Climate change is 'killing Argentina's Magellanic penguin chicks'

Penguin chicks in Argentina are dying as a direct consequence of climate change, according to new research.

Magellanic penguin chicks huddle together for warmth in Punta Tombo, Argentina

Drenching rainstorms and extreme heat are killing the young birds in significant numbers.

The study, conducted over 27 years, looked at climate impacts on the world's biggest colony of Magellanic penguins, which live on the arid Punta Tombo peninsula.

The research has been published in the journal Plos One.

About 200,000 pairs of these penguins make their nests on the peninsula every year.

They reside there, in desert-like conditions, from September until February to hatch their young.

However, the life of a newborn chick is perilous, to say the least.

Downy death

They are too big for their parents to sit on top of and keep warm, but too young to have waterproof feathers.

As a result, they are particularly vulnerable to rainstorms. If they get drenched they usually die, despite the attentions of their despairing parents.

They can also succumb to extreme heat, as they cannot cool off in the water like the others.

The chicks are often too big for their parents to be able to keep them warm

Magellanic penguins

• Found predominantly in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands
• Medium-sized birds that stand about 35cm tall and weigh around 5kg
• Males of species have a distinct vocalisation - they bray like donkeys
• More than 17 penguin species are recognised, all south of the equator

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From BBC News-Sci/ Environment

Drug trafficking is speeding deforestation in Central America

A new report says that drug smuggling in Central America is rapidly increasing rates of deforestation.

A deforested region in Honduras where drug traffickers are said to operate

Remote forests in Honduras and Guatemala are being cut down to facilitate landing strips for the transportation of narcotics.The scientists believe the influx of drug cash encourages ranchers, timber traffickers and oil palm growers to expand their activities.The research has been published in the journal Science.Drugs have been smuggled through Central America for decades, with marijuana and cocaine from countries like Colombia heading for lucrative markets in major US cities.But according to the researchers, the importance of the area as a route for trafficking has increased significantly over the past seven years after a crackdown on the narcotics trade in Mexico.This prompted drug traders to move their operations into more remote areas in countries like Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Narco effect

The move has seen a rapid increase in the amount of land cleared for forest.In Honduras, the level of large-scale deforestation per year more than quadrupled between 2007 and 2011, at the same time as cocaine movements in the country also showed a significant rise."A baseline deforestation rate in this region was 20 sq km per year," said lead author Dr Kendra McSweeney from Ohio State University."Under the narco-effect, we see over 60 sq km per year. In some parts of Guatemala, the rates are even higher. We're talking up to 10% deforestation rates, which is just staggering."The problems caused by the narcotics trade usually commence with the building of clandestine roads and airstrips in remote forests.The number of drug-related landing strips prompted Unesco to declare the Rio Platano biosphere reserve in Honduras a "world heritage in danger," in 2011.In both Honduras and Guatemala, these forested areas are often poorly governed. With the influx of new cash and weapons, local ranchers, oil-palm growers and land speculators are emboldened to greatly expand their activities.Conservation groups are threatened and state prosecutors are bribed to look the other way,saysthe report.

 

     The number of larger than expected forest clearings in eastern Honduras, indicating a connection to drug                                                                               trafficking

Laundering profitsThe local indigenous populations are often too frightened to speak outFrom BBC News- Sci/EnvironmentREAD THE WHOLE ARTICLE

First Porsche revealed to be an electric car from 1898

Luxury automaker Porsche has revealed the first car designed by its founder was electric, in a show at its museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany.

Ferdinand Porsche's design was dubbed the Egger-Lohner electric vehicle C.2 Phaeton model, or the P1 for short.

The car, made in 1898, was recently unearthed in an Austrian garage, where it had been stored since 1902.

The 22-year-old Ferdinand Porsche, who would start Porsche in 1931, designed the P1 for carmaker Jacob Lohner.

After a trip to the US, Ludwig Lohner, the owner of that firm, became convinced that the age of the horse and carriage was ending, and he asked Ferdinand Porsche to come up with an electric drive train.

The first Porsche featured a rear-mounted electrical engine which could reach speeds of 21 miles per hour

Ferdinand Porsche designed an "octagonal electric motor" that was powered by electric batteries and suspended amidst shock absorbers in the rear of the vehicle.

Using a complicated series of gears, the car was driven using a 12-speed controller, which had six forward gears, two reverse gears and four gears with which to brake the car.

The P1 took to the streets of Vienna, Austria, on 26 June 1898.

The P1 could reach speeds of up to 21mph (34km/h) and travel up to 49 miles on a single charge.

The car could be styled as an open-air chassis or a coupe.

The first Porsche was the most energy-efficient car in an 1899 Berlin road race

The young Mr Porsche eventually entered the P1 in a Berlin road race, which took place on 28 September 1899.

Competitors had to travel a total of 24 miles with four passengers (including the driver).

The P1 beat out the other competitors handily, crossing the finish line a full 18 minutes before the next car.

In a detail that seems almost too good to be true, the P1 won another accolade: least amount of energy consumed.

The car is on display as part of an exhibition at the Porsche museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany.

Mr Porsche was working for car builder Jacob Lohner, who asked him to design an electric drive train

At the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany, the plastic placeholders show the original design

Ferdinand Porsche stamped each part of the vehicle with P1, to differentiate it from other models

From BBC News