Freak storm pushes North Pole 50 degrees above normal

A powerful winter cyclone - the same storm that lead to two tornado outbreaks in the United States and disastrous river flooding - has driven the North Pole to the freezing point this week, 50 degrees above average for this time of year.

From Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, a mind-boggling pressure drop was recorded in Iceland: 54 millibars in just 18 hours. This triples the criteria for "bomb" cyclogenesis, which meteorologists use to describe a rapidly intensifying mid-latitude storm. A "bomb" cyclone is defined as dropping one millibar per hour for 24 hours.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11567928

Merry Christmas!!!

Sea World Kills Teenage Whale

by Capt. Paul Watson

Unna, an 18 year old Orca died in Sea World's San Antonio park today from an infection she has been suffering from for over two months.

Sea World was quick to say that whales dying from infections in the wild are quite common. Bullshit. Orcas in the wild live up to 50 to over 100 years. Unna died from fungal cystitus and that is an illness caused by the stress of captivity. Her death was not natural as Sea World claims.

This Orca died because she was in prison, in an unnatural environment and her immune system was compromised from years of abuse.

Sea World and other prisons for Orcas and dolphins must be shut down.

https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/arts-and-culture/another-orca-dies-at-seaworld-weeks-after-they-ple/8a25e0d4-0764-43da-bb4d-00a8eee863e4.htm

Arctic hits record high temperatures

The warming Arctic has set another record.

The average air temperature over Arctic land reached 2.3 degrees F (1.3 degrees C) above average for the year ending in September. That's the highest since observations began in 1900.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11561795

'Bad news for the planet' - 2016 set to be hottest year on record

Global temperatures have already smashed records this year, and now meteorologists are warning 2016 will be even hotter.

 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11562940

Is This What Dolphins ‘See’ Through Sound Waves?

Is this what a dolphin sees? Incredible evidence. Check it out?

 

http://www.care2.com/causes/is-this-what-dolphins-see-through-sound-waves.html

Five things climate scientists disagree about

“Climate science isn’t settled” is a favourite call and a favourite excuse for inaction on global warming. It’s therefore worth noting that a vast majority of real climate scientists agree on the existence, causes, and approximate magnitude of man-made climate change. Not every aspect of climate science is completely resolved however, and here are five questions that are guaranteed to get the experts going.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11559213

Scientists just pointed out how the Earth itself could undermine a Paris climate agreement

With only days left, tensions are rising as countries race to resolve outstanding differences and forge an agreement that - hopefully - will set the planet on a path to avoiding the worst consequences of climate change.

The goal is an agreement that would set the world on a path to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, or perhaps even 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels. But at a news conference here at the Le Bourget conference centre, scientists pointed out a factor that could make hitting these targets quite a lot harder.

It's called permafrost.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11559222

Optimism for climate accord

Optimism is growing in Paris over reaching a landmark agreement to spare future generations the worst effects of climate change.

A draft text is in place and negotiators from close to 200 nations have cranked up the pace in the second and final week of COP21 amid hopes the world could have a new deal by the weekend.

The agreement would set out the commitments of countries to cut back emissions beyond the start of the next decade.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/climate-change/news/article.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=11557919

Reindeer in front line of climate change

Above the Arctic Circle, reindeer have returned from the coast to inland grazing areas as they eke out an existence through the thick snow, as they have for thousands of years.

In Norway, between 400 to 500 indigenous Sami families own 180,000 reindeer which can roam largely unfenced to Finland, Sweden and western Russia.

But the reindeer herders of Noway are worried about climate change.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11556835

The Amazing Comeback of U.S. Fisheries, and What It Means for Sustainable Seafood

 

At last some positive news on the fisheries front in USA. Let's hope this practice can be followed by other countries for both fisheries and climate change!

http://www.care2.com/causes/the-amazing-comeback-of-u-s-fisheries-and-what-it-means-for-sustainable-seafood.html

Will global warming deprive us of oxygen?

Global warming has triggered an array of apocalyptic scenarios for future generations, from worsening drought, storms and floods to melted icesheets and rising seas.

