China: dogs are killed to make fur products

The consumption of dog and cat meat in Chinese culture is nothing new, but it's not just in the kitchen that these animals are used. According to an investigation of PETA Asia, there are dogs and cats to be slaughtered and skinned for the manufacture of leather products.

The investigation of PETA filmed workers fabris mistreat and killing animals, removing later the skin of animals, writes the Inhabitat.

After treatment, the skin of animals is used to manufacture gloves, belts, animal toys and any other object that can be manufactured with skin. Subsequently, these products are exported to all over the world. PETA is to disseminate a video where is documented the entire process in such a way as to remind people about the impact of trade in meat, fur and skin of animals are sacrificed for these purposes.

Foto: Joélisa/Creative Commons

Read More

2013 was the year with the highest levels of CO2 emissions ever

At the very time when it is imperative to reduce CO2 emissions to avoid disastrous consequences for the planet, emissions of greenhouse gases continue to increase. 2013 set a new record: emissions were emitted 35.3 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

The data are from the European Union Joint Research Center, which released the usual annual report on emissions at the global level this Wednesday. The document is part of the emissions from fossil fuel production and industry emissions, especially from the metallurgical and cement works.

The new record of 2013 was due mainly to developing economies: the Brazil issued over 6.2%, India 4.4%, the more China 4.2% more and the Indonesia 2.3% more. The United States, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has returned to emit more pollutants after a slight stagnation in previous years. "The emissions increased by 2.5% in the United States due to a shift in energy production from gas to coal, combined with an increase in gas consumption," reads the report, cites the Motherboard.

On the bright side, as is highlighted in the document, is that the rate of increase in emissions is decreasing: "emissions have increased at a lower rate (2%) than the average in the last decade". The report observes a dissociation between the world GDP is growing even when CO2 emissions are slower. This is due to the increased bet in a service economy instead of an industrial economy.

However, this dissociation is not happening at a pace fast enough. According to the estimates made by the scientists, the planet still has approximately 1,200 giga tonnes to emit before the levels of sea water can destabilize human civilization.

Foto: nikosmchairas/Creative Commons

Read More

World Bank launches Guide for energy efficiency for buildings and cities

The World Bank recently launched six guides in support of the integration of energy efficiency in urban planning and local strategies. The aim is to help the cities to increase energy security, save more energy, reduce costs with gas emissions and improve the municipal services.

The guides were developed by the management assistance program (ESMAP) of the Energy Sector. The guides are set out in guidelines for the improvement of the energy performance of buildings, design and construction techniques, measures for optimisation of buildings and replacement of equipment with high energy consumption.

"Cities need to make difficult decisions at the level of the investments. Therefore, it is important to go back to the beginning and see where are the opportunities, what are the measures that offer the greatest potential for improving energy efficiency, to which sectors should be given priority and what are the barriers to implementation ", indicates Anita George, Director of Energy and Global Extractives Practice, CITES World Bank buildings and energy.

ESMAP's guides are still guidelines on integration of energy efficiency in matters of financing, acquisitions, transportation and urban planning.

Foto: tiexano/Creative Commons

Read More

New species of sea snail named in tribute to the lead singer of the Clash

Alviniconcha strummeri. So if calls one of new species of sea snail discoveries recently. Due to the nature of this "hard" marine snail that lives deep in warmer and more acidic Ocean, close to hydrothermal vents, the scientists decided to compare this animal the Joe Strummer, former lead singer of British punk band The Clash, and gave him his name.

The new species of snail â€" one of five new discoveries through DNA sequencing â€" lives in the Pacific and Indian oceans at about 2,000 meters deep. The study with the discovery of the new species was published in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity.

"These snails seem punk rockers the years 70 and 80, have purple blood and live in an extreme environment. As such, we decided to baptize one of the species in tribute to an icon of punk rock, "explains Shannon Johnson, a researcher at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, cites the Time.

This isn't the first time new species of animals are baptized in honor of music figures. In 2013, a team of scientists named a new species of lizard named after Jim Morrison of The Doors. Another team named a new species of parasite in tribute to Bob Marley and this year, a new fossil hippopotamus was baptized in honor of Mick Jagger, of the Rolling Stones.

Foto: Dave Smitham/Creative Commons

Read More

Rotterdam: waste floating Park opens this week

Rotterdam will have a park garbage floating in the middle of the river Nieuwe Maass, which will prevent the plastic and other debris to reach the North Sea.

With opening scheduled for this week, the Park is initially a mechanism that collects the trash from the river and joins in a kind of artificial island. The collected garbage will be increasingly used to build the Park, which will be later modified to allow plant life.

The aim is to prevent construction gets increasingly plastic to the oceans and create fertile ground for the proliferation of aquatic plants and native mussels, feeding a new healthy ecosystem on the river. If the pioneering project was successful can be implemented in other rivers of the Netherlands, writes the Inhabitat.

The initiative for the construction of the Park started from Recycled Island Foundation and featured collaborations from the municipality of Rotterdam, of Wageningen University, the WHIM Architecture and the SK International.

Read More

Pope says that all animals go to heaven

Last week, the Pope Francisco stated that all animals can go to heaven. The statement was ugly in the Vatican, in the weekly address in St. Peter's square, for consoling a boy who was upset by the dog died.

"One day we'll see again our animals in the eternity of Christ. Heaven is open to all God's creatures, "said the Pope, cites the Inhabitat.

To the Catholic faithful the affirmation of the Supreme Head of the Catholic Church can be a kind of relief relative to the destination of the animals, the statement is to foster the debate for both animal rights activists and theologians.

Previous popes to Francisco never confirmed if the animals would, according to Catholic belief, to heaven. Pius IX, for example, argued that the animals lacked consciousness and as such could not go to heaven. Since John Paul II stated that animals have souls, but never defended the possibility of an afterlife for these beings.

Technically, the Pope Francisco made no doctrinal statement, but many may consider the information as a clear indication that the paradise is open to all the beasts of the Earth.

Foto: Christus Vincit/Creative Commons

Read More

File: countries agree to measures against global warming

The participating countries at the UN Climate Summit, held in Lima, Peru, agreed last Sunday to approve measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and combat global warming.

The final document adopted at the Summit, entitled "the call to action of Lima", decrees that the 196 Nations participants will have to submit to the United Nations, before October 1, 2015, quantifiable commitments, ambitious and fair "for the reduction of greenhouse gases, writes the Inhabitat.

The climate Summit this scheduled end on Friday, but the lack of consensus made that the works were extended until Sunday in an attempt to settle the terms of the outline for the new environmental agreement should be concluded at the Summit in 2015, in Paris, and that will replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Foto: No More of this/Creative Commons

Read More