Environment

Antibiotic use on Kenya’s dairy farms is putting consumers and animals at risk

By Dishon Muloi, International Livestock Research Institute and Arshnee Moodley, CGIAR System Organization Farmers often use antibiotics to keep their livestock healthy. They’re sometimes used as “quick fixes”, to avoid more costly management measures like regular disinfection, waste management, routine vaccination or provision of clean drinking water. Animal husbandry now accounts for about two thirds of the global consumption of antibiotics. As livestock and fish production […]

22 February, 2024

Environment

Earth’s early evolution: fresh insights from rocks formed 3.5 billion years ago

The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains look peaceful today - but 3.5 billion years ago the earth there was roiled by volcanoes. Instinctively RDH/Shutterstock Jaganmoy Jodder, University of the Witwatersrand Our Earth is around 4.5 billion years old. Way back in its earliest years, vast oceans dominated. There were frequent volcanic eruptions and, because there was no free oxygen in the atmosphere, there was no ozone layer. It was a dynamic and […]

22 February, 2024

Environment

Scientists study levels of toxic mercury in Antarctic mammals

Marine biologists collect skin samples from humpback whales and leopard seals in Antarctica to detect the presence of mercury in their bodies. The toxic heavy metal is believed to reach the ocean through rivers or rain. According to the UN environmental agency UNEP, if an animal consumes mercury, it may suffer "reproductive failure, behavioural changes and may even (die)."

21 February, 2024

Environment

In Cambodia, an official’s cashew factory churns out timber from a protected forest

By Gerald Flynn & Phoung Vantha Vegetation lurches over a concrete wall that runs alongside a quiet road in the northern Cambodian province of Preah Vihear. Behind the wall, and the rusty gate that serves as the only entrance point, sits one of Cambodia’s three medium-sized cashew nut processing factories. At 2 p.m. on a Thursday in late November last year, the road is silent under the […]

20 February, 2024

Environment

In Brazil’s soy belt, community seed banks offer hope for the Amazon

By Ana Ionova Not too long ago, the plot of land that Maria Ivonete de Souza inherited was barren, the soil hardened by years of cattle ranching. When the family had arrived to the Amazon from southern Brazil four decades earlier, her father had swiftly cleared the dense rainforest to make way for pasture. “He razed it all by hand, with a saw and an ax,” Souza […]

20 February, 2024

Environment

Namibia strengthens climate resilience with insurance pact

The Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia and the Namibia Special Risks Insurance Association Limited have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. According to EIF spokesperson Lot Ndamanomhata, the agreement will advance climate change-related insurance products that support sustainable development.

19 February, 2024

Africa

Oromia makes up a third of Ethiopia’s landmass and is key to its fortunes: expert unpacks its significance

By Bizuneh Yimenu, University of Birmingham Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region, Oromia, has been in the news following reports of a rise in kidnappings for ransom. The region is no stranger to war and strife. Its people have long fought against political marginalisation. But the region is more than just the site of conflict. We asked Bizuneh Yimenu, who’s researched the region for over a decade […]

19 February, 2024

Environment

Rhinos can’t sweat, making them vulnerable to overheating: global warming could wipe them out in southern Africa

By Timothy Randhir, UMass Amherst Southern Africa is home to 22,137 of the world’s 23,432 white and black African rhinos. But they’re facing grave threats because of a warming planet. Now, the first study of how climate change affects rhinos in southern Africa has found that they will cease to exist in the region’s national parks by 2085 if the world takes the worst-case scenario climate change […]

16 February, 2024

Environment

Bangkok says work from home as pollution blankets city

Bangkok city employees have been told to work from home to avoid harmful air pollution, as a layer of noxious haze blanketed the Thai capital on Thursday. City authorities asked for cooperation from employers to help workers in the city of about 11 million people avoid the pollution, which is expected to last into Friday. The air monitoring website IQAir ranked Bangkok among the 10 most polluted cities […]

15 February, 2024