http://www.earthtimes.org The Earth Times online newspaper, serving the planet with environmental news that matters. Cover ecology, climate change and news affecting the world's environment en-us PHP/4.4.4 http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276073,bangkok-introduces-back-to-nature-scheme-for-urban-elephants.html Bangkok - In a bid to rid Bangkok of its elephant population, city authorities have offered to buy the wandering pachyderms from their owners and send them back to the jungle, a media report said Saturday. Under the new project, mahouts have been enc... Nature,Environment Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:47:36 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276073,bangkok-introduces-back-to-nature-scheme-for-urban-elephants.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276046,thunderstorms-lash-germany-after-a-day-of-heat.html Berlin - Thunderstorms lashed western and southern Germany Friday after a day of summer heat, with torrential rain flooding highways and lightning strikes causing non-fatal injuries. In one case, five people at a hill-country camping ground, at Hauen... Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:05:48 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276046,thunderstorms-lash-germany-after-a-day-of-heat.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276038,amano-formally-confirmed-as-elbaradeis-successor-at-iaea.html Vienna - Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency unanimously designated Japan's Yukiyo Amano as the next IAEA chief on Friday, ending a rift between developing and industrialized countries over his nomination. With the official confirmation... Energy,Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:41:36 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276038,amano-formally-confirmed-as-elbaradeis-successor-at-iaea.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276019,fear-as-tremors-hit-italys-g8-venue-laquila--summary.html L'Aquila, Italy - Several tremors on Friday prompted frightened office workers to rush outdoors in the central Italian city L'Aquila, just days before it is scheduled to host a Group of Eight (G8) summit. No injuries were immediately reported, the AN... Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:53:47 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276019,fear-as-tremors-hit-italys-g8-venue-laquila--summary.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276012,nabucco-deal-to-be-signed-in-ankara.html Brussels - Top officials from four European Union nations plus Turkey are to meet in Ankara on July 13 to sign an agreement on Nabucco, the pipeline intended to deliver natural gas from the Caspian Sea to the EU, officials in Brussels confirmed Frida... Energy,Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:17:44 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276012,nabucco-deal-to-be-signed-in-ankara.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276007,czech-republic-reports-14th-death-in-floods.html Prague - The Czech Republic Friday reported the 14th victim of flash floods that have tormented Central Europe for over a week. A 53-year-old man drowned near the village of Bory in central Czech Republic as he was trying to clean a spillway of his p... Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:41:47 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276007,czech-republic-reports-14th-death-in-floods.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275985,fear-as-tremor-hits-italys-g8-venue-laquila.html L'Aquila, Italy - A 3.6 magnitude earthquake on Friday prompted frightened office workers to rush outdoors in the central Italian city L'Aquila, just days before it is scheduled to host a Group of Eight (G8) summit. No injuries were immediately repor... Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:05:41 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275985,fear-as-tremor-hits-italys-g8-venue-laquila.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275971,three-new-dinosaur-species-found-in-australia.html Sydney - The bones of three new species of dinosaur have been found in the Australian Outback, officials said Friday. One, a carnivore nicknamed Banjo, stood 2 metres tall and had three large claws on each hand. The other two were plant-eaters, Clanc... Nature,Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:41:40 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275971,three-new-dinosaur-species-found-in-australia.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275970,monsoon-floods-displace-200000-in-north-east-india.html New Delhi - Floods triggered by monsoon rains have inundated hundreds of villages and displaced an estimated 200,000 people in India's north-eastern state of Assam, a news report said Friday. Heavy rains since Wednesday have seen the Brahmaputra, amo... Environment Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:23:42 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275970,monsoon-floods-displace-200000-in-north-east-india.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275896,japanese-amano-elected-iaea-head-despite-strong-opposition--summary.html Vienna - Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano was chosen as the next leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Thursday, but his election in Vienna was marred by the fact that a significan... Energy,Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:46:31 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275896,japanese-amano-elected-iaea-head-despite-strong-opposition--summary.