Plastic waste in the oceans a major threat for mankind

#plasticwaste #globalwarming #oceans #plasticpollution The amount of plastic wastes in the form of plastic debris such as food packaging and plastic bottles in the oceans is a matter of great concern for mankind because as per estimates, by the year 2025 there would be 100 bags of plastic per foot of coastline in the world. This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 14 February 2015.
And – that is certainly not good news because the world's oceans are being filled with enough plastic waste to thickly line every coastline in the world. This is as per the first detailed global assessment of the problem.
In the estimate of scientists nearly 7.25 million tonnes of plastic debris get washed into the waters of the oceans every year - and these will add up to a tenfold increase in the total amount of plastic in the sea by 2020.
As Dr Jenna Jambeck, assistant professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia, has said – this amount of waste can be considered to be the equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world.
She has gone on to add that in 2025, the annual input would be about twice the 2010 input, or 10 bags full of plastic per foot of coastline.
It is known that plastics can clog water lines and, therefore, the need of the hour should be to control plastic pollution and focus on how best to destroy the plastic wastes on land itself instead of allowing them to flow into the oceans. If unchecked, it could pose a major problem when coupled with global warming and corresponding increase in level of water levels of oceans.

Pakistan Taliban strikes Peshawar mosque at prayer time – at least 19 killed

#peshawar #fridayprayers #hayatabad #shikarpur Pakistan Taliban militants have attacked a Shia mosque in the Pakistani city of Peshawar with guns and grenades during Friday prayers, and killed at least 19 worshippers as reported in bbc.com dated 13 February 2015.
The mosque is located in the wealthy Hayatabad district and, as revealed by the police, there were three militants - one of them was killed in a gunfight around the mosque, a second one blew himself up with a suicide vest, while the third was arrested.
Two weeks ago, another attack on a Shia mosque Sindh province's Shikarpur district left more than 60 people dead. Sunni militants who have links to the Taliban accepted responsibility for the attack on Shikarpur – it was the deadliest in years.
It may be noted that over the past decade, Pakistan has been facing an increasing number of sectarian attacks and a majority of these are carried out by hardline Sunni Muslim groups against the Shia groups, who make up about 20% of the population.

Imprisoning 126 Somali pirates have stopped hijacking for last 24 months

#somalipirates #hornofafrica #seychelles Putting 126 Somali pirates in prison have succeeded to stop hijacking in the Indian Ocean for the last 24 months and has made navigating the coast of East Africa safe for the sailors as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 13 February 2015. With Somali pirates behind bars, there is no fear to face any ordeal like that of Kent couple Paul and Rachel Chandler who were captured by Somali pirates. All thanks should go to the efforts of the British to put hijackers behind bars.
Prosecutors have successfully jailed 126 pirates and there have been no hijackings off the Horn of Africa in the last 24 months, new figures reveal.
Hijackings similar to the experience of the Chandlers and the hijacking of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama which inspired blockbuster films are now a thing of the past. The Somali pirates have been prosecuted on remote islands in the Indian Ocean. Many of them have been jailed. Initially they were jailed in a specially built facility in the Seychelles and later shifted to UN monitored facilities in Somaliland and Puntland, provinces of Somalia.
The pirates are being given a chance to get educated, learn English and encouraged to leave behind the old lives so that they can earn livelihood through other means and make a fresh start.

Big cats of Tiger Temple in Thailand live in harmony with Buddhist monks

#tigertemple #thailand #kanchanaburi The Tiger Temple in Thailand is a famous tourist attraction and, in this temple, over 100 tigers coexist with Buddhist monks and there have been accusations that the big cats are kept drugged as reported in foxnews.com dated 12 February 2015.
This has been denied by the monks and the veterinarian who looks after the animals. Both man and beast live in complete harmony in the premises.
A team of Thai wildlife protection officers have, therefore, visited the place and have indicated that they have not come across type of mistreatment of the animals. The team consisted of about 50 officials from the wildlife department and local religious affairs office, along with soldiers and they carried out a three-hour inspection of the Luangtamahabua Buddhist temple compound in the western province of Kanchanaburi.
They have given it a clean chit but there are charges that the temple keeps rare birds there. It seems a wildlife department raid last week had discovered that the temple was illegally keeping 38 hornbills and other protected bird species.