Now a new study, published on Tuesday and coinciding with the UN climate talks in Paris, adds to the grim tableau: the risk that warming at the far end of the scale could rob our planet of oxygen.

"We have identified another possible consequence of ... global warming that can potentially be more dangerous than all others," say a pair of scientists from Britain's University of Leicester.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11554812

Tens of billions promised for clean energy tech development

Government and business leaders plan to spend tens of billions of dollars in the next five years to develop clean energy technology in efforts to fight global warming, an official and a former official have told The Associated Press.

The initiative, which will be announced at the opening of the UN climate summit, involves Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande, according to a French official and a former US official who weren't authorized to talk on the record.

France, the US, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and Norway have already decided to participate in the "ambitious" project that will aim at developing clean energies, the French official said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11553201

Japan to resume research whaling by end of year at earliest

Yesterday the Japan Times said that The whalers expect to receive a permit from the Japanese government to kill whales once again in the Southern Ocean.

Will the Japanese government issue a permit to kill whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in defiance of the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) order to cease and desist from the slaughter of whales under the guise of "scientific research" whaling?

What is the purpose of international laws and regulations if a nation ignores the rule of law and does what it pleases in defiance and contempt of science, conservation and the laws?

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/11/26/national/japan-to-resume-research-whaling-by-end-of-year-at-earliest/#.Vli4W-LMzyT

“Biodegradable” Plastics Don’t Actually Disintegrate in the Ocean

Plastics are horrible for the environment, primarily because they take forever to decompose. To address this situation, scientists developed a biodegradable version of plastic. It’s an invention that sounds too good to be true – and now researchers are discovering that it is in fact too good to be true.

http://www.care2.com/causes/biodegradable-plastics-dont-actually-disintegrate-in-the-ocean.html#ixzz3sekyqgFt

Cash big voice in US climate debate

Climate change has long been a highly polarising topic in the United States, with Americans lining up on opposite sides depending on their politics and worldview. Now a scientific study sheds new light on the role played by corporate money in creating that divide.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11550673

Danger to Earth lungs

About half the 15,000 tree species in the Amazon - the world's most diverse forest - are threatened by deforestation, an international study says.

The report lays bare the destruction of an ecosystem often referred to as the lungs of the Earth.

"At least 36 per cent and up to 57 per cent of all Amazonian tree species are likely to qualify as globally threatened," said the study in the journal Science Advances, which used criteria from the respected International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11549372

Japanese Whalers Who Think It’s OK to Keep Killing Whales Just Got Slapped With a HUGE Fine

Despite widespread public opposition to the brutal business of whaling – which kills 16,000 whales every year, and has driven the Blue Whale to the brink of extinction – countries such as Japan, Norway, and Iceland have continued to engage in it. Japanese whalers carry out their hunts under the guise of “scientific research,” despite the fact that no scientific papers have ever been published as a result of their expeditions. In 2014, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Japan was banned from hunting whales in Antarctic waters … but a number of Japanese whaling companies have chosen to continue their operations in this area regardless.

Australian groups have been leading the charge against Japanese whaling ships’ misconduct for a long time. Sea Shepherd Australia successfully prevented their efforts to hunt whales in an Antarctic whale sanctuary on multiple occasions, saving almost 750 whales from slaughter in 2014 alone. And now, in a case brought forward by Humane Society International (HSI) Australia, an Australian federal court has found whaling company Kyodo Senpaku guilty of “wilful contempt of court” for failing to adhere to a court order to stop killing whales in the Antarctic sanctuary. The company now faces a fine of AUS $1million ($721,800).

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/japanese-whalers-million-dollar-fine/

Up to 9000 coastal homes in danger from rising sea levels

New Zealand needs to completely overhaul the way it is preparing for rising sea levels, the Government's environmental watchdog says, as up to 9000 coastal homes sit precariously close to the high water mark.

