some former World Bank economists have criticised the emphasis on people living on $1 a day. They believe that too much emphasis has been placed on handouts (getting people over $1 a day) rather than on economic development.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17312819

2011 Earthquakes Plotted and Animated

Can Brazil's Economy Attract Migrants Home?

As Brazil overtakes the UK as the world's sixth largest economy, questions are being asked about whether it can attract home some of its migrants. For decades Brazilians have left Brazil in the hope of finding work in Europe and the US. However, with the Brazilian economy growing and a global recession hitting many others, migrants are thinking about returning. However, low wages in Brazil and high crime rates in some cities make people think twice before going home.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17272698

Sarkozy says France has too many Foreigners

Nicolas Sarkozy has said that France has too many foreigners and that there integration is not working. Mr Sarkozy made the comments ahead of his re-election bid next month. Mr Sarkozy is from an immigrant family himself, but said that France needed tougher controls and qualification requirements for people wishing to get residency. He said that is he is re-elected he would cut the number of immigrants from 180,000 to 100,000 each year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17280647

Nicaragua aims to fight deforestation with soldiers

Deep insight Nicaragua's inhospitable Mosquito Coast a specially trained army unit is fighting against deforestation. Operation Green Gold has 580 environmental soldiers to try and stop the growing problem of criminal gangs extracting logs. Since 1983 it is believed that Nicaragua's forest cover has dropped from 63% to 40%. The fight is been taken to loggers in attempt to protect the country's agriculture, climate, biodiversity and tourism.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17062806

12 Killed in US Tornadoes

At least 12 people have been killed in tornadoes that hit Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. At least 16 tornadoes were reported across the states damaging buildings and injuring a further 100. March is the beginning of the US tornado season.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17210325

Devastating Drought Hits Paraguay

Thousands of small farmers are struggling across Paraguay as the region is hit by a drought. Some areas have seen virtually no rain in the last 5 months. The dry weather is being blamed on La Nina. The government estimates that up to 60% of the country's crop could have been lost already. With winter approaching farmers are desperate for some rain to salvage their crop. Paraguay relies heavily on the primary sector so any failure of crops will increase poverty as well as hunger.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17123537