COP 21: Why does Paris climate change conference matter?

One of the world's last northern white rhinos dies in the US

An extremely rare northern white rhino has died in the US, leaving only three others in the world.

Nola was one of four northern white rhinos left in the world.

The 41-year-old rhino, Nola, died after surgery to her hip at San Diego Zoo.

Nola's death means that there are only three other northern white rhinos in the world.

They live in Kenya and are kept closely guarded.

Nola had surgery on 13 November but her health got worse.

Poachers have been blamed for the devastating drop in northern white rhino numbers.

They kill many rhinos to get their horns, which are worth a lot of money in some cultures.

However, there is hope that there may be more northern white rhinos born in the future.

San Diego Zoo has recently brought in six southern white rhinos, hoping to use them as mothers to new northern white rhino calves.
Zoo researchers are still working out if it's possible, but they say they're hopeful that a northern white rhino calf could be born within 10 to 15 years.
From CBBC Newsround

Step forward for computing by light

Engineers and physicists have discovered a property of silicon which could aid the development of faster computers.

Currently, copper wires transfer information in a computer; the process is slowed down as the wires heat up.

"Photonic" and "spintronic" computing is the principle of transferring information by light or electron spin.

This new property means that silicon-based light detectors identify spin, so more information can be transferred.

Spin is a property of sub-atomic particles, which influences the ordering of electrons and nuclei in atoms and molecules.

The discovered property is usually observed in materials containing heavy elements, which are difficult to integrate into existing computing systems that are composed mainly of silicon.

Silicon is a highly symmetrical crystal, but by changing the geometry of it, the team was able to impart "chiral" properties to it. Something is chiral if the mirror image of the object cannot be superimposed on the original.

Something is chiral if the mirror image of the object cannot be superimposed on the original; one example is your hands
From BBC News -Science/ Environment

Alien species threaten Europe's cities, say experts

Europe's towns and cities are particularly vulnerable to the threat posed by species from other continents and environments, say experts.

Examples include how raccoons, a North American native mammal, are spreading through the German capital, Berlin.

It's thought towns and cities are at higher risk from invasive alien species (IAS) because of more transport links.

IAS are non-native plants or animals that have no natural predators, spread rapidly and overwhelm native species.

"The problem is that invasive species take over resources and space from the indigenous species", explained conservationist Chantal van Ham.

"Urban areas are quite vulnerable to these species. Often they are introduced, for example, through the trade in plants but also through accidental arrivals in ports and airports."

"These non-indigenous species represent one of the main threats to the world's biodiversity," explained Chantal van Ham, European program officer for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)."This threat is set to increase unless meaningful action is taken to control their introduction and establishment," she added.

City limits

In order to address the issue, the IUCN is hosting a conference on the topic in Gland, Switzerland on Thursday.Participants will include local authorities, policymakers, NGOs and scientists."Municipalities or local authorities have a really key role in possible action to reduce the risk of these species [becoming established]," Ms van Ham told BBC News.

"But it is also important that local authorities have the support needed in order to take that action."What we aim to do with this conference is to bring together experts - not only scientists but also different governmental levels and NGOs to see how we can strengthen collaboration and exchange knowledge on how to combat invasive species at the urban level."Recently, the IUCN published a report highlighting a number of case studies on how EU nations were tackling invasive species.Examples included how raccoons, a North American native mammal, were spreading through the German capital city, Berlin.It also highlighted a number of pan-European threats, such as the spread of Japanese knotweed, which is described by experts as one of the mosthigh-profile and damaging invasive weeds in Europe and North America.

Next week, the European Commission is expected to publish it plans to tackle invasive species. It is expected to announce pan-EU legislative measures as part of the EU's biodiversity strategy."There is a proposal for a legal framework that will require action in all EU  member states to prevent the entry and establishment   of invasive species," said Ms van Ham.

"It is also expected to focus on what control methods are available and how to manage already established invasive species populations."We also hope the European Commission strongly supports the promotion of sharing best practices and lessons learned by different European countries, and help promote awareness of the issue."

Listed as an invasive species, Europe's population of rose-ringed parakeets continues to inctrease

From CBBC newsround / BBC SCI/ Environment

The Power of Nature- The Sundarbans: Nature's bioshield

Stretching along the coastline of India and Bangladesh, this complex maze of mangrove trees and waterways mark the area where land meets the sea and freshwater meets seawater.  

Wildllife thrive in this unique and delicately balanced ecosystem and it is home to large numbers of mammals, birds and fish. It is also one of the largest haunts of the endangered Royal Bengal tiger.

But the Sundarbans value extends beyond just providing a habitat for these magnificent animals; it also protects the densely populated Bay of Bengal from cyclones and the worst extremes of nature.

