DDT linked to Alzheimer's disease

long-term exposure to the pesticide (DDT) can increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, research by U.S scientists suggested.

DDT was a massively successful pesticide, initially used to control malaria at the end of World War Two and then it was used to protect crops in commercial agriculture
Alzheimer's Research UK said more evidence was needed to prove DDT had a role in dementia.

Some countries still use the pesticide to control malaria.However the pesticide (DDT) was banned in the US in 1972 and in many other countries. But the World Health Organization still recommends using DDT to keep malaria down.

GM plant trial application submitted

An application to conduct field trials of a genetically modified crop containing Omega-3 fatty acids normally found in oily fish has been submitted.


If approved by the government, the trials could begin at Rothamsted Research agricultural
institute in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, this year.
The initial aim of the crop is to benefit the fish farming industry, the researchers said.

However in a decade it could end up in food products, such as margarine.Currently, farmed fish are given fish oil, rather than feeding on the algae, in order to get their Omega-3.About 80% of available supplies of fish oils are taken by the industry as a result.

Oily fish such as tuna and mackerel do not produce omega-3 fatty acids naturally.Plants like flax and linseed contain Omega-3 fatty acid

Bridwatchers asked to count birds and frogs

For the first time in its 35-year history the Big Garden Birdwatch is also recording mammals and amphibians.

The charity expects half a million people to take part in the survey, based on previous years, making it the world's largest wildlife count.

Many conservationists hope the additional data will help boost studies of the UK's garden species.
The bird charity has partnered with others
in the past on the Make Your Nature Count summer surveys, which ran between 2009 and 2012.

The counts attracted tens of thousands of recordings each year but the charity has set its sights even higher, with one survey encompassing both British birds and other common garden visitors: deer, squirrels, badgers, hedgehogs, frogs and toads.

Pollination by Insects Cause Bigger Apples

Cox's Orange Pippin is an apple cultivar first grown in England,

Pollination can occur in several different ways, but usually plants rely on animals or wind to help pollinate them and help distribute their pollen and seeds.However, a new study shows that apple trees produce bigger, rounder, and more desirable fruit when pollinated by insects in particular.

Researchers studied Cox and Gala apples, two popular varieties in Britain, and valued the annual contribution of insects to these fruits at just under £37 million which is about 60 million American dollars.

The research was conducted on six Cox and Gala orchards in UK. At each site, some of the branches were covered with a fine PVC mesh, allowing wind and rain to get through but keeping insects out.
As a result, trees that were left open to bugs yielded both more fruit, and a larger proportion of higher-value class-one apples.

However, unfortunately in the past 30 years, the number of managed honeybee colonies has fallen by more than half. Due to disease outbreaks, pesticide use, and a decline in the number of bee-keepers, bee populations are on the brink of collapse.According to study by PLOS ONE, more than half of European countries no longer have enough honeybees to pollinate their crops.

GM purple tomatoes coming to shops

The prospect of genetically modified purple tomatoes reaching the shelves has come a step closer.

Their dark pigment is intended to give tomatoes the same potential health benefits as fruit such as blueberries.It was developed in Britain, large-scale production is now under way in Canada with the first 1,200l of the purple tomato juice ready for shipping.

The pigment, known as anthocyanin, is an antioxidant which studies on animals show could help fight cancer.Scientists say the new tomatoes could improve the nutritional value of everything from ketchup to pizza topping.

The tomatoes were developed at the John Innes Centre in Norwich where Prof Cathie Martin hopes the first delivery of large quantities of juice will allow researchers to investigate its potential.

Control of the lion fish

A recent Oregon State University study shows that controlling the invasive lionfish in the western Atlantic Ocean is likely to allow for recovery of native fish. The lionfish is estimated to have wiped out 95% of native fish in some Atlantic locations. This Atlantic invasion is believed to have begun in the 1980s and now covers an area larger than the United States.

With venomous spines and aggressive behavior, the lionfish has no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean and will eat almost anything smaller than they are including fish, shrimp, crabs and octopus. Lion fish can withstand starvation for protracted periods; many of their prey species will disappear before they do.

