Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
Water shortages in the Mediterranean, flash floods along the Rhine and summers so hot that nuclear power stations can't cool down. This is what Europe can expect as its climate warms over the next decades, a European Union paper warned Friday, as it laid out options for what governments can do now to prepare for the effects of climate change. A warmer atmosphere is a wetter atmosphere, and that already means more rain and snow in northern Europe and more frequent droughts in the south. The paper says that taking early action would save on future costs. Without flood defenses to cope with rising sea levels, damages would be four times higher, it estimates.
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Friday, July 6th, 2007
The start of summer has led to a clashing of conservation and tourism on the island of Yakushima, Japan. This island is home to the primary rookery for the North Pacific loggerhead sea turtle where more than 30 percent of nesting occurs. Listed as globally endangered by the World Conservation Union, loggerheads have declined dramatically to only 2,000 nesting females per year.
Critical conservation concerns at the Yakushima nesting beaches are related to a growing tourism market since the island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.
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Thursday, July 5th, 2007
On Midsummers Day in 1919, a German Admiral ordered the German High Seas Fleet to be scuttled. Seventy-four German ships had been anchored at the Orkney Islands of Scotland. They were sunk to prevent them being divided up amongst the allies. Many of the ships were recovered for salvage; but those remaining submerged have helped make Scapa Flow into one of the most popular dive sites in Europe. Lawson Wood's new book is a comprehensive guide to diving Scapa Flow. Read full review...
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Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Corals stressed by warming conditions may benefit from the passage of a hurricane -- as long as it doesn't slam right into them. Bleaching of corals has been a growing problem in recent years with the loss of algae or reduction of pigment in the living corals that occurs when they are stressed by warming water.
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Wednesday, July 4th, 2007
Fish use the threat of punishment to keep would-be jumpers in the mating queue firmly in line and the social order stable, a new study led has found. In fact the subordinate fish deliberately diet - or starve themselves - in order to remain smaller than their superiors and so present no threat that might lead to their being cast out, and perishing as a result. each fish has a size difference of about 5 per cent from the one above and the one below it in the queue. If the difference in size decreases below this threshold, a challenge is on as the junior fish tries to jump the mating queue - and the superior one responds by trying to drive it out of the group.
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