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275856,finland-wants-additional-analysis-on-nord-stream-pipeline.html Helsinki -A Finnish environmental agency gave cautious approval to the prospective Nord Stream gas pipeline Thursday, but asked for more studies to be done. Nord Stream would bring natural gas from Russia to Germany via a pipeline running under the B... Energy,Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:05:43 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275856,finland-wants-additional-analysis-on-nord-stream-pipeline.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275843,eu-countries-urged-to-beef-up-gas-stockpiles-ahead-of-winter.html Brussels - EU governments should increase their gas reserves in view of possible disruptions in supplies from Russia via Ukraine in the coming winter, the European Commission said Thursday. In the light of the uncertain gas storage situation in Ukra... Energy,Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:23:45 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275843,eu-countries-urged-to-beef-up-gas-stockpiles-ahead-of-winter.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275842,spain-will-not-close-oldest-nuclear-plant--reports.html Madrid - The Spanish government will allow the country's oldest nuclear power plant to operate at least until 2013, despite an initial pledge to close it by 2011, radio reports said Thursday. Cadena Ser and Spanish National Radio quoted government an... Energy,Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:23:45 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275842,spain-will-not-close-oldest-nuclear-plant--reports.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275840,namibia-seal-industry-sources-the-cull-will-go-ahead.html Windhoek - Namibia's seal-hunting season opened on Wednesday despite efforts by South African animal rights activists to stop the annual cull of the Cape Fur seals along the south-west African country's coast, industry insiders said Thursday. While t... Nature,Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:18:30 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275840,namibia-seal-industry-sources-the-cull-will-go-ahead.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275825,iaea-deadlocked-over-elbaradei-successor--2nd-update.html Vienna - Member countries of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were deadlocked Thursday over electing the next leader of the nuclear watchdog, with the lead candidate Yukiya Amano remaining one vote shy of the necessary majority. After th... Energy,Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:17:40 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275825,iaea-deadlocked-over-elbaradei-successor--2nd-update.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275793,new-zealand-villagers-evacuated-after-quakes-allowed-to-go-home.html Wellington - About 50 residents of a village on the shores of New Zealand's Lake Taupo who were evacuated after earthquakes threatened to unleash a landslide were given the all-clear Thursday to go home. The people of Waihi, the ancestral home of a M... Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:05:40 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275793,new-zealand-villagers-evacuated-after-quakes-allowed-to-go-home.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275771,antarctic-ice-sheet-melt-could-raise-sea-level-5-metres-scientist.html Wellington - New evidence shows that if global warming melts the West Antarctic ice sheet, sea levels around the world could rise by up to five metres, a New Zealand scientist said on Thursday. Tim Naish, director of Victoria University's Antarctic R... Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:29:36 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275771,antarctic-ice-sheet-melt-could-raise-sea-level-5-metres-scientist.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275748,report-habitat-destruction-endangering-wildlife.html Geneva - Research has found that habitat destruction and to a lesser extent over-hunting are putting life on earth under a serious threat, according to a new report issued Thursday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The analysis... Nature,Environment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:05:38 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275748,report-habitat-destruction-endangering-wildlife.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275708,us-seeks-to-clamp-down-on-pollution-from-major-ships.html Washington - The United States will impose tougher fuel and engine standards on ocean-bound US ships, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday in its latest effort to curb air pollution and protect the country's coastal regions. ... Environment Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:17:43 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275708,us-seeks-to-clamp-down-on-pollution-from-major-ships.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275640,strong-earthquake-rattles-holiday-island-of-crete.html Athens - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the southern Mediterranean island of Crete Wednesday, the second to rattle the region in less than a week. The underwater earthquake, which struck at 12:30 pm (1030 GMT), c... Environment Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:53:46 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275640,strong-earthquake-rattles-holiday-island-of-crete.html