24/7 Farm  News Coverage
July 19, 2018
WATER WORLD
Using 'shade balls' in reservoirs may use up more water than they save



London, UK (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
Preventing reservoir evaporation during droughts with floating balls may not help conserve water overall, due to the water needed to make the balls. During droughts, communities may rely on water stored in reservoirs. However, significant amounts of water can evaporate from the surface of the reservoir. Amid California's latest drought, which lasted from 2011-2017, 96 million 'shade balls' were deployed on the Los Angeles reservoir. These floating, black plastic balls cover the water surface ... read more

FARM NEWS
Researchers engineer bacteria to create fertilizer out of thin air
Saint Louis MO (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
In the future, plants will be able to create their own fertilizer. Farmers will no longer need to buy and spread fertilizer for their crops, and increased food production will benefit billions of pe ... more
FARM NEWS
Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 years
Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
At an archaeological site in northeastern Jordan, researchers have discovered the charred remains of a flatbread baked by hunter-gatherers 14,400 years ago. It is the oldest direct evidence of bread ... more
FARM NEWS
In India, swapping crops could save water and improve nutrition
New York NY (SPX) Jul 18, 2018
India will need to feed approximately 394 million more people by 2050, and that's going to be a significant challenge. Nutrient deficiencies are already widespread in India today - 30 percent or mor ... more
WATER WORLD
Tainted water exhibition roves around Beijing after initial shutdown
Beijing (AFP) July 14, 2018
At first glance, it may seem like just a black truck filled with bottles of water, but a closer look reveals a darker - or rather murkier - side to what's sloshing around inside. ... more
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WATER WORLD
Stormwater ponds not a major source of greenhouse gas emissions
Durham NC (SPX) Jul 16, 2018
Stormwater retention ponds, a ubiquitous feature in developed landscapes worldwide, are not a significant source of climate-warming nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, a new Duke University-led study fin ... more
FARM NEWS
China chili fest gets off to scorching start
Ningxiangpu, China (AFP) July 9, 2018
An annual chili pepper festival kicked off Monday in central China's spice-loving Hunan province with a chili-eating contest in which the winner set a blistering pace by downing a gut-busting 50 peppers in just over a minute. ... more
FARM NEWS
Expansion of agricultural land reduces CO2 absorption
Karlsruher, Germany (SPX) Jul 10, 2018
Climate change is heavily related to the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. During photosynthesis, plants absorb some of the industrial CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, making them contribute sign ... more
AFRICA NEWS
Zimbabwe launches space agency
Harare (AFP) July 10, 2018
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa Tuesday launched a space agency, hailing it as a "milestone" as he campaigns ahead of elections at the end of the month. ... more
FARM NEWS
As trial opens, man dying of cancer blames Monsanto's Roundup
San Francisco (AFP) July 10, 2018
A lawyer for a California groundskeeper dying of cancer took aim at Monsanto Monday as a jury began hearing the lawsuit accusing the chemical giant of ignoring health risks of its top-selling weed killer Roundup. ... more
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SHAKE AND BLOW
Taiwan issues warning as Typhoon Maria approaches
Taipei (AFP) July 9, 2018
Ferries were suspended and farmers rushed for last-minute harvests Monday as Taiwan braced for Typhoon Maria, with warnings of possible mudslides and flooding as the storm nears. ... more
FARM NEWS
US farmers caught in trade war with China
Harvard, United States (AFP) July 8, 2018
Terry Davidson expects to be farming long after the US-China trade tariffs that took effect Friday become a distant memory. ... more
FARM NEWS
'Round Up' pesticide cancer link on trial
San Francisco (AFP) July 9, 2018
During more than a century of business, US agrochemical colossus Monsanto has been vilified for products critics say harm people and the environment. ... more
FARM NEWS
Cherry picking: China looks to replace US farm goods in trade war
Beijing (AFP) July 4, 2018
American cherries are tantalisingly sweet. They are so loaded with sugar and low on water that China's home-grown cherries cannot compete on taste or texture. ... more
WATER WORLD
Global surface area of rivers and streams is 45 percent higher than previously thought
Chapel Hill NC (SPX) Jul 03, 2018
Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Texas A and M University used satellite images, on-the-ground measurements and a statistical model to determine how much of the e ... more


