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Colombia's 'drug triangle' puts hope in chocolate![]() Guerima, Colombia (AFP) March 4, 2017 Isidro Montiel arrived in Colombia's lawless "drug triangle" in 1982 hoping to get rich farming coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine. Today, with the country perched at the edge of a new era, he is betting instead on cacao, the little brown seeds used to make chocolate. "I had heard that planting coca was a good living," Montiel, a stout 57-year-old farmer, said of his decision 35 years ago to move to the remote triangle of jungle between the villages of Guerima, Chupave and Puerto Principe, in ... read more |
Bringing water to Kenya's drought-stricken wildlifeVoi, Kenya (AFP) March 5, 2017 In a wildlife sanctuary in southern Kenya the relentless sun has bleached savannah grasses and dried up rivers, turning water holes first into muddy pits and now, dust bowls. ... more
Syrian farmers fear IS to flood villages near EuphratesTuwayhina, Syria (AFP) March 5, 2017 Syrian farmers near the Euphrates river are terrified the Islamic State group will literally open the floodgates to defend its stronghold Raqa, drowning their tiny villages in the process. ... more
Hand-picked specialty crops 'ripe' for precision agriculture techniquesChampaign IL (SPX) Mar 03, 2017 Timing the harvest and transport of highly perishable, hand-picked crops such as strawberries so these delicate products reach consumers at peak flavor and freshness is an intricate dance that partn ... more
Magic cover crop carpetWashington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017 Organic farmers have to make hard choices between protecting soil from erosion and controlling weeds. For example, large-scale organic farming relies heavily on tillage. Tilling breaks up the soil t ... more |
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs to 18
Three Vietnam men survive 40 hours at sea after typhoon Typhoon Fung-wong floods Philippine towns, leaves 5 dead in its wake Typhoon Fung-wong leaves flooded Philippine towns in its wake Typhoon exposes centuries-old shipwreck off Vietnam port Weakening Typhoon Fung-wong exits Philippines after displacing 1.4 million Super Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall in Philippines Over 1 million evacuate as deadly Super Typhoon Fung-wong nears Philippines Dam reservoir levels drop below 3% in Iran's second city: media Philippines evacuates one million, woman dead as super typhoon nears |
| Previous Issues | Mar 06 | Mar 03 | Mar 02 | Mar 01 | Feb 28 |
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Researchers propose using CRISPR to accelerate plant domesticationWashington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017 Out of the more than 300,000 plant species in existence, only three species - rice, wheat, and maize - account for most of the plant matter that humans consume, partly because in the history of agri ... more
Somali president declares 'national disaster' over droughtMogadishu (AFP) Feb 28, 2017 Somali's newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Tuesday declared a "national disaster" due to severe drought which aid agencies say has left some three million in crisis. ... more
Calculating recharge of groundwater more preciselyFreiburg, Germany (SPX) Mar 01, 2017 A team of international researchers led by University of Freiburg hydrologist Dr. Andreas Hartmann suggests that inclusion of currently missing key hydrological processes in large-scale climate chan ... more
SpaceX delivers BAM-FX to ISS for Zero Gravity SolutionsBoca Raton FL (SPX) Feb 27, 2017 Zero Gravity Solutions, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology public company commercializing its technology derived from and designed for Space with significant applications for agriculture on Earth, ... more
'Our daily bread' has hidden climate costsParis (AFP) Feb 27, 2017 Nearly half the environmental impact of a loaf of bread comes from the "unsustainable use" of fertilisers on wheat crops, researchers said Monday. ... more
Brexit sows seeds of doubt for British farmersLondon (AFP) Feb 26, 2017 Dependent on foreign workers and subsidies from Brussels, Britain's small but important agricultural sector is losing sleep over the possible fallout from Brexit, but hopes a future outside the EU will open up new export opportunities. ... more |
![]() Researchers unravel powerful tool in maize breeding
Study finds consumers willing to pay more for 'all-natural' labeled foodsChicago IL (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 A study published in the Journal of Food Science found that expectations of product quality, nutritional content and the amount of money consumers were willing to pay increased when consumers saw a ... more
Cultivating cool-for-cash-cropWashington DC (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 When deciding what crops to grow during a season, growers look at several factors. Do the crops have a good yield in their area? Does the area currently have the resources - usually water - to grow ... more
Widely accepted vision for agriculture may be inaccurate, misleadingUniversity Park PA (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 "Food production must double by 2050 to feed the world's growing population." This truism has been repeated so often in recent years that it has become widely accepted among academics, policymakers ... more
What's the buzz on bee parasites?Liverpool, UK (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 Published in the open-access journal GigaScience is an article that presents the genome of a parasitic mite, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, that infects bee colonies, which are facing wide-spread devastat ... more |

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Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 07, 2017
Rainfall from spring-like downpours in the U.S. from February 25 to March 1 were analyzed at NASA using data from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite. Record breaking warm temperatures this winter have caused plants to bloom early in the eastern United States. Unfortunately this has also resulted in the formation of spring-like severe thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes. ... more Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 07, 2017Flashy first images arrive from NOAA's GOES-16 lightning mapper Stanford CA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017Study shows US grasslands affected more by atmospheric dryness than precipitation Paris (ESA) Mar 07, 2017Second 'colour vision' satellite for Copernicus launched |
Beijing (AFP) Feb 21, 2017 A prefecture in China's restive Xinjiang region has ordered all vehicles to be equipped with GPS-like tracking software, police and media reports said Tuesday, as authorities step up an "anti-terrorism" campaign.
