The lifting of a long-held ban has angered conservationists, but others argue trophy hunting can support local economies and even help protect threatened species
In the borderlands of Tanzania and Kenya, the “super tuskers” roam. A combination of old age, genetic pooling and prolonged protection from poaching has created a population of bull elephants with enormous tusks, weighing up to 45kg apiece, large enough to scrape along the ground as the animals walk. To many, the bulls are “living icons” of the African savannah. They are also highly prized by trophy hunters.
Now, a series of super-tusker killings has sparked a bitter international battle over trophy hunting and its controversial, sometimes counterintuitive role in conservation. Some conservationists believe the killing of these extraordinary animals should not be allowed. Others say controlled, regulated hunting can actually contribute to elephants’ long-term survival by providing jobs for local people and incentives for habitats to be preserved.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/07/2024 - 23:00
07/07/2024 - 21:00
Copernicus Climate Change Service says results a ‘large and continuing shift’ in the climate
The world has baked for 12 consecutive months in temperatures 1.5C (2.7F) greater than their average before the fossil fuel era, new data shows.
Temperatures between July 2023 and June 2024 were the highest on record, scientists found, creating a year-long stretch in which the Earth was 1.64C hotter than in preindustrial times.
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07/07/2024 - 17:00
Research suggests impact of pollution begins before conception by disrupting the development of the egg
Air pollution exposure can significantly decrease the chance of a live birth after IVF treatment, according to research that deepens concern about the health impacts of toxic air on fertility.
Pollutant exposure has previously been linked to increased miscarriage rates and preterm births, and microscopic soot particles have been shown to travel through the bloodstream into the ovaries and the placenta. The latest work suggests that the impact of pollution begins before conception by disrupting the development of eggs.
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07/07/2024 - 15:42
Ruling, based on constitutional rights for natural features like Quito’s Machángara River, appealed by government
A ruling described by activists as “historic,” a court in Ecuador has ruled that pollution has violated the rights of a river that runs through the country’s capital, Quito.
The city government appealed the ruling, which is based on an article of Ecuador’s constitution that recognizes the rights of natural features like the Machángara River.
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07/07/2024 - 08:00
One of the biggest consumers in a global market worth an estimated £2bn, trade in the cheap fish in the south American country is booming. But worried conservationists say most people do not realise they are eating shark
Photographs by Avener Prado
The bright blue skies and calm waters of the estuary belie rough conditions at sea, and there is no sign of activity among the colourful fishing boats moored around the harbour of Cananéia, a sleepy fishing town 160 miles south of São Paulo.
On the wharf, however, a delivery of frozen fish from Uruguay has just arrived and a few men in white gumboots are busy unloading pallets of beheaded specimens labelled Galeorhinus galeus – school shark.
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07/07/2024 - 07:00
Rules allow hunting practices that target bears and wolves, including pups or cubs, on federal land in Alaska
The Biden administration has reinstated controversial Trump-era rules allowing what critics say are “barbaric” hunting practices that target bears and wolves, including pups or cubs, on federal land in Alaska.
Sport hunters use the practices, like killing young in their dens, to eliminate predators of caribou, which are considered trophy animals. The killings are probably decimating predator populations on federal Alaskan preserves, said Jeff Ruch, Pacific director with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
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07/06/2024 - 15:05
Temperatures could crest 100F (38C) in many regions after breaking records and sparking dozens of wildfires
A long-running heatwave that has already broken records, sparked dozens of wildfires and left about 130 million people under a high-temperature threat is about to intensify enough that the National Weather Service has deemed it “potentially historic”.
The NWS on Saturday reported some type of extreme heat or advisory for nearly 133 million people across the nation – mostly in western states where the triple-digit heat, with temperatures 15F to 30F higher than average, is expected to last into next week.
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07/06/2024 - 15:00
Exclusive: Experts say Tesla should be excluded from rebates for disabling function on its batteries in Australia that would let users alter power usage remotely
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Australian owners of Tesla batteries could miss out on lucrative revenue streams because the US energy giant restricts the devices’ ability to interact locally with third parties and authorities continue to dither over setting and enforcing standards.
An increasing number of products from air conditioners to hot water heaters and solar panels can be controlled remotely, and consumers can sign deals rewarding them for altering power usage during peak load periods, including supplying electricity to grid.
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07/06/2024 - 13:00
Polling shows voters in south of England switched because of Conservative inaction on polluted rivers and beaches
The sewage crisis was a significant factor in the Tories’ losing support in the “blue wall” in the south of England, electoral polling suggests.
Seven out of 10 voters supported legal measures to eliminate sewage spills in ecologically sensitive areas by 2030, according to polling conducted for Greenpeace by Survation just before the election. Less than a third of voters thought the Conservatives were right to weaken their commitments on the climate crisis and the environment.
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07/06/2024 - 10:00
Local residents are mourning the planned removal of the trees, symbols of the state’s northern-southern divide
Whenever Cassie Yoshikawa drives through the Central Valley on the former US Highway 99, she looks for the century-old landmark that symbolizes the midpoint of California: the Palm and the Pine.
Located on the highway median and towering over neighboring oleander shrubs, the Canary Island palm and the Deodar cedar tree are said to represent the spot where the balmy bottom of California meets its woodsier counterpart. In a state where north-south divisions run deep, the trees have long been a bright spot that speaks to the spirit of each half.
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