24/7 Farm  News Coverage
August 03, 2018
FARM NEWS
Made in Fukushima: Japan farmers struggle to win trust



Koriyama, Japan (AFP) Aug 1, 2018
The pumpkin is diced, the chicken carved and the eggs beaten into an omelette, but the people preparing the food are not chefs - they are scientists testing produce from Japan's Fukushima region. Seven years after the March 2011 nuclear disaster caused by a devastating tsunami, rigorous testing shows no radioactive threat from Fukushima's produce, officials and experts say. But local producers say they still face crippling suspicion from consumers. More than 205,000 food items have been tes ... read more

FARM NEWS
Starbucks and Alibaba join forces as China coffee war brews
Shanghai (AFP) Aug 2, 2018
Starbucks coffees will be delivered to Chinese consumers with the help of e-commerce giant Alibaba, the companies said Thursday, as two of the world's biggest names in retail join forces in a China coffee war that is rapidly heating up. ... more
FARM NEWS
Deadly heatwaves threaten China's northern breadbasket
Paris (AFP) Aug 1, 2018
The North China Plain, home to nearly 400 million people, could become a life-threatening inferno during future heat waves if climate change continues apace, researchers have warned. ... more
FARM NEWS
Cuba to study whether climate change is hurting sugar harvests
Havana (AFP) July 28, 2018
Cuba is studying whether to adjust its sugar-harvest calendar in response to damaging changes in the island's climate, an official newspaper reported Saturday. ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Iraqi farmers fight to save cattle from drought
Al-Attassiya, Iraq (AFP) July 30, 2018
Iraqi farmer Sayyed Sattar knows he'll soon have to let some of his buffalo go as he surveys the herd bathing in a dwindling pond close to the holy city of Najaf. ... more
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WEATHER REPORT
China could face deadly heat waves due to climate change
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 01, 2018
A region that holds one of the biggest concentrations of people on Earth could be pushing against the boundaries of habitability by the latter part of this century, a new study shows. Research ... more
FARM NEWS
To keep more carbon on the ground, halting farmland expansion is key
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The conversion of forests to farmland is recognized as a major contributor to rising levels of greenhouse gases. And yet it hasn't been clear how to best minimize the loss of sequestered carbon into ... more
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. ... 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
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
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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
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
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
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


China's persistent food and drug safety problem

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
SEED DAILY



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
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China launches high-resolution Earth observation satellite
Taiyuan, China (SPX) Aug 03, 2018
China on Tuesday launched Gaofen-11, an optical remote sensing satellite, as part of the country's high-resolution Earth observation project. The Gaofen-11 satellite was launched on a Long March 4B rocket at 11 am Beijing Time from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province. It was the 282nd flight mission by a Long March carrier rocket. The satellite can be used ... more
+ What is causing more extreme precipitation in the northeast?
+ Australia facing increased intense rain storms
+ Urban geophone array offers new look at northern Los Angeles basin
+ Satellite tracking reveals Philippine waters are important for endangered whale sharks
+ Satellite maps reveal spread of mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia
+ Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus
+ Red Sea flushes faster from far flung volcanoes
UK could develop independent satellite system after leaving EU
London (Sputnik) Aug 03, 2018
The Guardian has reported that the UK law enforcement and military will continue to access the encrypted signal of the Galileo satellite system post-Brexit. According to the sources, the EU chief Brexit negotiator is contemplating an offer to the UK that will give London an advantage over the use of the encrypted service compared to other third-party nations. Radio Sputnik has discus ... more
+ China launches new twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites
+ Arianespace orbits four more Galileo satellites, as Ariane 5 logs its 99th mission
+ 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


Animal and fungi diversity boosts forest health
Washington (UPI) Aug 1, 2018
Forest health depends on more than just a healthy variety of tree species. New research suggests animal and fungi diversity also plays an important role in forest health. The revelation is the result of a decade-long survey of several subtropical forests, all of them rich in biodiversity. Scientists conducted the survey in order to detail the importance of understanding forest health mo ... more
+ Watchdog urges China to clamp down on imports of illegal timber
+ Tropical forests may soon hinder, not help, climate change effort
+ 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
Soil bugs munch on plastics
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 02, 2018
Our world is drowning in a flood of plastic. Eight million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year. Agricultural soils are also threatened by plastic pollution. Farmers around the world apply enormous amounts of polyethylene (PE) mulch films onto soils to combat weeds, increase soil temperature and keep the soil moist, thereby increasing overall crop yields. After harvest, it often ... more
+ Team shatters theoretical limit on bio-hydrogen production
+ 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


Europe may thrive on renewable energy despite unpredictable weather
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 01, 2018
Researchers in Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have shown how long-term weather patterns affect wind and solar renewable energy technologies across Europe. Using 30 years of meteorological data, the scientists have examined and further modelled the impact of renewable energy on the electricity sector out to the year 2030. The work suggests that despite the unpredictable nature ... more
+ Researchers boost performance quality of perovskites
+ Silicon-based, tandem photovoltaic modules can compete in solar market
+ New two-dimensional material could revolutionize solar fuel generation
+ PI Berlin examines risks facing PV projects in India
+ KYOCERA TCL Solar Completes 28MW Solar Power Plant in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
+ meeco to install sun2roof solar systems on German traditional specialised yarn factory
+ Researchers upgrade organic solar cells to be used in roof tiles generating power
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
UK foreign secretary met human rights figures on China visit
Beijing (AFP) July 31, 2018
Britain's new foreign minister Jeremy Hunt met Chinese human rights figures while in Beijing on his first major international trip, the wife of a detained lawyer said Tuesday. Visiting leaders often shun meetings with activists or their relatives during trips to China - a decision which critics say is motivated by fear that scolding Beijing could harm trade prospects. Li Wenzu wrote on ... more
+ China critic silenced during live TV interview
+ Historic Chinese town resists eviction for theme park
+ 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


