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In southern Iraq, drought tightens its grip![]() Sayyed Dakhil, Iraq (AFP) April 25, 2018 Abu Ali carefully crank-starts a generator to pump water from a well out into his parched field in southern Iraq. There used to be no need for a well in his village, but a creeping drought is now threatening agriculture and livelihoods in the area. "Last year, the river started to dry up and today we only have wells to supply us with water," the 73-year-old farmer told AFP. Since childhood, Abu Ali and his family have lived off this land in the village of Sayyed Dakhil, to the east of Nasar ... read more |
Mediterranean fears bitter future for citrus cropsParis (AFP) April 25, 2018 Could we soon be forced to do without a glass of orange juice or a slice of grapefruit at breakfast? The answer is unfortunately yes. ... more
South Africa wine production drying up in water crisisParis (AFP) April 24, 2018 South Africa is set for a steep decline in wine production in 2018 as the country grapples with a water crisis ravaging Cape Town and surrounding areas, a Paris-based global organisation said Tuesday. ... more
Moss capable of removing arsenic from drinking water discoveredStockholm, Sweden (SPX) Apr 22, 2018 A moss capable of removing arsenic from contaminated water has been discovered by researchers from Stockholm University. And it happens quickly - in just one hour, the arsenic level is so low that t ... more
California to 'whiplash' between drought, floods: studyParis (AFP) April 23, 2018 California will zigzag between droughts and floods which will become more intense and more frequent in the coming decades unless global emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are checked, researchers said Monday. ... more |
Philippines vows arrests over bogus flood control projects
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs 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 |
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| Previous Issues | Apr 25 | Apr 24 | Apr 23 | Apr 20 | Apr 19 |
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China hits US sorghum with anti-dumping measureBeijing (AFP) April 17, 2018 China announced Tuesday that it was slapping provisional anti-dumping duties on sorghum imported from the United States amid heightened trade tensions between the world's two top economies. ... more
Monoculture farming is harming bees' microbiomeWashington (UPI) Apr 17, 2018 Honeybees aren't getting enough good bacteria as a result of harmful land management, including monoculture farming and commercial forestry. ... more
Fishing 'nomads': corralling carp on China's Thousand Island LakeQiandaohu, China (AFP) April 11, 2018 On a clear sunny morning in eastern China, the surface of Qiandao Lake boils with tens of thousands of thrashing carp as they are swept into the nets of fisherman like Ye Zhiqing. ... more
Large wildfires bring increases in annual river flowCorvallis OR (SPX) Apr 16, 2018 Large wildfires cause increases in stream flow that can last for years or even decades, according to a new analysis of 30 years of data from across the continental United States. Enhanced rive ... more
Mississippi River diversions will produce new land, but slowly, Tulane study saysNew Orleans LA (SPX) Apr 16, 2018 Although river diversions that bring land building sediment to shrinking coastlands are the best solution to sustaining portions of the Mississippi Delta, a new Tulane University study concludes tha ... more |
![]() Scientists use carbon nanotube technology to develop robust water desalination membranes
Organic fertilizers are an overlooked source of microplastic pollutionWashington DC (SPX) Apr 12, 2018 Organic fertilizers from biowaste fermentation act as a vehicle for microplastic particles to enter the terrestrial environment, with the amount of microplastic particles differing based on pre-trea ... more |
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Sweet potatoes came to Polynesia before humans did, study suggestsWashington DC (UPI) Apr 13, 2018 The sweet potato made its way to Polynesia without human assistance, new research suggests, colonizing the islands prior to the arrival of the first humans. ... more
Cactus roots inspire creation of water-retaining materialWashington DC (SPX) Apr 13, 2018 During rare desert rainfalls, cacti waste no time sopping up and storing a storm's precious precipitation. Inspired by this natural phenomenon, scientists report in a study appearing ACS Macro Lette ... more
More frequent droughts mean fewer flowers for beesWashington DC (UPI) Apr 13, 2018 As the planet warms and droughts grow longer and more frequent, as predicted by climate scientists, bees are likely to find fewer flowers to get nectar. ... more
Japan faces record low eel catch, renewing stock fearsTokyo, Japan (AFP) April 13, 2018 Japan is on track for a record low catch of baby eels this year, renewing fears about declining stocks of the endangered fish, a favoured summer delicacy for Japanese. ... more
Toxic levels of arsenic in Amazon basin well water: studyVienna (AFP) April 12, 2018 Shallow wells dug for drinking water in the Amazon basin in order to avoid polluted rivers contain up to 70 times the recommended limit of arsenic, researchers warned Tuesday. ... more |
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Seventh Sentinel satellite launched for Copernicus Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Apr 25, 2018
The second Sentinel-3 satellite, Copernicus Sentinel-3B, was launched today, joining its identical twin Sentinel-3A in orbit. This pairing of satellites increases coverage and data delivery for the European Union's Copernicus environment programme.
The 1150 kg Sentinel-3B satellite was carried into orbit on a Rockot launcher from Plesetsk, Russia, at 17:57 GMT (19:57 CEST; 21:57 local time ... more |
GPS sensor web helps forecasters warn of monsoon flash floods Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 24, 2018
In the American Southwest and in northwestern Mexico, more than half the annual rainfall often comes in the form of the torrential and unpredictable downpours of the North American monsoon. As in monsoon seasons across the tropics, a summertime reversal of winds carries streams of moisture from over the oceans or, in this case, the Gulf of California and Gulf of Mexico, and unceremoniously dumps ... more |
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Billions of gallons of water saved by thinning forests Washington DC (SPX) Apr 25, 2018
There are too many trees in Sierra Nevada forests, say scientists affiliated with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (CZO).
