Archive for March 2nd, 2015

New film on China’s pollution sparks debate, seen as milestone

Reuters: Could "Under the Dome", Chinese journalist Chai Jing's new documentary about pollution, become China's "Silent Spring", the 1962 book that spurred the development of the U.S. environmental movement? Since it was released online on Saturday, the film has been viewed more than 150 million times and has sparked a national debate on environmental problems. "Under the Dome", which explains air pollution in personal, straight-forward terms, was well-timed: this week China's National People's Congress,...

Without its rainforest, the Amazon will turn to desert

Ecologist: It is not - as described in climatological models - the mass circulation of air which drives the hydrological cycle, but the hydrological cycle which drives the mass circulation of air. Imagine being in one of the wettest rainforests in the world with three outstanding physicists concerned with the thorny question as to how is it conceivably possible for the rainfall to be as high, if not higher, thousands of kilometres inland than it is at the coast. Indeed, Leticia, in the Colombian Amazon,...

Researchers: Rising seas threaten rare Everglades plants

Associated Press: Rising sea levels and invasive species increasingly threaten rare plants in Everglades National Park that have not yet recovered from damage caused by orchid collectors long ago or attempts to drain the swamps, according to a 10-year survey released Monday. The report by the Institute for Regional Conservation concludes that the unique plants native to South Florida may be lost despite multibillion-dollar efforts to restore the wetlands. Other studies of the Everglades` natural resources have reached...