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Nitrous oxide emissions from rice farms are a cause for concern for global climate![]() Washington DC (SPX) Sep 12, 2018 Intermittently flooded rice farms can emit 45 times more nitrous oxide as compared to the maximum from continuously flooded farms that predominantly emit methane, according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This raises the prospect that rice farming across the world could be responsible for up to twice the level of climate impact relative to what was previously estimated. According to an accompanying global analysis released by Environmental Defense ... read more |
Greenhouse gases from rice paddies may be 2x higher than thoughtTampa (AFP) Sept 10, 2018 The way some irrigated rice paddies are managed worldwide, with cycles of flooding followed by dry periods, may lead to twice the planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution as previously thought, researchers said Monday. ... more
S.Africa's Cape Town eases water rationingCape Town (AFP) Sept 10, 2018 South Africa's second city Cape Town, battling its worst drought in 100 years, announced Monday that it would ease severe water rationing after significant rains in the region. ... more
Drought, groundwater loss sinks California land at alarming rateIthaca NY (SPX) Sep 11, 2018 The San Joaquin Valley in central California, like many other regions in the western United States, faces drought and ongoing groundwater extraction, happening faster than it can be replenished. And ... more
'Hunger stones' tell Elbe's centuries-old tale of droughtDecin, Czech Republic (AFP) Sept 10, 2018 Once an ominous harbinger of hard times and even famine due to critically low water levels, a massive "hunger stone" embedded deep in the Elbe River has reappeared in the Czech Republic after Europe's long, dry summer. ... more |
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 Dam reservoir levels drop below 3% in Iran's second city: media |
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| Previous Issues | Sep 11 | Sep 10 | Sep 07 | Sep 06 | Sep 05 |
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Angry French farmers sow Chinese-owned field in investor protestChatillon-Sur-Indre, France (AFP) Aug 30, 2018 Mounted on tractors and wielding flares, angry farmers came from all corners of France to say to Chinese investors: get off our land. ... more
Engineered sand removes contaminants from stormwaterWashington (UPI) Aug 30, 2018 Scientists have engineered mineral-coated sand to remove contaminants from storm water. In places where water resources are strained, engineered sand could transform storm water into a valuable asset. ... more
Global warming will make insects hungrier, eating up key crops: studyTampa (AFP) Aug 30, 2018 Researchers have found a new way that global warming is bad for the planet: more hungry bugs. ... more
Central California is sinking at an accelerated rateWashington (UPI) Aug 30, 2018 New research suggests Central California's San Joaquin Valley is once again sinking at an alarming rate, as groundwater is drained faster than it can be replenished. ... more
Epigenome of bread wheat mapped to piece together its genetic heritageNorwich UK (SPX) Aug 31, 2018 Globally, wheat, together with maize and rice, provides the most human nutrition. It can thrive in a whole range of different environments, even within a similar geographical region. Exploring ... more |
![]() Bolivia petitions ICJ over Chilean border river source
Shedding light on shallow watersParis (ESA) Aug 28, 2018 Keeping an eye on our waters is more important than ever, as widespread drought continues to sweep Europe this summer. Earth's changing sea levels are crucial indicators of how our environment ... more |
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Environmentally friendly farming practices used by a third of global farmsPullman WA (SPX) Aug 29, 2018 Nearly one-third of the world's farms have adopted more environmentally friendly practices while continuing to be productive, according to a global assessment by 17 scientists in five countries. ... more
India's devastating rains match climate change forecastsParis (AFP) Aug 24, 2018 Once-a-century rains that have pounded the Indian state of Kerala and displaced 1.3 million people are in line with the predictions of climate scientists, who warn that worse is to come if global warming continues unabated. ... more
Study uses seismic noise to track water levels in underground aquifersBoston MA (SPX) Aug 30, 2018 Seismic noise - the low-level vibrations caused by everything from subway trains to waves crashing on the beach - is most often something seismologists work to avoid. They factor it out of models an ... more
Portable freshwater harvester could draw up to 10 gallons per hour from the airWashington DC (SPX) Aug 29, 2018 For thousands of years, people in the Middle East and South America have extracted water from the air to help sustain their populations. Drawing inspiration from those examples, researchers are now ... more
Plant biodiversity essential to bee healthWashington (UPI) Aug 22, 2018 New research suggests bees can maintain healthy colonies in agricultural regions if provided habitat islands with sufficient plant biodiversity. ... more |
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PlanetWatchers Announces Breakthrough SAR Analytics Platform San Francisco CA (SPX) Sep 06, 2018
PlanetWatchers has developed a new multi-source Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) platform that utilizes multiple SAR sources to deliver actionable insights without the usual delays due to weather, time of day, and environmental conditions. Natural resource managers will now receive enhanced risk management and analytical data from the new platform.
World-renowned remote sensing specialist Pr ... more |
'Robat' uses sound to navigate and map unique environments Tel Aviv, Israel (SPX) Sep 12, 2018
The "Robat" is a fully autonomous terrestrial robot with bat-like qualities that uses echolocation to move through novel environments while mapping them based only on sound. It was developed at Tel Aviv University.
