24/7 Farm  News Coverage
July 30, 2018
FARM NEWS
Record drought grips Germany's breadbasket



Niederndodeleben, Germany (AFP) July 29, 2018
Withered sunflowers, scorched wheat fields, stunted cornstalks - the farmlands of northern Germany have borne the brunt of this year's extreme heat and record-low rainfall, triggering an epochal drought. As the blazing sun beats down, combine harvesters working the normally fertile breadbasket of Saxony-Anhalt in former communist East Germany kick up giant clouds of dust as they roll over the cracked earth. "It hasn't really rained since April and that's the main growth period for our grains an ... read more

FARM NEWS
Wildfires, drought hit Sweden's Sami reindeer herders
Stockholm (AFP) July 27, 2018
Sweden's unprecedented drought and devastating wildfires are destroying vital grazing pastureland for indigenous Sami reindeer herders, whose livelihoods are already under attack from mining and logging as global warming changes the face of the Arctic. ... more
FARM NEWS
Murkowksi: Tariffs hurt more than just agriculture
Washington DC (UPI) Jul 27, 2018
President Donald Trump has been called on by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to take a broad view on trade policies to recognize that impacts extend beyond farming into the energy sector following his announcement of aid for U.S. farmers this week. ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Sri Lanka waives debt for 200,000 women in drought areas
Colombo (AFP) July 25, 2018
Sri Lanka announced Wednesday it would waive debts for 200,000 women unable to repay microfinance loans and cap lending rates after a number of borrowers in drought-hit areas killed themselves. ... more
FARM NEWS
EU court extends GMO rules to new techniques
Luxembourg (AFP) July 25, 2018
Plants and animals created by new techniques of genetic modification should be treated as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and follow European rules aimed at preventing damage to the environment and health, the EU's top court said on Wednesday. ... more
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FARM NEWS
NASA's 'Space Botanist' Gathers First Data
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 24, 2018
Just days after its successful installation on the International Space Station, NASA's newest Earth-observing mission, the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTR ... more
WAR REPORT
In Colombia, human rights activists live in constant fear
Caloto, Colombia (AFP) July 25, 2018
One day after Luis Dagua last left his farm in Colombia's southwest his body was found, his head shattered with a rock. ... more
WOOD PILE
Ancient farmers transformed Amazon and left an enduring legacy on the rainforest
Exeter UK (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Ancient communities transformed the Amazon thousands of years ago, farming in a way which has had a lasting impact on the rainforest, a major new study shows. Farmers had a more profound effec ... more
FARM NEWS
China's persistent food and drug safety problem
Beijing (AFP) July 24, 2018
Chinese authorities are scrambling to defuse public outrage over a safety scandal involving rabies vaccines, just one of a string of food and drug scares to hit the country in recent years. ... more
FARM NEWS
We can feed the world if we change our ways
Lancaster UK (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Current crop yields could provide nutritious food for the projected 2050 global population, but only if we make radical changes to our dietary choices, a new study shows. Researchers from Lanc ... more
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FARM NEWS
Japan lifts ban on Canadian wheat imports
Tokyo (AFP) July 20, 2018
Japan on Friday lifted a ban on Canadian wheat imports more than a month after it halted shipments following the discovery of unauthorised genetically modified (GM) plants there. ... more
FARM NEWS
China's 'livestock revolution' demands 'new transition'
London, UK (SPX) Jul 23, 2018
Demand for animal protein and increasing wealth fuelled a tripling in the domestic production of livestock in China between 1980 and 2010, and the rise, despite some improvements in efficiencies at ... more
FARM NEWS
Dying groundskeeper to testify in Roundup cancer trial
San Francisco (AFP) July 23, 2018
A California groundskeeper dying of cancer is slated to testify Monday before jurors hearing evidence in his lawsuit blaming Monsanto weed killer Roundup for his terminal illness. ... more
FARM NEWS
HRW urges Brazilian lawmakers to reject new pesticide law
Sao Paulo (AFP) July 20, 2018
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on Brazilian lawmakers to reject a proposed law to relax regulations on the use of pesticides as it published a report blaming powerful landowners for the poisoning of rural residents. ... more
FARM NEWS
Environmental changes in the Mekong Delta spell trouble for farmers
Urbana IL (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
The Mekong Delta is home to 15 million people, many of whom rely on the delta's rich soil and water resources for farming and fishing. But their livelihoods are being threatened by rising sea levels ... more


