|
|
Avocado town becomes symbol of Chile's water war![]() Petorca, Chile (AFP) March 23, 2018 Karina Torres has spent more than seven years without running water in her home in central Chile. Yet, across the road, water flows in abundance to irrigate thousands of hectares of avocados. It's one of the paradoxes of this South American country's push for progress. With water growing ever more scarce, glistening green cash crops are taking precedence over a local town's claims to the supply. Last year's rains brought a little relief to the town of Calle Larga, in a subtropical zone 150 kilom ... read more |
Scientists to publish first-ever land health reportMedell�n, Colombia (AFP) March 26, 2018 Scientists will publish the first-ever analysis Monday of the global state of land and its ability to sustain a fast-growing human population that relies on it for 95 percent of all food. ... more
Land decay to displace tens of millions, global survey warnsMedell�n, Colombia (AFP) March 26, 2018 Land degradation will unleash a mass migration of at least 50 million people by 2050 - as many as 700 million unless humans stop depleting the life-giving resource, more than 100 scientists warned Monday. ... more
Safeguarding our most precious resource: waterParis (ESA) Mar 23, 2018 According to this year's Global Risk Report by the World Economic Forum, water crises are one of the five biggest risks to society. ESA is working with development banks to help water-resource autho ... more
Low-tech, affordable solutions to improve water qualityHoughton MI (SPX) Mar 23, 2018 Most of us are used to turning on a tap and water coming out. We rarely question whether this will happen or whether the water is clean enough to bathe in or drink. Though the process of maintaining ... more |
Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines
CORRECTED: Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines Afghan govt says quake kills 20, injures over 500 Third quake in three months rattles Turkey's Sindirgi Spain regional leader resigns, a year after deadly floods Spain regional leader resigns, year after deadly floods Afghanistan quake kills 20, injures over 300: health ministry At least 9 dead in Afghanistan quake Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan CORRECTED: Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan: USGS |
|
|

| Previous Issues | Mar 26 | Mar 24 | Mar 23 | Mar 22 | Mar 21 |
|
French food fest wants to whet the world's appetiteParis (AFP) March 21, 2018 Truffled frogs legs with spiced raisins, and apple and pear tart with prune and Armagnac ice cream... French chefs were setting out Wednesday to make mouths water in a global celebration of the country's cuisine. ... more
UN and EU say food insecurity worsens as conflicts rageParis (AFP) March 22, 2018 The food security of around 124 million people worldwide was under acute threat at the end of last year, mostly because of worsening conflicts and drought, the UN and EU said Thursday. ... more
Indonesia women face daily swim for clean waterMakassar, Indonesia (AFP) March 22, 2018 Indonesian villager Mama Hasria swims upstream with about 200 empty jerry cans tied to her back, a daily trip she and other local women make to get clean water for their community on Sulawesi island. ... more
World water problems on tap at Brazil conferenceBrasilia (AFP) March 17, 2018 Brazil - the country with the world's greatest fresh water reserves - hosts an international conference next week on growing fears over the fragility of drinking water supplies in a heating planet. ... more
World's largest cities depend on evaporated water from surrounding landsFort Collins CO (SPX) Mar 21, 2018 Urbanization has taken billions of people from the rural countryside to urban centers, adding pressure to existing water resources. Many cities rely on renewable freshwater regularly refilled by pre ... more |
![]() NZ dairy giant Fonterra posts loss on China writedown, CEO to go
Algorithm could streamline harvesting of hand-picked cropsChicago IL (SPX) Mar 21, 2018 Farmers are the latest beneficiaries in a world of data analytics. Over the past few years, precision agriculture has been helping farmers make smarter decisions and producing a bigger yield. But mo ... more |
|
Agriculture must make water use go further: expertsBrasilia (AFP) March 20, 2018 In a world where water risks running short for many, the especially thirsty agricultural industry must learn how to manage the vital resource better, experts said Tuesday. ... more
Dead Sea's revival with Red Sea canal edges closer to realityGhor Al-Haditha, Jordan (AFP) March 18, 2018 Israel and Jordan have long pursued a common goal to stop the Dead Sea from shrinking while slaking their shared thirst for drinking water with a pipeline from the Red Sea some 200 kilometres away. ... more
US Supreme Court gives go ahead to Flint water lawsuitsWashington (AFP) March 19, 2018 The US Supreme Court on Monday gave the go ahead to two class-action lawsuits filed by residents of Flint, Michigan in response to a lead-contaminated water crisis. ... more
Dead tress across Mongolian lava field offer clues to past droughtsTucson AZ (SPX) Mar 19, 2018 The extreme wet and dry periods Mongolia has experienced in the late 20th and early 21st centuries are rare but not unprecedented and future droughts may be no worse, according to an international r ... more
Background radiation in UAE's agricultural topsoil found to be lower than global averageWashington DC (SPX) Mar 19, 2018 A team of researchers in the United Arab Emirates have revealed the presence of a significantly lower level of background radiation present in the nation's agricultural topsoil in comparison to the ... more |
|
|
|
|
A space window to electrifying science Paris (ESA) Mar 27, 2018
Lightning triggers powerful electrical bursts in Earth's atmosphere almost every second. The inner workings of these magnificent forces of nature are still unknown, but a rare observation by an ESA astronaut gave a boost to the science community. A European detector will take on the challenge of hunting for thunderstorms from space next week.
