- The IUCN has reported that there is a “high probability” that the polar bear population will suffer a 30% decrease by 2050.
- Officials have stated that genetically modified salmon would not have to be labeled as such.
- On Tuesday, the Senate voted to block President Obama’s climate change regulations.
Six recommendations for protecting our oceans [Mongabay]
A hodgepodge of laws protects roughly 15 percent of Earth’s land, but safeguards for the ocean lag behind. Today, laws shelter a meager 3.6 percent of the planet’s liquid blue surface. But a recent position paper in Science says lawmakers are beginning to close the gap.
Do we legalize the very product we want off the market? [Wall Street Journal]
With poaching on the rise, conservationists are under pressure to find a way to diminish the horn trade demand in order to save our world’s rhinos. Controversial as it may be, some ranchers in South Africa suggest flooding the market as a solution, but conservationists believe a legal marketplace would raise the demand.
Why we are dangerously close to losing this iconic species [Guardian]
Rapid habitat loss is threatening our planet’s 26,000 polar bears. A new study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has reported that there is a “high probability” that the polar bear population will suffer a 30% decrease by 2050.
Our world’s big northern lakes are on thin ice [Yale e360]
Lake Baikal, holding one-fifth of our planet’s above-ground drinking supply, is one of the lakes scientists have noticed rapid transformations in. Climate change is affecting some of our most critical water sources by raising water temperatures, reducing ice cover and heightening the risk of harmful algae outbreaks.
This food could be genetically modified, but you may never know [NY Times]
On Thursday, federal regulators approved the first genetically altered animal to be cleared for consumption in the U.S. However, officials stated that this popular fish would not have to be labeled as being genetically engineered.
U.S. and Cuba join forces to protect marine life [United Press International]
This week Cuba and the U.S. signed a pact in Havana, pledging to protect and conserve the marine species living in the ocean waters that separate the two countries. This is the first agreement between these nations since the renewal of their diplomatic relations this year.
These chimps are getting a new, and much improved life [Nature]
Two years ago, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), retired most of its research chimpanzees, but now it seems they’ve decided to put an end to their chimp program all together.
Canada to ban oil tanker traffic [Financial Post]
The Canadian federal government is considering a decision to ban oil tanker traffic on the North Coast of British Columbia. If carried out, this move would hurt the chances of the Northern Gateway pipeline being built.
These senators refuse to loosen their grip on coal [NY Times]
On Tuesday, the Senate voted to block President Obama’s climate change regulations by passing a resolution that would prevent a rule that would significantly cut carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants.
The UK has their plans in place to phase out coal plants [BBC]
UK Energy Secretary, Amber Rudd, has proposed that the nation restrict their use of coal-fired power stations by 2023 and to have these plants completely shut down by 2025. She hopes to replace these power stations with alternatives that are reliable, cost-effective and help to reduce carbon emissions.
MONGABAY HIGHLIGHTS
Africa’s fetish and bushmeat trade has vultures headed for extinction
Ask anyone dangling a rabbit’s foot from their keychain what the severed appendage is for, and they’ll tell you it brings good fortune. Ask a traditional healer in West or Central Africa how to boost your luck, and they may offer a different prescription: to smoke or snort dried vulture brains.
50% of world’s natural history specimens could have a mistaken identity
Most of us expect museum specimens to be accurately labeled and meticulously catalogued. But up to half of the world’s natural history specimens could have wrong names, according to a new study published in Current Biology. And this could be a big problem.
This palm oil company is relentlessly deforesting Malaysia
Local and international environmental activists have alleged that BLD Plantation Bhd, a Malaysian palm oil company, is continuing to develop a large plantation in a Sarawak peat forest despite a government commitment to conservation.
Check out these newly discovered ‘wolves of the microscopic world’
Commonly, known as ‘Dracula Ants’ for their unique feeding behavior, these new members of Prionopelta have been found to be tiny, ferocious social predators living within the subterranean, microscopic ecosystem of the forest floor soils in Madagascar.
Working to give these popular frogs a fighting chance
Lehmann’s poison frog, considered to be the “holy grail” by frog enthusiasts worldwide, is one of many beautiful frog species endemic to Colombia. It is has been subject to illegal trafficking for the wildlife pet trade, and is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.