Environment

5 September 2019; AFP: Wildfires raging in Bolivia's forests and grasslands since May have destroyed 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres), officials said Wednesday, amid an $11 million effort by the government to contain them.

Environmentalists blame laws enacted under leftist President Evo Morales, who has encouraged the burning of forest and pasture land to expand agricultural production, while the government attributes the blazes to dry weather and winds.

LA PAZ, Sept 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Wildfires raging in Bolivia’s forests and grasslands since May have destroyed 1.7 million hectares, officials said Wednesday, amid an $11 million effort by the government to contain them.

Environmentalists blame laws enacted under President Evo Morales, who has encouraged the burning of forest and pasture land to expand agricultural production, while the government attributes the blazes to dry weather and winds.

FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) — The ground crunched under Greg Alem’s feet on Wednesday as he walked over the ruins of his home, laid waste by Hurricane Dorian. He touched a splintered beam of wood and pointed to the fallen trees, overcome by memories.

“We planted those trees ourselves. Everything has a memory, you know,” he said. “It’s so, so sad. ... In the Bible there is a person called Job, and I feel like Job right now. He’s lost everything, but his faith kept him strong.”

BANGKOK, Sept 4 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Tropical storm Podul has hit 26 provinces in Thailand, triggering floods and landslides, killing at least 14 people.

Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Chayapol Thitisak said tropical storm Podul lashed the kingdom since Aug 29 to Sept 2 and 60,914 families were affected.

“Two are still missing in Amnat Charoen while one was injured in Chaiyaphum,” he said in a statement here Wednesday.

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Hurricane Dorian unleashed massive flooding across the Bahamas on Monday, pummeling the islands with so much wind and water that authorities urged people to find floatation devices and grab hammers to break out of their attics if necessary. At least five deaths were blamed on the storm.

“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy,” Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in announcing the fatalities. He called the devastation “unprecedented and extensive.”

Kochi, Sep 1 (PTI) In the run up to two key UN summits on Climate Change, India has raised the pitch for finance and technology support to developing nations to achieve the Paris Agreement goals of keeping a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was taking decisive steps in achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which is the heart of the 2015 Paris pact.

LIMA, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru and Colombia proposed an emergency Amazon summit for countries in the region in order to coordinate a strategy to protect the vast rainforest currently blighted by numerous fires.

The Amazon is known as the “planet’s lungs” but is suffering from its worst outbreak of fires in years, which has sparked a global outcry.

SAO PAULO (Brazil), Aug 29 (NNN-XINHUA) — Brazil will keep developing its agribusiness sector with lower usage of water and land to maintain production sustainability, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said.

“Brazil is a powerhouse in food production, but also a power in environmental protection. We make everything we produce sustainable,” the minister said during an agribusiness event in Sao Paulo.

TOKYO, Aug. 29. (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 struck off the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island Honshu, the weather agency here said Thursday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor, which has not resulted in a tsunami warning being issued, occurred at 8:46 a.m. local time and was centered off the coast of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan, with its epicenter located at a latitude of 41.0 degrees north and longitude of 143.1 degrees east.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in Japan on Wednesday, killing at least two people and prompting authorities to order more than 900,000 people to leave their homes while another million were advised to move to safety.

More than twice the usual rainfall for the whole of August has fallen over parts of the southern island of Kyushu over the past 48 hours, washing away roads, causing rivers to burst their banks and forcing the suspension of train services.