Category: Environment

WASHINGTON, October 6, 2010 (AFP) – The US space agency NASA announced Tuesday it has given the green light to a mission to Mars aimed at investigating the mystery of how the “red planet” lost its atmosphere. NASA gave the approval Monday for “the development and 2013 launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution […]

Oct 06, 2010 (LBO) – The official car used by the US envoy in Colombo has been shipped to its German maker for recycling, instead of being buried in the sea under a new green policy, the US embassy in Colombo said. “Formerly, the Embassy disposed of Ambassadors’ cars by sinking them off the coast […]

Oct 04, 2010 (LBO) – Reducing carbon emissions can give Sri Lankan businesses a competitive advantage, according to officials of a new company offering carbon reduction services. Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) has been appointed as an approved reseller of The CarbonNeutral Company’s services, including carbon offsets and certification. We can no longer depend on trade […]

CUENCA, October 2, 2010 (AFP) – Decades after a mechanical pine-tree digger first unearthed it, an extraordinary trove of dinosaur fossils in central Spain is revealing its secrets. When the digging machine cut a furrow to plant pines in the arid soil near the medieval town of Cuenca in the 1980s, it sliced through more […]

WASHINGTON, October 1, 2010 (AFP) – Some dinosaurs may have been at least 10 percent taller than previously thought, US paleontologists said Thursday in a study that found the creatures had large amounts of cartilage. The dinosaurs had thick layers of cartilage in their joints that may have added more than a foot (30 centimeters) […]

Sept 24, 2010 (LBO) – Protection of natural resources in Sri Lanka is endangered by the lack of peoples’ right to information and legal confusion created by devolution of power, an expert said. “Unless there’s an effective mechanism put in place and implemented vigorously it is not only poor people’s lifestyles but also natural resources […]

STOCKHOLM , September 7, 2010 (AFP) – The drought in Russia and floods in Pakistan are part of a global trend of unpredictable weather patterns and rainfall that threaten food security, experts gathered in Stockholm said. Pointing out that there have been periods of extreme weather patterns before, he said: “These kinds of fluctuations are […]

COPENHAGEN, September 5, 2010 (AFP) – Bjoern Lomborg, the bad boy of the climate debate who has rejected for years “alarmist” prophecies from environmentalists, stresses in a new book the need to invest billions to fight global warming. In “Smart Solutions to Climate Change,” Lomborg lashes out at current policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions […]

August 17, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan wildlife veterinarians have gone on strike to protest at the alleged mishandling of elephant conservation which has resulted in an increase in deadly attacks, a union leader said Tuesday. “There is no proper management of wild elephants who are being pushed into narrow habitats as the government allows […]

BRASILIA, July 31, 2010 (AFP) – A region of mountainous forests in Sri Lanka and an isolated archipelago off Hawaii have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list, officials of the UN cultural and scientific body said Saturday. The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization decided to add the […]

LONDON, July 19, 2010 (AFP) – A “cute” primate so rare it was thought to be extinct has been caught on camera in the forests of Sri Lanka for the first time, scientists said Monday. The Horton Plains slender loris is a small, nocturnal animal which can grow up to 17 centimetres (six inches) long […]

NEW ORLEANS, July 16, 2010 (AFP) – British energy giant BP stopped the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday for the first time in three months as it began key tests hoping to stem the spill for good. Shortly after BP engineers shut down the last of three valves on a giant […]