Category Archives: environment

Monarch butterfly population likely to quadruple, says Mexico | News | DW.COM | 13.11.2015

“We estimate that the butterfly population that arrives at the reserve is as much as three and could reach four times the surface area it occupied last season,” Mexican Environment Secretary Rafael Pacchiano said at a press conference at the Piedra Herrada monarch reserve.Monarch populations have witnessed a steady plunge of nearly 90 percent since their peak, hitting roughly 35 million between 2013 and 2014, a stark contrast to around one billion in the mid-1990s.US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who addressed reporters alongside Pacchiano, said that the North American countries are making concerted efforts to impede illegal logging and plant more milkweeds, which the monarch butterflies use to produce offspring.

Source: Monarch butterfly population likely to quadruple, says Mexico | News | DW.COM | 13.11.2015

EU report declares glyphosate herbicides safe despite UN results | News | DW.COM | 13.11.2015 {The “fix” is in – follow the money!}

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said glyphosate, a key ingredient in the Monsanto-made herbicide Roundup, is unlikely to cause cancer in humans through a report on Thursday.The agency advises the European Commission and its report could lead the 28-member European Union to renew approval of the herbicide. Back in March, the UN’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had classified products containing glyphosate as “probably” carcinogenic.The EFSA is proposing to set a higher safe limit of human exposure to glyphosate, at 0.5 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. The previous EU evaluation had set an acceptable daily intake of 0.3 milligrams per kg of body weight.

Source: EU report declares glyphosate herbicides safe despite UN results | News | DW.COM | 13.11.2015

Asymptomatic human dengue cases spread virus to mosquitoes | Vaccine News

sort of makes us the carrier – the vector –

“This finding raises the possibility that people with few or no symptoms — in other words the majority of those infected by dengue — may actually be contributing to the spread of the virus without realizing it,” Louis Lambrechts, a CNRS scientist in charge of the Insect-Virus Interactions Group at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, said.
This 75 percent may be part of the virus’ spread, and these research results may alter how scientists understand the epidemiology of dengue fever.
“These data should lead us to revisit our approach to the early management of dengue epidemics,” Veasna Duong, a scientist in the Virology Unit directed by Philippe Buchy at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, said. “Transmission rate estimates will also have to be adjusted to ensure sufficient vaccination coverage for the vaccines currently under development.”

Source: Asymptomatic human dengue cases spread virus to mosquitoes | Vaccine News

Greenpeace India to Appeal Cancellation of Legal Registration | News | PND

While the notice of cancellation came from the Registrar of Societies in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where Greenpeace India is registered, the environmental group has indicated it believes the Ministry of Home Affairs is behind the move. In September, a High Court judge blocked a separate attempt by the ministry to cancel the organization’s license to receive international funds under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, granting the organization an interim eight-week stay. Greenpeace India’s license had been suspended and its bank accounts frozen since April.The cancellation of the organization’s legal registration is seen by many as the latest example of an ongoing government clampdown on foreign-based or -funded NGOs whose work it sees as opposed to its economic agenda.

Source: Greenpeace India to Appeal Cancellation of Legal Registration | News | PND

Yemen Braces for Another Cyclone : Image of the Day

For the second time in a week, a major cyclone moved toward the Arabian Peninsula and the nation of Yemen. To have a cyclone or hurricane hit any nation twice in a week is not a common occurrence; to have two storms to hit one region of the Middle East is unprecedented. Only three cyclones have made landfall on the Peninsula across six decades of records.Cyclone Megh has already battered Socotra, an island off the Yemeni coast in the Arabian Sea. The storm passed over the island on November 8, 2015, with estimated wind speeds approaching 125 miles per hour. U.S. Navy forecasters predict that Megh will make landfall near Aden, on the mainland of Yemen, on November 10. The winds are likely to be tropical storm force by then, though the system should drop copious amounts of rain on the desert nation. Rainfall last week led to extensive flooding in central and eastern Yemen.

Source: Yemen Braces for Another Cyclone : Image of the Day