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Drought cripples crucial German waterways![]() Cologne, Germany (AFP) Oct 23, 2018 The docks are eerily quiet at Cologne's main port on the mighty River Rhine, with hundreds of containers piled up and awaiting their journey north on one of Europe's busiest commercial arteries. Months of scarce rainfall and hot sunny weather drove water levels on the Rhine to a record low, forcing ship operators to suspend services to keep vessels from running aground. "We haven't had any new ships in Cologne since last week - they stop in Duisburg" 80 kilometres (50 miles) north, Oliver Gros ... read more |
A topical gel to protect farmers from lethal effects of pesticidesBangalore, India (SPX) Oct 23, 2018 Farmers are exposed to toxic pesticides, through skin contact and inhalation, during the spraying of pesticides. This is a severe health hazard. In the last year, from the Vidharbha region in Mahara ... more
Summer drought may shrink supplies of French spudsWarhem, France (AFP) Oct 18, 2018 It's harvest time and the chips are down for potato producers in northern France where a long summer drought could see French spuds shrink in size and volume. ... more
Judge slashes award but upholds verdict in Monsanto cancer trialSan Francisco (AFP) Oct 23, 2018 A San Francisco judge on Monday upheld a jury verdict that found Monsanto liable for not warning a groundskeeper that its weed killer product Roundup might cause cancer, but slashed the damages award. ... more
'Himalayan Viagra' under threat from climate change: researchersWashington (AFP) Oct 22, 2018 A prized caterpillar fungus that is more valuable than gold and is nicknamed "Himalayan Viagra" in Asia, where it is seen as a wonder drug, is becoming harder to find due to climate change, researchers said Monday. ... more |
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 Philippines evacuates one million, woman dead as super typhoon nears |
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| Previous Issues | Oct 23 | Oct 22 | Oct 19 | Oct 18 | Oct 17 |
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New research identifies two types of drought across China and how they evolveBeijing, China (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 Flash drought is a rapidly intensifying water deficit process accompanied by high temperatures in a short period of time. Recently, heat extremes have become more frequent in a warming climate, and ... more
A warmer spring leads to less plant growth in summerVienna, Austria (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 Climate change influences plant growth, with springtime growth beginning earlier each year. Up to now, it was thought that this phenomenon was slowing climate change, as scientists believed this pro ... more
Applying auto industry's fuel-efficiency standards to agriculture could net billionsNew York NY (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 Adopting benchmarks similar to the fuel-efficiency standards used by the auto industry in the production of fertilizer could yield $5-8 billion in economic benefits for the U.S. corn sector alone, r ... more
China prices rise as cost of food spikesBeijing (AFP) Oct 16, 2018 A spike in the price of fruit and vegetables pushed up China's inflation rate in September, official figures showed Tuesday. ... more
Irrigating vegetables with wastewater in African cities may spread diseaseBirmingham UK (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 Urban farmers growing vegetables to feed millions of people in Africa's ever-growing cities could unwittingly be helping to spread disease by irrigating crops with wastewater, a new study reveals. ... more |
![]() Flexible fertilizer regulations could reduce pollution, save billions
Big Agriculture eyeing genetic tool for pest controlParis (AFP) Oct 16, 2018 A controversial and unproven gene-editing technology touted as a silver bullet against malaria-bearing mosquitos could wind up being deployed first in commercial agriculture, according to experts and an NGO report published Tuesday. ... more |
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Study finds potential benefits of wildlife-livestock coexistence in East AfricaChampaign IL (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 A study of 3,588 square kilometers of privately owned land in central Kenya offers evidence that humans and their livestock can, in the right circumstances, share territory with zebras, giraffes, el ... more
Diversity is key to sustainability for local chicken farming in AfricaLiverpool UK (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 Adopting a more local and flexible approach to sustainable development could be key to boosting the productivity of small-scale chicken farms in Africa, a new study reports. Research led by th ... more
The science of sustainabilityBoulder CO (SPX) Oct 17, 2018 The U.S. city of Louisville, Kentucky isn't known as a hotbed of environmental action and innovation, but that could change as it has recently become home to a first-of-its-kind collaboration betwee ... more
Feeding 10 billion people by 2050 within planetary limits may be achievableStockholm, Sweden (SPX) Oct 15, 2018 A global shift towards healthy and more plant-based diets, halving food loss and waste, and improving farming practices and technologies are required to feed 10 billion people sustainably by 2050, a ... more
WSU Vancouver climate scientist sees stage set for reprise of worst known drought, faminePullman WA (SPX) Oct 15, 2018 A Washington State University researcher has completed the most thorough analysis yet of The Great Drought - the most devastating known drought of the past 800 years - and how it led to the Global F ... more |
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NASA watches airglow, the colors of the upper atmospheric winds Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 24, 2018
What does our planet look like from space? Most are familiar with beloved images of the blue marble or pale blue dot - Earth from 18,000 and 3.7 billion miles away, respectively. But closer to home, at the boundary between Earth and space, you might encounter an unfamiliar sight. If you were to peer down on Earth from just 300 miles above the surface, near the orbit of the International Space St ... more |
China launches twin BeiDou-3 satellites Xichang (XNA) Oct 16, 2018
China sent twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province, at 12:23 p.m. Monday.
The satellites are the 39th and 40th of the BeiDou navigation system, and the 15th and 16th of the BeiDou-3 family.
The launch was the 287th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
span class=" ... more |
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Saving the precious wood of Gabon's forests from illegal logging Oyem, Gabon (AFP) Oct 24, 2018
In Gabon the majestic kevazingo tree, its tropical hardwood highly valued in Asia for upmarket furniture, is also held to be sacred by generations of forest dwellers in equatorial Africa.