Yet, it is now threatened by man’s activities, including land reclamation, logging and shrimp farming. In fact, this vast tract of mud and tangles of roots is now being destroyed faster than almost any other ecosystem on Earth, removing this essential barrier and the rich habitat.

In this film sustainability advisor and author Tony Juniper, environmental economist Pavan Sukhdev, and lead scientist with The Nature Conservancy Dr M Sanjayan reveal the wildlife this strange and magical forest supports and explore the hidden strengths that make it such an effective coastal defence. 

From BBC 

Badger cull trial starts tomorrow, Saturday 1st June in parts of England

Some people think the cull is nohing else but a shot in the dark.

Actually, badgers are very popular in the UK as they are spread all over the country and may even socialize with humans who love the idea of having  their backyards visited by these fellows.

Look at them! Aren't they cute?

A trial cull of badgers in two areas of England can start tomorrow, Saturday 1st June

About 5,000 badgers will be shot in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset over a six-week period.

The government says the action is needed to help tackle bovine tuberculosis (TB), a disease that affects cattle.

But campaigners against the cull say it will have no impact on bovine TB, and could lead to local populations of badgers being wiped out.

The trial will be repeated every year for four years, and will be assessed to see if enough badgers were removed and how humanely it was done.

Scientific evidence has shown that bovine TB can be spread from badgers to cattle.

But it's unclear how much blame lies with badgers, because it can also be spread between cattle.

Arguments in favour

The government has said that experience from other countries shows the best way to control bovine TB is by tackling it in surrounding wildlife.

The National Farmers' Union said that 38,000 cattle had to be killed in 2012 because of bovine TB, resulting in devastating effects for farmers' businesses and families.

Arguments against

Anti-cull campaigners, such as the RSPCA, think that vaccinating badgers and cattle against TB is a better solution.

They are also against the plan for trained marksmen to freely shoot the badgers, saying it risks wounding them and not killing them humanely.

But the government says that currently, a vaccine would need to be injected, presenting "practical difficulties... which means that it is not a realistic option for dealing with the problem in the short term".

From CBBC News

'Dramatic decline' warning for plants and animals

More than half of common plant species and a third of animals could see a serious decline in their habitat range because of climate change.

Terrible News!

The study looked at the impacts of rising temperatures on nearly 50,000 common species

New research suggests that biodiversity around the globe will be significantly impacted if temperatures rise more than 2C.

But the scientists say that the losses can be reduced if rapid action is taken to curb greenhouse gases.

The paper is published in the journal, Nature Climate Change.

An international team of researchers looked at the impacts of rising temperatures on nearly 50,000 common species of plants and animals.

They looked at both temperature and rainfall records for the habitats that these species now live in and mapped the areas that would remain suitable for them under a number of different climate change scenarios.

The scientists projected that if no significant efforts were made to limit greenhouse gas emissions, 2100 global temperatures would be 4C above pre-industrial levels.

In this model, some 34% of animal species and 57% of plants would lose more than half of their current habitat ranges.

According to Dr Rachel Warren from the University of East Anglia, this would have major impacts for everyone on the planet.

"Our research predicts that climate change will greatly reduce the diversity of even very common species found in most parts of the world. This loss of global-scale biodiversity would significantly impoverish the biosphere and the ecosystem services it provides," she said.

"There will also be a knock-on effect for humans because these species are important for things like water and air purification, flood control, nutrient cycling, and eco-tourism."

The projected impacts on species will be felt more heavily in some parts of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, the Amazon region and Australia.

However the researchers say that if global emissions of greenhouse gases are cut rapidly then the impact on biodiversity could be significantly curbed. If global emissions reach their peak in 2016 and temperature rises are held to 2C, then losses could be cut by 60%.

"The good news is that our research provides new evidence of how swift action to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gases can prevent the biodiversity loss by reducing the amount of global warming to 2C rather than 4 degrees, said Dr Warren.

"This would also buy time – up to four decades - for plants and animals to adapt to the remaining 2 degrees of climate change."

From BBC News- Sci/Environment

Butterfly beauty

There are 4.5m butterflies - brought together over hundreds of years - at London's Natural History Museum. It is the world's biggest butterfly collection.

Here - as the museum brings in hundreds of pupae for its live Sensational Butterflies exhibition on its front lawn - staff have given BBC News access to some of the most precious specimens, normally stored securely away from public view.

If you live in London or are planning a holiday or weekend in the UK capital city, why don't you go and visit this wonderful exhibition? The exhibiton will be on till 15th September.

Sensational Butterflies29 March - 15 September 2013 

East lawn

You can buy your tickets on line go to:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/sensational-butterflies/index.html