Home/Posts Tagged ‘Indonesia’
Posts Tagged ‘Indonesia’
Natural disasters, Apr 12th, 2012,
In the space of just two days, Mexico has been hit by two separate earthquakes of 6.5 and 6.9 magnitudes, respectively, while Indonesia suffered two quakes of 8.6 and 8.2 magnitudes off its coast, resulting in 5 deaths and 7 injuries. The quakes in Mexico came just over 3 weeks after a quake of 7.4 magnitude that caused extensive damage in the southwest of the country. No major damage has been reported concerning the latest earthquakes in Mexico, but they did raise concerns about possible resulting tsunamis, due to the location and nature of the quakes. From Reuters UK: The…
Tags: earthquake, fracking, Indonesia, magnitude, Mexico, tsunami
Conservation, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Dec 26th, 2011,
In Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) orangutans are being hunted and driven into possible extinction. Indonesia, which is home to 90% of the world’s orangutan population, is also home to rampant unregulated and illegal palm plantations, deforestation and logging. Loss of habitat has pitted villagers against the orangutans, who may venture into gardens for food. Locals are known to kill great apes for food and out of fear. But the real culprits are the industries who see orangutan conservation as a threat to their business. These firms are not only destroying the orangutans’ habitat, but have allegedly paid villagers to hunt and…
Tags: borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, kill, orangutan, palm oil
Conservation, Videos & Documentaries, Nov 24th, 2011,
The coal and palm oil industries have been getting away with ecocide in the forests of Indonesia, threatening the traditional, sustainable way of life of local villagers and destroying the delicately balanced ecology of the region. Now the palm oil firm PT Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa is moving into a previously untouched area of forest in East Kalimantan province. Villagers, who both depend on and care for the forests, are struggling to defend this remaining forest oasis from further ecocide at the hands of corporate greed. Sources report that the firm’s bulldozers have been clearing approximately five hectares a…
Tags: ecocide, forest, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, orangutan, palm oil
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Sep 8th, 2011,
In the jungles of the Indonesian island of Sumatra there might live some kind of upright-walking ape-man with long, heavy metal hair. Several zoologists and plenty of connoisseurs of the weird believe so. And local Indonesian lore is chock full of tales and eyewitness accounts of the orang pendek. Native Sumatrans don’t even consider the ape a mythical or magical creature, just another of the forest’s inhabitants. The orang pendek, “short man” in Malay, is said to be 4-5 feet tall but powerfully built with broad shoulders and long muscular arms. Sightings suggest it walks upright like a human,…
Tags: ape, freak, Indonesia, orang pendek, Sumatra
Conservation, Politics, May 19th, 2011,
Half of the Earth’s forests have already been cleared or degraded. A lot of this former forestland is used for growing food, but much is unused or underused. All the while more deforestation is taking place in order to feed a growing global population and to increase economic development. A new study argues that these degraded forests could be either reforested or put to productive use, instead of cutting down more virgin forest. In Brazil, reports show that deforestation rose immensely in recent months, in sharp contrast to government studies released last December claiming that Amazon deforestation had fallen to…
Tags: amazon, Brazil, deforestation, development, food prices, Indonesia, population, soy
Climate Change, Nature, Nov 26th, 2010,
While the Merapi volcano on the Indonesian island of Java is still active, a second volcano – Mount Bromo – erupted today, around 5:40 pm local time. Mount Bromo, a volcano located about 275 km (170 miles) east of Mount Merapi, spew dark grey ash cloud of half a kilometer (0,3 miles) into the air. Although the Bromo volcano erupts at least once a year and although it currently does not pose a treat to the residents of the region surrounding it, Indonesian officials remain cautious as the Bromo volcano usually does not spew hot ash or debris. Mount Merapi’s…
Tags: Bromo eruption, Bromo volcano, Indonesia, Java, Mount Bromo, Mount Merapi
Climate Change, Green living, Nature, Politics, Nov 24th, 2010,
“REDD Alert: Protection Money”, an extensive report issued by Greenpeace last Tuesday, claims that the Indonesian government has plans to use the billion dollars the country will get from the U.S., Norway and the U.K. under the REDD program to cut down 37 million acres of rainforest. Greenpeace’s findings are based on leaked documents from the ministry of Agriculture, Energy and Forestry. The report states that Indonesia’s greenhouse gas reduction proposals may create perverse incentives to clear forests and peat lands, create opportunities for corruption and actually drive an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. According to the leaked documents Indonesian…
Tags: Climate change, deforestation, forests, Greenpeace, Indonesia, natural forests, palm oil industry, pulp & paper, REDD Alert: Protection Money
Climate Change, Green living, Nature, Politics, Science & Technology, Nov 22nd, 2010,
Everyone remembers the COP15 Climate Conference that took place in Copenhagen in December of 2009. Well maybe you don’t remember every detail of the agenda but you surely remember the Conference was not a big success. Now the United Nations will soon be at it again, with COP16 just looming from around the corner. COP16 will be the 16th edition of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP). It will also hold simultaneously the 6th Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). “Parties”…
Tags: APP, Asia Pulp and Paper, Cancun, cop16, Greenpeace, Greenspirit Strategies, Indonesia, Indonesian Forests, Patrick Moore, REDD program, united nations
Climate Change, Nature, Nov 1st, 2010,
Java’s Merapi volcano in Indonesia erupted again today. The latest eruption is stronger than the eruption from last Tuesday. There are currently no reports of casualties. The authorities evacuated more than 50.000 people in the last few days, fearing that the volcano’s activity is not about to end soon.
