Global warming didn’t cause big US drought

WASHINGTON (AP) – A new federal report says last year’s drought was a freak of nature and can’t be blamed on man-made global warming. Scientists say the main cause of the drought in the nation’s midsection was the lack of moisture that usually pushes up from the Gulf of Mexico. The report by dozens of scientists from five different federal agencies looked into... 

Scientists find what may be world’s largest undersea pockmarks

Wellington – Scientists have found what may be the world’s largest undersea ”pockmarks” in the Chatham Rise, about 500 kilometres east of the South Island city of Christchurch, according to the New Zealand research institute GNS Science. The pockmarks are crater-like structures on the seabed caused by fluids and gases erupting through sediments into the ocean.... 

Study finds mounting mercury threat in Peru Amazon

LIMA, Peru (AP) – A study of mercury contamination in a southeastern Peruvian jungle region ravaged by illegal gold mining has found unsafe levels of the toxic metal in 78 percent of adults in the regional capital and in 60 percent of fish sold at markets. The study by the Carnegie Institution for Science calls the contamination a “grave and mounting public health threat.” Mercury... 

Microbes flourish in deepest spot in world’s oceans – study

OSLO (Reuters) – Microbes are thriving in surprising numbers at the deepest spot in the oceans, the 11,000-metre (36,000 ft) Mariana Trench in the Pacific, despite crushing pressures in sunless waters, scientists said. Dead plants and fish were falling as food for microscopic bugs even to the little-known hadal depths, parts of the seabed deeper than 6,000 metres and named after... 

Distant rural areas may feel cities’ heat – study

WASHINGTON (AP) – Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia, a surprising study theorizes. In an unusual twist, that same urban heat from buildings and cars may be slightly cooling the autumns in much of the Western United States, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean,... 

Warming temperatures cause aquatic animals to shrink – study

WASHINGTON – Warmer temperatures cause greater reduction in the adult sizes of aquatic animals than in land-dwellers, according to a new study by scientists from Queen Mary, University of London and the University of Liverpool.  Read More »

“Green Walls” on streets could reduce pollution significantly

LONDON – “Green Walls” made by trees, bushes and other greenery growing in the concrete and glass “urban canyons” could reduce pollution at roadside much more than previously thought, said British researchers in a paper published on Wednesday.  Read More »

Climate change boosts odds of extreme weather: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Severe droughts, floods and heat waves rocked the world last year as greenhouse gas levels climbed, boosting the odds of some extreme weather events, international scientists said Tuesday. The details are contained in the annual State of the Climate report, compiled by nearly 400 scientists from 48 countries and published in the peer-reviewed Bulletin of the American... 

Philippine eco-school champs gear up for ASEAN Awards

Manila, Philippines – Students and faculties of Iliranan Elementary School in Negros Occidental and the Camarines Sur National High School in Naga City have something to look forward to in the coming days, aside from the opening of classes, and that is to represent the country in the 2012 ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Eco-Schools Awards to be held on July 17-18,... 

Advocating for a Greener Future

JCI Philippines’ environmental projects inspire Filipino youths to make a stand Manila, Philippines – While the Philippines is developing at a rapid pace, its natural resources is taking a beating. The country is the home of the most diverse number of species and yet it ranked fourth among the countries whose forest covers are depleting drastically. At the current rate that such...