Urgency

Biodiversity: try as we might, things just keep dying

Written by Giovanni Lauricella

Friday, 30 April 2010 14:24

The world is about to miss another deadline. By 2010 there was supposed to be "a significant reduction" in the speed at which varieties of life are disappearing.

Both the 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations' 2000 Millennium Development Goals call for it. But the most wide-ranging analysis of global biodiversity ever attempted has found that it's not happening – despite what seem to be massive government efforts.

Never before has anyone produced a single measure of biodiversity across the thousands of species and habitats on Earth. Scientists working with CBD have developed 31 different surveillance schemes to track the loss of species, ecosystems or genetic variants in mammals, marine life, birds and other broad categories of life. This week, for the first time, they have put them together.

Crude Oil No Longer Needed for Production of Plastics

Written by Giovanni Lauricella

Friday, 30 April 2010 13:32

Each year the world produces about 130 million kilo of ethene, the most important raw material for plastics. This gigantic industry is currently dependent on crude oil. And that is running out. Dutch researcher Tymen Tiemersma might have found a solution for this problem. With his new reactor we can produce ethene from natural gas and, therefore, in the future from biogas as well.

Tiemersma found an apparently very simple solution for one of the biggest problems in producing ethene from natural gas. If you want to produce plastics from natural gas then you first of all need to convert the natural gas into ethene. That can currently be done but one vital problem occurs: the process generates an incredible amount of heat, too much to remove easily. Consequently the conversion of natural gas is far too expensive and consumes a lot of energy. Yet natural gas is not only used for the production of ethene. It is also the raw material for syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. And the production of syngas happens to require a lot of heat. "What would be more logical than combining the two processes?" thought Tymen Tiemersma.

Reforestation project takes root in Peruvian Amazon

Written by Giovanni Lauricella

Thursday, 29 April 2010 23:10

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Get Adobe Flash Player here

Madagascar passes decree banning rainforest timber trade

Written by Giovanni Lauricella

Thursday, 29 April 2010 23:07

Madagascar's transitional government has finally signed a decree banning the logging and trade of precious hardwoods, a month after announcing the moratorium.

The decree comes in direct response to mounting pressure from the international community over ongoing destruction of Madagascar's national parks by illegal loggers. Timber trafficking was associated with an increase in commercial poaching of wildlife — including endangered lemurs ̬ and violence against conservation workers and local communities by marauding bands of loggers.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 April 2010 23:17 )