Tags: eruption, Indonesia, Java, merapi, volcano
Climate Change, Nature, Oct 30th, 2010,
Last night the Merapi volcano on Java erupted again, killing at least 2. This brings the death toll to 38 since the first eruption of the volcano earlier this week. Last week alone, with the tsunami hitting the shores of several Indonesian islands and with the eruption of Merapi, at least 450 people were killed. 300 people are still missing in the regions where the tsunami reached Indonesia. Rescue workers are having a hard time to look for survivors due to bad weather conditions and lack of adequate equipment.
Tags: Indonesia, Java, merapi, natural disasters, tsunami, volcano
Climate Change, Nature, Oct 27th, 2010,
Last Monday we reported an earthquake of 7,5 on the Richter scale hit south of Sumatra. Yesterday Java’s Merapi volcano erupted, killing 25 people. Then a tsunami hit the western part of Indonesia, killing at least 113 people, many more still reported missing. Although the Indonesian authorities did alert the population on Monday for the dangers of a possible tsunami following the 7,5 magnitude earthquake, they revoked the alarm soon after. The tsunami eventually did reach the western part of Indonesia, with 3-meter high waves breaking on the shores of several islands. 400 homes where washed away in the process….
Tags: earthquake, Indonesia, Java, natural disaster, tsunami, volcano, yanomami
Climate Change, Nature, Oct 26th, 2010,
Java’s Merapi volcano’s increased activity we told you about yesterday, resulted in three eruptions this morning, “spewing volcanic ash as high as 1.5 kilometers and searing heat clouds down the slopes”, according to local government volcanologist Surono. Since the increased activity of the volcano, and especially after the first eruption this morning, evacuation of local population has begun. A perimeter of 10 kilometers around the crater of the Merapi volcano was set up, and close to 19.000 people where asked to leave the hills of the mountain. Volcanologists predicted this eruption to be bigger than the 2006 eruption, and they…
Tags: eruption, Indonesia, Java, lava, merapi, volcano
Climate Change, Health, Oct 5th, 2010,
Floods are taking the world by storm lately–literally. We have them in the US, they’re happening over in Asia and Europe, and all of them are claiming lives. This latest report focuses on the area of West Papua, Indonesia, where at least 56 people were killed by flooding. Dozens of others are still missing and over 60 people were injured, many with broken bones and most needing to be life-flighted (transported via helicopter) to medical services. In addition to the dead and wounded, hundreds of homes were destroyed, 30 of which were completely flattened by the storm. Schools, hospitals and…
Tags: 56 dead, breaking news, damaged homes, flash floods, flooding, Indonesia, mudslides, power outages, West Papua, wounded
Nature, Videos & Documentaries, Aug 29th, 2010,
A volcano which has lain dormant for 400 years has erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The volcano, called Sinabung, erupted on Saturday and Sunday, sending a giant cloud of ash and smoke into the skies and causing thousands to evacuate their homes. From an AFP report: From the crater, it shot smoke and volcanic ash 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) into the sky. Initially we thought the ash and smoke were triggered by rain but now we know the driving pressure was from magma. – Surono, head of Indonesia’s volcano disaster alert centre There is currently a 6 km…
Tags: ash, erupted, evacuate, Indonesia, Sinabung, smoke, Sumatra, volcano
Climate Change, Nature, Aug 21st, 2010,
The headline in The Ecologist, ‘Human response to climate change is making matters worse’, is a bit of a f*&#(^@ downer. Upon reading the actual article, it doesn’t get that much better. A recent study has researched the impacts of human response to climate change on biodiversity. The study, recently published in the journal Conservation Letters, attempts to assess the impact of responses such as the biofuel industry, which has contributed to the destruction of rainforests and peat bogs in South East Asia. Hydropower projects like China’s massive Three Gorges Dam have also left their marks on biological habitats. From the…