Antarctic Chieftain fishing boat trapped in the Antarctica with 26 crew members

#toothfish #southernocean #polarstar #antarctica The Antarctic Chieftain fishing boat is trapped in the Antarctica because its propeller is broken. It has 26 crew members on board and all are trapped as reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 13 February 2015.
The 63-metre-long vessel owned by Australian Longline Pty has sought assistance from The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ). Three out of four of its propellers are reportedly damaged by the ice. It has license to fish for toothfish in the Southern Ocean.
The vessel was about1700-Km from McMurdo Sound and US Coastguard icebreaker the Polar Star, was diverted to the site to help in the rescue operation. Talley's fishing vessel, Janas, was also heading to the area.
As per information, the Polar Star was about 630-Km to the west of the Antarctic Chieftain and was likely to reach the area later soon depending on progress and weather conditions.
It has been informed by US Coast Guard Vice Admiral Charles Ray, commander of Pacific Area, that the seas of Antarctica were "treacherous and unforgiving" and to reach the Antarctic Chieftain, the crew of Polar Star would have a tremendous task ahead to break through several miles of thick ice, endure winds and navigate through heavy snowfall.

Research has revealed that carbon released by the Oceans ended the Ice Age

#globalwarming #iceage #plankton #carbondioxide #antarctica A study carried out by the Southampton University has concluded that carbon dioxide released from the depths of the oceans brought to an end the last Ice Age. As per the study reported in bbc.com dated 12 February 2015, such release of carbon dioxide gradually drove the shift towards a warmer period.
The research has been published in the magazine Nature and the conclusions are based on analysis of chemical signals in the shells of ancient plankton. The oceans absorb nearly one third of the atmospheric carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. Therefore, in the opinion of the scientists, as the oceans get warmer, their ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide will be reduced. The result will be faster global warming.
Dr Miguel Martinez-Boti was the co-leader of the study and he has said that the findings indicated that there was a link between very high concentrations of dissolved carbon dioxide in parts of the ocean and rises in atmospheric carbon dioxide at the end of the last Ice Age.
The methodology adopted was simple enough – the research is based on analysis of ancient marine organisms that lived on the surface of the oceans thousands of years ago. In this case, the acidity of the seawater they inhabited can be calculated from the chemical signature left in their shells. This allows the amount of carbon dioxide in the water to be calculated.
Incidentally, the waters around Antarctica (or the Southern Ocean) are believed to play a key role in the movement of carbon between the atmosphere, land and sea.

Ukraine peace deal agreed upon with Putin – rebels to withdraw heavy artillery

#ukraine #minsk #putin #ceasefire It was a marathon session with people who mattered and who had met to resolve the crisis in Ukraine that appeared to be gradually going out of control. Present were President Vladimir Putin, President Petro Poroshenko, Chancellor Angela Markel and President Francois Hollande - and, at the end of the day, it was possible to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine's war with pro-Russian separatists.
The negotiations in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to halt the spiraling bloodshed went on through the night and finally President Vladimir Putin emerged from the summit with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the French and German leaders to announce that an agreement had been reached on the 'main' points as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 12 February 2015.
The Russian President indicated that a ceasefire would take effect on Sunday and that heavy weapons would be withdrawn from frontlines of the conflict. Already over 5,300 people have been killed in the violence.
French President Francois Hollande and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko stressed that separatist leaders had signed the truce and this would replace an earlier ceasefire agreement that had been reached in Minsk in September but rarely observed.
At one point of time there were signs that all was not well but, finally, better sense appears to have prevailed and, one can only hope that the ceasefire will be honored this time.