That may come as a surprise to those who see dense, verdant forests as signs of a healthy environment. After all, green is good, right? Not necessarily. When it comes to the number of trees in California forests, bigger isn ... more |
Carbon capture could be a financial opportunity for US biofuels Stanford CA (SPX) Apr 24, 2018
Although considered critical to avoiding catastrophic global warming, the feasibility of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it underground - known as negative emissions - has been in question.
"There's really no scenario that meets the world's climate goals without negative emissions," said Katharine Mach, a senior research scientist at Stanford's School of Earth, Ener ... more |
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Sea of solar panels turns Mexican desert green Viesca, Mexico (AFP) April 23, 2018
From a distance, it looks like a deep-blue sea has formed in the middle of the Mexican desert.
But this is no mirage - it's the largest solar park in Latin America.
With 2.3 million solar panels - covering the equivalent of 2,200 football fields in the arid northern state of Coahuila - the Villanueva power plant, built by Italian energy company Enel, is part of Mexico's push to genera ... more |
US renewables firm takes Poland to court over U-turn on windmills Warsaw (AFP) April 24, 2018
A US renewable energy group Invenergy said on Tuesday it had begun international arbitration against Poland, claiming it stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars (euros) after the EU country reneged on its commitments to build wind farms.
Between 2005 and 2015, Invenergy built 11 wind farms in Poland, investing "hundreds of millions of dollars of equity capital to develop and construc ... more |
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U.N.: Coal still has a short-term future Washington (UPI) Apr 25, 2018
There's no certain long-term future for coal as a power source given the shift toward low-carbon options, but that's not the case near-term, a U.N. agency said.
Coal accounts for about 30 percent of total energy used globally and about 40 percent of total electricity generation. Among fossil fuels, natural gas is a cleaner option when compared to oil or coal.
The International En ... more |
Plan for new 'Hong Kong Town' in mainland China sparks backlash Hong Kong (AFP) April 25, 2018
A proposal to build a commuter town for Hongkongers in mainland China to solve a housing crisis was slammed Wednesday as ghettoising poorer residents and compromising the city's autonomy.
The MTR Corporation, which runs the city's railway network and acts as a property developer, has started talks with its state-run counterpart in China to explore areas in southern China that could be used ... more |
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Face recognition for galaxies: Artificial intelligence brings new tools to astronomy Santa Cruz CA (SPX) Apr 24, 2018
A machine learning method called "deep learning," which has been widely used in face recognition and other image- and speech-recognition applications, has shown promise in helping astronomers analyze images of galaxies and understand how they form and evolve.
In a new study, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal and available online, researchers used computer simulations of gal ... more |
China fights big smog with big air purifier Xian, China (AFP) April 18, 2018
China has a found a novel way to tackle its massive air pollution problem: Putting up a giant air purifier the size of an industrial smokestack in the middle of a smog-plagued city.
Instead of pumping out billows of black smoke like the chimneys rising from factories in the northern province of Shaanxi, the 60-meter (197-foot) tall structure on the outskirts of the regional capital Xian blas ... more |
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Large bushfire burns near homes on Sydney outskirts Sydney (AFP) April 16, 2018
Hundreds of firefighters were Monday battling a large bushfire that was raging near Sydney suburbs, with authorities saying it was "miraculous" no houses had been damaged and no-one had been injured.
New South Wales state police are investigating the cause of the bushfire in south-western Sydney, which started on Saturday afternoon amid unseasonably warm autumn weather and strong winds, with ... more |
Collapse of the Atlantic Ocean heat transport might lead to hot European summers Stockholm, Sweden (SPX) Apr 25, 2018
Severe winters combined with heat waves and droughts during summer in Europe. Those were the consequences as the Atlantic Ocean heat transport nearly collapsed 12,000 years ago. The same situation might occur today, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.
Record-breaking cold ocean temperatures across the central North Atlantic in recent years suggest that the northwar ... more |
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Winter wave heights and extreme storms on the rise in Western Europe Plymouth UK (SPX) Apr 25, 2018
Average winter wave heights along the Atlantic coast of Western Europe have been rising for almost seven decades, according to new research.
The coastlines of Scotland and Ireland have seen the largest increases, with the average height of winter waves more than 10mm/year (more than 0.7metres in total) higher than in 1948.
That has also led to increased wave heights during extreme we ... more |
Apple, Ireland strike deal on 13-billion-euro tax payment Dublin (AFP) April 24, 2018
Ireland's government on Tuesday said it was signing a deal with Apple for the US tech giant to pay 13 billion euros ($16 billion) in back taxes as ordered by the European Commission.
The formal signature is expected later on Tuesday and the money will go into an escrow account, a type of third-party account used in transactions, the finance ministry said in a statement.
The money is expe ... more |
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European Solar Telescope will help us to crack mysteries of Sun Belfast UK (SPX) Apr 19, 2018
A group of international scientists have met at Queen's University Belfast to finalise plans for a next generation telescope which will help to crack the mysteries of the Sun.
The revolutionary four-metre telescope is being designed to investigate the Sun at unprecedented resolution. It will allow scientists to identify structures as small as 30km, which is the equivalent to finding a poun ... more |
One of North America's rarest bees has its known range greatly expanded Washington DC (SPX) Apr 22, 2018
The Macropis Cuckoo Bee is one of the rarest bees in North America, partly because of its specialized ecological associations. It is a nest parasite of oil-collecting bees of the genus Macropis which, in turn, are dependent on oil-producing flowers of the genus Lysimachia.
In fact, the cuckoo bee - which much like its feather-bearing counterpart does not build a nest of its own, but lays i ... more |
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