Ecology
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Scientists Have an Inkling Squids Could Help Cut Plastic Pollution
A recently-discovered squid protein could be used to stop microplastic fibres leaking into the environment. A review published in Frontiers in Chemistry, conducted by scientists at Penn State University in US, suggests material found in the ringed teeth of a…
Tourists Are Trashing the World’s Tallest Mountain, So China Has Banned Them From Its Base Camp
China has closed its Everest base camp to tourists because of a buildup of trash on the world’s tallest mountain. The move comes as the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau said it had collected 8.4 metric tons (approximately 9.3 U.S.…
First Mammal Species Recognized as Extinct Due to Climate Change
A small rodent that lived only on a single island off Australia is likely the world’s first mammal to become a casualty of climate change, scientists reported in June 2016. The government of Australia has now officially recognized the Bramble…
We Are Eating Large Wild Animals into Extinction
Much of the planet’s megafauna is being driven extinct because of the usual causes: habitat loss and rampant poaching for body parts like horns, bones and tusks. But there is another reason large vertebrates are going extinct: people keep on…
Oil Spill From Shipwreck Threatens Solomon Islands’ World Heritage Site
The Solomon Islands prime minister has asked Australia for emergency help cleaning up an environmental disaster after oil spilled from a bulk carrier that ran aground on a coral reef near a world heritage area. The MV Solomon Trader had…
Banning Single-Use Plastics ‘Could Lead to Higher Carbon Emissions’
Banning single-use plastics could lead to higher carbon emissions. That’s according to a new report published by BP, which says a worldwide ban on the use of plastics for packaging and other single-use purposes from 2040 onwards would lead to…
Sharp Rise in Methane Levels Threatens World Climate Targets
Dramatic rises in atmospheric methane are threatening to derail plans to hold global temperature rises to 2C, scientists have warned. In a paper published this month by the American Geophysical Union, researchers say sharp rises in levels of methane –…