Tags: action, biodiversity, biofuel, China, Climate change, ecologist, ecosystem, human, humanity, impact, Indonesia, react, resource, response, study, Three Gorges Dam
Videos & Documentaries, Weird Stuff, Aug 13th, 2010,
Studies analyzing some 20 years of footage taken of Orangutans in the jungles of Borneo are giving scientists fascinating insights into how these great apes communicate. The footage shows the orangutans using mime as a means ‘talking’ with one another. These messages include the desire to have an itch scratched and a termite nest opened. From an article in the Guardian: The study suggests they are capable of more complex communication than previously thought, and resort to mimes to elaborate on messages directed at other apes and their former keepers. The orangutans observed formerly lived in captivity, but the footage,…
Tags: apes, borneo, communicate, conservationist, footage, Indonesia, message, mime, mimicking, orangutan, researcher, video
Natural disasters, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 16th, 2010,
At least 2 earthquakes hit Indonesia today, killing at least 3 people and damaging hundreds of homes. First, there was a 5.3 magnitude quake on Sulawesi island. Landslides nearly destroyed at least 50 buildings and killed at least one person at an elementary school. A second—7.0 magnitude—quake struck off the coast of Papua province—nearly 1,200 miles (2,000 km) from the first quake—and was followed by a series of aftershocks, the strongest being a 6.4. Many people were hospitalized, one woman was killed, and a 5-month-old baby was crushed when his family’s house collapsed. Search and rescue teams are at work…
Tags: 2%, 5.3, 7.0, aftershocks, breaking news, damaged homes, death toll, double, earthquakes, Indonesia, injuries, landslide, Papua, Sulawesi, tsunami warning
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, May 22nd, 2010,
Wild animals are illegally captured and sold all too often anymore. Sometimes, they are kept alive and sold for pets, entertainment purposes, or who knows what other schemes. Other times, they are killed and sold for food, clothing, decorations, or medicinal purposes. And yet there are some rare occasions when the animals are discovered and saved before it’s too late; such an occasion happened earlier this week. Indonesian police found 71 endangered Green Sea Turtles after conducting a warehouse raid in Bali. All of the animals were alive at the time, but their flippers were tied with rope, suggesting they…
Tags: Bali, endangered species, Green Sea Turtles, happily ever after, Indonesia, raid, rescue, warehouse
Science & Technology, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, May 17th, 2010,
In most cases when a new animal discovery is reported, the scientist finds the animal. In a funny turn of events, it was the animal that discovered the scientists. A group of researchers were camping in the Foja Mountains of Indonesia; amongst them was herpetologist, Paul Oliver. Oliver noticed their camp had a visitor: a frog sitting on a bag of rice. Upon further observation, it was discovered that the frog was actually a previously unknown type of long-nosed frog and so the scientists named it Pinocchio. Apparently, when “Pinocchio” is calling, its nose will point upwards, but when the…
Tags: animals, discovery, Foja Mountains, frog, gecko, Indonesia, kangaroo, pigeon, Pinnochio, rat
Nature, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, May 11th, 2010,
A Sumatran tiger can fetch as much as $5,000 US in Indonesia. This is more than enough incentive for poachers to hunt and capture tigers; sometimes selling them on as pets or killing them in order to harvest their body parts. The body parts of Sumatran tigers are used as charms, to make religious artifacts and status symbols; and as ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine. Other threatened species in Indonesia being illegally trafficked include the pangolin – a scaly anteater considered both a delicacy and a source of medicine in China – the slow loris; gibbons, and several birds of…
Tags: Al Jazeera, animal, illegal, Indonesia, medicine, report, Sumatran, tiger, trade, video, wildlife
