Category Archives: environment

Protests break out at memorial for slain Honduran activist Berta Caceres | News | DW.COM | 05.03.2016

International outrage There has been strong international condemnation of the murder, and the US government on Friday called for a thorough investigation into her death: “The United States condemns the murder of civil society activist Berta Caceres and calls upon the Honduran government to conduct a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation and to ensure those responsible are brought to justice,” a State Department release said. “We offer our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and the people of Honduras, who have lost a dedicated defender of the environment and of human rights. We offer again the full support of the United States to help bring the perpetrators to justice.” A coalition of more than 40 human rights groups from across the Americas called for an “independent, impartial” investigation into the killing.

Source: Protests break out at memorial for slain Honduran activist Berta Caceres | News | DW.COM | 05.03.2016

California Coastal Current : Image of the Day

The waters along the west coast of North America are some of the most biologically productive in the world. Cool water from high latitudes flows southward from the edge of British Columbia to Baja; this is the California Current. At the same time, prevailing northeasterly breezes blow from land to sea and push ocean surface waters away from the coast. As a result, cooler, nutrient-rich water rises up from the depths to take its place—a process known as upwelling. The combination of cool water and abundant nutrients promotes the growth of plant life in the sea, from microscopic phytoplankton to dense kelp forests. Those plants—primary producers—become the center of a food web that includes highly productive fisheries, sizable populations of marine mammals (whales, seals, dolphins), and vast numbers of sea birds. This productive ecosystem can extend as much as 500 kilometers (300 miles) out from the coast.

Source: California Coastal Current : Image of the Day

Avian Flu Diary: Not Without Warning – The Return Of Mosquito Disease Threats

Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya – at least outside of Africa and Asia – have no known non-human animal reservoirs, which means they have a harder time becoming endemic. But when enough people become infected, these viruses are  able to sustain themselves in an Urban Cycle, where transmission is strictly human-to-mosquito-to human. In the middle of the last decade we saw Chikungunya made a break from Africa, and jump to Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean where it reportedly infected about 1/3rd of that island’s population (266,000 case out of  pop.770,000) in a matter of a few months, before moving on to Southeast Asia. About the same time, Dengue began to turn up again in the United States after decades of absence. In January of 2009, in Outnumbered By A Competent Vector, we looked at reports of Dengue’s incursions into Texas and Queensland, Australia. In 2009, Dengue Resurfaced In Key West  after a 70 year absence, but even months before that, we saw a cautionary report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (see NRDC Report: Climate Change and Health Threats) warning that Dengue and other vector borne diseases could one day reestablish themselves in the United States.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Not Without Warning – The Return Of Mosquito Disease Threats

Second Case Of Zika Virus Confirmed In L.A. County: LAist

A pregnant woman from Los Angeles County is infected with Zika virus after traveling abroad, according to a release from the L.A. County Department of Public Health. She’s the second Angeleno to be infected with the virus. The first case was reported in November: a young girl who traveled to El Salvador in November who has since recovered, according the L.A. Times. Though the virus usually presents only minor symptoms, Zika seems to be linked to a surge of microcephaly cases in Brazil. Microcephaly is a birth defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads, leading to brain damage. L.A. County’s Public Health department has issued a travel warning for Angelenos headed to several Latin American and Caribbean countries where Zika infections are more widespread. So far, no one has actually picked up the disease in L.A. However, the Aedes mosquito, the species known to carry the virus, is found throughout the San Gabriel Valley. A total of 14 Californians have been infected with the virus since 2014, including six this year. Like other mosquito transmitted viruses like West Nile, the easiest way to keep risk to a minimum is to eliminate standing water.

Source: Second Case Of Zika Virus Confirmed In L.A. County: LAist

FAO – News Article: Pollinators vital to our food supply under threat

A growing number of pollinator species worldwide are being driven toward extinction by diverse pressures, many of them human-made, threatening millions of livelihoods and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of food supplies, according to the first global assessment of pollinators. However, the assessment, a two-year study conducted and released today by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), also highlights a number of ways to effectively safeguard pollinator populations. The assessment, titled Thematic Assessment of Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production and the first ever issued by IPBES, is a groundbreaking effort to better understand and manage a critical element of the global ecosystem.  It is also the first assessment of its kind that is based on the available knowledge from science and indigenous and local knowledge systems.

Source: FAO – News Article: Pollinators vital to our food supply under threat

Northern Italy’s trees overrun by toxic caterpillar cobwebs – The Local

“Here the plague has reached biblical proportions and has been getting steadily worse for two years,” a resident in the small town of Conclonaz told La Stampa. “We are all full of painful rashes and it hurts to swallow because we’re constantly breathing in the hairs.”

Source: Northern Italy’s trees overrun by toxic caterpillar cobwebs – The Local