- Since it was first reported in October 2015, a well owned by Southern California Gas Co., has been gushing up to 1,200 tons of methane a day.
- In 2010, Ecuador agreed to protect Manta rays, now a new regulation out of Peru will strengthen protection for the manta ray populations in the South East Pacific.
- Researchers have found that places where farming practices are the most technically advanced could experience the greatest impact from climate change.
Massive natural-gas leak forces California to declare a state of emergency [ABC]
Since it was first reported in October 2015, a well owned by Southern California Gas Co., has been gushing up to 1,200 tons of methane a day, along with other gases. Experts say it will be months still before workers can contain the leak that now has California in a state of emergency.
You’re only a download away from becoming a real life scientist [Penn State News]
Chesapeake Commons, an environmentally focused app developer has partnered with Penn State to create a smartphone app called FISH. This app was developed to help nature enthusiasts to see how the health of local streams and the habitats around them are changing over time and to participate in data collection that is used to monitor these changes.
The world’s largest-known population of giant Manta Rays gained another big supporter [Mongabay]
Peru and Ecuador waters have the world’s largest known population of giant manta rays, according to conservation nonprofit Manta Trust. In 2010, Ecuador agreed to protect Manta rays, now a new regulation out of Peru will strengthen protection for the manta ray populations in the South East Pacific.
Surprisingly, climate change could have a greater impact on crops in developed nations [Globe and Mail]
It makes sense that global food production is increasingly likely to be disrupted as a result of extreme weather driven by climate change, but researchers were perplexed to find that places where farming practices are the most technically advanced could experience the greatest impact.
These results could retract the hard won EU ban on pesticides linked to bee declines [Guardian UK]
The European Food Safety Authority has begun a review on three pesticides currently banned across the EU after being ruled as an “unacceptable” danger to bees. The scientists said they would finish their risk evaluation by the end of January 2017.
Biodiversity to be a top priority for India’s smart city initiative [The Hindu]
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has agreed that a portal on biodiversity will be one of the three priority areas for India’s smart city initiative, an effort to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life for its citizens. A sustainable environment and good health are being acknowledged as the core infrastructure of a smart city.
They made a promise, but sticking to it is proving to be a huge challenge [Mongabay]
Protected forests in northern Uganda are under strain as people clear trees for farmland and to make charcoal. Many Ugandans rely on charcoal as a cooking fuel, and the Uganda’s National Forest Authority estimates 80,000 hectares of forest are cleared every year to meet this demand.
Caribbean journalists are serious about their environmental reporting [IPS]
Journalists in the Caribbean are recognizing that the media coverage of global warming “has been very weak and oversimplified.” They are now preparing for the challenge of communicating and raising awareness about the crucial climate change agreement that resulted from the recent Paris climate talks.
How climate change could impair our power production [TIME]
Currently, hydropower and thermoelectric plants together produce 98% of the world’s power. New research published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows how weather patterns that lead to higher temperatures could effect production at the majority of these plants.
MONGABAY HIGHLIGHTS
Ten things to watch for in 2016
Between Indonesia’s massive forest fires, the official approval of REDD+ at climate talks in Paris, and the establishment of several major national parks, there was plenty to get excited about in the world of rainforests during 2015. What’s in store for 2016?
Facebook posts lead to the arrest of these two tortoise thieves
The officials were first tipped off about the Facebook ads in October 2015. They began monitoring the profile of the person offering to sell the tortoises, and found that the suspect continued to post similar offers.
Indonesia’s president didn’t expect this backlash, when he released 190 captive birds
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo released 190 birds into the wild outside the Presidential Palace in Bogor, a suburb of Jakarta. He did it in the name of preserving nature in urban areas, but some conservationists responded with one part dismay. The birds had been purchased at Pramuka, a notorious wildlife market in East Jakarta.
Could these artificial rhino horns help save the rhino?
From knee joints to human organs, and from prosthetics for pets to guns, it seems that the limits of 3D printing are bound only by imagination. Taking 3D printing to the next step are the founders of a start-up company, Pembient, who want to print synthetic rhino horns.
Does that new viper have…horns?!
Scientists say they’ve discovered a new species of horned pitviper in the critically endangered cloud forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Jalisco, Mexico. The snake was named the emerald horned pitviper for its bright green color and the two horn-shaped scales above its eyes, which the researchers say they do not yet know the purpose of.
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