SYDNEY
Mining and port development coupled with decreasing water quality along Australia’s north-eastern coast are threatening the continent’s World Heritage-listed tourist drawcard, the Great Barrier Reef.
Spain has more large-scale plantations of genetically modified seeds than any other country in the European Union (EU).
When the environment changes, smart creatures adapt. And, in the face of a changing climate and changing economics, smart people are backing green energy. In 2011 almost a third of new electricity came from renewable sources. But, just as the first mammals had to contend with a world of dinosaurs, the pioneers of green energy have to contend with a world based on an obsolete carbon-based energy system that refuses to upgrade.
The process of cleaning the Matanza-Riachuelo river basin, which in its final flow borders the Argentinian capital, shows remarkable progress. But the biggest challenge remains the cleaning of the watercourse, which has been damaged by centuries of neglect.
Somali pirates on the southwest Indian Ocean have become one of the biggest security risks for commercial maritime shipping over the last several years. But even as piracy gave rise to international furore, an unlikely benefactor emerged: bluefin tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean.
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