Environment

NASA Moon rocket launch delayed again, this time by storm

NASA again rescheduled its long-delayed uncrewed mission to the Moon on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Nicole churned toward the east coast of Florida, officials said.. With Nicole gaining strength, "NASA... has decided to re-target a launch for the Artemis I mission for Wednesday, Nov. 16, pending safe conditions for employees to return to work, as well as inspections after the storm has passed," the agency said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Please don't lick psychedelic toads, warn US park officials

US park officials have asked visitors to stop licking psychedelic toads, warning that anyone seeking a hallucinogenic high from the wart-covered amphibians is more likely to end up seriously ill.. "As we say with most things you come across in a national park, whether it be a banana slug, unfamiliar mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night, please refrain from licking," said park officials.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 1 mins read

Environment

Colonists nibble at Gran Chaco, South America's other big forest

Dwarfed by its more prestigious sibling, the Amazon, South America's second largest forest is a little-known victim of 25 years of gradual invasion by agriculture.. Deforestation in the region has averaged around 40,000 hectares (154 square miles) a year, peaking at 60,000 on occasions, said Aguirre.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 3 mins read

Environment

Colombia, Venezuela launch COP27 call to save Amazon

The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela, Gustavo Petro and Nicolas Maduro, launched a call Tuesday at the COP27 climate summit for a wide-ranging alliance to protect the Amazon, the planet's biggest tropical forest.. "We are determined to revitalise the Amazon rainforest... (in order) to offer humanity a significant victory in the battle against climate change," Petro said at the UN summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. 

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 3 mins read

Environment

World 'burning up faster' than it can recover: Pakistan PM

Climate change is outpacing the capacity of developing nations to cope with its devastating impacts, the Pakistani premier told COP27 on Tuesday, as his country reels from historic floods.. Rich nations historically responsible for rising temperatures have fallen short on delivering climate finance on several fronts, the prime minister said.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Ukraine's Zelensky tells COP27 Russia's war harms climate efforts

A fast-heating world "cannot afford a single gunshot", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN climate summit on Tuesday, arguing that Russia's invasion threatened international efforts to tackle global warming.. "They are the ones who start wars of aggression when the planet cannot afford a single gunshot, because it needs global joint actions."

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Smart farming tech offers sprout of hope in Greece

Eyes glued to his mobile phone, farmer Sotiris Mournos pores over the latest microclimate and humidity data about his fields on the plain of Imathia in northern Greece.. But persuading farmers who may be less technologically minded than Mournos to embrace it faces myriad challenges.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 3 mins read

Environment

Eager beaver: dams improve quality of river water hit by climate change

Hotter, drier weather means beaver populations are spreading in the western United States, and their dams are helping to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on river water quality, according to a new study on Tuesday.. At the same time, a changing climate has increased the range of industrious buck-toothed beavers, and widened the impact of their dams, thus helping to dilute the negative impact of global warming.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Tax oil firms to pay for climate damage, island nations say

A group of small island nations joined calls on Tuesday for a windfall tax on oil companies to compensate developing countries for the damage caused by climate change-induced natural disasters.. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called Monday for a 10 percent tax on oil companies to fund loss and damage.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Bow makers fear demise as Brazil seeks ban on rare wood trade

Global classical stars including US cellist Yo-Yo Ma and British conductor Simon Rattle joined a campaign on Tuesday to stop Brazil blocking the trade in a rare wood used for making bows. . "Let us not make the musical world a scapegoat for deforestation," said the petition signed by dozens of global musicians and orchestras.

Tue, Nov 8, 2022 1 mins read