Environment

August, 2018

• 7 August

  Earth risks tipping into ‘hothouse’ state: study

  

  The planet urgently needs to transition to a green economy because fossil fuel pollution risks pushing the Earth into a lasting and dangerous “hothouse” state, researchers warned on Monday.  
• 6 August

  Degrading plastics revealed as source of greenhouse gases

  

  Researchers from the University of Hawai’i at M?noa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) discovered that several greenhouse gases are emitted as common plastics degrade in the environment.  
• 6 August

  Human beings are now causing cancer in wild animals

  

  Researchers at Arizona State University’s (ASU) School of Life Sciences published a paper in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution in May, in which it was noted that human activities are causing cancer in the wildlife population of nearby areas.  
• 6 August

  Depletion of Nigeria’s mangrove forest raises concern

  

  Alarmed by industrial and urbanisation threats to sustainable productivity of the mangrove forests, eminent environmentalists have urged authorities to enforce laws and policies that would protect them from extinction.  
• 3 August

  Can seagrass help fight ocean acidification?

  

  Seagrass meadows could play a limited, localized role in alleviating ocean acidification in coastal ecosystems, according to new work led by Carnegie’s David Koweek and including Carnegie’s Ken Caldeira and published in Ecological Applications.  
• 3 August

  Fishing bans protect fish and don’t harm fishing communities

  

  Fishing bans don’t have to hurt fishing communities, according to a new study led by Stanford researchers. 
• 3 August

  Even jellyfish eating plastic- study

  

  An Italian study recently published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports showed for the first time that jellyfish eat plastic fragments suspended in the water.  
• 3 August

  UB researchers discover a disease threatening the most plentiful starfish in Antarctica

  

  If the cause is a pathogenic, viral or mycoplasma effect that is directly related to the rise in global temperatures, the only viable strategy will be to implement all possible measures in the struggle against climate change at the individual and collective levels. 
• 1 August

  World’s marine wilderness is dwindling

  

  An international study led by University of Queensland scientists has found that only 13 per cent of the ocean can still be classified as wilderness.  
• 1 August

  Study shows ocean acidification is having major impact on marine life

  

  In new research, scientists say cuts in global CO2 emissions are essential to limit further damage to coral reefs and kelp forests.  
• 1 August

  Dead fish, birds, manatees, even a whale. Toll from worst red tide in decade grows

  

  Florida’s southwest coast, a ribbon of inlets and barrier islands normally brimming with wildlife, has become a red tide slaughterhouse this summer.  

July, 2018

• 31 July

  Dramatic mangrove loss in Quintana Roo

  

  “The loss of mangrove in Quintana Roo is “dramatic”. In 20 years, 7,000 hectares of this ecosystem have disappeared  in the state, due to tourism development and this number will increase.