Australia

Coal companies could pay "a few lousy dollars" to damage sensitive swamps that provide pure drinking water to millions of Sydneysiders if mining changes proposed by the Baird government proceed, en

Publication Date:

02/06/2015

Source: Age (Australia)

Tags:

Water Supply, Australia, Coal, Mining, Drinking Water, Environment, Ecosystems, Wildlife

Energy

Australia given more than $4 billion in foreign subsidies for coal projects: report

Australia has received more than $4 billion in money from foreign governments to fund coal projects since 2007, according to a new report highlighting the extent to which wealthy countries are stil

Publication Date:

02/06/2015

Source: Age (Australia)

Tags:

Energy, Coal, Australia, Subsidies, Fossil Fuels, Thermal Power Plants, OECD, Vietnam, South Africa, India, South Korea, China, Germany, United States Of America (US)

Health

Thalidomide-induced teratogenesis: History and mechanisms

Nearly 60 years ago thalidomide was prescribed to treat morning sickness in pregnant women. What followed was the biggest man-made medical disaster ever, where over 10,000 children were born with a range of severe and debilitating malformations. Despite this, the drug is now used successfully to treat a range of adult conditions, including multiple myeloma and complications of leprosy. Tragically, a new generation of thalidomide damaged children has been identified in Brazil. Yet, how thalidomide caused its devastating effects in the forming embryo remains unclear.

Publication Date:

01/06/2015

Author(s): Neil Vargesson

Source: Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today: Reviews

Vol:

105

Issue:

2

pp:

140–156

Tags:

Drugs, Health Effects, Child Health, Genetic Disorders, United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Germany, Europe, United States Of America (US)

Wildlife

Geographic range size and extinction risk assessment in nomadic species

Geographic range size is often conceptualized as a fixed attribute of a species and treated as such for the purposes of quantification of extinction risk; species occupying smaller geographic ranges are assumed to have a higher risk of extinction, all else being equal. However many species are mobile, and their movements range from relatively predictable to-and-fro migrations to complex irregular movements shown by nomadic species. These movements can lead to substantial temporary expansion and contraction of geographic ranges, potentially to levels which may pose an extinction risk.

Publication Date:

01/06/2015

Author(s): Claire A. Runge, Ayesha Tulloch, Edd Hammill & et al

Source: Conservation Biology

Vol:

29

Issue:

3

pp:

865–876

Tags:

Birds, Endangered Species, Australia, Extinct Species

Atmosphere And Ozone Layer

Eastern Australia's mostly dry patch extends into winter as El Nino intensifies

May capped off another relatively dry month for Australia, spreading drought conditions across eastern regions of the country just as winter begins and the influence of an El Nino starts to take ho

Publication Date:

01/06/2015

Source: Age (Australia)

Tags:

Atmosphere And Ozone Layer, El Nino, Australia, Droughts, Rainfall

Wildlife

Australian koalas to be declared vulnerable

Australia's iconic marsupial the koala will be listed as a "vulnerable species" in Queensland state.

Publication Date:

01/06/2015

Source: Shanghai Daily (China)

Tags:

Wildlife, Australia, Endangered Species, Habitat

Mining

Rio Tinto's coal mine expansion threatens Bulga again

Spare a thought for the folk in Bulga, a village in the Upper Hunter which has twice tried to fend off a proposal by Coal and Allied/Rio Tinto to extend the massive open-cut Warkworth coal mine to

Publication Date:

01/06/2015

Source: Age (Australia)

Tags:

Mining, Environment, Australia, Coal, Supreme Court

Climate Change