Azores: Corvo island village will be an eco-Museum

The Government of the autonomous region of the Azores will transform, from September, the Vila do Corvo a Ecomuseum, aiming to recover the historical centre of the smaller island of the archipelago, as well as to promote it as a tourism destination and promote their identity.

The historic centre of Vila do Corvo-where resides the entire population of the island, about 400 people â€" 1997 was ranked as a "set of public interest". Such classification allows access to a co-financing programme for the rehabilitation of the buildings of the village in 50% to 75%, the Fund lost.

For the Regional Department of education and science of the region, the establishment of the Ecomuseum of the Raven constitutes ' the necessary impetus for the reversal of the current situation of physical degradation of the old urban core, "cites the Lusa.

The development of the rehabilitation project involves the installation of a permanent technical support Office, which will be responsible for the rehabilitation projects of real estate, at no cost to owners, as well as the inventory of heritage and the creation of a network of points of cultural interest.

Photo: Luciano Shins/Creative Commons

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Panda triplets born in Chinese zoo

A Chinese Zoo unveiled Tuesday the birth of three new panda Cubs. The three new specimens of the species are triplets and it appears the first triplets of panda to survive the birth.

The pandas were born at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, in Guangdong Province, on July 29 and are sons of panda Juxiao. Originally, Juxiao was too tired to take care of small children and animals were a few days in an incubator, referred to the BBC. However, the mother is now taking care of the Cubs with the help of handlers.

The three giant pandas were born following artificial insemination procedures and his birth is seen almost as a miracle, given the low rate of reproduction of the species. However, his birth is still feted with caution since the survival rate of these animals is very low. If you survive the next few months, will be the only panda living triplets in the world.

The world population of pandas is threatened due to habitat loss. It is estimated that there are just 1,600 pandas living in the wild in China.

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New York: cleanest waters are attracting more whales and sharks

The number of humpback whales and great white shark in the coastal waters of New York and the State of New Jersey during this summer's increase to the delight of environmentalists, naturalists, anglers and even bathers.

The amount of large sea creatures that has appeared off the coast of Big Apple wasn't seen for several decades and the main cause for the emergence of this abnormal number of whales and sharks on the shore of a city like New York are the cleanest waters.

According to Paul Sieswerda, director of the Gotham Whale, a group of volunteers that monitors marine life, cleaner waters have attracted more fish and consequently more whales and sharks. Sieswerda says even if it is possible to view whales feeding with the skyline of New York as a backdrop.

The Gotham Whale accounted 29 whales, humpback, all New York waters since the beginning of spring until the end of July. Joining the number of whales seen before this period and those that probably if spotted, the number will be higher than the 43 views in 2013, to 25 from 2012 and at five of 2011, says the Guardian.

Gradual cleanup of the Hudson River, which empties into New York Harbor, now brings to sea nutrients that stimulate the growth of plankton, feeding the fish and consequently the whales and sharks. "The river used to not bring anything besides pollution, but in the last five years water was getting cleaner and more nutrients are transported to sea," Sieswerda, stressing that still indicates also the measures of protection and conservation in other regions near New York have contributed to the increase in the number of dolphins, whales and sharks.

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Great Lisbon will have two more centres of animal feed needy families

After opening in January, the first Ration distribution center the Animals of Needy Families in Lisbon, will be born more two centers of its kind in Sintra and Oeiras. The opening of two new spaces to support animals of families with financial problems is planned for September.

All centres are the result of a partnership between the respective city councils and the Association for the defence of animals Animalife. The aim is to avoid that families abandon their pets because they have no way to feed them.

The new space in Sintra will work in the offices of the former premises of the Sintra Municipal Kennel. Since the space of Oeiras will work in support of the cattery installed on Municipal garden of Oeiras.

In addition to the ration distribution centers, the fight against the scourge demand Animalife of animal abandonment through the collaboration of volunteers from all parts of the country.

Foto:   Basic Needs Foundation  / Creative Commons

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Australia: new species of giant poisonous jellyfish discovery

A new species of giant and extremely venomous jellyfish was discovered on the northwest coast of Australia. The discovery left scientists puzzled as the new species of jellyfish have tentacles.

The Keesingia gigas is one of the two new species of Irukandji jellyfish recently discovered by the Director of Marine Stinger Advisory Services, Lisa-ann Gershwin. While the Irukandji have typically only mesudas the size of a fingernail, the gigas Keesingia is the size of a human arm and it is believed that can cause Irukandji syndrome, which is potentially deadly. This syndrome can cause pain, nausea, vomiting and in the most extreme cases strokes and heart failure, reports the Guardian.

According to Gershwin, the species had been photographed in the years 1980, but no specimen was captured until 2013. The specimen was collected by the marine scientist John Keesing, near the Bay of sharks.

One of the particularities of this Jellyfish is not having tentacles. "The jellyfish have tentacles. It is through them that they take the food. The tentacles are where concentrate their poisonous cells, "explains Lisa-ann Gershwin. The scientist indicates that this new species can hide their tentacles as a form of Defense, as some bioluminescent jellyfish, that extend their tentacles fluorescent to distract predators. However, there is no evidence that any jellyfish Irukandji has this capability.

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Mexican island becomes artistic screen that alerts for Ocean protection

An island off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, became a big screen project of urban art that seeks to make the population to the importance of preserving the oceans and marine life.

The PangeaSeed, a non-profit organization dedicated to public awareness for conservation and preservation of marine species through art and activism, gathered several renowned urban artists and took them to Isla Mujeres, where all of the walls and spaces available were covered with murals representing the marine life.

The project, called "Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans", focuses on environmental issues that are affecting the oceans as overfishing, the trade in shark fins, coastal development, and pollution, plastic referred to Dodo.

The project was funded through a fundraiser is made through the platform Indiegogo, and allowed artists to swim with whale sharks and mantas off the Mexican Coast, to better understand the importance of what they portray.

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Levels of mercury in the Ocean have tripled since the Industrial Revolution

In the years 1950, a neurological epidemic killed thousands of inhabitants of the coastal city of Minamata in Japan, and caused brain injuries to newborns. Only later did the inhabitants learned that the fish had eaten was contaminated with toxic mercury, resulting from a discharge from a chemical plant in the area.

A new study indicates that the levels of mercury in the oceans have been increasing and researchers estimate that the quantity of the substance in oceanic waters has tripled since the Industrial Revolution, which endangers the marine species as well as human health.

Various industrial processes, such as small-scale gold mining and coal combustion emit mercury into the atmosphere. In gold mining, the miners use liquid mercury to absorb the gold from the ore. Subsequently, make the mercury evaporate and the gold stays. Already the coal combustion releases mercury exists naturally in the mineral, referred to News from Science.

When the atmosphere, mercury can travel during months and thousands of kilometers in suspension until it rains and is deposited in the oceans. Already present in the ocean, bacteria help to convert metal into methylmercury, which enters the food chain and accumulates in fish.

The contaminated fish consumption is the main source of human exposure to mercury. However, monitor metal levels in the oceans has been a challenge for researchers, because mercury is present in lower concentrations in the waters and a lot of time and resources is required to collect samples.

The calculations made for the study show that the oceans contain between 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes of mercury from pollution, with almost two-thirds present in waters with depth less than 1,000 metres.

The concentrations of mercury in waters shallower tripled when compared with concentrations of pre-industrial times. Average depth waters, metal concentrations have increased about 1.5 times. The large concentrations of mercury in waters shallower can increase the accumulation of toxins in fish, exposing humans to mercury poisoning.

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