Visibility dropped dramatically as small pollutant particles reached dangerous levels in northern Chinas Hebei province.
Smog in India Damaged Enough Crops to Feed 94 Million, Study Says
Originally Published by Yale 360 – Ground-level ozone, the main component of smog, damaged 6.7 million tons of Indian crops worth an estimated $1.3 billion in a single year, according to a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters. That’s enough wheat, rice and other staple crops to feed 94 million people — roughly one-third of the country’s impoverished population. Arising from a combination of vehicle emissions, cooking stoves, and industrial sources, plant-damaging ozone has left many of India’s fast-developing cities among the most polluted in the world, according to the country’s Air Monitoring Center. The number of vehicles there has nearly tripled in the past 10 years, rising from 50 million in 2003 to 130 million in 2013, and the country currently has no air quality standards to protect crops from ozone pollution. The researchers say the findings should be used to guide new ozone emission standards for the country.
Scotland announces 30 new marine protected areas
Originally Published by The Guardian – Tranche of sites doubles the size of Scottish marine reserves, covering cliffs in Caithness and deep ocean seabeds.
Pollutionwatch: The world's dirtiest cities
Originally Published by The Gaurdian – For the first time in history, over half the world’s population now live in cities. But only 12% of urban dwellers enjoy airborne particle pollution that meets World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. Globally, lowest city air pollution is in Canada and Iceland and the highest in India (Delhi and Patna) and Pakistan (Karachi and Peshwar).
Sustainable Food Project Announces 2014 Students For Sustainability Challenge
Kenya to deploy drones in all national parks in bid to tackle poaching
Originally Published by The Guardian – KWS monitoring elephants with drones in Kenya : Elephants casting shadows Amboseli National Park
Can Mexico City's roof gardens help the metropolis shrug off its smog?
Originally Published by The Guardian – Green roofs sprouting across Mexican capital not only purify the air but aid recovery of hospital patients, says environment chief.
Air pollution 'kills 7m people a year'
Originally Published by The Guardian – WHO report says issue is now biggest single environmental health risk and the cause of one in eight deaths worldwide.
Coral reefs: life in the balance
Originally Published by The Guardian – The seabed’s rainbows survive by making intimate relationships; if they fail, coral bleaching will be devastating.
Endangered sea turtles fall victim to fishery bycatch
Originally Published by The Royal Society– Pan-Atlantic analysis of the overlap of a highly migratory species, the leatherback turtle, with pelagic longline fisheries.