China to spend £76bn to tackle air pollution

In an attempt to clean up the smoggy air in the Chinese capital, Beijing's authorities have introduced a new set of measures to cut emissions and allocated 760 billion yuan (£75.8 billion) to improve the city's air quality by 2017.

The new measures are part of Beijing's efforts to put in place a national plan introduced in September to reduce the country's dependence on coal in order to improve air quality. A number of China's cities are plagued with air quality problems, which has led to concerns about the environmental costs of the country's massive economic growth.

Last week, Beijing once again suffered hazardous levels of air pollution prompting the city's mayor to announce an "all-out effort" to tackle the smog. Residents were advised to stay indoors as levels of fine particulate pollution known as PM2.5 reached the highest in a year. Unhealthy and even hazardous levels of air pollution have become commonplace in Beijing and in 2013 the city endured a total of 189 polluted air days.

On the West Coast of the U.S., pollution blown in from China can account for 12 to 24 percent of sulfate concentrations on any given day, a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found. That pollution caused Los Angeles to experience an extra day of smog levels that were above the federal health standards for ozone in 2006.

European Union outlines 2030 environmental target

The European Commission has outlined its plans for climate and energy policy until 2030.The Commissioners want a binding target to reduce carbon emissions by 40% from 1990 levels. Renewables will need to provide 27% of EU energy by 2030, but while the target will be binding at EU level there will be no mandatory targets for member states.

The policy proposals are subject to review by heads of government.Green groups have said the new targets lack ambition and the 40% emissions cut is "dangerously low".This wide ranging White Paper will have a significant impact on the way Europe generates its power from 2020 onwards.

The Commission wants to give clarity to investors in renewable energy while at the same time maintaining their leadership role in global climate negotiations. A critical part of that is the headline figure on emissions cuts. The target that was set for 2020 was 20% but the EU as a group had almost reached the goal by 2012.

Some countries including the UK urged the Commission to propose a bigger target of 50% by 2030 whereas others held out for 35%. The move was welcomed by investors. According to the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, who's members manage 7.5 trillion euros, the new target was a good first step.

Scotland had a glacier up to 1700s

Britain's last masses of slow-moving ice and snow were understood to have melted 11,500 years ago.
Dr Kirkbride studied the formation of corries in the Cairngorms.
A corrie is a basin-shaped feature created by glaciations in the mountains.

“present climate warming means there is little chance of a return of glacier ice to the Highlands for the foreseeable future”                                                                                           

 Dr Stephan Harrison University of Exeter

 

Using a technique called cosmogenic 10Be dating, Dr Kirkbride showed that a small glacier in a Cairngorms corrie piled up granite boulders to form moraine ridges within the past few centuries, during the period of cool climate known as the Little Ice Age.

Dundee University said scientists had speculated that glaciers may have re-formed in the Highlands around the time of this Little Ice Age but hard evidence has proved to be elusive.
Dr Kirkbride teamed up with Dr Jez Everest at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, and the Cosmogenic Isotope Analysis Facility at the Scottish Universities Environmental Reactor Centre in East Kilbride, to carry out the research.

Worst year ever for south africa rhino poaching

A total of 1,004 white rhinos were poached last year

More white rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa in 2013 than in any previous year, according to government figures.A total of 1,004 animals were poached, representing a 50% increase over the previous 12 months. 

Campaigners say that a growing demand for rhino horn from markets in Vietnam and China is boosting the killing.They are concerned that illegal hunting on this scale threatens the survival of  the species in the long term.


The White Rhino is one of the world's greatest conservation success stories. At the end of the 19th century there were just 100 alive in South Africa.But today there are around 20,000 according to experts.

But in recent years, the rapid rise of poaching has threatened to undermine the good work.
In 2007, only 13 rhinos were killed in South Africa for their horns; in 2013, it was almost three a day.
Campaigners say that they are concerned that at this rate, the number of deaths will soon surpass births leading to an unavoidable decline.

Australian heatwave cause bush fires

Australian firefighters are tackling fast-moving bushfires as the heatwave in South-east Australia continues.In the state of Victoria, fires in the Northern Grampians area merged into one "out of control" bushfire.

A fire ban has been issued across the state and residents have been urged to evacuate the area.

