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Primates in peril: 50% of our closest living relatives are on the brink of extinction around the world

Richard Gray
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 20:08 UTC
Image

More than half of the world's primates are at risk of dying out due to the threat posed by habitat loss and hunting. The Hainan gibbon (pictured) is thought to be the world's most endangered primate, with just 25 of the animals left living on an isolated island in China
They are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom, yet more than half of the world's primates are facing extinction due to our destruction of the habitats where they live.

Burning and clearing of large areas of tropical forest, combined with hunting of primates for food and illegal wildlife trade, has placed many species of apes, lemurs and monkeys at risk of dying out.

These include iconic species such as the Sumatran orang-utan, Grauer's gorilla, the Northern brown howler monkey and the Hainan gibbon.

Scientists and conservation experts have now updated a report on the world's 25 most endangered primates based on the current knowledge of the animals numbers and the risks facing them.

Dr Christoph Schwitzer, a primatologist and director of conservation at Bristol Zoological Society who helped compile the list, said: 'This research highlights the extent of the danger facing many of the world's primates.
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Sun

Drought threatens habitat of migratory birds in California


Voice of America
Sat, 07 Nov 2015 19:42 UTC
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© Reuters
Sandhill cranes land in flooded fields at the Sandhill Crane Reserve near Thornton, California, Nov. 3, 2015. The state's ongoing drought has left millions of waterfowl that migrate from northern climes to California with fewer places to land, seek food.
With their red heads, 2.13-meter (7-foot) wingspan and a trilling call, migrating Sandhill Cranes provide a dramatic sunset spectacle as they land by the thousands in wetlands near Sacramento each night during the fall and winter.

But the state's ongoing drought has left the cranes, along with millions of other waterfowl that migrate from Canada and other northern climes to spend the winter in California, with fewer places to land, threatening their health as they crowd in on one another to seek shelter and food.

"They're left with fewer and fewer places to go, which will start to have impacts on their population," said Meghan Hertel, who works on habitat issues for the Audubon Society in California. "They can die here from starvation or disease or be weaker for their flight back north."

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Fire

Gas explosion in Indiana "shook the whole town" leveling house, killing one

Chris Darby
WANE
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 01:14 UTC
Ashley house explosion
© Jen Danczak - 21Alive

One person died and two others were injured in a house explosion Monday night. It happened in the 1200 block of S. Gonser Avenue in Ashley around 9:30 p.m.

According to the Ashley Fire Department, it started with a LP gas leak at the house. Ashley Fire Chief Dave Barrand confirmed that something separate from the LP gas leak then triggered the blast.

"I was the first one on scene, and I noticed that the house was leveled with debris out on the roadway and out on the fields," Barrand said. "Did find a male trapped inside with severe burns, also found a female that was under some debris."

Barrand said the man and woman were airlifted to an area hospital. Another man was pronounced dead on the scene.

The home sits in an isolated area. No other buildings were damaged.

Comment: From a few days ago in the UK: Huge suspected gas explosion completely destroys house in Buckinghamshire, UK

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Recycle

Biodegradable is bogus: World's 'Ocean waste baskets' still filled with plastic trash

Andrea Germanos
Common Dreams
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:18 UTC
Image
© LCDR Eric Johnson, NOAA Corps.
Pieces of plastic litter a black rock beach on the island of Hawaii in 2008.
Such products 'will not bring about a significant decrease either in the quantity of plastic entering the ocean or the risk of physical and chemical impacts on the marine environment,' UN report states.

Plastics in the world's oceans, whether floating or resting at the bottom, is a problem that's on the rise, and is said to have "reached crisis proportion."

And while they may be assumed to be more eco-friendly, plastics labeled "biodegradable" still pose a threat to marine environments, a new United Nations study has found.

Comment: 'Essentially the ocean is a waste basket', maybe most of us are simply unaware of how the oceans of the world are being trashed!

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Arrow Down

Large sinkhole appears at Lindal-in-Furness, UK

Tom Murphy
The Westmorland Gazette
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 13:53 UTC
lindal furness sinkhole
A large sinkhole opened up near Lindal-in-Furness over the weekend - swallowing a 20ft cabin, a wagon and a Nissan Micra.