As he flew over India at 28 800 km/h on the Int ... 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 |
|
|
Amazon deforestation is close to tipping point Sao Paulo, Brazil (SPX) Mar 27, 2018
Deforestation of the Amazon is about to reach a threshold beyond which the region's tropical rainforest may undergo irreversible changes that transform the landscape into degraded savanna with sparse shrubby plant cover and low biodiversity.
This warning derives from an editorial published in the journal Science Advances. The article was co-authored by Thomas Lovejoy, a professor at George ... more |
Wood pellets: Renewable, but not carbon neutral Millbrook, NY (SPX) Mar 26, 2018
A return to firewood is bad for forests and the climate. So reports William Schlesinger, President Emeritus of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, in an Insights article published in the journal Science.
In the race to meet clean energy standards, biomass energy is often touted as carbon neutral. To satisfy European Union (EU) demand, forests in the United States are turned into wood ... more |
|
|
Wartsila delivers world's largest solar hybrid power plant Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Mar 26, 2018
The technology group Wartsila has announced that it has delivered the world's largest solar hybrid power plant. Wartsila will provide a reliable and sustainable supply of round-the-clock energy which is essential in operating the off-grid gold mine and demonstrate the enormous potential of integrating renewables as the baseload electricity.
Wartsila was selected by the global renewable ene ... more |
BP sees onshore wind as the cheapest future source of electricity Washington (UPI) Mar 15, 2018
In a report on energy efficiency trends, British energy company BP said onshore wind could become the most economical source of electricity within 30 years.
A technology outlook for 2018 by the British supermajor finds coal is currently the largest source of global energy generation. There's enough on hand, the report read, to keep the grid satiated for more than a century based on curr ... more |
|
|
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 |
Street art makes a splash in Hong Kong Hong Kong (AFP) March 26, 2018
From murals made famous by Instagram to painting battles, Hong Kong's once largely underground street art scene has exploded in recent years, and is now blossoming across the city's walls and alleyways.
The commercial high end of the art world is at the fore in March, with gallerists, collectors and celebrities descending on Hong Kong for the annual Art Basel fair.
But English mural arti ... more |
|
|
How accurate is your AI Kyoto, Japan (SPX) Mar 23, 2018
As AI's role in society continues to expand, J B Brown of the Graduate School of Medicine reports on a new evaluation method for the type of AI that predicts yes/positive/true or no/negative/false answers.
Brown's paper, published in Molecular Informatics, deconstructs the utilization of AI and analyzes the nature of the statistics used to report an AI program's ability. The new technique ... more |
Researchers create new low-cost, sustainable material for reducing air and water pollution Washington DC (SPX) Mar 23, 2018
A new class of low-cost and sustainable hybrid materials could possibly displace activated carbon as the preferred choice for reducing wastewater and air pollution. The material, described in Frontiers in Chemistry, is synthesized inexpensively from solid wastes and a naturally abundant polymer - and can cut down pollutants in air and wastewater with more success than activated carbon, the curre ... more |
|
|
Residents get first look at town devastated by Australia bushfire Sydney (AFP) March 20, 2018 Residents got their first look Tuesday at the devastation wrought by a bushfire that ravaged a town in Australia, but fears over asbestos and unstable structures mean even those with houses still standing cannot move back.
Sixty-nine homes were incinerated in Tathra on the south coast of New South Wales, and another 39 damaged, after a blaze fanned by gusty winds and hot, dry conditions swep ... more |
Ultra-thin sun shield could protect Great Barrier Reef Sydney (AFP) March 27, 2018
An ultra-fine biodegradable film some 50,000 times thinner than a human hair could be enlisted to protect the Great Barrier Reef from environmental degradation, researchers said Tuesday.
The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists each year, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.
Scientists fr ... more |
|
|
New data confirm increased frequency of extreme weather events Munich, Germany (SPX) Mar 22, 2018
New data show that extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past 36 years, with a significant uptick in floods and other hydrological events compared even with five years ago, according to a new publication, "Extreme weather events in Europe: Preparing for climate change adaptation: an update on EASAC's 2013 study" by the European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC), a b ... more |
Quiet business negotiations between China, US: report New York (AFP) March 26, 2018 China and the United States have begun behind-the-scenes negotiations to improve American access to the Chinese domestic market, the Wall Street Journal said Sunday.
News of the talks follow days rife with tension, raising the specter of a trade war between the world's top economies.
The daily paper said the discussions - led by China's economic "czar" Liu He, US Treasury Secretary Stev ... more |
|
|
New 3-D measurements improve understanding of geomagnetic storm hazards Washington DC (SPX) Mar 14, 2018
Measurements of the three-dimensional structure of the earth, as opposed to the one-dimensional models typically used, can help scientists more accurately determine which areas of the United States are most vulnerable to blackouts during hazardous geomagnetic storms.
Space weather events such as geomagnetic storms can disturb the earth's magnetic field, interfering with electric power grid ... more |
Researchers investigate if Hurricane Harvey helped fire ants spread in Texas Washington (UPI) Mar 26, 2018
Scientists at Rice University are trying to measure the impact of Hurricane Harvey on fire ant populations, an invasive species common throughout the South.
Previous studies suggest invasive species take over and thrive in damaged ecosystems. Hurricane Harvey offered ecologists another chance to test the theory.
"Hurricane Harvey was, among other things, a grand ecological experi ... more |
|
| Buy Advertising | Media Advertising Kit | Editorial & Other Enquiries | Privacy statement |
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement |