Ecology

Radiation spikes after wildfire in Chernobyl exclusion zone
Ukrainian nuclear inspectors have measured a significant increase in radiation in the Chernobyl exclusion zone caused by heavy wildfires raging in close proximity to the crippled nuclear power station. Air near the desolated settlement of Polesskoye in the Chernobyl zone is contaminated with the radioactive element cesium-137. [...]
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Fracking to blame? Alabama earthquakes occurring near shale-gas developments
More than a dozen minor earthquakes have struck western Alabama's Greene County since November. The area is near the Black Warrior Basin, where thousands of hydraulic fracturing natural gas wells have been operating in recent years. The Associated Press reported Sunday that Greene County has had 14 notable yet inexplicable seismic events since November 20, starting with a magnitude 3.8 quake 10 [...]
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Texas officially prohibits cities from banning fracking
A new Texas law signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott prohibits cities and towns from imposing local ordinances to prevent fracking and other potentially environmentally harmful oil and natural gas activities. In debating the law, Texas lawmakers emphasized the state’s successful development of oil and gas for more than 100 years. [...]
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Nearly 200 scientists warn of cellphone health risks
Biological and health scientists from Russia and Iran to the USA are calling on the UN, the World Health Organization and national governments to develop strict regulations concerning devices and cellphones that create electromagnetic fields. The scientists are from 39 nations and have authored 2,000 peer-reviewed papers on the health and biological effects of non-ionizing radiation, which is p [...]
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Tesla aims at household energy bills with wall-mounted batteries
Electric car producer Tesla Motors has adapted battery technology for household and business applications. The wall-mounted batteries will make solar power more accessible and throttle grid consumption to diminish loads and bills. [...]
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Smoke from Chernobyl fire could spread radiation far and wide – experts
Smoke from burning forests in the Chernobyl exclusion zone is capable of spreading contaminants across great distances, even after the fire has been stopped, ecology experts told RT. The forest fire near the crippled Chernobyl nuclear power plant started on Tuesday and triggered an emergency alert, with police and National Guard mobilized to bring the flames under control. [...]
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Fracking link suspected in presence of cancer-causing gas – report
The presence of a radioactive, cancer-causing element has increased in parts of Pennsylvania where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been on the rise in recent years, according to a new study. Researchers with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said this week they’ve discovered a correlation between radon levels and fracking across the Keystone State. [...]
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“Turn off the lights during sex”: German govt on web crusade to save climate
Out with boring public information leaflets and in with flashy TV ads. The German Ministry of Environment has come up with a series of commercials on the problems of climate change, featuring sex and zombies in the message. The scene: A young girl arrives home late one night and is confronted with the awkward situation of finding her parents engaged in the act inside a brightly lit room. After [...]
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October ’14 in pictures: Major news stories through the camera lens
From Spider Man protesting in Hong Kong to Darth Vader running for parliament in Ukraine's elections; a world search for North Korea's 'missing' leader and Sweden's hunt for a mysterious 'Russian submarine' - RT offers you October headlines, made visual. The ongoing epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus has shown no sign of abating, being dubbed a "worse threat to humanity than HIV or SARS." [...]
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Global Frackdown day: World unites to protect environment & health
Marching across the world to inspire actions on the ecological crisis, thousands of anti-fracking activists in over a dozen countries united against what they call dirty energy technology, which contaminates groundwater and causes health problems. Over 250 events across all continents are taking place as part of the Global Frackdown day, organized to target fracking, a technique used to extract [...]
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California aquifers contaminated with billions of gallons of fracking wastewater
Industry illegally injected about 3 billion gallons of fracking wastewater into central California drinking-water and farm-irrigation aquifers, the state found after the US Environmental Protection Agency ordered a review of possible contamination. According to documents obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity, the California State Water Resources Board found that at least nine of the 1 [...]
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Monsanto GMO wheat contamination discovered in Montana
Monsanto’s experimental genetically modified wheat has been discovered growing in the second US field in Montana, about a year after the discovery of the company’s unapproved crop growing in Oregon disrupted US wheat exports. The plants were discovered at a test site at Montana State University, where back in 2000-2003 Monsanto was conducting field trials of its wheat, genetically modified [...]
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Canadian beekeepers’ sting: Pesticide giants sued for $450mn over bee deaths
Canadian honey producers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Bayer and Syngenta to recover losses dating as far back as 2006, claiming that neonicotinoids they produce and sell are killing bees and cause massive material damage. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of all Canadian beekeepers by honey producers Sun Parlor Honey Ltd. and Munro Honey alleges that Bayer Cropscience Inc. and Syngenta [...]
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Yellowstone supervolcano eruption would be disastrous for entire US – study
If the massive supervolcano at Yellowstone National Park erupted again, scientists believe it would blanket much of the United States in ash and potentially sever communication as well as travel between the country's coasts. According to a new study published by the US Geological Survey, cities about 300 miles away from the volcano’s location in Wyoming would be covered in up to three feet of [...]
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Fukushima: TEPCO sued for $868,000 in unpaid “danger money”
Four subcontractors, working to decommission the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, are suing the Tokyo Electric Power Company, in the first-ever such case, saying they were never compensated for working in the radioactive area. According to Japanese media, the lawsuit is demanding the utility company pay a total of ¥91.4 million ($868,000) in “dangerous-work” benefits. [...]
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Fukushima okays nuke waste storages in return for almost $3bn in subsidies
Fukushima's governor has officially agreed to allow the country's authorities to store radioactive waste for 30 years in two municipalities in exchange for 300 billion yen ($2.89 billion) in subsidies. “It’s a difficult decision, but I want to accept the construction plan,” Governor Yuhei Sato told journalists on Saturday. [...]
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US pressures El Salvador to buy Monsanto’s GMO seeds
As one of the preconditions to authorizing close to $300 million in aid, the United States is pressuring El Salvador to purchase genetically modified seeds from Monsanto instead of non-GM seeds from local farmers. According to Sustainable Pulse, a website covering developments related to genetically modified organisms and sustainable agriculture, the US will reportedly withhold $277 million in [...]
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“Unbelievable devastation”: Massive mining waste spill causes water ban in Canada
Millions of cubic meters of water, sand and chemicals, which were released into the waterways of British Columbia, Canada, from a breached mine tailings pond have led to a total water ban for residents in the area of the incident. Some 10 million cubic meters of water and 4.5 million cubic meters of fine sand from the tailings pond of the Mount Polley copper and gold mine spilled over into lake [...]
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Yellowstone supervolcano ‘turned the asphalt into soup’ shutting down Natl. Park’s roads
Extreme heat from a massive supervolcano underneath Yellowstone National Park is melting a major roadway at the popular summertime tourist attraction. Park officials have closed the area to visitors. Firehole Lake Drive, a 3-mile-plus offshoot of the park’s Grand Loop that connects the Old Faithful geyser and the Madison Junction, is currently off limits. [...]
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