CLIMATE CHANGE AND CHLAMYDIA MAY BE TOO MUCH FOR AUSTRALIA’S KOALAS TO BEAR

Attacked by dogs, victims of drought, devastated by a disease that is sexually transmitted in humans, Australia’s iconic koala bears are struggling to survive. But government authorities still have not granted the species official “endangered” status.

The koala is unique to Australia and is an important symbol of the country. But numbers are plummeting and the survival of koalas is under threat. One of the reasons is the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia.

One of the most common places to find koalas in Australia these days is in the hospital.

About 50 miles (80km) north of Brisbane, at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, a female koala is under a mild anaesthetic.

"She's quite an old girl - I think she's over 10 years," says veterinary surgeon Amber Gillett.

The koala is called Penny. Gillett puts some ultrasound gel in Penny's pouch and looks at the ultrasound machine.

She's checking her bladder for symptoms of chlamydia.

Outside the clinic are a series of open-air enclosures. These are the "koala wards" - and they are pretty much full all-year round.

Last year, Gillett and her team treated about 300 koalas for chlamydia - and so far, 2013 has been a busy year too.

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There's too much junk in space

Scientists say there's too much space junk that urgently needs cleaning up.

A new study about space debris says a huge number of abandoned satellites and rockets floating above the Earth will lead to 'catastrophic' collisions.

There's only been a few collisions so far but that's expected to get worse over the next 200 years.

Experts are looking at ways to remove some of the junk up there. One idea to catch old rocket bodies and satellites, is being developed in the UK.

It would involve firing a harpoon at the target from close range, the device would then tug the junk downwards, to burn up in the atmosphere.

A huge cloud of space junk

The study came from the space agencies of Europe, America, Italy, the UK, Japan and India. They all contributed to the latest research, each one using their own experts and research methods to try and predict how space will look in the future.

There are around 20,000 man-made objects in orbit that are being monitored. About two-thirds of those are in low-Earth orbit - which is where most space missions to observe the Earth tend to operate.

These are just the big, easy-to-see items, however. Moving around unseen are an estimated 500,000 particles ranging in size between 1-10cm across, and perhaps tens of millions of other particles smaller than 1cm. These could be very dangerous for astronauts too.

From CBBC News

UK CO2 emissions are rising

A new report has laid bare the UK's pretensions to have cut greenhouse gas emissions over recent years.

Advisers warn the UK's contribution to climate change is growing

Ministers have claimed global leadership in reducing CO2 emissions and urged other nations to follow suit.

But the official Climate Change Committee (CCC) said that the UK's total contribution towards heating the climate has actually increased.

This is because the UK is importing goods that produce CO2 in other countries.

The UK has been cutting emissions at home, but it has been importing more goods from other countries, pushing up CO2 emissions there.

The UK is second highest importer in the world of these so-called "embodied" emissions.

Each individual in the UK is responsible for double the imported emissions of someone in Germany, which has kept its manufacturing base.

Total emissions target?

The committee said although production of CO2 is down 20% in the past two decades, the overall trend is up 10% because the cuts in production emissions have been outweighed by CO2 in the form of imported goods.

Some commentators have argued that the UK should switch to declaring its total emissions, instead of its production emissions.

The committee rejected this option as it is hard to quantify imported emissions and difficult to influence other nations' climate policies.

The CCC's chief executive, David Kennedy, told the BBC that it would be a mistake to target imported emissions in official analysis.

"High levels of imported emissions reflect the need for emissions reductions in other countries if climate objectives are to be achieved," he said.

"We should focus on reducing emissions produced in the UK, and proactively supporting an international agreement to reduce global emissions, following which our imported emissions would fall."

Mr Kennedy said border tariffs on CO2 embodied in imported goods should not be ruled out as an interim measure while the world struggles towards a global agreement.

The report did contain some good news on climate policy for the government.

Some lobbyists have argued that UK's unilateral climate targets are forcing up energy prices and driving manufacturing jobs abroad, but the committee found this false.

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Kenya's Mountain Bongo antelope under threat

The future of Kenya's Mountain, or Eastern, Bongo antelopes is under severe threat.

The species is hunted for its striking reddish-brown coat and there are now about 100 of them in the wild.

Focus on Africa's Anne Mawathe went to the Mau Eburu Forest in central Kenya to find out what is being done to protect the critically endangered animal.

From BBC News Africa

Earth Day Google doodles

Earth Day 2013

The world is celebrating Earth Day!

THE CANOPY PROJECT

As part of its mission to protect natural lands and preserve the environment for all people, Earth Day Network developed The Canopy Project. Rather than focusing on large scale forestry, The Canopy Project plants trees that help communities - especially the world's impoverished communities - sustain themselves and their local economies. Trees reverse the impacts of land degradation and provide food, energy and income, helping communities to achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability. Trees also filter the air and help stave off the effects of climate change.  

With the reality of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and more frequent and violent storms and floods, tree cover to prevent devastating soil erosion has never been more important. That's why, earlier this the year, Earth Day Network made a commitment with the Global Poverty Project to plant 10 million trees over the next five years in impoverished areas of the world.

Accomplishments:
Over the past three years, The Canopy Project, has planted over 1.5 million trees in 18 countries. In the US, projects to restore urban canopies have been completed in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Flint, and Chicago.  In Haiti alone, where earthquakes caused landslides on deforested hillsides, leading to horrific devastation, Earth Day Network planted 500,000 trees. And in three high-poverty districts in central Uganda, we planted 350,000 trees to provide local farmers with food, fuel, fencing, and soil stability.

Our tree plantings are supported by sponsors and individual donations and carried out in partnership with nonprofit tree planting organizations throughout the world. We work in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme's Billion Trees Campaign.

KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CANOPY PROJECT

From Earth Day Network