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As water crisis bites, Venezuela governor outraged over empty pool![]() Caracas (AFP) April 26, 2018 The chronic water shortage in Venezuela which has left millions struggling to cope sparked fresh headlines this week after a state governor expressed outrage that his swimming pool was empty. In a video posted on his Twitter account, Rafael Lacava, governor of the northern Carabobo state, can be seen standing next to his empty pool issuing furious threats towards Venezuela's main water company and giving them 24 hours to fix the problem. "Here is the pool, in the governor's house and there is n ... read more |
After Cape Town, Ivory Coast city feels the thirstBouake, Ivory Coast (AFP) April 26, 2018 Earlier this year, Cape Town grabbed the world's headlines as it careened towards a water armageddon. ... more
In southern Iraq, drought tightens its gripSayyed 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. ... 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 |
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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US treaty with Native Americans put to test in Supreme Court salmon caseWashington (AFP) April 18, 2018 The US Supreme Court was transported to the American West and another century on Wednesday as it heard a case involving Native Americans and salmon fishing rights. ... more
Nanoporous membrane centrifuge enables reverse osmosis without foulingWashington DC (SPX) Apr 20, 2018 Recent research published in a paper in TECHNOLOGY reported a novel design of a scale-up nanoporous membrane centrifuge (see Figure 1 (a), (b), (c), and (d)) proposed for reverse osmosis desalinatio ... more
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 flow
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 |
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Scientists use carbon nanotube technology to develop robust water desalination membranesNagano, Japan (SPX) Apr 16, 2018 A research team of Shinshu University, Japan, has developed robust reverse osmosis membranes that can endure large-scale water desalination. The team published their results in early February in Sci ... more
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
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 |
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China to launch new Earth observation satellite in May Harbin, China (XNA) Apr 26, 2018
China is to launch Gaofen-5, a hyperspectral imaging satellite for Earth observation, at the beginning of May.
The new satellite, capable of obtaining spectral information from ultraviolet to long-wave infrared radiation, can be used to survey inland waters and mineral resources, said Tong Xudong, director of the Earth Observation System and Data Center, China National Space Administration ... 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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Tribal protesters march on Brazil congress over land threats Bras�lia (AFP) April 26, 2018
About 2,000 members of Brazil's indigenous tribes, decked out in traditional feathers and body paint, marched Thursday on Congress to demand protection for ancestral lands from ever expanding farm businesses.
The activists were part of a week-long, annual indigenous protest camp that drew around 3,500 representatives from around 100 tribes, organizers said.
The marchers, some carrying bo ... 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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Nanoparticle breakthrough could capture unseen light for solar energy conversion Berkeley CA (SPX) Apr 24, 2018 An international team of scientists has demonstrated a breakthrough in the design and function of nanoparticles that could make solar panels more efficient by converting light usually missed by solar cells into usable energy.
The team, led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), demonstrated how coating tiny particles with orga ... 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 |
'Eradicate the tumours': Chinese civilians drive Xinjiang crackdown Moyu County, China (AFP) April 26, 2018 The civilian group descended on the village under government instructions to "win the people's hearts", but it also had a darker mission: identifying and punishing threats to the Chinese state.
Four months after the Communist Party sent the "work team" to Akeqie Kanle, a fifth of its adult population - over 100 people - had disappeared into detention and re-education centres.
The team ... 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 |
Trump environment chief grilled by Congress amid ethics scandals Washington (AFP) April 26, 2018
US President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency chief on Thursday received a tongue-lashing by members of Congress alarmed by mounting ethical scandals surrounding his tenure, with Democrats demanding his resignation.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has faced several weeks of criticism over spending taxpayer dollars for first-class travel, construction of a sound-proof booth in hi ... more |
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Earlier humans used dried fungi as tinder for fires during the Neolithic period Washington (UPI) Apr 26, 2018
Some 7,300 years ago in what's now Spain, humans collected and dried fungi for use as tinder to start fires. It's the earliest evidence of technological use of fungi, according to researchers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Archaeologists discovered remains of the novel fire-starting material among the artifacts left behind by the people of la Draga, a Neolithic community loc ... more |
After Cape Town, Ivory Coast city feels the thirst Bouake, Ivory Coast (AFP) April 26, 2018
Earlier this year, Cape Town grabbed the world's headlines as it careened towards a water armageddon.
Crippled by a three-year-long drought, the South African city braced for a complete shutdown of domestic water supplies.
In the event, Cape Town dodged the immediate bullet. But thousands of kilometres (miles) away, another African city has had far less luck - and much less attention fo ... 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 |
China warns US against causing 'damage' to trade in Huawei probe Beijing (AFP) April 26, 2018
China warned the United States on Thursday against harming trade after a report that US authorities had opened an investigation into suspected violations of Iran sanctions by China's Huawei Technologies.
A US Justice Department probe would come on the back of subpoenas issued to the company by the US Commerce and Treasury Departments over sanctions-related issues, according to the Wall Stree ... 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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