News
April 17, 2016
The death toll in Ecuador has risen to 272 with more than 2,000 injured after Saturday's earthquake, president Rafael Correa confirmed Sunday evening. The number of dead is expected to rise "considerably" as crews continue removing bodies from the rubble, Correa said. Correa characterized the quake as Ecuador's biggest tragedy in 67 years. He cited experts in saying that the damages following the quake were small compared to what could have happened.
April 17, 2006
As Japan continues to reel from two deadly earthquakes that struck the southern part of the country on Thursday and Saturday -- registering at 6.5-magnitude and 7.3, respectively -- the United States Forces there announced Sunday it would provide U.S. assistance in the Japanese government's search and recovery efforts.
Four U.S. Marine MV-22 Ospreys have since arrived at the Marine base in Iwakuni, Japan, to assist with quake relief efforts. Iwakuni is on the main island, southwest of Hiroshima, about 150 miles from the quake zone in Kyushu.
April 14, 2016
The quake struck at 9.26pm local time on Thursday at a depth of seven miles near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. About 44,000 people evacuated their homes and stayed in shelters overnight.
The hardest hit town was Mashiki, where entire buildings collapsed, roofs slid off, and windows and walls crumbled, scattering glass and debris.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/15/baby-girl-pulled-alive-from-earthquake-in-japan-5818339/
April 12, 2016
Queensland Approves Coal Mining Project That May Damage Great Barrier Reef. The government of Queensland in Australia has granted a mining license to an India-based mining company to dig the country's largest coal mine — a move that draws criticism amid a severe coral bleaching episode of the Great Barrier Reef. Three licenses issued on April 3 by Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had allowed mining firm Adani to extract coal in the Galilee Basin of the state through a projected Carmichael coal mine.
March 28, 2016
A volcano on a remote Alaskan island has “abruptly erupted” - sending plumes of ash more than 20,000ft into the air and triggering a flight warning. The Pavlof Volcano, located on the Aleutian Islands, began erupting on Sunday afternoon, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. CNN said that a volcano alert warning remained in effect on Monday morning, and the aviation warning colour code remained red, its highest level. Ash was reportedly moving north after the eruption, according to the volcano observatory. Seismic activity was also reported after the quake.
March 22, 2016
New Greenpeace International research released today, on World Water Day, finds that coal power plants around the world consume enough freshwater to sustain one billion people. The World Economic Forum has listed water security as one of the most tangible and fastest-growing social, political and economic challenges faced today. The high water intensity of global energy generation is creating a need for an analysis of water-coal conflict caused by coal power production.
March 18, 2016
As the world stands at a climate crossroads, Earth Hour is inviting people around the world to be a part of the climate action our planet urgently needs. Teams in more than 150 countries are leading the charge to take the movement to new heights, be it by promoting renewable energy through partnerships and petitions, driving awareness on sustainable food and lifestyles or bringing together entire regions to tackle the most pressing climate issues of our generation.
March 10, 2016
In a “Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership” issued today, President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined together to call for historic actions to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and specifically protect the Arctic from fossil fuel exploitation.
February 11, 2016
Attention super-villains: with huge quantities of carbon dioxide, you can evaporate all of Earth’s water off to space. Although it probably won’t happen here, the same process might make Earth-like planets around other stars uninhabitable.
February 10, 2016
Monitoring Earth’s surface every day, ESA’s Proba-V minisatellite has had a ringside seat as the second largest lake in Bolivia gradually dried up.