Dying groundskeeper links Monsanto's Roundup to cancer

FARM NEWS
Cameroon's anglophone crisis hits palm oil, cocoa production
Libreville (AFP) July 18, 2018
The crisis in anglophone Cameroon is damaging the Southwest Region's economy, with palm oil plantations closing and the cocoa trade tumbling, an NGO report said Wednesday. ... more
SEED DAILY



WATER WORLD
Taiwan steps in after China turns off tourist taps to Palau
Taipei (AFP) July 19, 2018
Taiwan has stepped in to help its ally Palau attract more tourists after an airline from the Micronesian nation said it was forced to shut under pressure from China. ... more
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 wa ... 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
CLIMATE SCIENCE
European heatwave brings drought, wildfires
London (AFP) July 20, 2018
Wildfires in the Arctic Circle, drought-stricken farmers and a spike in hospital treatment for sunburn: an unusually long heatwave this summer has northern Europe in its grip. ... 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
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Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus
Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 25, 2018
The launch of Aeolus - ESA's mission to map Earth's wind in real-time - is getting tantalisingly close, with the satellite due for lift-off on 21 August from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. With the wind in their sails, mission teams are busily preparing this unique satellite for its upcoming journey. Aeolus will carry a sophisticated atmospheric laser Doppler instrument, dubb ... more
+ Satellite maps reveal spread of mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia
+ Satellite tracking reveals Philippine waters are important for endangered whale sharks
+ Red Sea flushes faster from far flung volcanoes
+ NASA Debuts Online Toolkit to Promote Commercial Use of Satellite Data
+ Abrupt cloud clearing events over southeast Atlantic Ocean are new piece in climate puzzle
+ Billion-year-old lake deposit yields clues to Earth's ancient biosphere
+ MetOp-C launch campaign kicks off
Arianespace orbits four more Galileo satellites, as Ariane 5 logs its 99th mission
Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 26, 2018
Arianespace has successfully launched four more satellites in the Galileo constellation. Liftoff was at 8:25 a.m. (local time) July 25, 2018 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Today's launch was the 99th mission by the Ariane 5 heavy launcher. It was carried out on behalf of the European Commission as part of a contract with the European Space Agency ... more
+ GMV and Tecnobit partners with Skydel
+ Europe's next Galileo satellites in place atop Ariane 5
+ 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


Tropical forests may soon hinder, not help, climate change effort
Edinburgh UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
Forests in tropical regions could soon become a source of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming rather than helping to counteract it, according to research. Loss of trees to agriculture or livestock in tropical regions and the impact of climate change is limiting the forests' ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a study shows. This could make it impossible to meet the main go ... more
+ Fires spark biodiversity criticism of Sweden's forest industry
+ Behold the Amazonian eco-warrior drag queen
+ Tropical forests could soon accelerate, not slow, global warming
+ Treetop species threatened by rising temperatures among forest canopies
+ In Mozambique, a joint fight against climate change and forest loss
+ Ancient farmers transformed Amazon and left an enduring legacy on the rainforest
+ Study shows 5,000 percent increase in native trees on rat-free Palmyra Atoll
Team shatters theoretical limit on bio-hydrogen production
Lincoln NB (SPX) Jul 27, 2018
In 1977, researcher Rudolf Thauer proposed a theoretical ceiling on the amount of hydrogen that bacteria could produce via fermentation, the sugar-converting process also responsible for yogurt, beer and cheese. Propelled by a genetic engineering technique that presents bacteria with a simple choice - adapt or die - research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln just punched through that ... more
+ Hydrogen and plastic production offer new catalyst with a dual function
+ Feeding plants to this algae could fuel your car
+ Splitting water: Nanoscale imaging yields key insights
+ 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


