Home/Posts Tagged ‘australia’
Posts Tagged ‘australia’
Conservation, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 23rd, 2010,
This week’s Creature Feature is about a marsupial that, although may be a symbol of Western Australia, it may not be so well-known to the rest of the world. The Numbat, or Banded Ant Eater, is the only member of the Myrmecobiidae family. This furry little creature ranges between 13 and 18 inches (35-45 cm) in length, comes in a variety of colors (ranging from grey to reddish-brown and with a lighter underside) and can be recognized by its tail and stripes. Numbats love to feast on termites—in fact, one adult Numbat can eat up to 20,000 termites every day!…
Tags: australia, Banded Ant Eater, Conservation, Creature Feature, decreasing, endangered species, introduced species, marsupial, Numbat, population decline, predators, termites, Western Australia, wildfires
Nature, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 19th, 2010,
Once considered a pest and hunted, the majestic whale sharks of Donsol in the Philippines are now a successful attraction for eco-tourists. The whale shark is the world’s largest fish and can measure up to 20 meters in length. Used as a food source in some places of the world, whale shark meat is not cheap – especially the fins. This despite the fact that the World Conservation Union lists the whale shark as vulnerable to extinction. But preserving and protecting the whale sharks of Donsol is far more appealing – and profitable – for the residents of this Philippine…
Tags: australia, ban, CNN, Donsol, Hong Kong, Nature, Philippines, whale shark
Climate Change, Nature, Politics, Jun 15th, 2010,
Last week Queensland Alumina Limited was fined $90 thousand Australian (78k USD/63k euros) for an industrial incident that released caustic vapors within 6 km of their Gladstone alumina refinery last year. The company pleaded guilty to the charge of causing serious environmental harm. According to a report by ABC News Australia, the main section of the refinery had not been inspected or maintained for up to 30 years. Another Australian aluminum facility, the Rio Tinto Alcan bauxite and alumina mine east of Darwin, is being investigated by the Northern Territory department of resources due to a fuel leak of 70,000…
Tags: activist, alumina, aluminium, aluminum, australia, Australian, bauxite, Bianca, environmental, human, Jagger, mine, Orissa, tribes, Vedanta
Climate Change, Nature, Politics, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 11th, 2010,
The whaling issue is creeping back into the news more often again and this article is no exception. In recent news, Australia announced plans to take legal action against Japanese whaling, which includes the involvement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It has been known for a long time that Australia has an issue with Japan’s whaling, especially in the Southern Ocean and their decision comes after a series of rather critical events, including the Sea Shepherd incident, a 6-week scientific research study and countless failed negotiations through the IWC. Speaking of the IWC, their much anticipated Morocco meeting…
Tags: australia, Captain Pete Bethune, endangered species, Greenpeace-Japan, International Court of Justice, IWC, Japanese, prosecution, protests, Sea Shepherd, Tokyo Two, trial, update, whale hunt, whales, whaling
Wildlife & Flora, Jun 8th, 2010,
A surfer was attacked by a shark on Sunday—not once, but twice. The attack happened to off Conspicuous Cliff Beach, located south of Perth, Australia. Surfer Michael Bedford, who was rescued by a friend and some fishermen, suffered deep gashes to his right leg, but fortunately he is in stable condition at a hospital. Apparently, he caught a wave into the beach when the incident happened and his rescuers used the surfboard as a stretcher to carry him to safety. According to his friend, Lee Cummuskey, who saw the attack from the beach: “[Michael] thought it was just going to…
Tags: australia, Conspicuous Cliff Beach, Great White Shark, Perth, shark attack, surfer, White Pointer
Green living, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, May 30th, 2010,
School is ending, summer is rearing it’s blistering hot head, and the vacation season is upon us. Will you take to the beach again this year, or perhaps go camping in the mountains? Have you been eyeing one of those Caribbean cruises or thinking of trudging through an over-crowded amusement park? While some destinations may offer green hospitality or eco-friendly activities here and there, much of the world has yet to catch up with eco-tourism. However, some places have definitely gone above and beyond the call and are worth mentioning in this list. Check them out: 10. Norway First, we…
Tags: adventure, Alaska, australia, biodiversity, borneo, California, Costa Rica, eco accommodations, eco destinations, eco lodging, eco vacations, eco-tours, ecotourism, expedition, Galapagos Islands, Green, journey, Kenya, Nature, New Zealand, Norway, sustainable, The Amazon, top 10 list, travel
Nature, Politics, Wildlife & Flora, May 29th, 2010,
As the IWC meeting in Morocco approaches and an anti-whaling activist faces trial in Japan, the Australian government made a bold move yesterday by announcing plans to take legal action against Japanese whaling—starting next week. It has long been known that Australia does not support whaling, especially when it happens in the nearby Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Their New Zealand neighbors are also against these violent activities and are also considering opening a case against Japan, as well. The Japanese conduct “lethal research” through a loophole in a 1986 moratorium. However, they do not hide the fact that most of…
