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Top bottled water brands contaminated with plastic particles: report![]() Miami (AFP) March 15, 2018 The world's leading brands of bottled water are contaminated with tiny plastic particles that are likely seeping in during the packaging process, according to a major study across nine countries published Wednesday. "Widespread contamination" with plastic was found in the study, led by microplastic researcher Sherri Mason of the State University of New York at Fredonia, according to a summary released by Orb Media, a US-based non-profit media collective. Researchers tested 250 bottles of water i ... read more  | 
 
Two soldiers killed in Nigeria communal violence: armyKano, Nigeria (AFP) March 15, 2018 At least two soldiers were killed Wednesday in renewed violence between herders and farmers in central Nigeria's Plateau state days after similar violence killed 25 in unrest linked to land, water and grazing rights. ... more  
Malaysia's honey hunters defy angry bees to harvest treetop treasureUlu Muda, Malaysia (AFP) March 13, 2018 On a moonless night deep in the Malaysian rainforest, two men perched precariously on high branches use a smoking torch to draw thousands of bees from a treetop hive, braving the angry swarm to collect their prized honey. ... more  
Ag robot speeds data collection, analyses of crops as they growChampaign IL (SPX) Mar 14, 2018 A new lightweight, low-cost agricultural robot could transform data collection and field scouting for agronomists, seed companies and farmers. The TerraSentia crop phenotyping robot, developed ... more  
Scientists engineer crops to conserve water, resist droughtChampaign IL (SPX) Mar 08, 2018 Agriculture already monopolizes 90 percent of global freshwater - yet production still needs to dramatically increase to feed and fuel this century's growing population. For the first time, scientis ... more  | 
 
Nepal avalanche kills seven 
Typhoon flooding kills 5, strands thousands in central Philippines Vietnam flood death toll hits 40 as Typhoon Kalmaegi looms Floods strand people on roofs as typhoon pounds Philippines Jamaicans mobilize aid in aftermath of Melissa's wreckage Spain regional leader resigns, a year after deadly floods French warship delivers 40 tonnes of aid to hurricane-hit Jamaica Three killed, four missing in Nepal avalanche Tens of thousands shelter as typhoon slams into Philippines Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines  | 
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| Previous Issues | Mar 14 | Mar 13 | Mar 12 | Mar 11 | Mar 10 | 
 
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Land-use planning could reconcile agricultural growth with conservation of natureLeipzig, Germany (SPX) Mar 08, 2018 Increasing agricultural production usually leads to various negative side effects in agricultural landscapes, such as local decline in wildlife and loss of ecosystem functions. But what would happen ... more  
Thousands of farmers march in Madrid over 'surreal' droughtMadrid (AFP) March 7, 2018 Thousands of farmers from Spain's parched southeast, marched in Madrid Wednesday to ask the government for help as their crops are threatened by a "surreal" drought that is also putting jobs at risk. ... more  
Soil cannot halt climate changeHarpenden AL5 (SPX) Mar 06, 2018 Unique soils data from long-term experiments, stretching back to the middle of the nineteenth century, confirm the practical implausibility of burying carbon in the ground to halt climate change, an ... more  
Indonesia scrubbing the 'world's dirtiest river'Majalaya, Indonesia (AFP) March 2, 2018 The scabies on Indonesian rice farmer Yusuf Supriyadi's limbs are a daily reminder of the costs of living next to the "world's dirtiest river". ... more  
Where fresh is cool in Bay of BengalCape Cod MA (SPX) Mar 08, 2018 Each summer, the South Asian monsoon transforms parts of India from semi-arid into lush green lands able to support farming. The annual infusion of rainfall and resulting runoff into the Ganges, Bra ... more  | 
![]() Genetic tweak makes plants use 25% less water  
Carrefour's chicken blockchain set to lay eggsParis (AFP) March 6, 2018 French supermarket group Carrefour said Tuesday it would expand its blockchain-based food traceability programme, which is currently in place for some chickens, to eight other products including eggs by the end of the year. ... more  | 
 
