Climate change is disrupting the birds and the bees

BBC_Our changing climate seems set to disrupt just about everything. From rising sea levels to ocean acidification, the list of negative consequences from climate change is endless. But one area that often goes unmentioned in the climate change discussion is sex.

Over the last two decades, scientists have found that warmer temperatures are quietly spoiling the mood, making it harder for plants and animals to reproduce.

Here are five ways that climate change is ruining sex lives.

It’s a numbers game

While humans and many other animals determine sex genetically, many reptiles and some fish use the incubation temperature of the eggs to set the gender of their offspring. This means that changing global temperatures could alter the ratio of sexes produced, making it harder for these animals to find mates. Tiếp tục đọc “Climate change is disrupting the birds and the bees”

Báo cáo về thiệt hại đối với Di sản Thiên nhiên Thế giới thắng giải quốc tế

English: Paper showing damage to natural World Heritage wins international award

Một nghiên cứu tiết lộ mức độ của các hoạt động tàn phá và mất rừng trong các Di sản Thiên nhiên Thế giới, do trường Đại học Queensland dẫn đầu với một nhóm các chuyên gia quốc tế, đã thắng một trong những giải thưởng uy tín nhất về xuất bản quốc tế.

Báo cáo “Sự gia tăng gần đây về áp lực của con người và mất rừng đe doạ nhiều Di sản Thiên nhiên Thế giới” đã được lựa chọn trong hàng ngàn bài báo mới được xuất bản và được công nhận với giải thưởng Elsevier Atlas. Elsevier là nhà xuất bản hàng đầu thế giới  và là nhà cung cấp giải pháp thông tin cho các chuyên gia về khoa học, y tế và công nghệ. Tiếp tục đọc “Báo cáo về thiệt hại đối với Di sản Thiên nhiên Thế giới thắng giải quốc tế”

Hà Tĩnh: Giăng “thiên la địa võng” bắt “lộc trời” – Những con chim mắt mù chờ chết

Hà Tĩnh: Giăng “thiên la địa võng” bắt “lộc trời”

LĐO MINH LÝ – QUANG ĐẠI 1:0 PM, 01/05/2017

Bẫy chim én giăng dày đặc tại xã Sơn Giang -Hương Sơn – Hà Tĩnh. Ảnh: Minh Lý

Mỗi khi thời tiết thay đổi, trên địa bàn huyện Hương Sơn (Hà Tĩnh) lại xuất hiện đàn chim én ước đến hàng ngàn con từ đâu bay về, bay lượn kín bầu trời. Đây là cơ hội “vàng” để các “sát thủ diệt chim trời” ra tay. Tiếp tục đọc “Hà Tĩnh: Giăng “thiên la địa võng” bắt “lộc trời” – Những con chim mắt mù chờ chết”

Earth’s sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn

guardian

Researchers talk of ‘biological annihilation’ as study reveals billions of populations of animals have been lost in recent decades

A “biological annihilation” of wildlife in recent decades means a sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history is under way and is more severe than previously feared, according to research.

Scientists analysed both common and rare species and found billions of regional or local populations have been lost. They blame human overpopulation and overconsumption for the crisis and warn that it threatens the survival of human civilisation, with just a short window of time in which to act. Tiếp tục đọc “Earth’s sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn”

Canada fisherman killed by whale moments after rescuing it from net

Joe Howlett helped to rescue a north Atlantic right whale that had become heavily tangled in rope and was struck by the mammal afterward

Joe Howlett helped rescue a Young right whale tangled in fishing gear in Canada’s Bay of Fundy.
Joe Howlett helped rescue a Young right whale tangled in fishing gear in Canada’s Bay of Fundy. Photograph: International Fund for Animal Welfare
  in Toronto @ashifa_k

A Canadian lobster fisherman who saved dozens of endangered whales after they became tangled in fishing nets has been killed – moments after a last successful rescue.

