http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A top Iranian environment official said on Monday Tehran and Baghdad will jointly pay $1.2 billion in a project to reduce the number of sand dunes in a bid to cut the number of sandstorms from Iraq. http://phys.org/news236864118.html Space & Earth Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:35:26 EST news236864118 Deforestation in the rainforests of West Africa reduces rainfall over the rest of the forest, according to new University of Leeds research published in Geophysical Research Letters. http://phys.org/news235671400.html Space & Earth Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:16:56 EST news235671400 (AP) -- The first national survey of Sri Lanka's wild elephants found more than had been estimated - a sign the endangered species has a healthy, growing population on the Indian Ocean island. http://phys.org/news234242194.html Biology Sat, 03 Sep 2011 04:16:52 EST news234242194 Two women washed clothes in the dark water of the Rio Negro as a boat glided past with a camera-laden Google tricycle strapped to the roof, destined to give the world a window into the Amazon rain forest. http://phys.org/news232944840.html Technology Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:54:16 EST news232944840 Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon increased by 15 percent during the past 12 months, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said. http://phys.org/news232857931.html Space & Earth Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:20:01 EST news232857931 Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon accelerated in June, with more than 300 square kilometers destroyed, a 17 percent increase over the previous month, government researchers said Tuesday. http://phys.org/news231561272.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:50:01 EST news231561272 A Kansas State University geographer is part of a research team out to prove what environmental scientists have suspected for years: Increasing the production of soybean and biofuel crops in Brazil increases deforestation in the Amazon. http://phys.org/news229860419.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:07:12 EST news229860419 (AP) -- The Brazilian government confirmed this week the existence of an uncontacted tribe in a southwestern area of the Amazon rain forest. http://phys.org/news227956130.html Space & Earth Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:09:02 EST news227956130 Investing $40 billion annually in the forest sector is needed for the world to transition into a low carbon, resource-efficient green economy, according to a UN report released here Sunday. http://phys.org/news226503966.html Space & Earth Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:20:01 EST news226503966 A sharp increase in forest destruction in March and April in the Amazon has led Brazil to announce the creation of an emergency task force to fight against deforestation. http://phys.org/news224996953.html Space & Earth Thu, 19 May 2011 04:10:24 EST news224996953 An article in the current issue of Global Change Biology Bioenergy outlines a framework for evaluating biofuels in order to address ethical issues surrounding the rapidly evolving race to develop biofuels. http://phys.org/news224151521.html Biology Mon, 09 May 2011 09:19:12 EST news224151521 Deforestation in parts of the Peruvian Amazon has increased six-fold in recent years as small-scale miners, driven by record gold prices, blast and clear more of the lowland rainforest, according to a new Duke University-led study. http://phys.org/news222452677.html Space & Earth Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:24:55 EST news222452677 Current UK and European policies on biofuels encourage unethical practices, says a report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics today following an 18-month inquiry. Policies such as the European Renewable Energy Directive are particularly weak when it comes to protecting the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding human rights violations in developing countries. They also include few incentives for the development of new biofuel technologies that could help avoid these problems. http://phys.org/news221884800.html Space & Earth Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:40:33 EST news221884800 Low-input farming for cocoa, cassava and oil palm has resulted in widespread deforestation and degredation of West Africa's tropical forest area, according to a new study by researchers at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). The study was published online this week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Management. http://phys.org/news221369286.html Space & Earth Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:28:17 EST news221369286 Mwakitau Kaleghe used to scratch out a living from burning charcoal, culled from trees whose felling helped turn a rich tropical woodland in southern Kenya into a desolate mosaic. http://phys.org/news218778591.html Space & Earth Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:50:08 EST news218778591 Tropical deforestation not only has a large impact on the carbon cycle and climate, but also affects the chemistry of the atmosphere. http://phys.org/news218226696.html Space & Earth Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:32:16 EST news218226696 Indonesia has promised to become a world leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, the president committed to a 26% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to below 'business-as-usual' levels. Of this total, 14% would have to come from reducing emissions from deforestation or forest degradation. Investments by foreign governments and other bodies are expected to raise total emission reduction from 26% to 41%. http://phys.org/news218111672.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:34:50 EST news218111672 Internet bargain coupon phenomenon Groupon is pulling a series of Super Bowl advertisements that critics said made light of the plight of Tibet, whales and the Amazon rainforest. http://phys.org/news216652941.html Technology Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:22:36 EST news216652941 Cultivating coca bushes, the source of cocaine, is speeding up destruction of rainforests in Colombia and threatening the region's "hotspots" of plant and animal diversity, scientists are reporting in a new study. The findings, which they say underscore the need for establishing larger protected areas to help preserve biodiversity, appear in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. http://phys.org/news216476513.html Space & Earth Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:20:01 EST news216476513 The worst global recession in 80 years did little to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and China made a major polluting leap, US figures showed on Monday. http://phys.org/news215713426.html Space & Earth Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:24:01 EST news215713426 Conservationists say they have found six rare frog species that are unique to the Caribbean nation of Haiti and have not been seen in about two decades. http://phys.org/news214031339.html Biology Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:10:57 EST news214031339 In many developing countries, forest restoration at home has led to deforestation abroad, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://phys.org/news209739425.html Space & Earth Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:57:20 EST news209739425 (AP) -- Emissions cuts pledged by countries in a nonbinding climate accord last year fall short of what's needed to avoid the worst consequences of global warming, the U.N.'s environment agency said Tuesday. http://phys.org/news209724556.html Space & Earth Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:10:01 EST news209724556 A new study finds a lack of transparency and corruption are reducing the impact of an initiative in Cameroon that channels a portion of national timber levies to rural forest communities. The study highlights the challenges of using a climate change pact to do something similar in forested regions around the world. http://phys.org/news209306778.html Space & Earth Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:48:35 EST news209306778 (AP) -- Hopes dimmed for progress at climate talks in China as negotiators moved into their final day Saturday with little consensus. http://phys.org/news205821262.html Space & Earth Sat, 09 Oct 2010 05:34:35 EST news205821262 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a warming 21st century, tropical forests will be at risk from a variety of threats, especially the conversion to cropland to sustain a growing population. A new report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition shows that crop productivity improvements and carbon emission limits together could prevent widespread tropical deforestation over the next 100 years -- but if relying on either one alone, the world is at risk of losing many of its tropical forests. http://phys.org/news205426351.html Space & Earth Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:52:46 EST news205426351 Democratic countries suffer less from deforestation. That seems logical enough. But forests also do well under a strong dictatorship. This remarkable conclusion was reached by Wageningen environmental scientists. http://phys.org/news204551071.html Space & Earth Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:48:17 EST news204551071 When Stanford climate scientist Christopher Field looks at visual feeds from a satellite monitoring deforestation in the Amazon basin, he sees images streaked with white lines devoid of data. http://phys.org/news202993047.html Space & Earth Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:30:01 EST news202993047 Indonesia has some of the richest biological diversity of any nation on Earth; however, it is threatened with losing it to forest destruction. In reaction, more than 900 scientists from around the world, including those from the Smithsonian Institution, recently came together as members of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation to release "The Bali Declaration," which calls for urgent efforts to slow rampant deforestation in Indonesia. http://phys.org/news200144720.html Biology Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:00:27 EST news200144720 A "cute" primate so rare it was thought to be extinct has been caught on camera in the forests of Sri Lanka for the first time, scientists said Monday. http://phys.org/news198745499.html Biology Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:05:22 EST news198745499