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Cape Town averts dry taps in 2018: officialCape Town (AFP) March 7, 2018 Cape Town will not be forced to shut-off normal water supplies in 2018 in response to a three-year-long drought as previously feared, the region's governing party said Wednesday. ... more  
'Doomsday' seed vault gets makeover as Arctic heats upLongyearbyen (AFP) March 2, 2018 Designed to withstand a nuclear missile hit, the world's biggest seed vault, nestled deep inside an Arctic mountain, is undergoing a makeover as rising temperatures melt the permafrost meant to protect it. ... more  
Iraq force that helped beat IS turns to reconstructionAl Qurnah, Iraq (AFP) March 7, 2018 Three months ago, Ibrahim Ali was using his digger to smash down defensive embankments built by Islamic State group jihadists in northern Iraq. ... more  
Cuban cigars: a treasure from Havana to BeijingPinar Del Rio, Cuba (AFP) March 2, 2018 When they rip the big green leaves from the tobacco plant, Cuban farmers know they're touching gold. ... more  
'Noah's Ark' seed vault chalks up a million crop varietiesLongyearbyen (AFP) Feb 26, 2018 Norway's 'doomsday' seed bank, which seeks to protect the world's crops from natural disasters, on Monday said it had gathered more than a million varieties as it marked its 10-year anniversary. ... more  | 
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Voyaging for the Sentinels Paris (ESA) Mar 12, 2018  
Two recent expeditions that took scientists 26 000 km across the Atlantic Ocean have returned critical information to make sure that the Copernicus Sentinel satellites are delivering accurate data about the state of our oceans. 
Information from the Sentinels is used in a myriad of ways to make lives easier and businesses more efficient. 
For example, ocean forecasting is important for ... more | 
Indra Expands With Four New Stations The Ground Segment Managing Galileo Satellites Madrid, Spain (SPX) Mar 15, 2018  
Indra has been awarded a contract for implementing four new Uplink Stations (ULS), thus expanding the ground segment of the European global positioning system, Galileo. Awarded by the company Thales Alenia Space (France), this contract also includes maintenance and upgrades for all Uplink stations. 
The new stations will join the ten uplink stations that Indra has already put into service a ... more | 
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Elephant declines imperil Africa's forests Durham NC (SPX) Mar 13, 2018  
Poaching and habitat loss have reduced forest elephant populations in Central Africa by 63 percent since 2001. This widespread killing poses dire consequences not only for the species itself but also for the region's forests, a new Duke University study finds. 
"Without intervention to stop poaching, as much as 96 percent of Central Africa's forests will undergo major changes in tree-specie ... more | 
Manure could heat your home Waterloo, Canada (SPX) Mar 12, 2018  
Farm manure could be a viable source of renewable energy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Researchers at the University of Waterloo are developing technology to produce renewable natural gas from manure so it can be added to the existing energy supply system for heating homes and powering industries. 
That would eliminate particularly harmful gases released ... more | 
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India inaugurates mega solar project Washington (UPI) Mar 11, 2018  
 French energy company ENGIE said Monday it was expanding its presence in the renewable energy sector in India, one of the world's fastest growing economies. 
 French President Emmanuel Macron met Monday in the country with ENGIE CEO Isabelle Kocher and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the inauguration of the Mirzapur solar power plant, a 101 megawatt facility contracted to the Fren ... more | 
German green energy segment Innogy divvied up Washington (UPI) Mar 11, 2018  
 German utility company E.ON is now in control of the renewable energy segment created by its rival, RWE, in a landmark, multi-billion dollar deal, they said. 
 In a joint statement, E.ON said it reached an agreement in principle with RWE to acquire more than three quarters of the stakes in renewable energy entity Innogy, an offshoot from RWE. 
 Germany's energy sector is shifting foc ... more | 
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Michigan utility company to go zero coal Washington (UPI) Feb 20, 2018  
 Coal will no longer be used as an energy source for Michigan residents as more renewables come on stream in the decades ahead, a utility company said. 
 Public utility company Consumers Energy, which provides gas and electricity to about 60 percent of the state population, said it would no longer be using coal as a power source by 2040. By then, the company said it expects more than 40 pe ... more | 