NRL increases UAV endurance with Solar Soaring technology
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 26, 2018
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing technology for unmanned aerial vehicles that has given them the ability to fly for more than 12 hours by harvesting energy from the atmosphere and the sun. Solar-Soaring is a pair of endurance enhancer technologies. They aid the warfighter by enabling a UAV to fly longer without carrying extra weight in batteries. "One ... more
+ Solar Industry Pros Get Quick Solar Power Readings with New Extech Pocket-Sized Meter
+ Materials scientists of Lomonosov MSU proposed a novel approach for obtaining films for solar cells
+ WorleyParsons' Advisian wins major role on world's largest solar power project
+ NUST MISIS scientists present metamaterial for solar cells and nanooptics
+ States boost renewable energy and development when utilities adopt renewable standards
+ Canadian energy company says renewables key to emissions goal
+ Solar thermal energy will help China cut costs of climate action
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


Mapping mountaintop coal mining's yearly spread in Appalachia
Durham NC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The coal industry may have declined in the last decade because of the rise of cheap natural gas, but a coal mining method called mountaintop removal is still taking place, particularly in central Appalachia. A new web-based mapping tool shows, in more detail than ever before, the land laid bare by mountaintop coal mining in central Appalachia each year, going back more than three decades. ... more
+ Miner Yancoal seeks dual listing in Hong Kong
+ 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
Historic Chinese town resists eviction for theme park
Chikan, China (AFP) July 25, 2018
A year ago, customers queued round the block for Wu Ying's red bean and coconut ice puddings, but now the 60-year-old has to vault a barricade to reach her dessert shop. Wu is one of several dozen inhabitants of a historic section of the town of Chikan in southern China who are stubbornly holding out against government pressure to sell their properties to make way for a "heritage" theme park ... more
+ Tibet bans religious activities for students
+ Viral post inflames public anger in China vaccine scandal
+ Ten jailed in Vietnam over violent anti-China demos
+ Hong Kong academics warn of 'political battleground' at universities
+ Hong Kong police seek landmark ban on pro-independence party
+ Hong Kong activists mark one year since Liu Xiaobo death
+ Chinese democracy activist sentenced to 13 years for 'subversion'


Cell-sized robots can sense their environment
Boston MA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018
Researchers at MIT have created what may be the smallest robots yet that can sense their environment, store data, and even carry out computational tasks. These devices, which are about the size of a human egg cell, consist of tiny electronic circuits made of two-dimensional materials, piggybacking on minuscule particles called colloids. Colloids, which insoluble particles or molecules anyw ... more
+ If only AI had a brain
+ Army researchers teaching robots to be more reliable teammates for soldiers
+ Microbots capable of sensing environs could explore intestines, pipelines
+ Russia Mulls Sending Two of Its FEDOR Humanoid Robots Into Space Next Year
+ New creepy, crawly search and rescue robot developed at Ben-Gurion
+ Emotional robot lets you feel how it's 'feeling'
+ In China, yellow robots deliver snacks to your home
Hamburg Ironman swimmers sunk by algae
Berlin (AFP) July 27, 2018
Organisers have been forced to scrap the swimming leg of the Hamburg Ironman this Sunday due to high levels of algae in the city's Alster river caused by the current heatwave. The condition of the water has been deemed "potentially harmful to health", so the swimming has been replaced by a six-kilometre (3.7mile) run. "In order to protect all athletes, there will be a 6km run instead of ... more
+ No day at the beach as toxic algae hit Baltic coast
+ China steps up controls on maritime emissions
+ Record 207 environmental activists killed last year
+ BHP vows to fight Australia Samarco mine disaster class action
+ Concrete weighs heavily on the Mediterranean coast
+ Morocco's litter-strewn beaches kick up a stink
+ Singapore rolling out thermal cameras to nab illegal smokers


