No more tuna sandwiches for you, Hobbes. The fish are disappearing. A crucial meeting held last month to discuss plans to conserve tuna populations in the Eastern Pacific ocean failed to reach a consensus. This was a gathering of member countries of the IATTC (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission) in Panama ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in July 2008, about Agriculture & Food, Consumerism, Environment & Wildlife, Water
The 25-member African organisation CEN-SAD (Community of Sahel-Saharan States) has initiated a project to build a Great Green Wall across the continent from Mauritania in West Africa to Djibouti in the East. The project is an attempt to stop growing desertification in the northern regions of the continent. Other key ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in July 2008, about Agriculture & Food, Climate Change, Deforestation, Environment & Wildlife, Politics & Government
After a protracted two-year delay, the US government recently listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A few weeks ago, a federal judge had issued something of an ultimatum to the government asking them to make a final decision by 15 May 2008. Studies have estimated ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in May 2008, about Coal & Oil, Environment & Wildlife, Politics & Government, Weather
I've often wondered what happened to the carbon dioxide emitted from various natural sources, including volcanoes which can spew out in few days what it takes a coal-energy plant an entire year to emit. Don't these natural 'emissions' themselves contribute to global warming? Was there such a thing ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in May 2008, about Climate Change, Environment & Wildlife
I thought there were some things we couldn't put a price on. Like the inarticulable pleasure the shade of a tree provides. But a group in the UK has come up with just such an idea -- the rather stodgily named Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT). In a ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in May 2008, about Environment & Wildlife
It's called the Nano. At $2,700 and 50 mpg, it's the world's cheapest car, and will soon be available in the world's most densely populated nation. It costs just a little more than the ubiquitous three-wheeled auto-rickshaw that clogs Indian roads, and a 100 million ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in January 2008, about Consumerism, Industry & Business, Transport (1 comment)
The Polar Bear is skating on thin ice On 9 January, the US Fish and Wildlife service was to announce a decision on a proposal made one year ago to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The prime threat to the biggest land carnivore is ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in January 2008, about Coal & Oil, Environment & Wildlife, Industry & Business
Four thousand walruses are estimated to have died between summer and fall this year on the Russian side of the Bering Straits. Walruses are known to 'haulout' in large numbers on beaches. They cannot swim indefinitely and haul themselves ashore or onto sea ice to rest, a few weeks at ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in December 2007, about Climate Change, Environment & Wildlife
Everything you do, we can do better (read cheaper), seems to be the rallying cry of Chinese industry. In a country with negligible demand for hybrid cars owing to cheap fuel prices, the only means to create a market might be to introduce a product that costs half as much ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in December 2007, about Transport
Editor's Note: Today we welcome Pavithra Sankaran to the writing team. Pavithra is from India, but currently resides in the UK - and has a broad range of experience in science, literature, TV journalism and more. Pavithra gets off to a great start today, giving us some insights into the ... keep reading
Written by Pavithra Sankaran in December 2007, about Coal & Oil, Politics & Government, Weather
