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Flint, Michigan lead crisis should have buried the city in water bottles. So, why didn't it?![]() West Lafayette IN (SPX) Dec 06, 2018 One hundred thousand residents of Flint, Michigan could only use water from bottles or filters during a years-long lead contamination crisis, which started when the city switched to a new drinking water source in 2014. As part of a class assignment that grew into a case study, Purdue University researchers found that during the first three weeks of the disaster alone, anywhere from 31 to 100 million bottles were generated as waste. This means that Flint should have been buried in plastic by the ti ... read more |
Climate change offers sparkling prospects to English winemakersNew Alresford, United Kingdom (AFP) Dec 6, 2018 With climate change pushing up temperatures, English winemakers are rubbing their hands as their sparkling wines start to give top champagnes a run for their money. ... more
Egypt's fertile Nile Delta threatened by climate changeKafr Al-Dawar, Egypt (AFP) Dec 7, 2018 Lush green fields blanket northern Egypt's Nile Delta, but the country's agricultural heartland and its vital freshwater resources are under threat from a warming climate. ... more
Increasing crop insurances adoption in developing countriesZurich, Switzerland (SPX) Dec 06, 2018 Farmers in developing countries often rely heavily on their yearly harvest to feed their families. A bad crop can have severe consequences for their livelihood. Despite the significant advantages cr ... more
'Worst drought I have seen': Afghan farmers forced to fleeHerat, Afghanistan (AFP) Dec 7, 2018 Wheat and opium farmer Murad Khan Ishaqzai, 80, has never seen a drought as bad as the one ravaging western Afghanistan where more than 250,000 people have been forced to abandon their homes. ... more |
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 Japan observes tiny tsunami following 6.7 magnitude quake |
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| Previous Issues | Dec 07 | Dec 06 | Dec 05 | Dec 04 | Dec 03 |
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UK will have 'completely safe' water after BrexitLondon (AFP) Nov 28, 2018 Britain's environment minister reassured the country on Wednesday that it would have plenty of safe drinking water should it crash out of the European Union without a deal. ... more
Drinking water sucked from the dusty desert airThuwal, Saudi Arabia (SPX) Nov 27, 2018 A simple device that can capture its own weight in water from fresh air and then release that water when warmed by sunlight could provide a secure new source of drinking water in remote arid regions ... more
The tragedy of the commons - minus the tragedyColumbus OH (SPX) Nov 27, 2018 Sometimes, there is no "tragedy" in the tragedy of the commons, according to a new analysis that challenges a widely accepted theory. Scientists have long believed that when there is open acce ... more
Floods ravage rice production in Niger's Diffa regionNiamey Nov 26, 2018 Floods destroyed more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of rice in Niger's southeastern Diffa region, already beset by deadly attacks by Boko Haram jihadists, the local governor said. ... more
New biocontainment strategy controls spread of escaped GMOsHiroshima NJ (SPX) Nov 27, 2018 Hiroshima University (HU) researchers successfully developed a biocontainment strategy for genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Their new method prevents genetically modified cyanobacteria from ... more |
![]() Escaping death and rebirth on Varanasi's sacred riverbanks
French wine market to shrink further, but organics surge: reportParis (AFP) Nov 23, 2018 Sales of French wines made with organically grown grapes are set to double between now and 2022, even as the downward trend for overall wine consumption appears firmly in place, an industry research group reported Friday. ... more |
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Drought-fueled dust storm blankets SydneySydney (AFP) Nov 22, 2018 A large dust storm swirled over eastern Australia on Thursday, driven over the coast by a weather front barrelling across the drought-stricken interior. ... more
Monsanto appeals Roundup cancer verdictSan Francisco (AFP) Nov 21, 2018 Monsanto on Tuesday said it was asking a US appeals court to toss out a damning verdict in a landmark Roundup weed-killer cancer trial and grant it another hearing. ... more
New study details the genetic evolution of domesticated animalsWashington (UPI) Nov 20, 2018 How has the domestication process impacted the evolution of gene regulation among dogs, cows, pigs, rabbits and other tamed animals? That's the question researchers at the Earlham Institute are trying to answer. ... more
Half of the world's annual precipitation falls in just 12 days, new study findsBoulder CO (SPX) Nov 19, 2018 Currently, half of the world's measured precipitation that falls in a year falls in just 12 days, according to a new analysis of data collected at weather stations across the globe. By century ... more
Real-time feedback makes hotel guests slash shower powerParis (AFP) Nov 19, 2018 Providing hotel guests real-time feedback on the power they use in the shower sharply curbs the amount of energy consumed even though they do not pay for it, according to new research released Monday. ... more |
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Macroscopic phenomena governed by microscopic physics Osaka, Japan (SPX) Dec 03, 2018
It has been difficult to simultaneously obtain micro- and macroscopic information in outer space. Global images of distant astrophysical phenomena provide macroscopic information; however, local information is inaccessible.
In contrast, in situ observations with spacecrafts provide microscopic information of phenomena such as the Earth's magnetosphere, but it is difficult to obtain global ... more |
UK will build its own satellite-navigation system after Brexit London, UK (Sputnik) Dec 03, 2018
UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain would explore the possibility of building its own satellite navigation system instead of relying on the EU's Galileo, compelling another minister in her Cabinet to resign.
