Archive for March 26th, 2011

Tasmania’s rainforest at risk from mining

Independent: Considered one of Australia's natural wonders, the Tarkine Wilderness in Tasmania contains the southern hemisphere's largest temperate rainforest as well as ancient Aboriginal sites. Home to dozens of endangered species, it also has a unique landscape of karst gorges and cave systems. But that may not be enough to save it. The Australian Heritage Council has no doubts about its significance -- it has recommended that nearly half a million hectares of the Tarkine be listed to protect them from...

Five countries sign for ‘European Amazon’ reserve

AFP: Five central European countries signed an accord to launch a cross-border nature reserve in an area known as Europe's Amazon at a meeting of environmental ministers that ended Saturday. The declaration signed by Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia paves the way for the creation of the world?s first five-country protected area, international environmental group WWF said, hailing the accord. It will be "a first in the region and the first created by five countries," added Hungary's...

Heavy snowstorms consistent with a warming planet, scientist says

Tahoe Daily Tribune: -Global warming could make record-setting snowstorms in some parts of the country more common, but not in the Sierra Nevada, according to scientists with the Union for Concerned Scientists. "Heavy snowstorms are not inconsistent with a warming planet," said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for www.wunder ground.com, in a statement from the Union. "In fact, as the Earth gets warmer, and more moisture gets absorbed into the atmosphere, we are steadily loading the dice in favor of more extreme...

Avatar cast to seek inspiration from Amazon forest

Indian Television: James Cameron is considering bringing in the cast of the Avatar sequels to Brazil's Amazonian rain forest in order to get in touch and be inspired by the place and its many indigenous tribes. "Avatar is a film about the rain forest and its indigenous people. Before I start to shoot the two films I want to bring my actors here, so I can better tell this story", the Canadian director is reported to have said. "Actors could learn about the natives and what real life in the jungle is like", he...

United Kingdom: Sixth police spy in protest movement unmasked

Guardian: A sixth police officer has been unmasked as an undercover spy in the protest movement as it emerged that Mark Kennedy, who spent seven years posing as an environmental activist, is considering suing Scotland Yard. In an interview with the Guardian Weekend magazine, Kennedy, who went "rogue" and offered to help environmental campaigners accused of planning to break into a power station, says he has suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder and has been suicidal. His lawyers have been instructed...