United States, Obama creates the world’s largest marine sanctuary

United States, Obama creates the world’s largest marine sanctuary

Off the coasts of Hawaii, the President of the United States has quadrupled the area of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a protected marine reserve established by George W. Bush earlier in 2006. This is part of the legacy Obama wants to hand on his successor. The existing marine reserve will be expanded from 357,000 to

What is Grindadráp and why is whaling in the Faroe Islands so controvesial

What is Grindadráp and why is whaling in the Faroe Islands so controvesial

Grindadráp is the local name for a yearly event that sees the people of the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago under Denmark, hunt long-finned pilot whales as well as other species of cetaceans such as bottlenose dolphins, white-sided dolphins and Risso’s dolphins. These species aren’t on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s list of endangered animals, but

Discovering the whales and dolphins of the Mediterranean Sea

Discovering the whales and dolphins of the Mediterranean Sea

“Blow at 2 o’clock!”, shouts a member of the research team onboard the motorsailer Pelagos. For five endless minutes everyone has been scanning the sea in a state of alert silence, looking for a white puff to indicate the blow of a male sperm whale coming to the surface to breathe and rest. The researchers

Five Pacific islands vanish due to rising sea levels

Five Pacific islands vanish due to rising sea levels

For the first time in history scientists have been able to demonstrate the impact of climate change and rising sea levels on small island nations. New evidence shows five islands being swallowed by the sea over the past seven decades.   These were part of the Solomon Islands nation, over 1,000 islands in the Southwest Pacific located about 1,600