May announced on Friday that the UK was pulling out of the EU's satellite navigation system which was designed to compete with the US GPS system and is due to be launc ... more |
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Snowpack declines may stunt tree growth and forests' ability to store carbon emissions New York NY (SPX) Dec 03, 2018
Researchers conducting a 5-year-long study examining snow cover in a northern hardwood forest region found that projected changes in climate could lead to a 95 percent reduction of deep-insulating snowpack in forest areas across the northeastern United States by the end of the 21st century. The loss of snowpack would likely result in a steep reduction of forests' ability to store climate-changin ... more |
Why a curious crustacean could hold secret to making renewable energy from wood York UK (SPX) Dec 04, 2018
Scientists studying the digestive system of a curious wood-eating crustacean have discovered it may hold the key to sustainably converting wood into biofuel.
Gribble are small marine invertebrates that have evolved to perform an important ecological role eating the abundant supplies of wood washed into the sea from river estuaries.
They can also be something of a marine menace, consu ... more |
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Efficient ternary all-polymer solar cells with PCE up to 9.03 percent Beijing, China (SPX) Dec 06, 2018
All-Polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) using polymer as acceptors, have several unique merits containing lower cost, better mechanical behavior, and superior stability of morphology compared to the PSCs using fullerenes and small molecule acceptors. The efficiencies of all-PSCs have been boomed in recent years, the recorded PCE was up to 10%.
Although the binary all-PSCs have abundant progress ... more |
Widespread decrease in wind energy resources found over the Northern Hemisphere Beijing, China (SPX) Dec 06, 2018
As climate change is becoming more and more a matter of concern, efforts on mitigation are being undertaken by the world community. Developing clean and renewable energy is a major component of those efforts for its significant contribution to reducing carbon emission to the atmosphere compared with fossil fuel.
In 2016, renewable energy contributes more than 19% to the global final energy ... more |
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China's unbridled export of coal power imperils climate goals Paris (AFP) Dec 5, 2018
Even as China struggles to curb domestic coal-fired power and the deadly pollution it produces, the world's top carbon emitter is aggressively exporting the same troubled technology to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, an investigation by AFP has shown.
The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from these Chinese-backed plants could cripple global efforts to rein in global warming caused by the bur ... more |
Hong Kong democrats 'furious' over new election ban Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 3, 2018
A Hong Kong legislator has been barred from standing in a local election after being accused of supporting independence from China, sparking fury Monday among the city's pro-democracy camp who warn of tightening ideological control.
The disqualification of popular lawmaker Eddie Chu is the latest blow to the democratic movement as room for opposition in semi-autonomous Hong Kong shrinks unde ... more |
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Artificial joint restores wrist-like movements to forearm amputees Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Dec 04, 2018
A new artificial joint restores important wrist-like movements to forearm amputees, something which could dramatically improve their quality of life. A group of researchers led by Max Ortiz Catalan, Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have published their research in the journal IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.
For patients m ... more |
Austrian court upholds acquittal for cashing in scrap euros Vienna (AFP) Dec 5, 2018
An Austrian court confirmed Wednesday the acquittal of a man accused of fraud after he cashed in dozens of kilos of scrap euro coins imported from China.
The German national was arrested in the spring after using a change machine at a bank in the western city of Bregenz to convert huge quantities of damaged coins into banknotes.
Police discovered 117kg (258lb) of scrap one- and two-euro ... more |
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Atmospheric scientists find causes of firenado in deadly Carr Fire Reno NV (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
A destructive fire-generated vortex - a massive stream of rising, spinning, smoke, ash and fire - that topped out at 17,000 feet above the earth, accelerated the Carr fire that killed eight people and devastated a widespread area in the Redding, California region in July 2018. The vortex, a little-observed atmospheric phenomena, was spinning with the power of a class three tornado, which earned ... more |
Flint, Michigan lead crisis should have buried the city in water bottles. So, why didn't it? West Lafayette IN (SPX) Dec 06, 2018
One hundred thousand residents of Flint, Michigan could only use water from bottles or filters during a years-long lead contamination crisis, which started when the city switched to a new drinking water source in 2014.
As part of a class assignment that grew into a case study, Purdue University researchers found that during the first three weeks of the disaster alone, anywhere from 31 to 1 ... more |
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Heatwave death threat soars for elderly, city dwellers Paris (AFP) Nov 29, 2018 More than 150 million vulnerable people worldwide were exposed to potentially life-threatening heatwaves last year, scientists said Thursday, warning that climate change posed an unprecedented global health risk.
In a worldwide stocktake of public health trends, dozens of international agencies said people over 65, those living in large cities, and sufferers of heart and lung disease were al ... more |
China to 'immediately' implement US trade truce measures Beijing (AFP) Dec 6, 2018
China said Thursday it would "immediately" implement measures agreed under a trade war truce with the United States - and was confident it could reach a deal within 90 days.
The commerce ministry's remarks came days after US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to give negotiators 90 days to resolve their trade spat.
Few details have been made public about what th ... more |
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Prediction of Sun's Activity Over the Next Decade Kolkata, India (SPX) Dec 07, 2018
The Sun's activity influences environmental conditions in space, adversely affecting satellites and space-based technologies such as telecommunications and navigational networks. The Sun is also the primary natural source of energy for Earth's climate.
The Sun's activity level changes, but predicting these changes has been challenging. Now a team of two scientists from the Center of Excell ... more |
New study explores ecosystem stability San Francisco CA (SPX) Dec 04, 2018
In an era of rapid ecological change, scientists are turning to historical periods of persistence to better understand what drives stability. A team from the California Academy of Sciences and the Field Museum of Natural History has examined the structural complexity of ancient ecosystems by looking at the number of species and how they're organized by function, such as top predators or decompos ... more |
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