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Viral epidemic hits Mediterranean
Striped dolphins in the Spanish Mediterranean are under attack from a virus similar to measles that could kill roughly 75,000 of the creatures before the disease loses steam.
Authorities confirmed the disease, Morbillivirus, was also responsible for a plague that killed hundreds of thousands of dolphins in the early 1990s and also recently affected the Canary Island right whale population.
This is definitely not the year for dolphins -- perhaps you remember the reports late last year of the Yangtze River dolphin effectively becoming extinct. Human impacts, including industrial pollution, boat traffic, and overfishing, were to blame. A video surfaced earlier this summer showing Brazilian fishermen killing 83 dolphins for kicks.
True, this virus may be a natural phenomenon despite its disastrous potential. Things like poaching, pollution and overfishing can be prevented and helped -- and should be.
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Vietnam hospital waste turned into plastic utensils
Recycling gone bad: Environmental officers in Vietnam have found that nearly 300 tonnes of medical waste from a Hanoi hospital was illegally processed into household plastic utensils, state media said […]
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Drinking water across the globe contaminated by arsenic, says research
Some 137 million people across the globe unknowingly consume water with unsafe levels of arsenic, according to new research. The odorless, tasteless chemical occurs naturally in soil, but also reaches […]
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Crushed glass may help replenish Florida beaches
In order to deal with the constant erosion of Florida’s beaches, one county has decided to stop building outrageously expensive real estate so close to the water’s edge it practically […]
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Iceland announces it will reinstate whaling ban next year
Rejoining the 21st century is Iceland, who after lifting its 10-year-old whaling ban just a year ago, announced it will reinstate the ban for the coming season because the whaling market just isn't as lucrative as it used to be.
The Iceland announcement marks a victory for whales, though many obstacles remain. Bycatch still threatens the survival of many smaller whale species and sonar disorients whales, which use sound to communicate and to navigate their migration routes.
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Maybe-extinct Chinese river dolphin maybe spotted
Competing with the maybe-alive maybe-not ivory-billed woodpecker in the United States for Most Ethereal Species, a rare Chinese river dolphin thought to be extinct as of last December may have […]
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My Art Will Go On
Grist reporters and guest brains address Leo’s 11th Hour Superbad may have topped box office sales this past weekend, but Leonardo DiCaprio’s eco-documentary The 11th Hour, which opened in theaters […]
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Gorges Ain’t Gorgeous
China’s Three Gorges Dam plagued by environmental problems China’s Three Gorges Dam got a lot of flak during construction for its environmental impact and for uprooting over 1 million people. […]
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A Playg on the Playground
Green group finds some New Orleans playgrounds contaminated with arsenic Some playgrounds and schoolyards in New Orleans may be contaminated with high levels of arsenic swept in by Hurricane Katrina, […]
