The planet

Published on Saturday 29 March 2008 19:28

Global warming has caused a chunk of ice the size of the Isle of Man to nearly break away from Antarctica, according to scientists at the British Antarctic Survey.

ICE SHELF BREAKS UP

Stable for the last 100 years, the Wilkins Ice Shelf is now "hanging by a thread", with 160 square miles of ice lost since February.

GAS EMISSIONS FALL

The UK's greenhouse gas emissions dropped 2% in 2007 from the year before. Official government figures now show the country emits 18% less than it did in 1990, a figure that is well within the Kyoto reduction target of 12.5%. Environmentalists claim the decrease comes from energy companies burning less coal in favour of gas.

PERU FLU SCARE

A London-based reality film crew has been accused of starting a flu epidemic that killed four people in a remote Peruvian Indian tribe. Indian rights groups and local government officials accuse the filmmakers of visiting the isolated tribe when scouting locations for a TV series, despite being warned that the people were especially vulnerable to Western illnesses. The filmmakers deny the allegations.

DEFORESTATION CALL

The UN has called on Asia to stop runaway deforestation in an attempt to reverse climate change. More than 10,800 square miles of forest are lost every year in the region, which is especially vulnerable to drought, erosion and floods. Environmental group Greenpeace claims 125 million people could be displaced as a result of rising seas and water shortages. Deforestation accounts for about 20% of global greenhouse gases.

BIO FUEL PLANTINGS

The Philippines has allocated $26 million to establish plantations of jatropha – a crop intended for bio fuels. The state-run National Oil Company has planted thousands of acres of the high-yield crop across the country. It estimates that at next year's harvest it will have the equivalent of 400 tonnes of crude oil.