China plans to build railway through the Amazon

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The Guardian reports on a planned railway line that will run from one side of South America to the other, cutting through the Amazon in the process:

China's plans to build a railway through the Amazon jungle are likely to be met with resistance from environmental groups and indigenous organizations. Image credit: xura on freedigitalphotos.net

China’s plans to build a railway through the Amazon jungle are likely to be met with resistance from environmental groups and indigenous organizations.
Image credit: xura on freedigitalphotos.net

Chinese premier Li Keqiang is to push controversial plans for a railway through the Amazon rainforest during a visit to South America next week, despite concerns about the possible impact on the environment and on indigenous tribes.

Currently just a line on a map, the proposed 5,300km route in Brazil and Peru would reduce the transport costs for oil, iron ore, soya beans and other commodities, but cut through some of the world’s most biodiverse forest.

(Break)

China is playing an increasing role in Latin America, having tripled its share of regional exports in the past decade – particularly of food and minerals. But there is a considerable cost in terms of environmental degradation and social conflict, according to a recent Boston University study. Although major Chinese firms have put in place improved guidelines, conservationists and campaigners for indigenous rights fear this project will continue that trend by carving up nature reserves, crossing the land of uncontacted tribes and opening up indigenous land for development. This is expected to prompt an outcry.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on China plans to build railway through the Amazon

Violent flooding hits the city of Izmir in Turkey

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The Washington Post reports on recent flooding in Turkey (video in original report):

A half hour of incredible rainfall led to violent flooding in the city streets of Izmir, Turkey on Wednesday.

Heavy rain and hail fell on the high elevations of eastern Turkey starting in the mid-afternoon. “Meanwhile, social media users circulated striking photographs on the Internet showing the gravity of the situation,” reports the Istanbul-based Cihan News Agency. Cihan also reports that a man who was swept away by the flood water managed to survive after being dragged a quarter of a mile downstream. CNNturk.com has photos of the man as he was carried away.

Apparently this area of Izmir is prone to flooding, and the administrator of the Trakya neighborhood has asked the municipality for storm gutters to no avail.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Violent flooding hits the city of Izmir in Turkey

Saiga population in central Asia has decreased dramatically in recent years

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Mother Nature Network reports on the decline in the number of Saiga (a species of antelope unique to central Asia) in the last 15 years:

The population of Saiga has fallen by 95% in the last 15 years. Image credit: Seilov on Wikimedia Commons.

The population of Saiga has fallen by 95% in the last 15 years.
Image credit: Seilov on Wikimedia Commons.

This strange antelope looks like something out of the ice age. That’s because it is. The saiga is a small species of antelope found in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It once ranged across Europe and Asia, grazing among mammoths and dodging sabre-toothed tigers.

(Break)

The Wildlife Conservation Network states, “The saiga population crashed by 95% in fifteen years, the fastest decline ever recorded for a mammal species … The fate of the saiga was closely tied to the economic downfall of the USSR in 1991, which resulted in the collapse of rural economies and in turn led to widespread unemployment and poverty. Saiga poaching provided a source of food and income. Saiga grazing is also threatened by increasing livestock numbers.”

The horns are sold to Chinese markets where it is believed to have medicinal effects, however there is no scientific founding for any health benefits.

“Only saiga males bear the precious horn and as a result poachers aim to kill males,” says the Saiga Conservation Trust. “Unfortunately, because of this selective hunting for males, the number of adult males dropped dramatically. During the rut there were not enough males to mate with all the females, which led to a reproductive collapse. The direct poaching offtake coupled with the reproductive collapse meant that saiga populations declined at unprecedented rates.”

Saigas declined from well over a million individuals to a low of 20,000 individuals. Today, the population hovers somewhere around 50,000 saiga across the entire range.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Saiga population in central Asia has decreased dramatically in recent years

Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen resume after truce comes to an end

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The Economic Times (of India) reports on the ending of a 5-day ceasefire between Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels in Yemen:

Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Shiite rebels resumed on Monday and fierce clashes were underway across the impoverished country after a five-day truce expired.

The cease-fire had been repeatedly violated, with both the rebels, known as Houthis, and Saudi-backed forces loyal to exiled Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi trading blame for the continued violence.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes to convene a peace conference on Yemen in the near future, but wants the fighting to stop before he sends out invitations, his spokesman said.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq also said Yemen’s health facilities reported higher casualties from the conflict which “are likely to be underestimates” _ 1,820 people killed and 7,330 wounded since March 19. He said aid groups estimate that more than 545,000 people were displaced between March 26, when the airstrikes began, and May 7.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen resume after truce comes to an end

After explosion at NY nuclear plant, concerns of environmental damage

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Wtvr.com reports on a recent fire and oil leak at New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant:

Oil has spilt into the Hudson River following a fire at the nuclear plant at Indian Point. The environmental impact of this has yet to be seen. Image credit: silvervoyager on freeimageslive.co.uk

Oil has spilt into the Hudson River following a fire at the nuclear plant at Indian Point. The environmental impact of this has yet to be seen.
Image credit: silvervoyager on freeimageslive.co.uk

A day after a transformer fire at New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant sent thick, black smoke billowing over the facility, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned of a new threat to the area — gallons of oil spilling into the adjacent Hudson River.

“There is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River,” Cuomo told reporters Sunday, speaking at the plant. “Exactly how much, we don’t know.”

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was on scene in Buchanan, New York, at the site of the fire and on the river Saturday night into Sunday, monitoring what Commissioner Joseph Martens called an oil sheen of up to 300 feet in diameter.

