An endangered North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing rope alongside a newborn calf in waters near Cumberland Island, Georgia, US
THE US federal government hasn’t done enough to protect a rare species of whale from lethal entanglement in lobster fishing gear, and new rules are needed to protect the species from extinction, a judge has ruled.
The government has violated both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act by failing to protect the North Atlantic right whale, US District Judge James Boasberg ruled on Friday. The whales number fewer than 340 in the world and have been declining rapidly in population in recent years.
Mr Boasberg’s ruling was a victory for conservation groups who have long sought to save the whale and a new challenge for lobster fishermen who have fought back against tightening restrictions on where and how they can fish.
Coal-fired stoves in traditional homes are the primary source of extreme levels of air pollution in over-crowded Ulaanbaatar. As more people become climate-displaced, the situation is likely to worsen, write SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results