Chopping down the kevazingo tree, which can grow to more than 500 years old, has been outlawed in Gabon since March, but that hasn't eased environmental fears.
A loophole in the law allows the sale of t ... more |
Brazilian biomass-powered electricity expands 11 percent over last year Washington DC (UPI) Oct 18, 2018
The Brazilian production of electricity from biomass, mostly produced from sugar cane material and then fed into the country's power grid, increased 11 percent during January-August from a year earlier.
The country's association of sugar cane producers, know as Unica for its Portuguese acronym, said that the total biomass generation from January to August has reached 17,291 gigawatt-hou ... more |
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New material, manufacturing process use sun's heat for cheaper renewable electricity West Lafayette IN (SPX) Oct 19, 2018
Solar power accounts for less than 2 percent of U.S. electricity but could make up more than that if the cost of electricity generation and energy storage for use on cloudy days and at nighttime were cheaper.
A Purdue University-led team developed a new material and manufacturing process that would make one way to use solar power - as heat energy - more efficient in generating electricity. ... more |
Extreme weather forcing renewable operators to strengthen project economics London, UK (SPX) Oct 18, 2018
Global sustainable energy consultancy, K2 Management, has launched a report titled; Pre-Construction Projects: The battle to reduce uncertainty and improve business case bankability, at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) Offshore WINDPOWER 2018 Conference, which kicked off in Washington, D.C.
The report identifies major project development trends in the fast-growing renewables sec ... more |
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Thousands join German forest demo after court reprieve Buir, Germany (AFP) Oct 6, 2018
Thousands of anti-coal demonstrators descended on Germany's Hambach forest Saturday, celebrating an unexpected court victory that suspended an energy company's planned razing of the woodland for a growing open-cast mine.
The ancient forest near Cologne has been occupied by activists for the past six years, becoming a symbol of resistance against coal mining in Germany, a country that despite ... more |
China VP pays highest-level visit to Israel since 2000 Jerusalem (AFP) Oct 22, 2018
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan on Monday became the most senior Beijing official to visit Israel in 18 years, as the two countries look to bolster their growing business ties.
Wang headed to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, one of the most sacred sites in Judaism, after touching down at the start of his four-day trip, Israel's foreign ministry said.
The visit to the Jewish state is the ... more |
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Postman, shopper, builder: In Japan, there's a robot for that Tokyo (AFP) Oct 18, 2018
Forget the flashy humanoids with their gymnastics skills: at the World Robot Summit in Tokyo, the focus was on down-to-earth robots that can deliver post, do the shopping and build a house.
Introducing CarriRo, a delivery robot shaped a bit like a toy London bus with bright, friendly "eyes" on its front that can zip around the streets delivering packages at 6km/h (4 miles per hour).
Carr ... more |
Delhi holds breath as burning farms herald pollution season Ishargarh, India (AFP) Oct 21, 2018 Harpal Singh struck a match and watched his fields burn, the acrid smoke drifting toward New Delhi where a lethal smog cocktail is once again intensifying over the world's most polluted megacity.
Every November, air pollution in northern India reaches levels unimaginable in most parts of the world, forcing schools shut and filling hospital wards with wheezing patients.
As winter descends ... more |
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Indigenous fire practice protecting the Gibson Desert's biodiversity Brisbane, Australia (SPX) Oct 18, 2018
Traditional Indigenous burning practices are protecting plant biodiversity in Australia's Gibson Desert, according to University of Queensland research.
The study analysed how environments dominated by flammable spinifex grasses and fire-sensitive desert myrtle shrubs reacted to wildfires, and to the low-intensity burning practices of the Pintupi people.
UQ School of Agriculture and ... more |
Long range ENSO forecasting extended one year Pohang, South Korea (SPX) Oct 17, 2018
Changes in Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperatures can be used to predict extreme climatic variations known as El Nino and La Nina more than a year in advance, according to research conducted at Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology and published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an irregular, periodic variation in trade winds and s ... more |
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US tornado frequency shifting eastward from Great Plains DeKalb IL (SPX) Oct 22, 2018
A new study finds that over the past four decades, tornado frequency has increased over a large swath of the Midwest and Southeast and decreased in portions of the central and southern Great Plains, a region traditionally associated with Tornado Alley.
The study, by meteorology professor Victor Gensini of Northern Illinois University and Harold Brooks of NOAA's National Severe Storms Labor ... more |
China not manipulating currency but lacks transparency, US says Washington (AFP) Oct 17, 2018
Beijing is not a currency manipulator but China's exchange rate practices and the yuan's recent decline are of "particular concern," US Treasury Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday.
In putting Beijing and five other US trading partners on notice, the Treasury again refrained from escalating a fight over China's currency as US President Donald Trump had once pledged to do on the campaign trail.
... more |
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Students help scientist ID the sonic signatures of solar storms Washington (UPI) Oct 20, 2018
What does it sound like when solar storms collide with Earth's magnetosphere? Students in London are helping scientists find out.
Earth's magnetic field features a near-constant cacophony of low-frequency sound waves - too low-pitched to be discernible to the human ear. But by speeding up audio recordings of the magnetosphere, researchers at London's Queen Mary University made the soun ... more |
Two rhinos die in Chad after being relocated from S.Africa Johannesburg (AFP) Oct 21, 2018
Two of six critically endangered black rhinos have died of unknown causes five months after being flown from South Africa to Chad in a pioneering project to re-introduce the animals, officials said Sunday.
Rhinos in Chad were wiped out by poaching nearly 50 years ago, and the six rhinos were intended to establish a new population in the country after intensive anti-poaching measures were put ... more |
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