Iraq's treasured amber rice crop devastated by drought

WATER WORLD
The tow-an-iceberg plan being floated to ease Cape Town drought
Cape Town (AFP) July 3, 2018
It is a plan as crazy as the situation is desperate - towing an iceberg from Antarctica to Cape Town to supply fresh water to a city in the grip of drought. ... more
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FARM NEWS
Ancestral people of Chaco Canyon likely grew their own food
Cincinnati OH (SPX) Jul 04, 2018
Researchers think they have a better understanding for how ancient North Americans thrived for centuries in northwestern New Mexico's arid desert. A multidisciplinary team of experts from the ... more
WATER WORLD
Water compresses under a high gradient electric field
Urbana IL (SPX) Jul 03, 2018
Modern civilization relies on water's incompressibility - it's something we take for granted. Hydraulic systems harness the virtual non-compressibility of fluids like water or oil to multiply mechan ... more
WATER WORLD
New water pollution protests hit southwest Iran
Tehran (AFP) July 2, 2018
Protesters clashed with security forces in southwestern Iran late Sunday, a day after several demonstrators were injured in nighttime skirmishes over water pollution, Iranian state media reported. ... more
FARM NEWS
Utah soil's slippery grip on nutrients
Salt Lake City UT (SPX) Jul 03, 2018
Lawns in the Salt Lake Valley up to 100 years old are not yet saturated in the nutrient nitrogen, which is added by fertilizer, according to a new study from University of Utah researchers. The resu ... more
FARM NEWS
Mesopotamians were drinking beer from individual vessels 3,500 years ago
Washington (UPI) Jun 27, 2018
Until now, archaeologists believed the people of Mesopotamia shared beer from large communal vessels, sipping the barley-derived beverage through straws. ... more
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NASA Debuts Online Toolkit to Promote Commercial Use of Satellite Data
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
While NASA's policy of free and open remote-sensing data has long benefited the scientific community, other government agencies and nonprofit organizations, it has significant untapped potential for commercialization. NASA's Technology Transfer program has created an online resource to promote commercial use of this data and the software tools needed to work with it. With the Remote Sensin ... more
+ China to beef up CFC inspections as UN investigates illegal emissions
+ Aist-2D high resolution images received
+ What does global climate have to do with erosion rates?
+ Copernicus Sentinel-5P releases first data
+ ICESat-2 Lasers Pass Final Ground Test
+ Chinese foam industry responsible for rise in CFC-11 emissions
+ China launches two satellites for Pakistan
Europe's next Galileo satellites in place atop Ariane 5
Paris (ESA) Jul 16, 2018
Europe's next Galileo satellites have been put in place on top of the Ariane 5 launcher due to lift them from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday 25 July. The launcher - appearing headless in the absence of its final payload - was moved from the BIL Launcher Integration Building, where it was assembled, to the BAF Final Assembly Building, ready for the Galileo satellit ... more
+ CTSi flight tests prototype navigation system to replace GPS in highly contested environments for US Navy
+ Love navigated by Beidou
+ Next four Galileo satellites fuelled for launch
+ NASA Tests Solar Sail for CubeSat that Will Study Near-Earth Asteroids
+ India's Domestic SatNav System Hits Major Roadblock Ahead of Commercial Release
+ Russia launches Soyuz-21b with Glonass-M navigation satellite
+ China's Beidou system helps livestock water supply in remote pastoral areas


NASA Surveys Hurricane Damage to Puerto Rico's Forests
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 12, 2018
On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria barreled across Puerto Rico with winds of up to 155 miles per hour and battering rain that flooded towns, knocked out communications networks and destroyed the power grid. In the rugged central mountains and the lush northeast, Maria unleashed its fury as fierce winds completely defoliated the tropical forests and broke and uprooted trees. Heavy rainfall trigge ... more
+ Brazil's green candidate aims to restore 'credibility'
+ Brazil's Forest Code can balance the needs of agriculture and the environment
+ Study shows 5,000 percent increase in native trees on rat-free Palmyra Atoll
+ Pollution makes trees more vulnerable to drought
+ Forest growth limited over next 60 years, study finds
+ UN report urges nations to take better care of world's forests
+ World's poorest unfairly shoulder costs of tropical forest conservation
Splitting water: Nanoscale imaging yields key insights
Berkeley CA (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
In the quest to realize artificial photosynthesis to convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into fuel - just as plants do - researchers need to not only identify materials to efficiently perform photoelectrochemical water splitting, but also to understand why a certain material may or may not work. Now scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have pioneered a techn ... more
+ Carbon dioxide-to-methanol process improved by catalyst
+ Finding the right balance for catalysts in the hydrogen evolution reaction
+ Biorefineries will have only minimal effects on wood products and feedstocks markets
+ New 'promiscuous' enzyme helps turn plant waste into sustainable products
+ Researchers discover new enzyme paradigm for critical reaction in converting lignin to useful products
+ Biorenewable, biodegradable plastic alternative synthesized by CSU chemists
+ Enzyme boost could hasten production of biofuels and other bioprocessed materials