Bats use echolocation to map novel environments, navigating them by emitting sound then extracting information from the echoes reflected by objects in their surroundings. Many t ... more |
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Manmade mangroves could get to the 'root' of the problem for threats to coastal areas Boca Raton FL (SPX) Sep 11, 2018
With threats of sea level rise, storm surge and other natural disasters, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering and Computer Science are turning to nature to protect humans from nature. They are developing innovative ways to guard coastlines and prevent scouring and erosion from waves and storms using bioinspired materials that mimic mangrove trees found along shor ... more |
Barriers and opportunities in renewable biofuels production Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Sep 12, 2018
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have identified two main challenges for renewable biofuel production from cheap sources. Firstly, lowering the cost of developing microbial cell factories, and secondly, establishing more efficient methods for hydrolysis of biomass to sugars for fermentation. Their study was recently published in the journal Nature Energy.
The study ... more |
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California commits to 100% clean electricity by 2045 Los Angeles (AFP) Sept 10, 2018
California Governor Jerry Brown signed landmark legislation Monday committing his state to a 100 percent clean electricity grid by 2045.
At least 20 countries and twice as many large cities have made similar pledges, but California - the fifth largest economy in the world - is by far the biggest jurisdiction to do so to date.
"This bill and the executive order put California on a path ... more |
Wind Power: It is all about the distribution Freiburg, Germany (SPX) Sep 06, 2018
Wind power is an important pillar in Germany's energy policy turnaround: According to the German government, the resource should cover 65 percent of German electricity needs by 2030, along with solar, hydropower and biomass. In a recent study, Dr. Christopher Jung and Dr. Dirk Schindler from the University of Freiburg show that it will be possible to cover 40 percent of the current electricity c ... more |
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Trump administration moves to relax coal pollution rules Washington (AFP) Aug 22, 2018
President Donald Trump's administration announced a plan Tuesday to weaken regulations on US coal plants, giving a boost to an industry that former leader Barack Obama had hoped to phase out to cut harmful emissions that drive global warming.
The Environmental Protection Agency's new Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule would allow states the flexibility to set their own standards for performa ... more |
China shuts down prominent Christian church Beijing (AFP) Sept 10, 2018 Beijing officials have shut down one of China's largest "underground" Protestant churches for operating without a licence, the Communist government's latest move to ramp up control over religious worship.
Around 70 officials stormed into the Zion Church - housed on the third floor of a nondescript office building in the north of the capital - after its Sunday afternoon service, said church ... more |
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Robot can pick up any object after inspecting it Boston MA (SPX) Sep 10, 2018
Humans have long been masters of dexterity, a skill that can largely be credited to the help of our eyes. Robots, meanwhile, are still catching up. Certainly there's been some progress: for decades robots in controlled environments like assembly lines have been able to pick up the same object over and over again.
More recently, breakthroughs in computer vision have enabled robots to make b ... more |
Most EU countries miss air quality targets: report Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Sept 11, 2018
Most EU countries fail to meet the bloc's air quality standards and more than 1,000 Europeans die prematurely each day, ten times more than in road accidents, a watchdog said Tuesday.
The European Court of Auditors (ECA), the European Union body which scrutinises how the bloc spends its budget, said pollution's toll on health in Bulgaria and other eastern European countries was even worse th ... more |
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NASA assists in efforts to contain California wildfires Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Aug 28, 2018
An effort by multiple NASA centers to assist with the California wildfires included capturing satellite data of the smoke plumes and aircraft flights over burned areas to collect information for recovery planning.
The California Air National Guard asked the NASA Earth Science Disasters Program for support with the wildfires that have destroyed more than 410,000 acres and 11 disaster progra ... more |
Water in small dust grains can explain large amounts of water on Earth Amsterdam, Netherlands (SPX) Sep 12, 2018
Water trapped in dust grains from which the Earth formed can explain the current large amount of water on Earth. This is suggested by scientists from the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, based on calculations and simulations. The research will appear in two articles in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
For a long time, scientists have been struggling with an explanation f ... more |
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Prague records hottest summer on record Prague (AFP) Sept 6, 2018
The Czech capital Prague has experienced its hottest summer since records started in 1775, the weather institute said on Thursday.
"Record heat was recorded in Prague this summer, with average temperatures the highest since observations began 244 years ago," the Hydrometeorological Institute said.
Summertime average daytime temperatures hit 22.7 degrees Celsius (72.5 Fahrenheit) at th ... more |
Chinese companies flee overseas to avoid US tariffs Beijing (AFP) Sept 11, 2018
A growing number of Chinese companies are adopting a crafty way to evade US President Donald Trump's tariffs: remove the "Made in China" label by shifting production to countries such as Vietnam, Serbia and Mexico.
The world's two largest economies have been locked in a months-long trade fight after Trump imposed 25 percent customs duties on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods this summer, tr ... more |
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NASA-funded Rocket to View Sun with X-Ray Vision Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 07, 2018
Without special instrumentation, the Sun looks calm and inert. But beneath that placid facade are countless miniature explosions called nanoflares.
These small but intense eruptions are born when magnetic field lines in the Sun's atmosphere tangle up and stretch until they break like a rubber band. The energy they release accelerates particles to near lightspeed and according to some scien ... more |
Head-turning violence helps tiny songbirds kill big prey: study Paris (AFP) Sept 4, 2018
They may be small and striking, but shrikes are songbirds known for viciously impaling their victims with a razor-sharp bill although experts have long wondered about their ability to subdue much larger prey.
Now researchers say these carnivorous killers use powerful beak-and-jaw motions to shake their victims vigorously, whirling them around at speeds which cause injuries akin to whiplash. ... more |
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