An endangered giant African bat has been spotted again in swelled numbers by conservationists who think it may have emerged from near extinction.
Under the constant watch of environmental conservation groups for more than two decades, the fruit bat with a wing span of almost 6 feet wide has faced numerous odds to recover its numbers which now stand at a remarkable 22,000, according to a newly released research finding.
The problem is only partly indigenous; imports into these cities from America add to the burden, with 50-80% of America’s e-waste being exported. California alone exports about 9,000 tons (20 million pounds) to the developing world.
Often, it’s the least desirable and most environmentally harmful materials that are the first to be shipped to other, less affluent countries. No one wants to do deal with them and yet everyone wants to pay the least price to dispose of them. The economics of e-waste further encourage globalized waste dumping.
Satish Sinha, associate director of environmental NGO Toxic Link, told the Hindustan Times that for US recyclers avoiding the $20 cost of electronics recycling in the US plus raking in up to $15 paid by Indian e-waste importers “means a net gain of $35 for the US recycler.”
US Firm Better Place is working with Australian power company AGL and investors Macquarie Capital Group to develop a $667 million Australian electric car charging network.
Under the plan being developed, Better Place will use its scalable model (currently adopted in Denmark and Israel) to build the electric vehicle network, AGL will deliver electricity from renewable resources and Macquarie will help raise the investment dollars needed.
Electric vehicle networks would be developed in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, each with between 200 000 and 250 000 charging stations. As well, switching stations will be built in each city and on the highways in order to allow drivers to have their batteries automatically replaced.
While this project is being developed solely by private companies, it has received some high-level attention and support in Australia, with the State of Victoria’s Premier John Brumby noting:
The Victorian Government supports any initiative that will have positive outcomes in reducing emissions in the transport sector and welcomes this innovative approach to help make broad adoption of [electric vehicles] in Australia possible Read the rest of this entry »
The following video is from our friends at ViroPOP. Head over to their website for more great clips with host Jessica Williamson.
Just as growth in the US bottled water market is finally dropping off, Greenland has made the bewildering move to bottle and export 1 to 3,000 year old water that it will drill from icebergs. To add insult to environmental injury, Greenland will market its product as “sustainable.” Just how much marketing sense went into the idea to bottle the climate-induced melt from Greenland’s glaciers in plastic and ship it with a heavy carbon footprint stamped firmly into each “sustainable” bottle is anyone’s guess.
Many video aggregation sites and South African TV recently carried the Global White Lion Protection Trust’s announcement of the birth of three white lion cubs in the wild.
The cubs were the offspring of a white lioness, one of four white lions released into the wild in 2006 and a white lion from a different genetic lineage. They are the first white lions to be born in a reintroduction program within their natural endemic range in the Greater Timbavati region.
Or do you think you’re sophisticated because you read a bunch of books and pay attention to world news? Then test your knowledge of geography with these quick and fun online games, you nerd! Read the rest of this entry »
Those are some of the introductory words of Lou Dematteis, one of the authors and photographers of the new photo book Crude Reflections: Oil, Ruin, and Resistance in the Amazon Rainforest. Read the rest of this entry »
Archaeologists in China have discovered the fossilized remains of a feathered dinosaur the size of a pigeon believed to have lived millions of years before birds evolved but which may be an early avian ancestor.
The discovery of a 90% intact fossil preserved in a slab of rock at a site in Laioning Province in Inner Mongolia, heightens the notion that tiny-bodied, carnivorous bipedal dinosaurs are closely related to and most certainly evolved into birds.
Lars Stigel, director of Østjysk Innovation, an investor in AC Sun, spoke with enthusiasm about AC Sun’s design. “It is a groundbreaking technology in relation to renewable energy and energy savings,” he says.
According to a recent Reuters report, China will miss its 2010 ethanol as fuel target. This is because China is not relaxing control over non-grain feedstocks, at the same time as restricting ethanol production through grain.
“We are unable to meet the ethanol target. The major reason is because of a shortage of raw material,” said Ren Dongming, a deputy director with Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.
This is quite significant, since China has been ranked as the third largest ethanol producer in the world.
EcoWorldly
EcoWorldly brings you news on sustainable successes and ecological failures in other countries that offer lessons for green progress in America. Find perspectives and news on the environmental movement from around the world.
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