All drivers in the Bayingol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture must install a China-developed satellite navigation system called Beidou "to prevent theft, but also primarily to maintai ... more New Delhi (Sputnik) Feb 15, 2017GLONASS station in India to expedite 'space centric' warfare command Canberra, Australia (SPX) Feb 14, 2017Australia and Lockheed field 2nd-Gen sat-based augmentation system Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 14, 2017UK may lose access to EU Galileo GPS system after Brexit |
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Vienna, Austria (SPX) Mar 07, 2017
Forests, especially tropical forests, are home to thousands of species of trees - sometimes tens to hundreds of tree species in the same forest - a level of biodiversity ecologists have struggled to explain.
In a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and thei ... more Pullman WA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017Tree growth model assists breeding for more wood Bangkok (AFP) March 2, 2017The battle to save Bangkok's 'Green Lung' Washington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017Ancient peoples shaped the Amazon rainforest |
Pasadena CA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017
Researchers at Caltech and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have - in just two years - nearly doubled the number of materials known to have potential for use in solar fuels. They did so by developing a process that promises to speed the discovery of commercially viable solar fuels that could replace coal, oil, and other fossil fuels.
Solar fuels, a dream of clean-energy ... more Pullman WA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017Novel 3-D manufacturing leads to highly complex, bio-like materials Durham NC (SPX) Feb 28, 2017Light-driven reaction converts carbon dioxide into fuel Ithaca NY (SPX) Feb 28, 2017New polymer additive could revolutionize plastics recycling |
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Seattle WA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017
In an unprecedented move, King County Metro (Metro) granted Urban Solar a decade-long contract to provide solar LED lighting solutions for its transit shelters and stops.
The relationship began in 2011 when Metro signed Urban Solar on for a five-year contract for its PV-Shelter solar systems. Urban Solar was able to transform Metro's flat shelter roof solar lighting systems and implement a ... more Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 07, 2017DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions Introduces New Solamet Toronto, Canada (SPX) Mar 01, 2017SOVENTIX developing solar parks of up to 140 megawatts in Alberta, Canada meeco installed biggest solar energy plant in Zimbabwe |
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 01, 2017
The sight of propeller-like rotating blades positioned high up the pole of a tall horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) may be familiar to many. Often grouped in wind farms, HAWTs provide significant amounts of energy for local communities. One drawback to HAWTs is the large space they take up, needing to be placed far apart from each other. If placed too close together, the turbulence and wind ve ... more Essen, Germany (UPI) Mar 3, 2017German company to store US wind energy in batteries in Texas Newark DE (SPX) Feb 22, 2017US grid can handle more offshore wind power Lansing, Mich. (UPI) Feb 16, 2017Michigan meets renewable energy targets |
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Beijing (AFP) Feb 28, 2017 China's world-leading coal consumption fell for the third straight year in 2016, government data showed Tuesday, as the planet's biggest carbon emitter struggles to break its addiction to the heavily polluting fuel.
Coal consumption fell by 4.7 percent year-on-year in 2016, and the share of coal in the country's energy mix slipped to 62.0 percent, down 2.0 percent year-on-year, the National ... more Beijing (AFP) Feb 18, 2017China halts N. Korea coal imports after missile test Brussels (AFP) Feb 9, 2017EU must shut coal plants by 2030 to meet climate pledge: study Canberra, Australia (UPI) Feb 7, 2017Do more to advance CCS, BHP Billiton says |
Shanghai (AFP) March 3, 2017
Shanghai has impounded thousands of brightly coloured bikes placed on city streets by cycle-sharing companies, in the latest sign of impatience with an explosion of the haphazardly-parked two-wheelers.
The bike-sharing sector has become one of the fastest-growing industries in the country, with users typically renting the bicycles for short periods by first unlocking them through the use of ... more Beijing (AFP) March 1, 2017Beijing's shanties: Towns of hope and despair Hong Kong (AFP) March 1, 2017Hong Kong rebel lawmakers fight parliament ban Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 27, 2017Activists gatecrash meeting of Hong Kong leadership hopeful |
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Washington (UPI) Mar 2, 2017
Norwegian company Kongsberg received a $15 million contract to deliver updated Protector remote weapon systems to the government of Switzerland.
The weapon system was ordered by Armasuisse, Switzerland's federal procurement office. According to Kongsberg, the Protectors to be delivered will be modified to integrate with modern platforms.
