Elephants have been an integral part of history and cultures worldwide for centuries. They have been everything from circus entertainers to zoo occupants, from formidable instruments of war and labor to to prized sources of ivory. Only in recent decades, however, has the suffering and plight of elephants been brought to the forefront, along with […]
There was good news from Nepal last month as the country proudly announced that absolutely no poaching had occurred in the 12-month period ending with February 2014—the second year with zero poaching. Back in 2011 Nepal also celebrated a year without poaching, and in 2012, only one rhino was poached. Nepal has strict anti-poaching laws […]
Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as the locals call it in the Philippines, is the worst storm to hit the island nation in recorded history. The latest official death toll is at over 5,600, with more than 1,700 additional people missing and 3.5 million displaced. The worst-hit area, Tacloban City in Leyte Province in the Eastern […]
The seemingly relentless slaughter of orangutans and the destruction of tropical rainforests across the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are hardly breaking news, but the problems continue to intensify.. Rapid increases in the international demand for palm oil have resulted in the felling of more than half of Indonesia’s rainforest, with more than 70 percent […]
The South Korean government has abandoned plans to begin scientific whaling following domestic and international resistance. Scientific whaling involves the killing of whales for the purpose of research – a practice environmentalists dismiss as a thinly veiled cover for illegal commercial whaling operations. More than 100,000 concerned citizens from 124 countries signed an online petition […]
Four of the world’s 10 largest freshwater fish migrate up the Mekong River to spawn, yet the lives of these big fish—which can grow to be the length of a four-door car and weigh over 1,300 pounds—are at risk should a hydropower plant be built on a stretch of the river in northwestern Laos. The […]
Global warming trends and changes in weather patterns will have disastrous effects across Asia by 2050 unless greenhouse gases are reduced globally, say numerous climatologists and green groups. Citing current weather trends, they predict that, over the next 50 years, rising waters will force residents of many Asian islands to evacuate, water-borne disease will spread […]