China dragoons viewers to make pro-Xi film a blockbuster Shanghai (AFP) March 14, 2018  
 Citizens across China are being corralled into cinemas to watch a propaganda film extolling the Communist Party and Xi Jinping, as an intensifying personality cult around the 64-year-old leader hits the big screen. 
The mass viewings by staff from companies and government agencies have catapulted the feature-length movie, called "Amazing China" in English and released March 2, into the ranks  ... more | 
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Researchers find algorithm for large-scale brain simulations Washington DC (SPX) Mar 06, 2018  
An international group of researchers has made a decisive step towards creating the technology to achieve simulations of brain-scale networks on future supercomputers of the exascale class. The breakthrough, published in Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, allows larger parts of the human brain to be represented, using the same amount of computer memory. Simultaneously, the new algorithm significantl ... more | 
Tempers flare as missteps mar Paris push to go green Paris (AFP) March 14, 2018  
 Emerging from the tunnel of a former highway along the River Seine in Paris, bikes zip past the cars caught in traffic on a road just next to them. 
"It's great for cyclists, it's safer," says Kolestin Onaindia, though he is one of just a handful of riders taking advantage of the car-free thoroughfare on a weekday afternoon. 
Onaindia knows his perk comes with a price. 
Before he retire ... more | 
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More homes built near wild lands leading to greater wildfire risk Madison WI (SPX) Mar 14, 2018  
More than 10 million acres burned across the country during the 2017 U.S. wildfire season at a cost of more than $2 billion - the largest bill ever. 
And while many factors affect the risk for wildfires, new research out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that a flurry of homebuilding near wild areas since 1990 has greatly increased the number of homes at risk from wildfires while ... more | 
Researchers issue first-annual sea-level report cards Gloucester Point, VA (SPX) Mar 14, 2018  
Researchers at William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science are launching new web-based "report cards" to monitor and forecast changes in sea level at 32 localities along the U.S. coastline from Maine to Alaska. They plan to update the report cards in January of each year, with projections out to the year 2050. 
The lead on the project, VIMS emeritus professor John Boon, says the ... more | 
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Why is it so hot at night in some cities Paris, France (SPX) Mar 14, 2018  
During the nighttime, it is hotter in the city than in nearby suburbs or the countryside. But just how much hotter differs between cities. Researchers from the CNRS and MIT joint research laboratory and the Centre Interdisciplinaire des Nanosciences de Marseille have shown that the determining factor is how cities are structured: more organized cities, like many in North America with straight an ... more | 
China's industrial output posts strong start to 2018 Beijing (AFP) March 14, 2018   China's industrial output strengthened in the first two months of the year, official data showed Wednesday, led by production at state enterprises. 
Output at factories and workshops expanded 7.2 percent year-on-year in January and February combined, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, beating the 6.2 percent recorded in December and the 6.2 percent forecast in a Bloomberg News surv ... more | 
 
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Three NASA satellites recreate solar eruption in 3-D Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 12, 2018  
The more solar observatories, the merrier: Scientists have developed new models to see how shocks associated with coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, propagate from the Sun - an effort made possible only by combining data from three NASA satellites to produce a much more robust mapping of a CME than any one could do alone. 
Much the way ships form bow waves as they move through water, CMEs set ... more | 
Pretty polly or pests? Dutch in a flap over parakeets The Hague (AFP) March 12, 2018  
 To their detractors, they're dirty alien invaders whose incessant chatter ruins Sunday morning lie-ins. To their supporters, they're beautiful, cheerful reminders of warmer climes amid the winter chill. 
Love 'em or hate 'em, thousands of rose-ringed parakeets, close relatives of parrots, have made their home in the Netherlands over the past five decades, and their growing presence has become ... more | 
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