Joe Howlett, from Campobello Island, New Brunswick, boarded a vessel off the province’s eastern coast on Monday to help rescue a north Atlantic right whale that had become heavily tangled in rope. Tiếp tục đọc “Canada fisherman killed by whale moments after rescuing it from net”

Three tonnes of ivory seized in Vietnam

channelnewsasia

 
The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after populations of the African giants dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to around 600,000 by the end of the 1980s AFP/STR

HANOI: Vietnamese authorities have seized nearly three tonnes of ivory hidden among boxes of fruit, officials said Sunday, the latest haul to spotlight the country’s key role in the global wildlife smuggling trade.

Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa found 2.7 tonnes of tusks inside cartons on the back of a truck that was on its way to Hanoi, according to a report on their website. Tiếp tục đọc “Three tonnes of ivory seized in Vietnam”

Down in the dumps over a ‘natural’ compromise

vietnamnews

Update: July, 06/2017 – 09:40

Thu Vân

Earlier this month, the Environment Minister said “we can’t dump waste into the sea.”

More than understandable, given all the facts and dire warnings that were brought to the fore on World Oceans Day (June 8).

And no Vietnamese will ever forget what happened in April last year when steel maker Formosa discharged untreated effluents into the sea, killing millions of fish and disrupting, if not destroying, the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people living on the country’s central coast. Tiếp tục đọc “Down in the dumps over a ‘natural’ compromise”

Cyclists to challenge the Sơn Trà Mountain Race

vietnamnews

Update: June, 21/2017 – 17:00

A zigzag road of Sơn Trà Mountain offers scenic bike race for riders. — VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — More than 100 amateur cyclists will partake in the Sơn Trà Mountain race on Sunday (June 25) promoting the protection of the red-shanked douc langur in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve.

Chairman of the city’s bicycling association Đỗ Anh Tuấn told Việt Nam News that the race aims to encourage local residents and tourists to help protect nature and wildlife in Sơn Trà Nature Reserve. Tiếp tục đọc “Cyclists to challenge the Sơn Trà Mountain Race”

Taking care of turtles in Cúc Phương

vietnamnews

Update: June, 18/2017 – 09:00

Shell dweller: An Indochinese box turtle. Photo courtesy of Nguyễn Thu Thủy
Viet Nam News Nestled in the dense greenery of Cúc Phương National Park, a team of volunteers and staff work tirelessly to look after around 1,000 rare and endangered turtles. Lê Hương & Hồng Vân report.

Taking trays containing freshly ground paste of vegetables and fruit, Lina V. Wedel and Simon Brauburger head for nearby enclosures to feed the turtles, one of the important tasks they perform every morning. Tiếp tục đọc “Taking care of turtles in Cúc Phương”

Have you ever seen so many elephants?

vietnamnews

Update: June, 18/2017 – 09:00

National heroes: Somewhere in the Central Highlands around 1963 as captured in a still frame by journalist Wilfred Burchett on a visit to the liberated zones of South Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of George Burchett

by George Burchett

In April 2015, I was invited by the Cercle des Francophones (Francophone Association) of Hà Nội to present the film Loin du Vietnam (Far from Việt Nam) at the Hà Nội Cinémathèque. The film was made collectively  in 1967 by some of the great names of new French cinéma: Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker and Alain Resnais, in support of Việt Nam’s resistance to US aggression.

I was familiar with the film, but decided to do some extra research for the occasion. Tiếp tục đọc “Have you ever seen so many elephants?”

Conservationist concerned for tourism project’s impact on northern Vietnamese archipelago

DONG NGUYEN/TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 05/23/2017 19:08 GMT + 7

Accepting a request made last week by Tuoi Tre News, Neahga Leonard, project director of the Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project in Hai Phong has shared his thoughts on how local wildlife habitat could be impacted by the Cat Ba ecotourism resort and entertainment complex in the namesake archipelago.

Aside from its transportation system, the project will also include three golf courses, an amusement park, and several components to leverage the tourism potential of local areas such as Qua Vang Cave, Lan Ha Bay, Viet Hai Village, and Cat Ong Island.

