Monday, November 9, 2009

Latest Newz from Earth !!

Over 17,000 species threatened by extinction

‘These results are just the tip of the iceberg,’ conservationist says

Image: a Rabbs Fringe-limbed Treefrog
The Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, which only became known to scientists four years ago, is one of 1,895 amphibian species that could soon disappear in the wild, a conservation group said Tuesday.

GENEVA - A rare Panamanian tree frog, a rodent from Madagascar and two lizards found only in the Philippines are among over 17,000 species threatened with extinction, a leading environmental group said Tuesday.
The Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, only discovered four years ago, is one of 1,895 amphibian species that could soon disappear from the wild because of deforestation and infection, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said.
The Switzerland-based group surveyed 47,677 animals and plants for this year's "Red List" of endangered species, determining that 17,291 of them are at risk of extinction.


Kilimanjaro's Snows Gone by 2022?

John Roach
for National Geographic News
November 2, 2009
Ernest Hemingway must be reaching for a bottle of grappa in his grave. The snows of Kilimanjaro—inspirations for a Hemingway story of the same name—could be gone by 2022, a new study confirms.
The ice atop Kilimanjaro "continues to diminish right on schedule for disappearing, unfortunately, in the next couple of decades," said glaciologist Lonnie Thompson at Ohio State University in Columbus.

Ocean Power Wins Grant For Australian Wave Project

Date: 09-Nov-09
Country: UK
Author: Victoria Bryan
Ocean Power Wins Grant For Australian Wave Project Photo: Tim Wimborne
A man swims laps in an oceanside pool as waves smash over the pool wall at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach October 5, 2009.
Photo: Tim Wimborne
LONDON - Renewable energy firm Ocean Power Technologies has won a A$66.5 million ($61 million) grant from the Australian government for a project set to be one of the first to generate power from waves on a utility scale.
Ocean Power, which is listed in both the U.S. and London, said on Friday work on the 19 megawatt project, enough to power 10,000 homes, was expected to begin by the second quarter of 2010.
The company uses buoys floating up and down to drive an electrical generator, with the power generated being transmitted onshore via an underwater cable.
The project off the coast of Victoria is being carried out in conjunction with Leighton Contractors, a unit of Australian mining contractor Leighton Holdings.
The Australian government is aiming to generate 20 percent of the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and the grant awarded to Ocean Power forms part of funding totaling A$235 million for four renewable energy projects.

Going To 2010 Games? Offset Your Carbon



The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), which has vowed to make the 2010 Games carbon neutral, unveiled plans to reduce the 150,000 tonnes of indirect greenhouse gas emissions expected to be produced as a result of the event.
Indirect emissions include those produced by the airplane flights that thousands of spectators and journalists will take to and from the event on Canada's Pacific Coast. The Winter Games start on February 12.
VANOC said it is on schedule to offset all 118,000 tonnes of direct emissions linked to Games, such as those produced venue construction, the torch relay run and travel by Olympic staff over which organizers have control.


BP Eyes Production Of New Biofuel Types


Oil major BP may start construction next year of a cellulosic biofuel plant as part of a push toward commercial production of new types of biofuels from next year, the head of the group's biofuels division said.



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