There are far more trees on Earth than previously thought
New research reveals there are 3 trillion trees in the world — far more than scientists previously thought. That’s great news for conservationists and ecologists, who now have a clearer picture of the forests they aim to preserve. Now the bad news: The data, compiled as part of the largest-ever survey of the world’s forests, means that every new tree that is planted plays a smaller role in the global fight to capture carbon emissions.
Environmentalists outraged after Costa Rica park ranger sentenced to 12 years
Environmental groups in Costa Rica, including the Environmental Federation of Costa Rica (Fecon) are expressing their outrage over a 12-year prison sentence handed down to former park ranger, Mauricio Steller Fallas for attempted murder on Friday.
Costa Rica bans hydroelectric projects on 2 rivers for 25 years
President Luis Guillermo Solis has issued an executive order banning the development of hydroelectric power plants along Costa Rica’s Pacuare and Savegre rivers for the next 25 years.
Panama Canal suspends planned draft restriction due to recent rains
The agency that operates and manages the Panama Canal said Friday it has suspended a planned draft restriction that was scheduled to go into effect early next month, citing a sufficient amount of rainfall received in the canal’s watershed.
Global sea level rise is happening, and is going to get worse: NASA scientists
Sea levels worldwide have risen an average of nearly 3 inches (8 centimeters) since 1992, the result of warming waters and melting ice, a panel of NASA scientists said Wednesday. In 2013, a United Nations panel predicted sea levels would rise from 1 to 3 feet (0.3 to 0.9 meters) by the end of the century.
Costa Rica wants to be carbon neutral by 2021. Here is some of the progress being made (VIDEO)
In 2007, Costa Rica pledged to go 100% carbon neutral by 2021.
Eight years later a handful of other countries have joined this pledge, but none with the ambitious timeline that Costa Rica—a country rich in hydroelectric and geothermal power sources—aims to meet. If it reaches this target, it will likely be the first country in the world to officially achieve carbon neutrality. So far 2015 has been a promising year in this pursuit.
Learn about some of the progress being made in this video report, courtesy of Fusion.
Costa Rica pineapple growers expect losses of $100 million this year, blame climate change
Costa Rica’s National Chamber of Pineapple Producers (Canapep) expects to end the year with $100 million worth of lost pineapple exports, and growers are blaming climate change which they say has been affecting the country’s agriculture sector since 2013 but has led to an especially significant increase in extreme weather in recent months.
In Costa Rica, a turtle’s suffering puts spotlight on need to reduce use of plastics
The plight of a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle that biologists in Costa Rica rid of a plastic straw stuck in its nose highlights the need to reduce the use of the synthetic material, since 8 million tons of plastics are dumped in the oceans each year, biologist Nathan Robinson told EFE.
