News
December 12, 2013
Ottawa (AFP) - Canada signalled intentions to claim the North Pole and surrounding Arctic waters while announcing the filing of a UN application seeking to vastly expand its Atlantic sea boundary.
After a decade of surveying the country's eastern and far north seabeds and gathering supporting evidence, a claim was submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on Friday.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said the filing mainly concerns the outer limits of Canada's continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean.
December 11, 2013
The government of Mexico is going to allow foreign investors to national raw hydrocarbon deposits. In the government of Mexico there are discussions about the admission of foreign investors to the national oil and gas sector. According to the current legislation the transfer of national hydrocarbon resources to foreign companies is prohibited.
December 10, 2013
Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have signed a water sharing pact aimed at one day replenishing the rapidly drying Dead Sea. The agreement will build a pipeline to carry brine from a desalination plant at the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, while providing drinking water to the region. The Dead Sea is dropping by as much as 1m (3.3ft) a year as the River Jordan is depleted for use in irrigation.
November 29, 2013
About 60 % of all drinking water in Europe comes from groundwater. Considering the vital importance of ensuring the quality and the sustainable exploration of the European groundwater bodies, the European Federation of Geologists organised on 22 and 23 November 2013 a Hydrogeology workshop with the theme ‘European water policy: challenges for hydrogeologists’.
November 25, 2013
From 20 to 22 November the Third International scientific-practical conference “Ecological Geology: theory, practice, and regional problems” was held at Voronezh State University (Voronezh, the Russian Federation). The event was hosted in the framework of the European Conservation Year and timed to the 95th anniversary of Voronezh State University. Scientists, representatives of researches and educational institutions, business communities, public authorities, local self-government, geological and ecological companies were attended the conference.
November 19, 2013
“Dirty history” which lasted for nearly 40 years is doted. “In this year the decision about the closure of the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM) can be called an indubitable major environmental victory of Russia and of the whole word,” – today said the Minister of natural resources and ecology (MNR) S. Donskoy on the Public Council under MNR meeting. According to him remediation measures and environmental renovation of the Baikal natural territory started in 2013 are pilot projects.
November 16, 2013
On 14 November the Appeal Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation agreed with the Supreme Court decision and recognized the gold mining in the Yugyd Va National Park (the Komi Republic) illegal.The Court recognized as not corresponding to the Russian legislation the adopted by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Park regulations that excludes from its territory the Chudnoye gold mining deposit.
November 8, 2013
The nations that make decisions about Antarctic fishing failed Friday for a third time to agree on a plan that would create the world's largest marine sanctuary. The U.S. and New Zealand had proposed creating a reserve in the pristine Ross Sea. At 517,000 square miles, the sanctuary would have been twice the size of Texas. The proposal, a decade in the making, had been scaled back from earlier plans. Many countries hoped that would be enough to entice previous objectors Russia and Ukraine to agree. Those countries are among several that have fishing interests in the region.
November 01, 2013
The interactive nature Museum was launched in Kronotsky National Biosphere Reserve (Kamchatka territory, RF). The opening ceremony took place on 1 November 2013, and was dedicated to «birthday» of the natural reserve. The exhibition presents the unique ecosystems of the Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve and South Kamchatka Sanctuary. By virtue of the new Museum visitors will be able to take part in a guided tour and watch the video scenes in 3D. Students of Elisovsky boarding school # 1, children's educational center “Flash” and the children’s art school were the first visitors.
October 22, 2013
Publishing House “Routledge” published the monograph of David Groenfeldt “Water Ethics. A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis”. This book introduces the idea that ethics are an intrinsic dimension of any water policy, program, or practice, and that understanding what ethics are being acted out in water policies is fundamental to an understanding of water resource management. Thus in controversies or conflicts over water resource allocation and use, an examination of ethics can help clarify the positions of conflicting parties as preparation for constructive negotiations.