The Rainforest Alliance and an Ecuadorian conservation group this month will launch a certification program for tour boat operators who tread lightly on the Galapagos archipelago while shuttling 60,000 tourists around the South American islands each year.
Some areas suffer drought while other areas flood.
New research also shows that the sea surface temperature of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans surrounding South America has as much of an influence on rainfall as do changes in land cover, according to Rong Fu, an atmospheric scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology. A recent shift in weather trends above the Arctic Circle has created abnormal climate conditions for much of the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists now believe that human activities may be to blame. La Ni a took the Pacific Ocean on a roller coaster ride in 1997 and 1998 with weather patterns that drastically changed water temperatures and set off a chain reaction that permeated the ocean's ecosystem and even the atmosphere. The Seafood Watch Program is a guide for consumers who would like to select their seafood dinner responsibly, as well as for restaurants, caterers and others in the hospitality industry who want to develop menus with marine conservation in mind.