Tags: announcement, australia, ICJ, International Court of Justice, IWC, japan, Japanese Whaling, legal action, New Zealand, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 28th, 2010,
Last week, a rather interesting critter was discovered in Perth, Australia. The creature appeared to be nothing more than a common Shingleback, or skink lizard. Well, with one exception: the lizard has 2 heads. The lizard is currently being cared for at a reptile park in Henley Brook. Unfortunately, two-headed lizards don’t have particularly long life spans and it probably doesn’t help that the larger head has been occasionally attacking the smaller one. This particular two-headed lizard eats from both heads, though, and it also has a healthy sibling with no signs of mutation. Polycephaly (the condition of having multiple…
Tags: australia, lizard, multiple heads, Perth, polycephaly, reptile, shingleback, two-headed
Climate Change, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, ,
I am starting a new weekly segment here on GreenFudge. We all know there are thousands of endangered species around the world. Here, and elsewhere, I’m sure you’ve seen more than enough reports about the plight of the tiger, or the orangutan, or the whale. And I’m sure you’re sick of seeing the same animals being covered all the time in the news. Yes, tigers are cute and more appealing than some other creatures in the world, but that doesn’t make the other creatures any less important. So, the purpose of this new segment is to bring lesser known endangered…
Tags: australia, Creature Feature, endangered species, marine life, new segment, spotlight, Spotted Handfish, Tasmania
Climate Change, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 14th, 2010,
There is always a dark cloud hiding somewhere behind every silver lining and unfortunately, this also applies to the recent Great Barrier Reef incident. Although the Chinese vessel was refloated and towed away from the shoal, some oil from the spill still washed up at the well-known North West Island nature sanctuary. This particular sanctuary is a breeding site for hundreds of thousands of seabirds and turtles. Many feared for the safety, health and well-being of these animals on the island, so environmental experts and clean-up crews were immediately sent by helicopter to the site. One major concern at this…
Tags: australia, beach, breeding ground, Chinese, contamination, coral cay, Great Barrier Reef, green turtles, hatching, leak, loggerhead turtles, nature sanctuary, nesting site, North West Island, oil, seabirds, Shen Neng 1, ship, spill, Tyron Island, vessel
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 13th, 2010,
I absolutely love to go hiking. The great outdoors is a wonderful place to explore and to go to for some peace of mind. There are so many spectacular views, vistas, scenic areas and landscapes around the world; all of which are definitely worth seeing. Unfortunately, it may be impossible to hike all those trails in one lifetime. So, I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 hiking trails around the world. This list comes from many sources and much research. The trails that have ended up on the list are ones that have been favored the most. 10. The…
Tags: adventure, Africa, around the world, Asia, australia, camping, environment, Europe, fun, hikes, hiking, journey, natures, North America, South America, top 10 list, travel, trekking, treks
Climate Change, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 12th, 2010,
Things are looking up for the incident that happened in the Great Barrier Reef. The 750-foot (230 m) Shen Neng 1 has been moved off the shoal and without spilling anymore oil. A Maritime Safety Queensland spokesman stated: “They have moved it to a position off the shoal. It has been stabilized and will probably be floating there for another hour.” The ship was supposed to be towed to a more sheltered area before Australia’s northeast coast got slammed by stormy weather. However, emergency workers were only able to pump about 1,000 tons of fuel from the ship and had…
Tags: australia, Great Barrier Reef, oil spill, Queensland, Shen Neng 1, ship removed from shoal, update
Climate Change, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 10th, 2010,
There is finally a bit of good news with the whole Great Barrier Reef incident. Yesterday, salvage crews began pumping the fuel oil from the damaged Chinese coal ship onto a barge. Inflatable booms are in place to trap any oil that may spill during the transfer. The barge will be taking the oil away and thus, preventing any further leaking into the reef. The Chinese vessel, Shen Neng I, crashed onto Douglas Shoal—a protected area of the Great Barrier Reef—at full speed (and off course) earlier this week. The crash caused much damage to the ship and oil to…
Tags: australia, cleanup, crash, damage, Douglas Shoal, Great Barrier Reef, oil spill, Pollution, Queensland, salvage, Shen Neng I, ship
Climate Change, Nature, Politics, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 8th, 2010,
