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The Fortnight
Seal hunt kicks off amid protests
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
Canada's annual seal hunt, the world's largest marine mammal hunt, kicked off on March 28. To curb international protests over the hunt, the Canadian government has come up with new rules, saying that more humane killing methods will be followed this year. Total catch limit of harp seals for the year is 275,000.
Australia launches CCS project
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
Australia has launched its first carbon capture and storage (ccs) project. Touted as the deepest geological storage of CO2, the project will capture and compress about 100,000 tonnes of CO2 and inject it into a depleted natural gas reservoir two km underground.
Guinea charges fuel, subsidizes food
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
Following soaring fuel prices in the international market, the Guinean government has suspended its long-used subsidies on diesel and petrol. The government had used the subsidies to quell tensions over rising cost of living.
US states sue EPA again
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
A group of 18 us states and environmental organizations have once again sued the us environmental protection agency (epa). The petition is an attempt to force the us government to come up with a legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.
South Africa hunts for TB patients
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
More than 30 people suffering from extreme- or multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (tb) in South Africa ran away from a hospital in Port Elizabeth in the last week of March. The patients forced their way out of the Jose Pearson Hospital after taking off their protective masks and intimidating security guards. They wanted to visit their families over Easter.
Northern Ireland rides on tidal power
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
The world's largest tidal turbine, weighing 1,000 tonnes, has been installed in Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough.
It is the first commercial tidal turbine, which will generate enough energy to power a thousand local homes. The turbine will begin operations later this year. It will be positioned 400 metres off the shoreline in Strangford Lough, known for its fast tidal current. Its twin rotors measuring about 16 metres in diameter will operate for 18-20 hours a day to produce enough clean, green electricity for the local town.
Alligator delicacies in Brazil
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
Brazil's environmental officials have found the skinned and salted corpses of about 740 alligators in the Piagacu-Purus reserve in the Amazon forests. The dried reptiles, weighing about eight tonnes, were destined for local restaurants. Brazilian law permits limited hunts of alligators by local residents. The country's environmental protection agency says the quantity of dried alligators, however, indicates "a large-scale commercial operation", which is illegal.
In court
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
Over GM crop trial: The anti-GM lobby group in New Zealand has challenged the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) for approving 10-year-field trials for genetically modified brassicas. GE-Free New Zealand, an NGO, has filed a lawsuit at the Wellington High Court. It claims that ERMA's approval was seriously flawed since it did not mandate testing by the company, Crop and Food, for adverse effects as required under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act.
In short
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
>> The Zambian Parliament has amended the Mines and Minerals Act allowing the government to levy higher taxes on mining companies by abolishing all existing agreements. Mining companies operating in Zambia had opposed the amendments and threatened to suspend operations.
>> Officials in southern China have sealed more than 4,000 boxes of contaminated milk powder and asked the manufacturer to recall another 2,700 boxes after 119 children fell sick on drinking the milk product.
371,000-ha rainforest sold in Guyana
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2008
Ecosystems of the Iwokrama rainforest reserve in Guyana have been sold off. A uk -based private equity firm, Canopy Capital, has purchased the rights to environmental services generated by the 371,000-hectare tropical forest. In return, the firm has guaranteed a "meaningful contribution" to the forest's running costs for five years.