How gold nanoparticles could improve solar energy storage
New Brunswick NJ (SPX) Jul 13, 2018
Star-shaped gold nanoparticles, coated with a semiconductor, can produce hydrogen from water over four times more efficiently than other methods - opening the door to improved storage of solar energy and other advances that could boost renewable energy use and combat climate change, according to Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers. "Instead of using ultraviolet light, which is the ... more
+ NYSERDA announces completion of largest solar installation in New York City
+ Latin America's largest solar park turns Mexican desert green
+ Longer contracts leverage the free fuel in solar power at little OM costs
+ Bacteria-powered solar cell converts light to energy, even under overcast skies
+ Material could help windows both power your home and control its temperature
+ New world record for direct solar water-splitting efficiency
+ High performance nitride semiconductor for environmentally friendly photovoltaics
Searching for wind for the future
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
Using outputs from a high-resolution regional climate model, KAUST researchers have confirmed the potential for wind as a significant energy resource across the Arabian Peninsula. This is an important first step in developing a strategy for Saudi Arabia's wind energy sector. As part of an ongoing collaboration with the University of Notre Dame in the United States, Marc Genton's research g ... more
+ Clock starts for Germany's next wind farm
+ ENGIE: Wind energy footprint firmed up in Norway
+ Batteries make offshore wind energy debut
+ India embarks on offshore wind energy effort
+ New wind turbines are even efficient in low winds
+ Cryptocurrency blowing in the wind as mine opens in Estonia
+ U.S. Atlantic states eye offshore wind leadership


Miner Yancoal seeks dual listing in Hong Kong
Sydney (AFP) July 2, 2018
Australia's largest pure-play coal producer Yancoal said on Monday it would apply for a dual listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange alongside a capital raising as it looks to increase its shares' liquidity. China-based Yancoal trades on the Australian Securities Exchange and recently expanded its holdings of local mines by buying most of Rio Tinto's domestic coal assets for US$2.45 billion. ... more
+ Rescuers save 23 workers trapped in China mine, 11 others dead
+ Dutch to close two oldest coal-fired plants by 2025
+ U.S. wants input on coal plants of the future
+ Two Polish miners killed, three missing after quake
+ Germany's Allianz to stop insuring coal businesses
+ U.N.: Coal still has a short-term future
+ BHP confirms exit from world coal body over climate stance
Hong Kong police seek landmark ban on pro-independence party
Hong Kong (AFP) July 17, 2018
Police in Hong Kong sought to ban a political party which promotes independence for the city Tuesday citing it as a potential national security threat as Beijing ups pressure on challenges to its territorial sovereignty. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland including freedom of expression but concern is growing those rights are under serious threat from an asserti ... more
+ Hong Kong activists mark one year since Liu Xiaobo death
+ Chinese democracy activist sentenced to 13 years for 'subversion'
+ Beijing eyes UNESCO status for Mao tomb, Tiananmen Square
+ Thousands march in Hong Kong as restrictions grow
+ US plans beefed up scrutiny of Chinese investments: Bloomberg
+ Chinese police break up protest of military veterans
+ Dominican Republic names ambassador to China


Army researchers teaching robots to be more reliable teammates for soldiers
Adelphi MD (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University developed a new technique to quickly teach robots novel traversal behaviors with minimal human oversight. The technique allows mobile robot platforms to navigate autonomously in environments while carrying out actions a human would expect of the robot in a given situation. The ex ... more
+ Training artificial intelligence with artificial X-rays
+ New creepy, crawly search and rescue robot developed at Ben-Gurion
+ In China, yellow robots deliver snacks to your home
+ Reducing the Data Demands of Smart Machines
+ Illinois' crop-counting robot earns top recognition at leading robotics conference
+ MIT's Cheetah 3 robot avoids obstacles without the help of vision
+ Next-generation robotic cockroach can explore under water environments
Singapore rolling out thermal cameras to nab illegal smokers
Singapore (AFP) July 10, 2018
Lighting up will soon get tougher in Singapore, with the government planning to roll out 300 high definition thermal cameras to catch and fine illegal smokers. The city-state already has some of the world's strictest anti-tobacco laws and smoking is banned in most public places, with errant puffers handed a fine of up to Sg$1,000 ($740) if caught. E-cigarettes are also banned outright. A ... more
+ Trash piles up in US as China closes door to recycling
+ Starbucks to phase out plastic straws by 2020
+ Sanofi shuts down factory over toxic waste outcry
+ India's most populous state bans plastic, yet again
+ Chilean court ratifies plastic bag ban after appeal
+ Trump's scandal-plagued environment chief resigns
+ Seattle bans plastic straws, but US still has a long way to go


