Tensions as Galapagos Islands seek sustainable growth

When Marjorie Macias Rizzo was offered a job on the Galapagos Islands in 2006, she was excited.

She had never been to the islands before and she was interested in her new job: data manager for a three-year project on sustainable development.

Some argue the islands focused too much on conservation

She was aware of the strict laws regulating migration from mainland Ecuador, so upon leaving her native town of Esmeraldas, on Ecuador's northern coast, she braced herself for a lot of bureaucracy.

Source

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8549901.stm

The blue-footed booby is another feature of the rich Galapagos wildlife

American panda explores his surroundings at new home in China - Times Online

American panda explores his surroundings at new home in China - Times Online

After a month in quarantine the American-born panda Tai Shan explored his new home in southwest China when he was put on public display for the first time since his much-anticipated arrival.

Visitors and staff cheered and waved as the four-year-old panda, which was born at the National Zoo in Washington DC, was released into his enclosure at a panda breeding base in Sichuan province.

Insect that fights Japanese knotweed to be released

Dr Dick Shaw explains how a tiny plant-eating predator can fight the superweed spread

A tiny Japanese insect that could help the fight against an aggressive superweed has been given the go-ahead for a trial release in England.

Since Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK it has rapidly spread, and the plant currently costs over £150m a year to control and clear.

But scientists say a natural predator in the weed's native home of Japan could also help to control it here.

Source

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8555378.stm

Chinese granny buried alive by property developers

A 70-year-old Chinese grandmother in the central province of Hubei was beaten and buried alive by property developers eager to get their hands on her land.

A protester holds up a policeman's badge which he had torn off after fights had broken out between homeowners and police

Wang Cuyun was attempting to prevent a demolition team from knocking down her house when she was allegedly beaten by a worker with a wooden stick and then pushed into a ditch that had been dug around the property.

A bulldozer then covered Mrs Wang with earth, burying her alive. By the time her relatives dug her up, she was dead. The incident occurred last Wednesday in Maodian village in Huangpi district

More Warming Worries: Methane from the Arctic

More Warming Worries: Methane from the Arctic

A string of 'gates over the past few months — Climategate, Himalayagate, among others — have landed some hard punches on the politics of climate change science. They haven't laid a glove on the science itself, however. Humans are pumping out planet-warming greenhouse gases at a prodigious rate, and the planet is warming. That's no coincidence.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1969767,00.html#ixzz0hbtYrEv6