Research identifies key weakness in modern computer vision systems
Providence RI (SPX) Aug 03, 2018
Computer vision algorithms have come a long way in the past decade. They've been shown to be as good or better than people at tasks like categorizing dog or cat breeds, and they have the remarkable ability to identify specific faces out of a sea of millions. But research by Brown University scientists shows that computers fail miserably at a class of tasks that even young children have no ... more
+ Optical fibers that can feel the materials around them
+ US Army selects Lockheed Martin as integrated systems developer for autonomous convoy program
+ Cell-sized robots can sense their environment
+ 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
Australia supermarket bagged after plastic backflip
Sydney (AFP) Aug 2, 2018
A leading Australian supermarket was Thursday forced into a backflip after facing a barrage of criticism for reneging on plans to phase out free plastic bags. The nation's two major grocery chains, Coles and Woolworths, banned lightweight single-use plastic bags from their stores nationally last month in response to mounting community calls for change. Instead, they began offering more e ... more
+ Degrading plastics emit greenhouse gases: study
+ Sunscreen chemicals harm fish embryos, study shows
+ High-precision on-site analysis of precious metals in metallurgical waste spills
+ Hamburg Ironman swimmers sunk by algae
+ 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


Sweden's wildfires abating, foreign firefighters leave
Stockholm (AFP) July 31, 2018
Wildfires that have been raging across Sweden are abating, Swedish authorities said Tuesday, as French, Italian and German firefighters who came to assist gradually leave the country. Two Canadair firefighting aircraft, dispatched from France to Sweden in mid-July, departed on Tuesday, days after planes from Italy and Portugal returned home. Swedish emergency services SOS Alarm said mea ... more
+ Two more bodies found at sea after Greek wildfires
+ Greece to speed up destruction of illegal property after fires
+ Thousands of firefighters fight giant blazes in California and Spain
+ MISR views raging fires in California
+ 'Come and get me,' boy pleaded before California fire death
+ Greek PM Tsipras visits scene of wildfire disaster
+ Blame game blows up over deadly Greek wildfires
Chile to restrict tourists and non-locals on Easter Island
Santiago (AFP) July 30, 2018
Easter Island is known for its unique Moai monumental statues carved by the Rapa Nui people, believed to have arrived on the remote landmass in the southeastern Pacific Ocean in around the 12th century. Despite its isolated location some 3,500 kilometers (2,000 miles) from the coast of Chile, the island is a popular tourist destination, not least due to its remarkable collection of around 90 ... more
+ Chile restricts tourists and non-locals on Easter Island
+ Predatory sea corals team up to feed on stinging jellyfish
+ First mapping of global marine wilderness shows just how little remains
+ Can seagrass help fight ocean acidification?
+ The last wild ocean
+ The blueprint for El Nino diversity
+ Lebanon sinks old tanks to create underwater dive 'park'


China could face deadly heat waves due to climate change
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 01, 2018
A region that holds one of the biggest concentrations of people on Earth could be pushing against the boundaries of habitability by the latter part of this century, a new study shows. Research has shown that beyond a certain threshold of temperature and humidity, a person cannot survive unprotected in the open for extended periods - as, for example, farmers must do. Now, a new MIT study sh ... more
+ Portugal prepares for fire intervention as heatwave approaches
+ Heatwaves from the Arctic to Japan: a sign of things to come?
+ 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
China calls on US to be 'cool-headed' in trade war
Beijing (AFP) Aug 2, 2018
China's top envoy called on the United States to remain "cool-headed" Thursday as Washington threatened to raise the tariff rate on the next $200 billion of Chinese imports. Slapping additional tariffs on Chinese imports - 60 percent of which are made by foreign firms, including American companies - will only raise costs for domestic US consumers, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. ... more
+ Trump could raise tariffs further on Chinese goods: reports
+ UK's Hunt welcomes China's offer of talks on post-Brexit trade deal
+ China manufacturing activity eases in July
+ Australia, US, Japan in Indo-Pacific infrastructure push
+ Chinese investors drop bid for German machine tool maker
+ China-backed trade pact could be signed by year-end: Singapore PM
+ Trump threatens to ramp up tariffs on Chinese goods
Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

NASA's Parker Solar Probe and the curious case of the hot corona
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
Something mysterious is going on at the Sun. In defiance of all logic, its atmosphere gets much, much hotter the farther it stretches from the Sun's blazing surface. Temperatures in the corona - the tenuous, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere - spike upwards of 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the underlying surface simmers at a balmy 10,000 F. How the Sun m ... more
+ Solar flares disrupted radio communications during September 2017 Atlantic hurricanes
+ Parker Solar Probe and the birth of the solar wind
+ 'Blood moon' dazzles skygazers in century's longest eclipse
+ 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?
Over 100 wildlife rangers died on duty in past year: WWF
Paris (AFP) July 31, 2018
More than 100 wildlife rangers died on the job in Asia and central Africa over the last year, nearly half killed by poachers, the WWF reported Tuesday. Illegal hunters are decimating endangered wildlife to gather rhino horns and big cat body parts to sell in East Asia, as well as bush meat - including gorillas, monkeys, lions and pangolins - to eat. One-in-seven park rangers across the ... more
+ Lemurs use toxic millipedes to treat, prevent parasites
+ 95% of lemur population facing extinction: conservationists
+ On the frontline of India's human-elephant war
+ Worm's search for food involves complex mathematics
+ New geometric shape helps cells efficiently pack, organize themselves
+ Hundreds of Macau greyhounds await their forever homes
+ Bacteria extinctions are quite common, study shows


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