In western Kenya, wild giraffes are being relocated to the Ruko Conservancy to maintain peace between the Pokot and Ilchamus communities. Since the first giraffe’s arrival to the reserve in 2011, poaching has ceased, and community relations have improved, creating jobs and regional stability. Before a giraffe’s arrival, an intercommunal welcoming ceremony with dancing and singing is held for them, an inconceivable scene in the mid-2000s
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/23/2024 - 05:00
Vice-president’s record on climate crisis strikes stark contrast with Trump in potential 2024 election match-up
Kamala Harris has a strong record on the environment that will provide a vivid contrast with Donald Trump, who has vowed to rescind climate change policies should he return to the White House, according to green advocates who have welcomed the prospect of a Harris presidency.
“We are confident that she is ready to carry forward President Biden’s historic legacy and set a new high bar for climate ambition in America,” said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen, one of a raft of green groups, including Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and the NRDC Action Fund that have now endorsed the leading contender for the Democratic nomination.
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07/23/2024 - 02:00
With little grass for grazing on the island of Lamu, donkeys are rummaging through rubbish – and scientists now fear it is a global problem affecting many species
The smell of sea water and fresh dung fill the oceanfront air on the Kenyan island of Lamu, as donkeys plod along the town’s dock, ferrying residents and cargo. Lamu Old Town is a Unesco world heritage site, known for preserving its Swahili culture. With no cars but nearly 3,000 donkeys on the island, residents rely heavily on the animals for a living and as transport in the narrow, winding streets of the 700-year-old town, one of east Africa’s oldest.
Now, however, increasing numbers of donkeys are dying from eating plastic on the island, and scientists fear many other land animals are also being affected by human plastic pollution.
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07/22/2024 - 23:00
Report says new nuclear capacity will not be ready in time to provide required increase in baseload electricity
Labour is likely to have to approve new gas-fired power stations in its attempt to decarbonise the UK’s electricity systems by 2030, in what would be a tricky decision for the new government.
Keeping the lights on for the rest of the decade, and beyond, will require some additional baseload power, and new nuclear power stations will not be built in time, according to a report from the National Engineering Policy Centre.
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07/22/2024 - 23:00
Late spring and early summer blazes in Canada, Alaska and eastern Russia add to carbon emissions
The northern hemisphere has had a large number of intense wildfires in the first half of summer, carrying vast amounts of smoke across Eurasia and North America.
Research by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) showed large-scale and intense wildfires had been developing throughout the late spring and summer, with numerous fires burning in Canada, Alaska and eastern Russia.
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07/22/2024 - 14:50
Climate change will have a considerable influence on the biodiversity and productivity of meadows and pastures. However, according to the results of the large-scale climate and land use experiment the extent of these changes depends on the land use. Grassland optimized for high yield responds much more sensitively to periods of drought than less intensively used meadows and pastures.
07/22/2024 - 14:49
Researchers use genomes to help restore the American chestnut population and adjust species breeding to the changing climate.
07/22/2024 - 12:49
Charged metallic lumps found to produce oxygen in total darkness in process akin to how plants use photosynthesis
In the total darkness of the depths of the Pacific Ocean, scientists have discovered oxygen being produced not by living organisms but by strange potato-shaped metallic lumps that give off almost as much electricity as AA batteries.
The surprise finding has many potential implications and could even require rethinking how life first began on Earth, the researchers behind a study said on Monday.
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07/22/2024 - 11:42
Stormont’s rescue proposal for UK’s largest lake criticised by campaigners for dilution of sewage reduction targets
There will have to be a move away from intensive farming around Lough Neagh if it is to survive, campaigners have said, as the noxious algal blooms that last year devastated the vast body of water returned to its shores earlier than ever.
Lough Neagh is the UK’s largest lake and supplies more than 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water. But vast amounts of phosphorus, nitrogen and other substances draining into the lough have left it at crisis point for some years now.
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07/22/2024 - 10:36
If approved, the region would become Scotland’s third national park and first to be made official in UK since South Downs in 2010
Galloway has been selected by the Scottish government as the preferred site for Scotland’s third national park.
The region, which came out top from a shortlist of five, will now be the subject of a consultation and an investigation into its suitability before potentially being made official by 2026. The unsuccessful candidate areas were Lochaber, Loch Awe, Scottish Borders and Tay Forest.
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