We haven't finished with one oil slick yet and there are already several more

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been sealed, but around the source of the leak are springs that continue to pollute the waters of the gulf, the oil that has already reached the shores and causes damage to the environment and to humans continues to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. And more news from the field of nature and the environment.

Spills that have been going on for about 20 years in the Niger estuary do not attract attention, but the cumulative damage is much greater, since the oil pollutes an alluvial fan in an area of ​​about 7000 square kilometers, where about 20 million inhabitants live, whose livelihood depends directly on the streams, lakes and swamps... they are all polluted , oil has been leaking in the Chinese Sea for many days, a leak in quantities that do not put the Exxon-Valdez to shame, residents, fishermen, fish, birds and mammals see how their environment is fading and poisoned.

Closer to us, for several weeks, oil has been leaking from wells in the Red Sea, in front of the Egyptian coast (around Hurghada) at a distance of about 35 km. The oil is leaking and reaching the shores. The Egyptians deal with the pollution in three ways, one - attempts to stop the leaks, the second - collecting the oil And attempts to prevent it from reaching the beaches, the third way - the important one from the point of view of the Egyptians... preventing publicity about the pollution since the beaches that are already polluted are near diving sites that attract thousands of divers, divers and tourists who knew about the pollution... will not come, therefore the leak and the activity around it is covered in a veil of heavy secrecy.

Will sea turtles be restored in the Gulf of Mexico?

Thousands of terns that were taken out of their nests (as eggs) and incubated in artificial hatcheries are released into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico (in the western Gulf) in the hope that by the time they reach the areas that are today affected by oil, the cleaning work will be completed and their living environment will be clean and proper again (?)
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A new war on locusts

In the summer South Australia was "struck" by swarms of locusts that raided every green patch, with the arrival of the (southern) winter the swarms of locusts disappeared, for several weeks Australian farmers have been suffering from a plague of mice, the rodents damage everything, electrical cables, irrigation pipes, belts and machine parts and above all food Large amounts of seeds and foodstuffs, the damage is enormous, but the farmers who are used to nature's "blows" see the outbreak of mice as a positive side as, among other things, the rodents eat about 20% of the eggs and larvae of the locusts, thus reducing the risk of the "blows" next summer.
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How do the birds find their way?

A riddle that has occupied ornithologists since science began to develop, German researchers who examined the red-breasted, claim that the bird "sees" the magnetic field of the earth, according to Katrin Stapput of Goethe-Universitat in Frankfurt, the bird's retina has molecules sensitive to magnetic force and they help orientation Broadly, the activity of the molecules is affected by the amount of light that penetrates the eye, less light more magnetic activity, so the birds can navigate during the day according to the terrain route and at night according to the magnetic field.

Going back to bear hunting

In the USA - in New Jersey, the bear hunting season will open (in December), after five years hunting was prohibited, it was decided that because of the bear culture and as a result of the culture, the cases in which there is (negative) contact between bears and people, biologists decided to issue hunting licenses in order to thin out the population, compared to the bears... for Edna wolves, the gray wolf that was almost extinct in most areas of the USA at the beginning of the XNUMXth century is returning and taking its place as a super predator in most areas, the wolf has long been removed from the list of endangered animals and today there are plans to restore wolf packs to all areas where they once existed the beginning of the last century.

Most of the loss of large mammals - in reserves

The Zoological Society of London and the University of Cambridge publish the results of 35 years of monitoring the large mammals of Africa, according to the monitoring, the continent has lost a considerable percentage of the animal populations, at the top of the losers are the West African countries with a loss of 85% of the mammal populations, East Africa has lost approximately 50% when Most of the loss occurs in reserves, including well-known and publicized reserves such as the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Masai Mara in Kenya.

Animals such as: lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, tigers and others lose significant numbers of their population every year, the good news: in recent years the damage has decreased and in several areas there is a chance for population recovery, with the southern African countries (with the exception of Zimbabwe) leading the recovery following proper management and large budgets More that are directed to the protection of wildlife.

And there will be darkness

In Hawaii, the times when ball games will be played in a local stadium have been changed, the night lighting in the stadium confuses young birds (gull-like) that have just left their nest, instead of flying to the sea they land in the lights of the stadium, the (federal) law stipulates a fine of 30 thousand dollars for every bird that falls because of the light, To protect the referees, the stadium will be darkened and the games will be played during the day.

‫Pico Plankton

Nature publishes a data survey according to which since 1950 the phytoplankton population in the oceans has decreased by 50%, the phytoplankton consists of populations of tiny plants that form the basis of food in bodies of water all over the world, there are giants such as sperm whales that feed directly on the plankton, joined by fish, sponges, anemones and lilies, corals and more Many others, all feed on the phytoplankton and the plankton, these of course are food/prey for fish and large mammals and so on up the food chain.

In other words, damage to phytoplankton constitutes damage to the entire array of life in the oceans, researchers do not know how to point to the obvious cause of the fall, but among the main "candidates" are the multitude of pollutants that drift into the water from the land, the increase in acidity and, of course, global warming.

The budget of the Ministry of Environmental Protection

With us: out of the turmoil of the budget and all the "affairs" surrounding it, there is an encouraging figure: the Ministry of Environmental Protection received a 30% budget increase and a 10% increase in standards, meaning more supervision and more positive environmental activities.