Planet Roundup: Giraffes, champagne shortage and more

By Lauren Petermeyer | August 19, 2016

Happy Friday, everyone! Here at OutwardOn, we are dedicated to keeping you up to date on everything important happening on our planet, including the health of its resources, animals and more. So, each Friday we are bringing you Planet Roundup—the most important environmental news stories (the good and the bad) that happened during the week to make sure you’re caught up on everything.

Giraffes are being killed just for their tails

In Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo, poachers are killing countless giraffes simply for a tiny piece of their tails. Congolese men use the giraffe tails as dowry when they ask a woman’s father permission to marry her. The long black hairs at the ends of the tails are also used as good luck in bracelets and thread.

Read more about this here.

Louisiana has been destroyed by floods

In the past week, about 40,000 homes have been destroyed by flood waters leaving 4,000 people with nowhere to go but shelters. Torrential rains devastated parts of Louisiana, and cities are going to be working to rebuild for what seems like years.

Read more about this here.

Mutant goldfish are being found in rivers

2kg goldfish the size of footballs pulled out of Perth’s waterways by @MurdochUni researcher https://t.co/QkV02UodVn pic.twitter.com/5qXW90fsUn

— ABC News Perth (@abcnewsPerth) August 16, 2016

Domestic goldfish that have been released into rivers and streams across the country are growing to alarming sizes. When a goldfish finds a new home in a larger body of water, it has the capability to grow as large as resources will allow. Use this as a reminder never to free your little buddy when you can’t take care of him anymore.

Read more about this here.

Champagne could cease to exist

Dramatic changes in France’s climate are causing problems for the production of champagne. Things like late spring frost, floods and higher temperatures all contribute to the inability of the plants to keep up.

Read more about this here.

A new planet has an oxygen-rich atmosphere

The distant planet GJ 1132b was discovered last year, just 39 light-years from earth. While the planet has lots of oxygen in it’s atmosphere, it maintains a hot temperature of 450 degrees Farenheit. What does this mean for the future of inhabiting new planets?

Read more about this here.