Ecuador’s La Cumbre volcano, located on Fernandina Island in the western portion of the Galápagos archipelago, erupted on June 16, and as of press time was still emitting ash and gas, though lava flows had stopped. La Cumbre is one of eight volcanoes on the Galápagos chain; five are located on Isabela Island, while La Pinta Island and Marchena Island each has one. The 1,476-meter volcano, which occupies practically the entire island, erupted on its northeast side. Its last eruption occurred on its southwest side in September of 2017. Fernandina, a relatively young 500,000 years in age, is virtually free of invasive species, has no human population and is earmarked by the Ecuadorian government for strict ecosystem and biodiversity protection. The island is home...
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Nobody expected the candidates in Mexico’s July 1 presidential election to place environmental issues atop their agendas, which were dominated from the start by corruption and security questions. Even so, green advocates were disappointed by the weak statements that the “presidenciables” gave on the environment in the only debate in which the topic was included. An environmental segment was tacked onto the end of the third and final debate, held June 12th, following some two hours of discussion on the economy, education, and health. It produced little of note. “It was an ideal moment for the presidential candidates to integrate these themes and talk about sustainable development, but none of the candidates did that,” says Andrew Rhodes, director of Pronatura, a leading Mexican conservation group...
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Scientists say 2017 was the warmest year on record in Argentina and Uruguay compared to the average temperatures in each country during the reference period 1961-90. Overall, South America in 2017 registered its second-highest average temperatures since 1960, according to the National Climatic Data Center of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Though 2015 was the warmest year on record region-wide, Argentina and Uruguay exceeded their highest-recorded individual marks last year. Uruguay’s average temperature last year of 18.8º Celsius (65.8º Fahrenheit) was a record 1.4ºC (2.5ºF) above the reference period average, according to a report by Mario Bidegain, former director of climatology for the Uruguay Institute of Meteorology (Inumet). In Argentina, the average temperature was 16.4ºC (61.5ºF), or 0.6°C (1.1ºF...
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For years, Mexico’s jaguar population has dwindled as humans have destroyed the big feline’s habitat, hunted it for its pelts and poisoned those it suspected of killing livestock. A new study, however, suggests that Mexico might be experiencing some success in its efforts to boost the jaguar population by restoring the animal’s forest habitat and encouraging rural communities to live harmoniously with the iconic cat (Panthera onca). The survey, led by the Institute of Ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), indicates that Mexico’s jaguar population now numbers 4,800, up from 4,000 in 2010, when the last study was conducted. Gerardo Ceballos, a UNAM researcher who coordinated the study, says the numbers, while inexact, are a reliable indication of recovery. Says Ceballos...
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