A newly released report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright also says the Government needs to start preparing for the huge potential cost of rising oceans driven by climate change, which could lead to the "managed retreat" of coastal communities to higher ground.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11547974&ref=NZH_FBpage

New System, New Hope for Thousands of Fishermen in Belize

What an awesome idea TURF is!

Territorial Rights Use for Fishing, or TURF – a system that gives a fisherman or group of fishermen a dedicated area in which to practice their trade. 

In return for the secure fishing area, these fishermen also have a responsibility to conserve fish and marine ecosystems. Their reward is a stable and healthy fish population which, in turn, means their conservation efforts pay off economically.

What’s more, TURF areas are now being paired in Belize and other parts of the world with so-called no-take reserves, areas in which no fishing is permitted. These rapidly growing hybrid fishery management programs – “TURF-reserves” – also support local fishermen when fish spill over into their fishing areas.

Today, there are at least 27 such TURF-reserves in 10 countries that span the globe. Environmental Defense Fund is working with partner organizations to scale up such programs in the Philippines, Belize, Indonesia, Mozambique, Brazil, Mexico and Spain.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/new-system-new-hope-for-thousands-of-fishermen-in-belize.html#ixzz3riQYXdBW

Stay strong Paris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynsq5ms9lvI

The collapsing glaciers that could raise sea levels 1.1 metres

As the world prepares for the most important global climate summit yet in Paris later this month, news from Greenland could add urgency to the negotiations. For another major glacier appears to have begun a rapid retreat into a deep underwater basin, a troubling sign previously noticed at Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier and also in the Amundsen Sea region of West Antarctica.
And in all of these cases, warm ocean waters reaching the deep bases of marine glaciers appears to be a major cause.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11544826

Whale strandings a tragic mystery

Illness and peer support among theories but truth is unclear

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11543134

Algal Blooms Linked to Largest Die-Off of Great Whales Ever Recorded

In Argentina baby whales have been dying off the coast in increasingly high numbers for the past decade and no one has known exactly why.

 http://www.care2.com/causes/algal-blooms-linked-to-largest-die-off-of-great-whales-ever-recorded.html#ixzz3qxJpSy2d

Common Dolphin Spotted on Norfolk Coast for the First Time in 20 Years

This is a special moment when a common dolphin is sighted of the English coast after 20 years absence! Wonderful.

 

 http://www.care2.com/causes/common-dolphin-spotted-on-norfolk-coast-for-the-first-time-in-20-years.html

New warning over Antarctic ice

Melting ice in West Antarctica is a major concern for global sea levels, and a key area may already be unstable enough to unleash 3m of ocean rise, scientists say.

The study follows research out last year, led by Nasa glaciologist Eric Rignot, warning that ice in the Antarctic had gone into a state of irreversible retreat, that the melting was considered "unstoppable" and could raise sea level by 1.2m.

This time, researchers at Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research pointed to the long-term impacts of the crucial Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica, which they said "has most likely been destabilised".

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11539503

NZ marine conservation pioneer dies

Vry sad news..  He lllleaves behind an amazing legacy; the Goat Island Marine Reserve.

The scientist who drove the establishment of New Zealand's first marine reserve has died.

Dr Bill Ballantine was a key player in the founding of the country's original "no take" marine reserve, created at Leigh, north of Auckland, in 1977.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11539368

Ladies and gentlemen, your Rugby World Cup 2015 Champions

Climate of fear ... Gulf may soon be too hot for humans

Rising global temperatures could soon push the sun-baked cities of the Gulf across a threshold unknown since the start of civilization: the first to experience temperatures that are literally too hot for human survival.

A scientific study released yesterday warns that at least five of the region's great metropolises could see summer days that surpass the "human habitability" limit, with heat and humidity so high that even the healthiest people could not withstand more than a few hours outdoors.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/climate-change/news/article.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=11535932

New legal move to prevent Japan from whale hunting in the Antarctic

Finally in 2014, the International Court of Justice, the highest legal authority in the world delivered their verdict that Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was not scientific and illegal. Japan at first agreed to honour the verdict and last season for the first time since 1946, the Japanese whaling fleet did not kill a single whale in the Southern Ocean waters around Antarctica. 

