Green Options » World News

6 Businessmen Caught Smuggling 11 Tons of Ivory

Bryan Nelson — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:59:39 +0000

Six businessmen from Tanzania were charged today for smuggling 11 tons of elephant ivory worth $600,000 into the Philippines and Vietnam.

The men were charged under 11 counts of conspiracy, unlawful hunting, exporting concealed and undeclared items as well as making false documents. It’s likely that the intricate smuggling job was conducted between October 2008 and March this year.

100-200 New Amphibians Discovered in Madagascar

Jake Richardson — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:56:20 +0000

A recent study documented the discovery of 100-200 new amphibian species in Madagascar.

One of the researchers, Dr. Miguel Vences, stated: “People think that we know which plant and animal species live on this planet. But the century of discoveries has only just begun – the majority of life forms on Earth is still awaiting scientific recognition.”

Somalia Pirates Seize Saudi Oil Tanker: Gas Prices Remain Unchanged

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:01:00 +0000

The Sirius Star, an oil tanker with the capacity to carry two million barrels and longer than three football fields, was seized by Somali pirates off the coast of East Africa.

This high tech tanker, staffed by only 25 crew members and owned by Saudi Aramco, was headed south toward the Cape of Good Hope on its way to North America when it was hijacked. World oil markets did not take notice of the hijacking; however, according to the LA Times:

Had the hijacking taken place earlier in the year, before the world’s leading economies began reeling and international demand for oil fell, it might have kicked the price of oil up $5 or more, analysts said.

Image and Via: LA Times

China’s Pandas Survive Quake

Lucille Chi — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:30:02 +0000

I have always loved pandas, ever since I was a baby, and was happy to discover a bit of feel good news about the giant panda in China this week via the uplifting cute-overload blog. Pictured here is a painting of a baby panda I worked on for a project my partner and I wrote called Sustainability Illustrated. We hope it translates well in Chinese. It is times like this when innocent creatures of our natural world may inspire us to make the planet a better place!

Image courtesy of Lucille and Tom Chi