Daily news: Get up Stand up for Greenpeace, 50% of Fukushima fish contaminated

© Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Greenpeace

Top news: Peter Tosh’s reggae celebrates Greenpeace’s 40th anniversary; bubble-wrap in the Baltic to protect whales and porpoises from noise pollution; unstoppable fire destroys Russian forests; fish from Fukushima area exceeds government-set radiation limit; dogs from Moscow know how to use the subway.

#Music: The estate of reggae legend Peter Tosh has announced a series a of partnerships aimed at bringing his music to a new generation of political and environmental activists. Partnering with Greenpeace, Tosh’s music will be used as a rallying cry to involve activists in campaigns from Greenpeace International and other NGOs. Tosh’s music will feature in the 40th anniversary celebrations of Greenpeace and the launch of a new Rainbow Warrior. “As we face the new century there is no better message than 'Get up, Stand up” says Greenpeace’s Martin Lloyd.

#Oceans: The German government is investigating ways to "bubble-wrap" underwater construction sites to protect whales and porpoises in the Baltic Sea from noise pollution from offshore wind farms. Researchers say noise from pile-driving work to install the turbines interferes with the mammals’ rely on echo-location. Greenpeace campaigner Thilo Maack believes that if "bubble curtains" can mitigate the impact on wildlife, they should be used. But he also said quieter construction methods need to be developed. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/09/german-bubble-wrap-whales

#Forests: The Guardian reports that a lack of funding and equipment is hampering efforts to extinguish massive forest fires as Russia’s forests burn for a second successive year. As Greenpeace Russia says the government is playing down the situation saying that "official reports indicate 93 hectares of land on fire in the Amur area; in fact it is more like 50,000 hectares, as can be seen from satellite images."

#Fukushima: Greenpeace radiation and marine experts said on Tuesday that four out of eight samples of various fish from five ports in Fukushima Prefecture exceeded the government-set limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram of radiation. Although fishery cooperatives in Fukushima have halted coastal commercial operations since March 11 and catches from the area are not being sold to retailers, Greenpeace urged the government to conduct detailed checks on fish caught off the Fukushima coast to prevent their accidental sale, and to introduce mandatory labeling that would indicate radiation levels and the area that the fish comes from.

#Evolution: In Moscow, stray dogs have learned how the subway can make their life easier. Every morning like clockwork, they commute to the city centre in search of food scraps. Experts say that the dogs work together to make sure they get off at the right stop – after learning to judge the length of time they need to spend on the train.