Articles in Environment News
Pollution Levels in Norilsk Will Be Brought Down to European Levels in Four Years, or Will They?
As GeoCurrents has reported recently, Norilsk is one of the most polluted cities in the world. Norilsk Nickel is now set to implement a massive project designed to bring the sulfur dioxide emissions to acceptable levels.
Pre-Columbian Raised Fields in French Guiana
A number of news reports from French Guiana have focused on a recently published scientific article on pre-Columbian agriculture in the region, which offers potential lessons for current-day land-use. Several of the reports express surprise at the researchers’ findings, which indicate that the indigenous peoples of the region were able to successfully grow crops without using fire to clear the vegetation, as has more recently been the norm.
Bog Wars in Ireland
An editorial in today’s New York Times, “Drop That Bog,” urges gardeners not to use peat moss, as doing entail the destruction of bogs and releases stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The editorial also notes that peat “has been used for centuries as a fuel in Scotland, Britain, and Ireland,” a geographically odd comment that implies that Scotland is not part of Britain.
Massive New Solar Project in Northern Mexico
The small city (population 65,000) of Tecate in Mexico’s state of Baja California, just south of the U.S. border, is best know for its popular beer of the same name. But current plans come to fruition, Tecate will soon be home to the world’s largest concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) power farm, producing 450 megawatts of electricity.
Return of the Wooly Mammoth?
Wooly mammoths have recently made a few appearances in the global news. A new analysis of a frozen mammoth carcass discovered in northern Siberia in 2010 indicates that the animal was mauled by large predators, perhaps lions, before it was finished off and then butchered by humans.
Hearings on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project
Federal Canadian hearings will begin on March 30 to consider the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, which would transfer fossil fuels between the tar sands districts of Alberta and the Pacific port of Kitimat in British Columbia. The project is often viewed as an alternative to the equally controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would connect the tar sands with the oil refineries of the Gulf Coast in Texas.
Anti-nuclear protests in the Baltic states
Last week, environmental and non-governmental organization in Latvia and Lithuania organized a protest against building new nuclear power plants in those Baltic states, as well as in the neighboring Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
More Flooding in Australia
Interior Australia is noted for its extreme climatic oscillations, especially in regard to precipitation. If anything, the change from wet to dry periods seems to be getting more extreme.
Making a splash in El Calafate, Argentina
Argentinean President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner – commonly known simply as CFK –recently celebrated her 59th birthday at her multi-million dollar residence in a small Patagonian town of El Calafate. But it is neither CFK’s birthday party nor the touristy shops that have attracted an avalanche of visitors to El Calafate in the last few days.
Protests surrounding new Jerusalem to Tel-Aviv route
While construction in the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem often makes the news, a proposed development project in western Jerusalem has come under fire in recent days.



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