Category: Environment

PARIS, May 7, 2011 (AFP) – Renewable power from the Sun, wind, water and biomass can and should generate a major portion of the planet’s energy supply by 2050, according to a draft United Nations report obtained by AFP. Renewables have the potential to bring power to the world’s poorest regions, boost energy security for […]

PARIS, May 4, 2011 (AFP) – Chimpanzees are self-aware and can anticipate the impact of their actions on the environment around them, an ability once thought to be uniquely human, according to a study released Wednesday. The findings, reported in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, challenge assumptions about the boundary between human and […]

Apr 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to get a loan equivalent to 33,536 million US dollars (41,886 million rupees) from South Korea to build four facilities for disposal of solid waste which is a growing problem in the island. The Korea Economic Development Fund of the Export – Import Bank of Korea is […]

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2011 (AFP) – Lights went off around the world Saturday as landmark buildings and ordinary homes flipped their switches while the annual “Earth Hour” circled the planet in what was dubbed the world’s largest voluntary action for the environment. In Paris a minute’s silence was observed for Japan as the city of […]

FUKUSHIMA, March 13, 2011 (AFP) – Japan battled a nuclear emergency Sunday in which the government said twin meltdowns may have taken place and that radiation had escaped from reactors at a quake-damaged atomic power plant. About 200,000 people have been evacuated from residential areas around the Fukushima No. 1 plant, 250 kilometres (120 miles) […]

PARIS, February 16, 2011 (AFP) – Global warming driven by human activity boosted the intensity of rain, snow and consequent flooding in the northern hemisphere over the last half of the 20th century, research released Wednesday has shown. Members of the public interested in lending computing power can find information at climateprediction.net, which is currently […]

Feb 11, 2011 (LBO) – Award winning author Phillip Hoare and underwater videographer Andrew Sutton is working on a film featuring whales in the waters surrounding Sri Lanka and also explore the Island nation, its people and culture. “We are very keen to expand the themes we have been exploring while filming whales into a […]

Feb 02, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s growing whale watching boats will have to develop and follow good practices so that whales will not be disturbed and scared away and the safety of passengers is also assured, a biologist has said. Sometimes boats converged on whales and there was danger of whales being chased. Sri […]

January 17, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main elephant orphanage Monday suspended two mahouts and a curator following the death of a 23-year-old male pachyderm in their care, a senior official said. Elephants are considered sacred animals in Sri Lanka and a judicial inquiry is required before one can be buried. Gunaratne said the centre […]

Jan 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka labour minsitry and the internatonal labour organisaton is to look for ways to create more ‘green jobs’ and provide skills for workers in environmentally friendly enterprises. “Moving the Sri Lankan economy onto an environmentally sustainable and low carbon development path will change the socio-economic structures of the country […]

BATTICALOA, January 14, 2011 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan military and aid agencies struggled Thursday to bring relief to a million people displaced by floods that have claimed nearly 30 lives and devastated the island’s rice bowl. Even as torrential rains eased overnight to bring some temporary respite, the number of people seeking protection in […]

January 12, 2011 (AFP) – At least 18 people have died and nearly one million have been made homeless by flooding in Sri Lanka after days of heavy rains, officials said Wednesday. Central and eastern regions of the island have been worst hit by the monsoon rains, with frequent mudslides and rising water levels. Continuing […]