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| IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN The pink iguana has finally been recognized as its own species. Found only on the Wolf volcano on the island of Isabela, Galapagos, the animal split from other iguanas five million years ago. Charles Darwin did not visit the volcano in the 1830s and the creature remained undiscovered till 1986 when it was seen by park rangers. |
Asia-Pacific nations will catch 10 per cent fewer bigeye tuna every year till 2011. Environmentalists sought this reduction to save the threatened species, a sushi lovers' delight. Cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe infected 35,931 people, 1,778 of whom have died, said who. Chinese automaker byd Auto introduced the first plug-in hybrid car, the F3 DM. Priced at us $22,000, the car can run 100 km on a battery charged from an ordinary electricity outlet. Iraq is cleaning up 2.5 million ha of saline soil using groundwater. Centuries of over-use left farmlands fallow due to salinity. Prosopis juliflora, a n evergreen shrub, was responsible for floods in Yemen in October 2008 as it blocked water courses, diverting floodwater into villages. 90 people died; 25,000 turned homeless. Britain is giving grants worth US $0.8 million for installing biomass-based heaters. This is part of US $18.1 million government scheme for encouraging the use of biomass-fuelled heating. The Czech Republic imposed a green tax on used cars to reduce emissions from the automobile sector from January 1. Cars not meeting norms will be fined US $148 to US $500 Argentina unveiled US $ 9 billion plan to finance car purchase to stem job losses in the automobile industry, one of the hardest hit by the global financial crunch. EU will phase out incandescent light bulbs by 2012. This will help cut emissions by 15 million tonnes and save US $13.6 billion in energy bills. Brazilian waters were decreed a dolphin and whale sanctuary on December 18 to protect the cetaceans along its 8,000 km shoreline. Thousands of dolphins and whales were sighted for the first time in East Timor waters. This migratory corridor for marine wildlife between the Pacific and Indian oceans was previously unknown. Barack Obama appointed physics Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu the energy secretary. Fighting climate change tops the priority list of the new administration. Cassini spacecraft witnessed the surface of Enceladus, Saturn's moon, split apart just like Earth's ocean floor splits to create new crust. This strengthened the belief that Enceladus harbours a sub-surface sea.| HEAT EXCHANGE | |
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China's first 2,210 kilowatt automated coal mining machine was unveiled in December. It can mine eight million tonnes annually. Paraguay is facing fuel shortage as drought left the main river too shallow for plying vessels. Barges with 6,000 tonnes of gasoline and diesel are waiting to be transhipped. 500 poultry birds died of avian flu and thousands were culled in Vietnam.
This was the second outbreak in the country in 2008. Russia launched a carrier rocket to put three navigation satellites into orbit on December 25. Glonass, a Global Navigation Satellite System, is designed for both military and civilian use. Over 3,000 fossilized dinosaur bones were found in east China, including the remains of previously unknown genera of Ankylosaurus, Tyrannosaurus and Ceolurus. Russia has stopped gas supply to Ukraine citing unpaid bills worth US $2 billion. Ukraine claims it has paid three-fourths of the bills but Russia has denied it. Population of Tristan Albatross, a critically endangered bird, suffered a setback this breeding season after predatory mice ate their chicks en masse on Gough Island, the UK, the birds' only home. Powered with a blend of biofuel and jet fuel, a New Zealand airliner flew for two hours on December 30. Turkey's Ayazaga forests also called the 'Lungs of Istanbul', are being depleted for mining of stone. The Provincial Forestry Directorate claims that mining here is legal and all permissions had been taken. Irish pork products were recalled from European markets after an examination of the pigs revealed high levels of carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls. Gaza's healthcare is on the verge of collapse as people try to get the injured transferred to Egypt for emergency treatment. Gaza has only 2,053 hospital beds. We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
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