Japan now has changed its mind with the announcement that they will return to kill whales in defiance of the ICJ and they will back up their actions with their military support. In other words declaring war on the whales and anyone who defends them in complete defiance of international law.

Why? Because they are Japan and the Japanese government holds the position that the Ocean is the domain of the empire of Japan and they will go anywhere and do anything they wish to exploit life in the sea and they will do so in defiance of international public opinion and international legal judgements. 

In November, the Humane Society International in a move supported by Sea Shepherd will take Japan before the Australian Federal Court to seek action from the government of Australia to impose additional sanctions against Japan for killing whales in the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters. 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/new-legal-move-to-prevent-japan-from-whale-hunting-in-antarctic?CMP=share_btn_fb

Drones helping biologists keep track of orcas

Federal biologists flying a drone have taken thousands of rich images of endangered Puget Sound orcas showing the whales are in good condition this year and that several appear to be pregnant. 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/video.cfm?c_id=1503076&gal_cid=1503076&gallery_id=155261

Mother and baby whale swim with mother and baby dolphin

Adorable drone footage shows humpback whales swimming with dolphins off the east coast of Australia

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/viral-video/11941078/Mother-and-baby-whale-swim-with-mother-and-baby-dolphin.html?fb_ref=Default

Sunscreen protection killing coral around the world

The sunscreen that snorkelers, beachgoers and children romping in the waves lather on for protection is killing coral and reefs around the globe. And a new study finds that a single drop in a small area is all it takes for the chemicals in the lotion to mount an attack.

The study was conducted in the US Virgin Islands and Hawaii several years after a chance encounter between a group of researchers on one of the Caribbean beaches, Trunk Bay, and a vendor waiting for the day's invasion of tourists. Just wait to see what they'd leave behind, he told the scientists - "a long oil slick". His comment sparked the idea for the research.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11532980

Can India’s First Dolphin Community Reserve Save This Endangered Dolphin?

Congratulations West Bengal on preparing the first dolphin community reserve in the Ganges River.

www.care2.com/causes/can-indias-first-dolphin-community-reserve-save-this-endangered-dolphin.html

Earth’s natural coolant could be TWICE as powerful as first thought.

Research has identified a natural system where volatile organic compounds (VOC) are emitted into the air from the sea. 

These VOCs cause the climate to cool and may explain why world temperatures have remained stable for around 15 years, despite widespread claims that global warming is out of control. 

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/609497/Climate-change-sh
ock-Earth-s-natural-global-coolant-discovered?_ga=1.10298438
6.354346833.1444344396

New climate study bad news for Antarctica

A major Kiwi-led study has painted a dire picture of Antarctica's future under climate change, with models simulating heavy ice loss under all but one optimistic scenario.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11529762

Two Chill Whales and a Paddleboarder Decided to Hang Out in the Vast Ocean

Stunning video of the meeting of two whales with a paddle boarder off the coast of Australia. Wonderful camera work from a drone with John Lennon's 'Imagine" playing. Yes we are all one!

http://www.care2.com/causes/two-chill-whales-and-a-paddleboarder-decided-to-hang-out-in-the-vast-ocean.html

THUNDER CAPTAIN SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON AND FINED 15 MILLION EUROS.

The captain and two engineer on the Norwegian-built pirate trawler "Thunder" were today sentenced by the Sao Tome and Principe Court. 

On April 6th this year the outlaw toothfish poacher THUNDER was scuttled by her Chilean captain in the waters of the small island state of Sao Tome and Principe in West Africa. It put an end to the career of the world's most notorious toothfish poacher. The scuttling followed a 110-day pursuit by the Sea Shepherd ships BOB BARKER and SAM SIMON. It was the longest pursuit of a poaching vessel in Maritime history, from the coast of Antarctic south of India, to the equator off West Africa.

