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2004 In The Environment
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 2004. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues. Events *The results of the Global Amphibian Assessment were published, the first worldwide assessment of amphibian populations. It found that 32% of species were globally threatened, at least 43% were experiencing some form of population decrease, and that between 9 and 122 species have become extinct since 1980. This decline in amphibian populations may be due in part to the effects of human activity. January *The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 come into force. It is a United Kingdom Statutory Instrument that provides a statutory right of access to environmental information held by UK public authorities. February *The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels comes into force. May *The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants comes into force. It is an international environmental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environment (biophysical)
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale from microscopic to global in extent. It can also be subdivided according to its attributes. Examples include the marine environment, the atmospheric environment and the terrestrial environment. The number of biophysical environments is countless, given that each living organism has its own environment. The term ''environment'' can refer to a singular global environment in relation to humanity, or a local biophysical environment, e.g. the UK's Environment Agency. Life-environment interaction All life that has survived must have adapted to the conditions of its environment. Temperature, light, humidity, soil nutrients, etc., all influence the species within an environment. However, life in turn modifies, in various forms, its conditions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stockholm Convention On Persistent Organic Pollutants
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty, signed on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm and effective from 17 May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). History In 1995, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called for global action to be taken on POPs, which it defined as "chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment". Following this, the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) prepared an assessment of the 12 worst offenders, known as the ''dirty dozen''. The INC met five times between June 1998 and December 2000 to elaborate the convention, and delegates adopted the Stockholm Convention on POPs at the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Of Fear
''State of Fear'' is a 2004 techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton, his fourteenth under his own name and twenty-fourth overall, in which eco-terrorists plot mass murder to publicize the danger of global warming. Despite being a work of fiction, the book contains many graphs and footnotes, two appendices, and a 20-page bibliography in support of Crichton's beliefs about global warming. Many climate scientists, science journalists, environmental groups, and science advocacy organizations dispute the presented views as being error-filled and distorted. The novel had an initial print run of 1.5 million copies and reached the #1 bestseller position at Amazon and #2 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for one week in January 2005. The novel itself has garnered mixed reviews, with some literary reviewers stating that the book's misrepresentation of facts and stance on the global warming debate distract it from its plot. The book is thought to have popularised the Antarctic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point. Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. More than 99% of all species that ever lived on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryote globally, and possibly many times more if microorganisms, like bacteria, are included. Notable extinct animal species include non-avian dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, dodos, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin Rules On Water Resources
The Berlin Rules on Water Resources is a document adopted by the International Law Association (ILA) to summarize international law customarily applied in modern times to freshwater resources, whether within a nation or crossing international boundaries. Adopted on August 21, 2004, in Berlin, the document supersedes the ILA's earlier "The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers", which was limited in its scope to international drainage basins and aquifers connected to them. Background In 1966, the ILA adopted "The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers", an unenforceable guideline governing the usage of rivers and connected groundwaters that crossed national boundaries. As the guideline did not address other aquifers, various other guidelines were subsequently drafted and adopted by other organizations to replace or supplement them, including the United Nations' " Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Wate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monsanto Canada Inc
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in the 1970s. Later the company became a major producer of genetically engineered crops. In 2018, the company ranked 199th on the Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Monsanto was one of four groups to introduce genes into plants in 1983, and was among the first to conduct field trials of genetically modified crops in 1987. It was one of the top 10 US chemical companies until it divested most of its chemical businesses between 1997 and 2002, through a process of mergers and spin-offs that focused the company on biotechnology. Monsanto was one of the first companies to apply the biotechnology industry business model to agriculture, using techniques developed by biotech drug companies. In this business model, com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agreement On The Conservation Of Albatrosses And Petrels
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) is a legally binding international agreement signed in 2001 and entered into force on 1 February 2004 when South Africa ratified as the fifth Party to the Agreement. It was created in order to halt the drastic decline of seabird populations in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly of albatrosses and petrels. Albatrosses and petrels are threatened by introduced species on their breeding islands, pollution, and by being taken as bycatch by longline fisheries, as well as by trawl and gillnet fisheries. The Agreement requires that measures be taken by signatory governments to reduce bycatch; protect breeding colonies; and control and remove introduced species from breeding sites, especially on islands. Currently, ACAP protects all the world's albatross species, seven Southern Hemisphere petrel species and two shearwater species. The ongoing work of the Agreement reflects an increasing international commitment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history at the time. * January 4 – NASA's MER-A (Spirit) spacecraft lands on the surface of Mars. * January 6 - Construction on the tallest man-made structure to date, the Burj Khalifa begins in Dubai UAE * January 8 – The RMS ''Queen Mary 2'', at the time the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by its namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. * January 25 – NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) spacecraft lands on the surface of Mars. February * February 4 – Mark Zuckerberg launches The Facebook, later renamed to Facebook, a social networking website for Harvard Unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Information Regulations 2004
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) is a UK Statutory Instrument (SI 2004 No. 3391) that provides a statutory right of access to environmental information held by UK public authorities. The regulations came into force on 1 January 2005. The regulations were made by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under the authority provided by the European Communities Act 1972, entering into force on 1 January 2005, along with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Regulations covers UK Central Government and public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish public authorities are covered by the Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004 (EISR). Origins The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 implement the European Council Directive 2003/4/CE on public access to environmental information in the UK. The Directive in turn has as its source the Aarhus Convention. The overriding objective The main objective ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decline In Amphibian Populations
Since the 1980s, decreases in amphibian populations, including population decline and localized mass extinctions, have been observed in locations all over the world. These declines are known as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity. Recent (2007) research indicates the reemergence of varieties of chytrid fungi may account for a substantial fraction of the overall decline. A more recent (2018) paper published in ''Science'' confirms this. Several secondary causes may be involved, including other diseases, habitat destruction and modification, exploitation, pollution, pesticide use, introduced species, and ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B). However, many of the causes of amphibian declines are still poorly understood, and the topic is currently a subject of much ongoing research. Calculations based on extinction rates suggest that the current extinction rate of amphibians could be 211 times greater than the background extinction rate and the estimate goes up to 25,0 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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