Huge wildfire in Latvia forces evacuation
Riga (AFP) July 18, 2018
Latvian authorities on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of a village threatened by a wildfire in the west of the Baltic state as firefighters struggled to control the blaze. Clouds of smoke and ash from the fire choked the small community of Stikli, forcing the evacuation of dozens of residents including handicapped children from a boarding school, the state fire and rescue service said. ... more
+ Forest fire threatens California's fabled Yosemite
+ China detains suspects after blast at chemical plant
+ Californian wildfires spreading rapidly
+ Wildfires spark evacuations in northern California
+ Climate change increasing risks of lightning-ignited fires, study finds
+ Forest fires rage as India resort town grapples with water crisis
+ Heat is driving off clouds that dampen California wildfires
Lockheed awarded $25.4M contract for undersea warfare systems
Washington (UPI) Jul 16, 2018
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems out of Manassas, VA has received a $25.4 million modification to a existing contract for support and production of the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare System. The modification is for development, integration and production of the Advanced Capability Build and Technical Insertion developments of the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 USW system. ... more
+ Great Barrier Reef not bouncing back as before, but there is hope
+ Atlantic circulation is not collapsing but changes could accelerate warming
+ Global Study of World's Beaches Shows Threat to Protected Areas
+ Expanding 'dead zone' in Arabian Sea raises climate change fears
+ Reconstruction of Grand Banks event sheds light on geohazard threats to seafloor infrastructure
+ In the ocean's twilight zone, tiny organisms may have giant effect on Earth's carbon cycle
+ Tainted water exhibition roves around Beijing after initial shutdown


Fierce heatwave hits Japan flood recovery
Tokyo (AFP) July 16, 2018
A blistering heatwave smothered swathes of flood-hit western Japan Monday, hampering clean-up efforts as survivors and relief workers toil in stifling temperatures a week after devastating inundations that killed more than 200 people. Tens of thousands of rescue workers are still digging through the debris for bodies after Japan's worst weather-related disaster in over three decades, which s ... more
+ Rescuers search for survivors of Afghan landslide: officials
+ Canada heat wave death toll hits 54: officials
+ Death toll in Canada heatwave hits 70
+ Japan rescuers go house to house as flood toll hits 156
+ Death toll from Canada heat wave rises to 33
+ Landslides, flash floods as monsoon batters southern Myanmar
+ Landslide kills Rohingya boy as monsoon hits refugee camps
China's Xi holding up deal to resolve trade dispute: Trump adviser
Washington (AFP) July 18, 2018
A senior economic adviser to President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Chinese President Xi Jinping was blocking an agreement to resolve the trade dispute with the United States. "I think Xi is holding the game up," said Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council. "I don't think President Xi has any intention of following through on the discussions we've made." Tr ... more
+ EU urges big powers to avert trade 'conflict and chaos'
+ China economic growth slows in second quarter, warns on trade war
+ As trade war rages, Trump flags fly out of China factory
+ China pledges more BRICS cooperation as US trade tensions rise
+ Dubai warns of action against China on Djibouti trade zone
+ S. Korea minister warns of fallout of US-China trade war
+ EU urges big powers to avert trade 'conflict and chaos'
Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

High-Fidelity Images of Sun's Atmosphere Show Structured, Dynamic Corona
San Antonio TX (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
A Southwest Research Institute-led team discovered never-before-detected, fine-grained structures in the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. The team imaged this critical region in detail using sophisticated software techniques and longer exposures from the COR-2 camera onboard NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory-A (STEREO-A). The Sun's outer corona is the source of the solar ... more
+ How does the sun's rotational cycle influence lightning activity on earth?
+ Plasma Jets Foretell Unequal Activity of the Sun's Two Hemispheres
+ This Summer's Solar Eclipses from the Ends of the Earth
+ Cutting-Edge Heat Shield Installed on NASA's Parker Solar Probe
+ Big Bear Solar Observatory' Expands View of the Sun
+ Sounding rocket takes a second look at the sun
+ Revised launch date targeted for Parker Solar Probe
Nepal embarks on "rhino diplomacy" with rare gift to China
Kathmandu (AFP) July 12, 2018
Nepal on Thursday gifted China a pair of endangered one-horned rhinos in a diplomatic gesture to its powerful neighbour and major investor. The young male and a female rhinos, Rudra and Rupsi, boarded a charted flight bound for Guangzhou along with a team of Nepali experts. "The rhinos were loaded in the plane in their crates and are on their way now. They were healthy and doing well," ... more
+ New venomous snake species found in Australia
+ Spiders go ballooning on electric fields
+ Evolution does repeat itself after all
+ Cross-species gene transfer is a major driver of evolution, study claims
+ Eight rhinos die after move to a new park in Kenya
+ New wasp species with a massive stinger found in the Amazon
+ Malaysia arrests poachers, seizes Malayan tiger skins


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