Soaring temperatures have halted matches at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne with temperatures of 41.7C (107F) on Thursday

Western African lions' population collapse

There has been a "major collapse" in the number of lions in Western Africa, with only around 400 left in the region, a new survey suggests.

With fewer than 250 mature lions of breeding age, there are large amounting concerns the entire population could disappear.

  lions living in western africa now roam in just 1.1% of their historic range in the region. The majority of their habitat has been converted for human agricultural use.

West African Lions have special significance in the culture of the region. They are a symbol of pride for the governments and people, and are represented on the coats of arms of several countries.

$350,000 paid for permit to hunt endangered rhino

A permit to hunt and kill a extremely endangered African black rhino was sold for $350,000 at a closed-door auction in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night.

The Dallas Safari Club in Texas says the money paid for the permit will help protect the species by removing an old aggressive rhino, and funding future conservation.

The Dallas Safari Club which described as being a "organization of hunters, conservationists, and wildlife enthusiasts,"

Chilean fishermen win backing in Bocamina environmental dispute

Chile's Supreme Court has ordered the operator of two coal power plants to ensure the facilities do not pollute the oceans or kill marine life.The judges sided with local fishermen and environmentalists in the Bio Bio region of central Chile. 

They argued that the Bocamina power stations were sucking in crabs, sardines and other species and pumping out warm, contaminated water.The two plants are operated by a subsidiary of Spain's Endesa.    

In March of last year, thousands of dead prawns and dead crabs washed up on a beach in Coronel city near the plants, about 530km (330 miles) from the capital, Santiago.Local fisherman connected the deaths of sea animals to operations at the nearby power station.




Bocamina is one of several energy and mining projects that has come under fire in recent years in Chile.The country will have to try to find a balance between the needs of its mining-dominated economy and environmental protection.

Honeybee shortage threatens crop pollination

In more than half of European countries, there are not enough honeybees to pollinate crops, according to new research by the scientists at Plos One.

                                   

Scientists believe that a boom in biofuels has sparked a massive increase in the need for pollination.The shortage is particularly severe in the untied kingdom (UK) which has only a quarter of the honeybees required.Researchers believe that wild pollinators including bumblebees and hoverflies are making up the shortfall.


Little is known about the number of wild pollinating species as they are not being monitored in the UK. The researchers believe this reliance on them could be hampering yields and putting UK crops at risk.

MPs concerned over environment budget cuts

Substantial cuts to the british government's environment department budget will hamper its future ability to cope with emergencies such as flooding, british MPs fear.They called on Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to clarify which policy areas faced the biggest cuts. 

Mr Paterson has said resources will be shifted to respond to changing needs.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) budget has been cut by £500m since 2010 and must find £300m in savings by 2016.

Coastal and inland defence have been struggling to hold back the water

Prospect deputy secretary general Leslie Manasseh said: "They need to learn the lessons of the experiences of this winter, which have had such a devastating impact on so many people."Mr Paterson responded to this by saying that he had been assured that frontline services would be protected, and promised to keep £370m for vital new flood defences.

Antarctic rescue of Akademik Shokalskiy ship

A helicopter from a Chinese ship set down nearby, bringing in a crew to assess the landing situation.The aircraft left but then returned to begin ferrying the first passengers out to an Australian ice-breaker.The Shokalskiy has been trapped since Christmas Eve.

The reason why the icebreaker repeats scientific investigations made by Douglas Mawson and his team between 1911 and 1914. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's (Amsa) Rescue Co-ordination Centre, which is overseeing the operation, had earlier said it was unlikely the rescue would go ahead on Thursday as hoped because of the sea-ice conditions.

Indonesians flee as fresh volcanic eruptions

Volcanic eruptions from Mt. Sinabung spewed lava and gas in across western Indonesia.

A rumbling volcano in western Indonesia that has been spewing lava and clouds of gas high into the sky let out a new, powerful burst Tuesday, prompting warnings for airplanes and triggering panic among villagers, officials said.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said airlines had been notified to avoid routes near the mountain

Happy New Year

Happy New Year readers I hope have enjoyed all the post I have written .In the next year I promise to post more and add more things. In the next year I will be put up environmental polls to talk about environmental issues such as pesticides