The hole, believed to be about 200ft deep, appeared as heavy rain battered the region and is thought to be in the location of an old iron ore mine.
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Cloud Precipitation

Fear of cholera and floods as 110,000 Burundian refugees pack Tanzania camps


Citizen Digital
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 14:59 UTC
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Heavy rains, flooding and a spike in new arrivals could threaten the lives of over 110,000 Burundian refugees in overcrowded camps in Tanzania, six aid agencies said on Monday, amid warnings of rising political tension in Burundi.

Life-threatening malaria and diarrhoea have been spreading in Nyarugusu, the world's third largest refugee camp, since the rainy season began, and damage caused by a powerful El Nino has left aid agencies short of funds throughout east Africa.

"Refugees are arriving in their hundreds every day," the agencies, which include Oxfam, Save the Children and HelpAge International, said in a statement.

"Many people are still living in overcrowded mass shelters months after their arrival, where wet floors and cramped conditions mean that the risk of respiratory infections and waterborne diseases is high."
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Blue Planet

UN Report: Major rise in weather disasters over last 2 decades


Eye Witness News
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 14:34 UTC
Image
© AFP
A flood-affected resident swims through floodwaters in Kalay, upper Myanmar’s Sagaing region on August 3, 2015. Relentless monsoon rains have triggered flash floods and landslides, destroying thousands of houses, farmland, bridges and roads with fast-flowing waters hampering relief efforts.
Since 1995, weather disasters have killed millions of people & left billions injured & homeless.

Weather-related disasters such as floods and heatwaves have occurred almost daily in the past decade, almost twice as often as two decades ago, with Asia being the hardest hit region, a UN report said on Monday.

While the report authors could not pin the increase wholly on climate change, they did say that the upward trend was likely to continue as extreme weather events increased.

Since 1995, weather disasters have killed millions of people, left billions injured, homeless or in need of aid, and accounted for 90 percent of all disasters, it said.

A recent peak year was 2002, when drought in India hit 200 million and a sandstorm in China affected 100 million.

But the standout mega-disaster was Cyclone Nargis, which killed 138,000 in Myanmar in 2008.
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Attention

One killed in rockslide triggered by 5.1 magnitude earthquake in Venezuela

Andrew V. Pestano
UPI
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 14:16 UTC
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One person was killed in Venezuela when a rockslide was triggered by a 5.1-magnitude earthquake in the state of Mérida, causing a traffic collision.

The Venezuelan Foundation of Seismological Research, or FUNVISIS, reported the epicenter of the earthquake was located about 18 miles southeast of the town of El Vigía at 4:08 p.m. at a depth of about 3 miles. Multiple aftershocks were recorded in the region.

Blas Federico Méndez, 41, died immediately and his son Emmanuel Méndez, 32, was injured after their vehicle made a frontal collision with an SUV. Both vehicles attempted to evade debris from a rockslide, but collided in the process. Two people inside the SUV were injured, El Universal reported.
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Snowflake

A foot of snowfall causes problems in Croatia

Vedran Pavlic
Total Croatia News
Sun, 22 Nov 2015 13:38 UTC
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Almost the entire Lika region was caught in snowy weather last night. In Gospić, more than 30 centimetres of snow has fallen, while in mountainous areas the snow cover is even higher. Snow has caused the falling down of many trees which have damaged electrical lines, so the wider area of ​​Gospić was without power this morning. Director of Elektrolika Ernest Petri said that two transmission lines that supply electricity to Gospić have broken down. There are problems with the local phone lines as well, reports Index.hr and Vecernji List on November 22, 2015.

Snow and strong winds are causing traffic problems in the Primorje region. The Lika-Senj Police Department has announced that the Adriatic highway from Karlobag to Sveta Marija Magdalena is completely closed down, and on all the roads in Lika winter tyres are mandatory.
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Bizarro Earth

5.5 magnitude earthquake rattles Mexican capital


KABC-TV
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 13:37 UTC
mexico earthquake map
An earthquake rattled central Mexico on Monday, swaying buildings in Mexico City. Some office workers rushed to the streets in the capital.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera wrote in his Twitter account that there was no immediate word of damage or casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 5.5 and its epicenter was in the sparsely populated mountains north-east of Acapulco, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Mexico City. The quake was also felt strongly there, but no damage was immediately reported.

Because of its site on an unstable former lakebed, Mexico's capital often feels such quakes strongly even if they occur some distance away.
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