"Kongsberg has delivered Protector remote ... more Providence RI (SPX) Mar 07, 2017Robot uses social feedback to fetch objects intelligently Raleigh, NC (SPX) Feb 28, 2017Tracking the movement of cyborg cockroaches Oxford, England (UPI) Feb 23, 2017Study: Even 'benevolent bots' fight, sometimes for years |
Dhaka (AFP) March 6, 2017
A Bangladeshi court on Monday ordered the government to shut down more than 100 tanneries in Dhaka after they were accused of dumping huge amounts of toxic waste into the city's main river.
The High Court ruling followed a petition by Bangladeshi environmentalists, who have accused the government of failing to enforce earlier orders to clean up the tanneries.
"The court told the administ ... more Geneva (AFP) March 6, 2017Environmental risks kill 1.7mn kids under 5 a year: WHO Karachi (AFP) March 5, 2017Pakistan's financial capital Karachi turned 'into rubbish bin' East Lansing MI (SPX) Mar 06, 2017A Trump twist - Environment over economy in Michigan |
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Boulder CO (SPX) Feb 28, 2017
Humans have dramatically increased the spatial and seasonal extent of wildfires across the U.S. in recent decades and ignited more than 840,000 blazes in the spring, fall and winter seasons over a 21-year period, according to new research.
After analyzing two decades' worth of U.S. government agency wildfire records spanning 1992-2012, the researchers found that human-ignited wildfires acc ... more Beijing (AFP) Feb 26, 2017China detains 24 after deadly hotel fire Sydney (AFP) Feb 13, 2017Australia fires ease as damage mounts after record heat Albany CA (SPX) Feb 07, 2017Vegetation resilient to salvage logging after severe wildfire |
Boston MA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017
At high latitudes, such as near Antarctica and the Arctic Circle, the ocean's surface waters are cooled by frigid temperatures and become so dense that they sink a few thousand meters into the ocean's abyss.
Ocean waters are thought to flow along a sort of conveyor belt that transports them between the surface and the deep in a never-ending loop. However, it remains unclear where the deep ... more Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Mar 03, 2017More bang for the buck Tuwayhina, Syria (AFP) March 5, 2017Syrian farmers fear IS to flood villages near Euphrates London, UK (SPX) Mar 01, 2017First direct measurements of Pacific seabed sediments reveal strong methane source |
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Paris (AFP) March 6, 2017
Winds gusting up to hurricane force battered west and central France on Monday, leaving two people dead and 600,000 homes without electricity, authorities said.
Storm Zeus - named after the paramount god in Greek mythology - hit the Atlantic coast before sweeping across to the centre and southeast of the country.
Weather experts said they measured gusts of up to 193 kilometres (120 mil ... more London (AFP) Feb 23, 2017One dead as Storm Doris hits British Isles Los Angeles (AFP) Feb 18, 2017Four dead as 'worse storm in years' buffets California Albuquerque (UPI) Feb 14, 2017Extreme heat threatens desert songbirds |
Washington (AFP) March 6, 2017
The Trump administration's top trade advisor said Monday US trade deficits are a threat to national security that could cause the loss of American freedom and prosperity.
Outlining an unapologetically aggressive trade policy, Peter Navarro, director of the White House National Trade Council, accused economists and the media of ignoring the risk posed by trade deficits and embracing an "antiq ... more Geneva (AFP) March 2, 2017WTO faces first attack from US under Trump Beijing (AFP) March 5, 2017China trims GDP target, citing severe challenges Beijing (AFP) March 3, 2017Financial risks hang over China legislature meeting |
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Copenhagen, Denmark (UPI) Mar 3, 2017 New research shows solar storms leave large portions of Earth's atmosphere without electrons.
Typically, when a solar storm reaches Earth, the collision with the planet's magnetosphere creates space through which a barrage of charged particles and electrons flood the ionosphere, an outer layer of Earth's atmosphere.
In other words, solar storms are most often associated with an e ... more Washington DC (SPX) Mar 01, 2017First Solar Images from NOAA's GOES-16 Satellite Washington (UPI) Feb 25, 2017Rare 'Ring of Fire' eclipse to cross Southern Hemisphere Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 24, 2017NSF to Fund a Nationwide Effort to Capture the Eclipse |
Nairobi (AFP) March 6, 2017
One of Africa's oldest and largest elephants was killed by poachers in Kenya on Monday, according to a conservation group that protects the dwindling group of giant "tuskers".
Richard Moller of the Tsavo Trust told AFP that Satao II, named after another famed giant killed in 2014, was found dead on Monday and was believed to have been shot with a poisoned arrow, however this had not been con ... more San Francisco CA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017Study shows how skates, rays and sharks sense electrical fields Washington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017Woolly mammoths experienced a genomic meltdown just before extinction Davis, Calif. (UPI) Mar 3, 2017Study explains why the panda is black and white |
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