In that context, local conservationists are concerned that the Cat Ba langur species, the most endangered species in Vietnam, will face multiple threats. Tiếp tục đọc “Conservationist concerned for tourism project’s impact on northern Vietnamese archipelago”

Indonesian police foil attempt to smuggle 200,000 lobster eggs into Singapore: Reports

channelnewsasia

 
File photo of a lobster. (Photo: Reuters)

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities foiled an attempt to illegally export more than 200,000 lobster eggs into Singapore through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, reported the Jakarta Post on Sunday (Jun 11).

The suspects had attempted to deliver a big part of the goods via a Garuda Indonesia flight to Singapore.

According to tribunnews.com, Indonesia’s National Police Special Crimes Directorate Chief Brigadier General Purwadi Arianto said: “We confiscated 208,756 lobster eggs inside eight suitcases.” Tiếp tục đọc “Indonesian police foil attempt to smuggle 200,000 lobster eggs into Singapore: Reports”

How can humans and elephants better coexist?

The human-elephant conflict plays a huge role in the rapid decline elephant numbers. A panel of experts share ideas on how to mitigate this problem

A Mahout and elephant in Thailand’s Surin province.
A Mahout and elephant in Thailand’s Surin province. Photograph: Aroon Phukeed/Getty Images

Conservation must be higher up on the political agenda

We need conservation (not just fighting the illegal wildlife trade which has captured the limelight more recently) to be far higher up the political agenda. For example, we in the UK could be much more effectively linking overseas aid (budget of £12bn this year) to poverty relief, sustainable development and environmental protection, ecosystem services and conservation priorities. Will Travers, president, Born Free Foundation Tiếp tục đọc “How can humans and elephants better coexist?”

Sơn Trà National Tourism Site plan temporarily suspended

vietnamnews

Update: May, 29/2017 – 12:00

Foundations of columns in a construction site on Sơn Trà Mountain. Rapid development of hotels and resorts on the peninsula could turn Đà Nẵng’s natural habitat into a desert and the world’s large population of red-shanked douc langurs could face extinction, experts warn. — VNS Photo Công Thành
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — By August end, any activity related to implementation of the Sơn Trà National Tourism Site Development plan or construction on the Sơn Trà Peninsula in Đà Nẵng City must be suspended. Tiếp tục đọc “Sơn Trà National Tourism Site plan temporarily suspended”

Sơn Trà ký sự – Kỳ 6: Khoa học của sự tôn kính thiên nhiên

NĐT – 18/05/2017 – 20:53 PM

Chính phủ vừa có yêu cầu việc điều chỉnh quy hoạch liên quan đến bán đảo Sơn Trà cần tiếp thu ý kiến trên tinh thần thực sự khoa học và cầu thị. Đây là một thông điệp rất đáng mừng, nhưng vấn đề là khoa học nào? 

Cây đa hàng nghìn năm tuổi trên núi Sơn Trà – Ảnh: Công Bính

» Để voọc Sơn Trà còn đất sống 

Hai ngàn rưỡi năm trước, Trang Tử bảo, đời ta có hạn còn tri thức thì vô bờ, lấy cái có hạn mà đuổi theo cái vô bờ thì nguy khốn, biết là nguy khốn mà còn đuổi theo thì nguy khốn hơn (Ngô sinh dã hữu nhai, nhi tri dã vô nhai; dĩ hữu nhai tùy vô nhai, đãi dĩ! Dĩ nhi vi tri giả, đãi nhi dĩ hĩ! – Nam Hoa Kinh). Cho nên, các nhà khoa học chân chính đều khiêm nhường kính ngưỡng trước thiên nhiên, đều coi tri thức mà mình có được chỉ là hạt cát trong mênh mông biển cả. Tiếp tục đọc “Sơn Trà ký sự – Kỳ 6: Khoa học của sự tôn kính thiên nhiên”