Coastal Care 2011: In Numbers and Achievements
Our deepest gratitude and thanks to our immensely talented and highly inspiring contributors of 2011.
— Santa Aguila Foundation.
A New Island Emerges From Volcanic Activity in the Red Sea
Lava fountains rising as high as 30 meters (100 feet) in the Red Sea surprised fishermen on Dec. 19 off the coast of Yemen. The eruption now looks to have resulted in the birth of a new island, seen above launching a plume of hot ash and water vapor in a Dec. 23 photo from NASA’s Advanced Land Imager on board its Earth Observing One satellite.
Fire destroys 1,500 hectares of Patagonia forest
A raging fire has destroyed or seriously damaged 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of vegetation in a Patagonia nature preserve in southern Chile.
Tatai River Sand Dredging Resumes, Cambodia
In October Ly Yong Phat’s LYP Group had respected an agreement to stop sand dredging on the Tatai River in Koh Kong province by mid-October. But rather than respecting the written agreement from July 16, LYP had simply subcontracted out to another company to keep on dredging sand.
Vietnam: Police Takes Action Against Illegal Sand Dredging
Bien Hoa City Police and the waterway traffic police in the southern province of Dong Nai, gave chase to nine boats seen illegally dredging sand.
Rio Gears Up For Green Fireworks
This year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks on Rio’s famed Copacabana beach, an event expected to draw nearly two million party-goers, will have an environmental theme, officials said.
Philippines Floods: An Expected Shock
The typhoon that hit Mindanao in the Philippines before Christmas to claim 1,000 lives and leave nearly 50,000 homeless was a shock, but not a surprise. In 2009, campaigners and scientists simulated the effects of a tropical storm on the island, and predicted that the two coastal cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan would be hit by flash floods. At the time, the prediction was dismissed as alarmist.
Oily: How A San Francisco Oil Spill Took Its Toll On Fish
The impacts of an oil spill does not end when Anderson Cooper goes home… A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looks at the aftermath of a 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay, and finds the accidents has had lingering effects on local fish, effects that continued well after the spill was cleaned up.
Oil On Nigerian Coast After Shell Oil Spill
An environmental group said that an oil slick had approached Nigeria’s coastline after a major Shell spill last week, but the company insisted that its spill had been largely dispersed, and now is contained…