Environment

Senegal harvests first experimental homegrown wheat

With the whir of a mower, under a clear blue sky, Senegalese researchers have begun harvesting a crop of experimental homegrown wheat, the latest step in a years-long effort to reduce reliance on imports.. Since late last week, researchers from the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA), a public research institute, have been harvesting four varieties of wheat on a demonstration plot in Sangalkam, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the capital Dakar.

Sat, Apr 8, 2023 1 mins read

Environment

As Colombian volcano rumbles to life, villagers resist evacuation

Smoke billows from the crater of a snow-capped Andean volcano, reminding local inhabitants of the threat of another potential deadly eruption.. Soldiers patrol the route to a natural park that has been closed to tourists due to the eruption threat.

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 3 mins read

Environment

Runaway black hole creating trail of new stars: scientists

A huge black hole is tearing through space, leaving behind a 200,000-light-year-long trail of newborn stars, space scientists say.. "It didn't look like anything we've seen before," he said, adding the star trail is "quite astonishing, very, very bright and very unusual." 

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 2 mins read

Environment

Despite Lula's promises, deforestation still rampant in Brazil

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest in the first quarter of 2023 was one of the worst on record, according to official figures released on Friday.. In the first quarter of 2023, Amazon deforestation was the second highest on record for that period with 844 square kilometers destroyed.

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 1 mins read

Environment

Hundreds of thousands without power in Canada after ice storm

Hundreds of thousands of homes in eastern Canada remained without power Friday, two days after an ice storm killed two people and caused widespread property damage, particularly in Montreal.. Hundreds of Montreal city employees were still cleaning up debris Friday, especially in parks where many branches had collapsed under the weight of the ice.

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 1 mins read

Environment

UK eco-activists rail against judge's ban on using climate defence

"We had no defence," said environmental campaigner David Nixon referring to a British judge's recent surprise ruling that barred him from using climate change as a defence for a road-blocking protest.. The conviction revealed "how ridiculous it is in 2023 that people are getting jailed for mentioning climate change," he added.

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 3 mins read

Environment

Work-from-home order issued as Thai city tops world pollution table

Thailand's Chiang Mai was ranked the world's most polluted city on Friday, with authorities urging people to work from home to avoid the hazardous air.. On Friday morning, the air monitoring website IQAir ranked Chiang Mai as the most polluted major city in the world, above regular hotspots such as Delhi and Lahore.

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 1 mins read

Environment

Space-based NASA instrument to track pollution over North America

A Falcon 9 rocket successfully blasted off from Florida into space on Friday carrying a new NASA device that can track air pollution over North America down to the neighborhood level.. TEMPO will be able to measure atmospheric pollution down to a spatial resolution of four square miles (10 square kilometers), or neighborhood level.

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 3 mins read

Environment

Climate-hit island pushes to reshape World Bank, IMF

While conflict and inflation will dominate World Bank spring meetings next week, campaigners are pushing for a redesign of global financial architecture to help countries cope with climate change.. - After war - The so-called Bretton Woods financial architecture was created to help rebuild countries shattered by the Second World War and boost global trade and development.

Thu, Apr 6, 2023 4 mins read

Environment

Why are animal-to-human diseases on the rise?

From Covid-19 to monkey pox, Mers, Ebola, avian flu, Zika and HIV, diseases transmitted from animals to humans have multiplied in recent years, raising fears of new pandemics.. Some diseases end up becoming specifically human, like Covid-19.

Thu, Apr 6, 2023 2 mins read