Earlier this week, a Chinese coal ship began leaking oil into the Great Barrier Reef. Many people around the world are upset about the incident, but the Chinese ship captain is not one of them. Rather than taking responsibility for directing a massive ship off-course and polluting one of the world’s most treasured coral reefs, Captain Wang Jichang complained about rescue workers using the Shen Neng 1’s food and water. According to Brisbane’s Chinese consul-general, Ren Gongping, Wang claimed that the “leakage is not very serious so far” and that he “cannot see the oil on the sea”. I believe…
Tags: australia, captain angers world, Chinese coal ship, damaged ship, Great Barrier Reef, irresponsible actions, oil slick, oil spill, Pollution, Shen Neng I, update
Climate Change, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 5th, 2010,
Right now, a Chinese coal ship is stranded in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Oil is slowly leaking out of the ship into the reef, which may cause a lot of damage to large areas of the protected reef. The ship (Shen Neng I) belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group—a subsidiary of COSCO (China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company). Last year, COSCO was tied to a spill in Norway and it was also linked to a 2007 spill in San Francisco Bay. Both incidents caused damage to environmentally sensitive areas. WWF-Australia director of conservation, Gilly Llewellyn, commented: “We are seeing a concerning…
Tags: australia, Chinese coal ship, Great Barrier Reef, oil spill, Shen Neng I
Climate Change, Natural disasters, Wildlife & Flora, Mar 26th, 2010,
It may have seemed like the end of the world for residents of Perth, Australia, this week. At least 160,000 people were left without power on Tuesday as golf ball-sized hailstones, floods and landslides attacked the town. Falling trees took out power lines and damaged homes, while flood waters ran into hospitals and schools. Some patients even had to be evacuated from one hospital’s emergency room after the roof collapsed. Colin Barnett, premier of Western Australia, figured the damage bill to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He commented: “I think from my memory this would be the most…
Tags: australia, floods, Great Barrier Reef, hailstones, landslides, Perth, power outages, severe weather, storms, tornados
Climate Change, Nature, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, ,
The southernmost coral reef of the world isn’t looking too pretty. Where is this reef? It’s located near Lord Howe Island, which is off the eastern coast of Australia. Warming seas have caused bleaching of this particular reef for the first time ever. Coral bleaching (or whitening) occurs when the algae-like protozoa dies or is expelled from the coral for stress-related reasons. Yes, coral gets stressed out. A particular type of protozoa, called zooxanthellae, is what gives the coral its coloring. When these are expelled, the coral begins to lose its color. Australian scientist, Pete Harrison, has monitored the island…
Tags: australia, coral bleaching, Lord Howe Island, study, world’s southernmost coral reef
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Mar 11th, 2010,
Life and death work in mysterious ways and one recent incident in Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is proof of that. An Asian Elephant gave birth yesterday to a healthy, living, baby boy. Two days ago, you wouldn’t have known that. Two days ago, zookeepers and veterinarians both declared the elephant calf dead inside the womb. Apparently, the mother had gone through 6 days of labor, but nothing happened. Even the ultrasounds showed no possible chance of a successful birth. Well, it would seem that once again, nature had everyone fooled (except the baby and his mother). Not only was the baby…
Tags: Asian Elephant, australia, birth, elephant, life and death, Sydney, Taronga Zoo
Nature, Politics, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, Mar 7th, 2010,
Last week, 25 nations met in Florida to discuss ongoing whaling issues. The main focus of the meeting was a compromise that would allow Iceland, Japan and Norway to hunt whales openly (despite a 1986 ban on commercial whaling); but in turn the 3 nations would be required to greatly reduce their quotas over a 10-year period and their whaling activities would also be closely monitored by the IWC. The meeting resulted in absolutely nothing. No compromise was struck and nothing was agreed to, especially between Australia and Japan, who are clashing the most on the issue. Japan basically wants…
Tags: 1986 ban on commercial whaling, australia, compromise, Florida, International Whaling Commission, IWC, japan, meeting, moratorium, whaling
Climate Change, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Mar 3rd, 2010,
Sumatra: A large, Indonesian island that is home to over 200 mammal and nearly 600 bird species, including critically endangered animals such as the Sumatran tiger, rhino, and orangutan. It’s also the target of a new environmental initiative launched by Australia and Indonesia. Yesterday, those 2 nations announced a multi-million dollar plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation on Sumatra. Named the Sumatra Forest Carbon Partnership, immediate action will be taken against threats to forests in Jambi province. According to Neil Scotland, coordinator of the Indonesia-Australia Forest Carbon Partnership: “The partnership in Jambi is a…
Tags: australia, deforestation, emissions, global warming, Indonesia, Sumatra, Sumatra Forest Carbon Partnership
