Kyodo News reports that June 2011 average temperatures in Japan reached the highest ever since 1961, with 13 times more recordings of temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius than the same month last year, when the country had already experienced record summer heat.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/average-temperature-in-late-june-hits-highest-level-since-1961

Australian marine biologists report that the death of a giant sea turtle found recently on a New South Wales beach might have been caused by its digestive system shutting down due to ingestion of over 300 pieces of plastic debris.

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/dead-turtle-swallowed-317-plastic-pieces/story-e6frfku0-1226085084595
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3670462/Giant-turtle-found-dead-in-New-South-Wales-having-
swallowed-over-300-bits-of-plastic.html