Category: Environment

WASHINGTON, February 27, 2009 (AFP) – Anthropologists have uncovered ancient fossil footprints in Kenya dating back 1.5 million years, the oldest evidence yet that our ancestors walked like present-day humans, a study showed Thursday. The footprints were discovered in two sedimentary layers near Ileret in northern Kenya and revealed an essentially modern human-like foot anatomy. […]

Feb 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan businesses that want to market their products and services as eco-friendly would have to get approval from the central environmental authority (CEA) in future.CEA chairman Udaya Gammanpila said new rules will be introduced to prevent misuse of the label which many firms were using as an advertising gimmick. […]

CHICAGO, February 14, 2009 (AFP) – The use of crop-based biofuels could speed up rather than slow down global warming by fueling the destruction of rainforests, scientists warned Saturday. Once heralded as the answer to oil, biofuels have become increasingly controversial because of their impact on food prices and the amount of energy it takes […]

Feb 10, 2009 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan business chamber said it plans to start an awareness programme to minimise pollution from agriculture and industry in the island’s provinces using selected enterprises as models for others.“Industrial pollution is causing lot of damage to the environment in urban and rural areas,” the Federation of Chambers of […]

BAROUK, February 7, 2009 (AFP) – Lebanon’s majestic cedar trees have withstood the test of time for centuries but climate change is threatening the country’s most treasured symbol. Used by various civilisations throughout history for their strong and durable wood, Lebanon’s cedars are now on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “Red List” as […]

WASHINGTON, February 5, 2009 (AFP) – Black wolves, found nearly exclusively in North America, likely inherited their coats from breeding with domestic dogs, according to a study published Thursday.The dogs of the earliest Native Americans or of European immigrants probably contributed to the genetic variability of their wild counterparts, researchers from Stanford University and the […]

PANAMA CITY, February 5, 2009 (AFP) – Scientists have found a 60-million-year-old fossil of the world’s largest snake, a 13-meter (42-foot), one-tonne behemoth dubbed Titanoboa, in a coal mine in Colombia, the US Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute said Wednesday. “The discovery of Titanoboa challenges our understanding of past climates and environments, as well as the […]

PARIS, February 5, 2009 (AFP) – Two hundred years ago, in a wealthy household in rural England, a child was born who, in a quiet, dogged and utterly peaceful way, was destined to become one of the greatest revolutionaries who lived. Armed just with a pen, Charles Darwin reforged our concept of Nature and humanity’s […]

MELBOURNE, February 3, 2009 (AFP) – An Australian man was caught with two live pigeons stuffed in his trousers as he got off a flight from the Middle East, authorities said Tuesday. Customs officers body-searched the 23-year-old after he was allegedly found with two bird eggs in a vitamin container in his pocket during baggage […]

WASHINGTON, January 26, 2009 (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Monday is expected to issue new regulations allowing several US states to set tougher car emissions and fuel efficiency standards, the New York Times reported, citing administration officials.He also will direct the Department of Transportation to immediately begin drafting automobile fuel-economy regulations to comply with […]

QUITO, January 6, 2009 (AFP) – A team of Ecuadoran and Italian researchers have discovered a unique species of pink land iguanas living on the Galapagos Islands, the scientist who wrote the report told AFP. “It is surprising to have found in the 21st century a find of this magnitude,” said Washington Tapia, head of […]

TOKYO, January 4, 2009 (AFP) – Japan’s Pacific coast was lapped by minor tsunami waves Sunday after a string of powerful earthquakes off Indonesia, the country’s meteorological agency said.Waves up to 40 centimetres (1.3 feet) reached the Pacific coasts of islands from the Okinawan chain to the main island of Honshu, the agency said. The […]