US government approves aid as California battles raging wildfires
Redding, United States (AFP) July 29, 2018
The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people, including two young children and their great grandmother, and destroyed hundreds of buildings. The largest of the fires menacing the state has nearly doubled in size, while another pushed thousands of people to flee an ... more
+ Blame game blows up over deadly Greek wildfires
+ Greece counts cost of deadliest wildfires in memory
+ 'Serious' signs arson started deadly Greek wildfire
+ Local Winds Play Key Role in Some Megafires
+ Greece counts cost of deadliest wildfires in memory
+ US park Yosemite partially closed as deadly fire rages
+ Sweden faces 'extreme' fire risk as blazes hit Europe
The last wild ocean
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The ocean, long a source of inspiration for exploration and discovery as well as a place to test the limits of humans, is no longer the wild frontier it once was. An international study published in the journal Current Biology demonstrates that only 13 percent of the ocean can still be classified as wilderness. "The idea of wilderness is powerful for people, as well as for nature," said UC ... more
+ The blueprint for El Nino diversity
+ 26 bodies found after Laos dam collapse, hundreds still missing
+ Untouched ocean habitats rapidly shrinking: study
+ 'Coral ticks' suck the life out of degraded coral
+ France cleared to test tidal energy
+ Floods from Laos dam collapse force evacuations in Cambodia
+ Thick mud hampers Laos dam rescue with hundreds still unaccounted for


Heatwaves from the Arctic to Japan: a sign of things to come?
Paris (AFP) July 27, 2018
Intense heatwaves like the one which fuelled Greece's deadly wildfires are set to become increasingly frequent around the world due to climate change, experts warn. - Is the current heatwave exceptional? - Record high temperatures have been registered across the Northern Hemisphere in recent weeks, from Norway to Japan. Sweltering summers are the norm in Greece, where at least 82 peo ... more
+ Heatwave grips northern Europe as Greece burns
+ 'Unprecedented' Japan heatwave kills 65 in one week
+ 'Unprecedented' Japan heatwave kills 65 in one week
+ Japan heatwave kills over a dozen, 12,000 rushed to hospital
+ Fierce heatwave hits Japan flood recovery
+ Rescuers search for survivors of Afghan landslide: officials
+ Canada heat wave death toll hits 54: officials
Trump set for tense trade talks with EU's Juncker
Washington (AFP) July 25, 2018
US President Donald Trump hosts European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday for what is set to be a tense face-to-face, with efforts to resolve a festering trade dispute between the two key economies seemingly deadlocked. Speaking ahead of the White House talks, Juncker admitted he was "not very optimistic," while Trump kicked off the day with a combative series of tweets vowi ... more
+ IMF warns China against aggressive economic stimulus
+ BRICS nations pledge unity as trade war threatens
+ US says China is increasing state's economic control
+ Germany preparing first veto against Chinese takeover: report
+ China's Xi says 'no winner' in any trade war
+ IMF warns excess trade surpluses aggravate tensions
+ IMF official says 'no evidence' China manipulating currency
Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

'Blood moon' dazzles skygazers in century's longest eclipse
Paris (AFP) July 28, 2018
The longest "blood moon" eclipse this century dazzled skygazers across the globe Friday, coinciding with Mars' closest approach in 15 years in a thrilling celestial spectacle. As Earth's constant companion slowly sailed across the skies, crowds gathered around the world to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon. Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capita ... more
+ Red planet and 'blood moon' pair up to dazzle skygazers
+ Rare Red Moon and Mars in Evening Sky on 27 July
+ NASA prepares to launch Parker Solar Probe, a mission to touch the Sun
+ How does the sun's rotational cycle influence lightning activity on earth?
+ Discovering Structure in the Outer Corona
+ High-Fidelity Images of Sun's Atmosphere Show Structured, Dynamic Corona
+ Plasma Jets Foretell Unequal Activity of the Sun's Two Hemispheres
NZ strikes off-note by stripping ivory off 123-yr-old British piano
Wellington (AFP) July 29, 2018
New Zealand authorities have been accused of "vandalism" after they stripped the ivory key tops from an antique piano shipped into the country by its British owner. The 123-year-old upright piano should have been exempt from strict rules aimed at cracking down on the ivory trade, because it was built before 1914. But owner Julian Paton, an English heart disease researcher who emigrated ... more
+ Rise of the grasshoppers: New analysis redraws evolutionary tree for major insect family
+ It's a small world: In Japan, moss wins hearts
+ Tenth rhino dead in Kenya after disastrous transfer
+ Endangered pygmy elephant shot dead on Borneo
+ Bolivian water frog in lovelorn race against clock
+ 2,700 scientists warn US-Mexico wall endangers wildlife
+ Nature's antifreeze inspires revolutionary bacteria cryopreservation technique


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