South Asia
Massive oil spill fouls Bangladesh mangroves
A massive oil spill is threatening endangered dolphins, Bengal tigers and other rare wildlife in the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sunderbans of Bangladesh.
Tag: climate destabilization
The Amazon
Andes: repression ahead of Lima climate summit
The slaying of an indigenous leader who planned to travel from Ecuador to denounce a mining project before the Lima climate summit is the latest attack on regional ecological defenders.
Iraq
Iraqi farmers suffer as land seized by militants
With ISIS controlling vast swaths of territory, uncollected harvests and the lack of winter planting could have a grave impact on Iraq's food security over the next year.
East Asia
US and China in new carbon pact; trading seen
China, the top emitter of greenhouse gases, has for the first time pledged to cap emissions—but is following the US and EU in carbon trading schemes as the means to achieve the cuts.
The Andes
Peru: unrest mounts in Cajamarca
Police clashed with protesters in Peru's northern city of Cajamarca during a demonstration over the police slaying of a barrio resident—one of several social conflicts across the region.
South Asia
Climate change exacerbating Kashmir crisis?
Renewed fighting between India and Pakistan across the Line of Control in Kashmir follows devastating floods in the divided region, which have deepend local anger.
Central Asia
Aral Sea almost gone: NASA
Satellite photos released by NASA reveal that the eastern basin of the Aral Sea has completely dried up. Water levels are less than 10% of what they were 50 years ago.
The Amazon
Carbon obfuscation in New York Times
Amid the current UN climate talks, the New York Times runs an op-ed entitled "To Save the Planet, Don't Plant Trees"—filled with bogus science and dishonest claims.
Central Asia
Next: Free Siberia?
In a little-noted irony, as Vladiimir Putin backs the "People's Republics" in eastern Ukraine, he has cracked down on a separatist movement that has emerged in Siberia.
The Amazon
Brazil cracks down on Amazon ‘land traffickers’
Authorities in Brazil arrested several members of a criminal "land trafficking" gang described as "the greatest destroyers" of the Amazon rainforest.
Iraq
Control of water at issue in Iraq conflict
The taking of the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River from ISIS by Peshmerga forces backed by US air power highlights the strategic nature of water in the multi-sided Iraq conflict.
Planet Watch
Obama climate plan: too little, too late
The EPA's Clean Power Plan, bashed by the GOP and industry as draconian, would cut carbon emissions by a grossly insufficient 7% by 2030—and of course through market mechanisms.