The transformer that failed ruptured during the fire, leaking oil onto the ground, Cuomo said. The oil was first caught in a holding tank but spilled over into a Hudson-bound drainage system after reaching capacity.

A spokesman for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission estimated the volume of oil spilled to be several thousand gallons, though Cuomo and Martens would not confirm the number.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on After explosion at NY nuclear plant, concerns of environmental damage

U.S. May Risk Conflict With China Over South China Sea

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The Wall Street Journal reports on the potential for conflict between the US and China over China’s actions to assert its sovereignty in the South China Sea:

China and the US may potentially come into armed conflict over China's island-building projects to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Image credit: vectorolie on freedigitalphotos.net

China and the US may potentially come into armed conflict over China’s island-building projects to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Image credit: vectorolie on freedigitalphotos.net

After repeated and unheeded warnings to China to halt its massive reclamation works in the South China Sea, the U.S. is contemplating an option fraught with danger: limited, but direct, military action.

By sending U.S. warplanes over artificial islands that China is building, and sailing naval vessels close by—an option now under consideration, according to U.S. officials in Washington—America could end up being sucked more deeply into an increasingly heated territorial dispute between China and its neighbors, say regional security experts.

If such action fails to deter China, America will face a hard choice: back down and damage its credibility with friends and allies in the region, or escalate with the risk of being drawn into open conflict with China.

China immediately suggested that America would be crossing a line if it goes ahead with the plan. “Do you think we would support that move?” asked Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “Freedom of navigation definitely does not mean the military vessel or aircraft of a foreign country can willfully enter the territorial waters or airspace of another country.”

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.newmessage.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on U.S. May Risk Conflict With China Over South China Sea

Russia Is Running Out of Forest

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Jim Brennan

This article by the Moscow Times discusses the problems facing the Russian logging industry:

Russia is set to face a shortage of commercially valuable timber in the next decade or so if forest management practices don't improve. Image credit: pakorn on freedigitalphotos.net

Russia is set to face a shortage of commercially valuable timber in the next decade or so if forest management practices don’t improve.
Image credit: pakorn on freedigitalphotos.net

It seems unfeasible that Russia, which holds a fifth of the planet’s forests, could run out of wood.

And yet it is happening, at least with commercially usable forests, environmental analysts say.

The Russian logging industry will face lack of harvestable timber in 10 to 20 years, a short time by the standards of an industry naturally tied to slow tree growth cycles, according to their consensus.

“We are already past the point of no return,” Konstantin Kobyakov, who oversees the protection of high conservation value forest at WWF Russia, told The Moscow Times.

To keep the logging industry on the rails, Russia needs to go from extensive to intensive forest management — i.e. from clearing forests once and moving to new territories to replanting them, industry players and officials agree.

But the process requires massive reform and multibillion-dollar investment that would take decades to recoup — neither of which is likely to materialize anytime soon, given Russia’s flagging economy and dismally unstable investment climate.

“No one needs a crisis, but it looks like that is the only way we’ll learn,” Kobyakov said in a telephone interview earlier this month.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Russia Is Running Out of Forest

5 Killed in Saudi Border City By Shelling from Yemen

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Business Standard reports on cross-border violence between Yemen and Saudi Arabia:

Shelling from Yemen has resulted in the deaths of 5 people in the Saudi border city of Najran. Houthi rebels have been blamed for the attack. Image credit: taesmileland on freedigitalphotos.net.

Shelling from Yemen has resulted in the deaths of 5 people in the Saudi border city of Najran. Houthi rebels have been blamed for the attack.
Image credit: taesmileland on freedigitalphotos.net.

Shells fired from Yemen killed five people in Saudi Arabia today in a second day of cross-border bombing blamed on Shiite Huthi rebels, civil defence authorities said.

Two civilians in a car and two passers-by were killed by a shell in the city of Najran, while 11 others were wounded, the civil defence department said in a statement carried by the SPA state news agency.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on 5 Killed in Saudi Border City By Shelling from Yemen

Pesticide Use May Threaten Global Freshwater Biodiversity

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Nature World News reports on the findings of a recent study into global freshwater pesticide levels:

Pesticide use, while it’s been tied to a decline in honeybee populations and other pollinators, now may also threaten global freshwater biodiversity, according to new research.

Specifically, it’s insecticides, a type of pesticide that is used to specifically target and kill insects, that are the problem. Despite the fact that insecticide use is regulated, and cannot surpass legally-accepted regulatory threshold levels (RTLs), it appears that they are still causing problems for various ecosystems and aquatic wildlife.

Researchers at the Institute for Environmental Science of the University of Koblenz-Landau evaluated for the first time comprehensive global insecticide contamination data for agricultural surface waters. They found that in water-phase samples, with hints of insecticide concentration, more than 40 percent exceeded respective RTLs. What’s more, in sediment samples, more than 80 percent of the insecticide concentrations exceeded RTLs.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.newmessage.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Pesticide Use May Threaten Global Freshwater Biodiversity

Islamist Fighters Seize Southern Border Crossing in Syria

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Voice of America reports on developments in the war in Syria:

The hardline Ahrar al-Sham group in Syria and other insurgents seized a crossing in the southwest frontier area near Israel on Thursday from a small group of rival Islamist fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

If confirmed, the capture would represent a further advance for Ahrar al-Sham, one of the main jihadist groups in Syria alongside Islamic State and al Qaeda’s Syria wing Nusra Front.

In the northwestern Idlib province, Ahrar al-Sham is part of an Islamist alliance which has taken strategic territory from government forces in recent weeks, suggesting the group has recovered after its senior leadership was wiped out last year.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Islamist Fighters Seize Southern Border Crossing in Syria