After the scuttling, the SAM SIMON rescued 42 officers and crew and turned them over to the Sao Tome Coast Guard. The crew, mainly Indonesians and suspected to be virtual slaves were returned home and the three officers were held pending their trial earlier this month. They were held on charges of pollution and forgery.

https://www.facebook.com/captpaulwatson/posts/10153549044720932

SeaWorld banned from breeding orcas

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved a $100 million expansion of the tanks SeaWorld uses to hold killer whales in San Diego - but it banned breeding of the captive orcas that would live in them.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11527193

Franz Josef Glacier delivers major finding

A mathematical model has shown for the first time how climate change will increase glacial erosion by speeding up movement of the icy giants.

Using New Zealand's Franz Josef Glacier as a model, a team of international scientists confirmed a theoretical model first proposed in the 1970s by demonstrating that the rate of glacial erosion was proportional to the square of the glacier's speed.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11526587

How Modern Technology is Destroying This Centuries-Old Human-Dolphin Partnership

The unique relationship between dolphins and fishermen is being upset by selfish profit only electrofishing. Give your support and sign the petition.

 

http://www.care2.com/causes/how-modern-technology-is-destroying-this-centuries-old-human-dolphin-partnership.html

We Can Watch Africa’s Epic Wildlife Migration Live Via An App

Every year hundreds of thousands of animals in Africa embark on a migration so vast it’s considered one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.

The migration, which is the largest migration of land animals on earth, includes thousands of wildebeests, gazelles and zebras as they follow the rainy season across the plains, traveling in a circular path of more than 1,000 miles from the Maasai Mara Reserve in Kenya to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania before starting the cycle over again. They face numerous obstacles along the way from heavy concentrations of lions to making it across the Mara River unscathed by crocodiles.

http://www.care2.com/causes/now-we-can-watch-africas-epic-wildlife-migration-live-from-anywhere.html#ixzz3nfFBYeBM

Positive focus can improve climate action

Climate change is predicted to bring us higher sea levels, more extreme weather and a world of other catastrophic consequences - but when it comes making people act, the answer may lie in accentuating the positive rather than the negative.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/climate-change/news/article.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=11520315

Marine reserved planned for Kermadec Islands

Fishing and mining ban for 620,000sq km around Kermadecs to be in force by late 2016.

The waters around the Kermadec Islands to the north of New Zealand will become one of the largest ocean sanctuaries in the world.

The Kermadec Islands have had a marine reserve around them since 1990 but this decision will extend it from 12 nautical miles to the 200 nautical miles of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11520435

Shell move dims oil prospects, delights environmentalists

Well done Shell!

Royal Dutch Shell has abandoned its long quest to become the first company to produce oil in Alaska's Arctic waters, darkening the nation's long-term oil prospects and delighting environmental groups that tried to block the project.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11520308

Disappearing Bumble Bee is One Step Closer to Getting Protection

Near extintion in the US and dying out around the world, the bumble bee is close to getting protection and help.

www.care2.com/causes/disappearing-bumble-bee-is-one-step-closer-to-getting-protection.html

Solution is simply vinegar

It's drizzled on fish and chips and used for cleaning, but simple household vinegar could soon be called on for its most important mission yet: saving the Great Barrier Reef.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11517938

More La Nina events to bring bigger waves, coastal erosion

Bigger waves and more coastal erosion will hit Pacific countries like New Zealand as a projected upsurge of severe El Nino and La Nina events brings an increase in storm events, according to a study out today.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11516987

Greenhouse gases piling on heat, says British Met Office

Man-made global warming is set to produce exceptionally high average temperatures this year and next, boosted by natural weather phenomena such as El Nino, says Britain's top climate and weather body.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/climate-change/news/article.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=11512995

Success! U.S. Navy Makes Deal to Stop Using Sonar in Whale Waters

At last the US Navy realizes it shares the oceans with fish and mammals and is to reduce their 10 million sonar experiments and  will no longer conduct sonar tests in known whale habitats.

http://www.care2.com/causes/success-u-s-navy-makes-deal-to-stop-using-sonar-in-whale-waters.html

Ocean's health is hard hit

 WWF find over-fishing, pollution and warming have cut marine populations in half.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11514150