Stories written by Stephen Leahy
Stephen Leahy is the lead international science and environment correspondent at IPS, where he writes about climate change, energy, water, biodiversity, development and native peoples. Based in Uxbridge, Canada, near Toronto, Steve has covered environmental issues for nearly two decades for publications around the world. He is a professional member of the International Federation of Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists and the International League of Conservation Writers. He also pioneered Community Supported Environmental Journalism to ensure important environmental issues continue to be covered. | Web | Twitter |

TRADE-CANADA: Losing Water Through NAFTA

By Stephen Leahy
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada lost control over its energy resources. Now, with "NAFTA-plus", it could also lose control over its freshwater resources, say experts.
Some substances both damage the ozone layer and contribute to the greenhouse effect. - PiccoloNamek

Ozone Treaty Cools Down Global Warming

By Stephen Leahy and - -
The United States was the protagonist in talks for moving faster to eliminate gases that damage the atmospheric ozone layer and aggravate climate change.

ENVIRONMENT: The Chemical That Must Not Be Named

By Stephen Leahy
Delegates from 191 nations are on the verge of an agreement under the Montreal Protocol for faster elimination of ozone-depleting chemicals, but the United States insists it must continue to use the banned pesticide methyl bromide.
Blue represents the Antarctic ozone layer in 2006. Credit: Nasa image

ENVIRONMENT: Ozone Treaty Could Slow Climate Change

By Stephen Leahy
Delegates from 191 nations are in Montreal, Canada this week to celebrate and extend the world's most successful environmental treaty, the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer.
Lake Moraine, in Canada's Alberta province. - Photo Stock

Canada Losing Water Through NAFTA

By Stephen Leahy and - -
Water resources are being negotiated in the North American integration process. Experts warn that Canada will come out the loser in this deal.
Anopheles stephensi mosquito, a natural vector of malaria, which kills a million people per year. Credit: US CDC

SCIENCE: Geneticists Crack the Species Code

By Stephen Leahy
Scientists are enthusiastic about a new DNA barcoding technology that will help keep illegal fish and timber out of global markets, slow the spread of invasive pests, and improve food safety and disease prevention and offer better environmental monitoring.

ENVIRONMENT: Can Networking Teenagers Save the World?

By Stephen Leahy
Global trends indicate a looming environmental catastrophe, and engaging high school students around the world may be the only hope.
Women workers in Sukinda, India are exposed to contaminated dust and water, resulting in infertility, birth defects and stillbirths. Credit: Blackstone Group

ENVIRONMENT: Worst Places on Earth Are Home to Millions

By Stephen Leahy
Rapidly industrialising India and China have claimed four of the top 10 most polluted places on the planet for the first time, according to a report by U.S. and European environmental groups.

HEALTH: Medical Research Hits Cultural Roadblocks

By Stephen Leahy
Many new medical technologies to improve the lives of people in the global South fail to be adopted not because of the costs but because of ethical, social and cultural issues, a new study reveals.

ENVIRONMENT-AFRICA: Game Parks Offering Protection in Name Only?

By Stephen Leahy
The sharp decline of Africa's abundant wildlife is now happening inside the continent's protected areas, a new analysis indicates. Africa's world renowned parks are destined to become isolated pockets of wilderness with few large animals left, as is the case in Europe, conclude the authors of an article in the current edition of the 'African Journal of Ecology'.

ENVIRONMENT: 21st Century May Belong to the Shrub

By Stephen Leahy
As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to climb shrubs and other woody plants will likely dominate grasslands, altering pastoral lifestyles around the world, a U.S. study has found.
Severe erosion in a wheat field in the U.S. Pacific northwest state of Washington. Credit: USDA

ENVIRONMENT: Dirt Isn&#39t So Cheap After All

By Stephen Leahy
Soil erosion is the "silent global crisis" that is undermining food production and water availability, as well as being responsible for 30 percent of the greenhouse gases driving climate change.

ENVIRONMENT-US: Flying Blind Into Monster Storm Season

By Stephen Leahy
Category Five Hurricane Dean is just the first of several monster storms coming this hurricane season, meteorologists predict.

ENVIRONMENT: Satellites Show Logging Decline in Peru’s Amazon Region

By Stephen Leahy
Rainforest conservation policies are reducing the rate of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon, but roads are unquestionably the drivers of change, new satellite data reveal.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Deniers Jump on NASA Gaff, While Greenland on Verge of Meltdown

By Stephen Leahy
Scientists warn that climate change tipping points are imminent, and will lead to potentially catastrophic events like a seven-metre sea level rise. Meanwhile, conservatives in the North American media are focusing on a NASA admission of a climate calculation error.
An indigenous child next to a giant tree in the Peruvian Amazon. - Photo Stock

Satellites Show Logging Decline in Peruvian Amazon

By Stephen Leahy and - -
Deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon, intense in zones near roads and mining operations, has had little impact in protected forests, say researchers.

BIODIVERSITY: Atlantic Bluefin Going Way of Northern Cod

By Stephen Leahy
Fishing wiped out Atlantic Bluefin tuna stocks in Northern Europe 50 years ago, according to a new study, while ongoing pressure on the remaining stocks is pushing the entire species to the edge of extinction.
Funafuti atoll seen from 125 miles above the Earth. Credit: NASA

ENVIRONMENT: Tiny Tuvalu Fights for Its Literal Survival

By Stephen Leahy
The second smallest nation on Earth hopes to turn itself into an example of sustainable development that others can emulate.
Diatoms are one type of plankton. Credit: NOAA/Neil Sullivan USC

ECUADOR: Doubts Surround Carbon Absorption Project Near Galapagos

By Stephen Leahy
Later this month a U.S. company, Planktos Inc., plans to dump 100 tonnes of iron dust into the ocean near Ecuador's Galápagos Islands, despite opposition from environmental groups and marine scientists.
The food chain of the Galápagos seas could be altered by the Planktos company's large-scale experiment. - Photo Stock

Uncertainty in Carbon Absorption Project Near Galápagos

By Stephen Leahy and - -
Just off the environmentally protected Galápagos Islands, a company is preparing to enrich seawater with iron in order to promote phytoplankton growth and the absorption of carbon from the atmosphere.
Hydrothermal vent Credit: NASA

SCIENCE: 350 Degrees Is Bathwater to These Animals

By Stephen Leahy
Marine scientists returned to the Galapagos Islands this week to celebrate a discovery that Charles Darwin never dreamt of: bizarre animals that live in total darkness around active deep-sea volcanoes.
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