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Australia river agency pilloried amid mass fish deaths![]() Sydney (AFP) Jan 31, 2019 The authority that oversees Australia's largest river system was accused of "maladministration", "gross negligence" and ignoring climate science Thursday, as its waterways were carpeted with hundreds of thousands of dead fish. A Royal Commission report into the Murray-Darling Basin Authority - which happened to coincide with a series of mass fish kills - was scathing in its assessment, accusing the body of illegality. The Murray-Darling Basin is a river network sprawling for one million square ... read more |
Sea of white: 'Hundreds of thousands' of fish dead in AustraliaSydney (AFP) Jan 29, 2019 "Hundreds of thousands" of fish have died in drought-stricken Australia in the last few days and more mass deaths are likely to occur, the authorities warned Tuesday. ... more
Cattle urine's planet-warming power can be curtailed with land restorationCali, Columbia (SPX) Jan 30, 2019 The exceptional climate-altering capabilities of cattle are mainly due to methane, which they blast into the atmosphere during their daily digestive routine. Cattle urine is a lesser-known climate o ... more
Weather at key growth stages predicts Midwest corn yield and grain qualityUrbana, IL (SPX) Jan 30, 2019 Corn is planted on approximately 90 million acres across the United States every year. With all that data, it takes months after harvest for government agencies to analyze total yield and grain qual ... more
Brazil mining dam collapse hits indigenous water supplySao Paulo (AFP) Jan 28, 2019 Muddy waste from a ruptured dam at a mine in Brazil's southeast is reaching an indigenous community in the region, contaminating its water supply, a chief told AFP. ... more |
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 Philippines evacuates hundreds of thousands as super typhoon nears Tornado kills six, injures 750 as it wrecks southern Brazil town |
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Plants can smell, now researchers know howTokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 24, 2019 Plants don't need noses to smell. The ability is in their genes. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have discovered the first steps of how information from odor molecules changes gene expression ... more
Dry inland waters are underrated players in climate changeBerlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 23, 2019 2018: a year of drought - climate change causes an increase in the number of freshwaters that run dry, at least temporarily. Also, many lakes are shrinking permanently or have disappeared completely ... more
Farm manure boosts greenhouse gas emissions even in winterBurlington VT (SPX) Jan 23, 2019 Decisions farmers make over the spring and summer can dramatically increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions later in the winter. That's a key takeaway from a new University of Vermont study tha ... more
Ecological benefits of part-night lighting revealedNewcastle UK (SPX) Jan 22, 2019 Switching off street lights to save money and energy could have a positive knock-on effect on our nocturnal pollinators, according to new research. A study, led by experts from Newcastle and Y ... more
Brazil agriculture minister defends pro-business stance on indigenous landsBrasilia (AFP) Jan 18, 2019 Brazil's agriculture minister on Friday defended a policy of wanting to develop agribusiness on indigenous lands, and dismissing "hysteria" about the issue of protecting the Amazon rainforest. ... more |
![]() Police bust Australia-China baby formula crime ring
Scientists warn of climate 'time bomb' for world's groundwaterParis (AFP) Jan 21, 2019 Future generations face an environmental "time bomb" as the world's groundwater systems take decades to respond to the present day impact of climate change, scientists warned on Monday. ... more |
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Scientists discover new 'architecture' in cornBaton Rouge LA (SPX) Jan 22, 2019 New research on the U.S.'s most economically important agricultural plant - corn - has revealed a different internal structure of the plant than previously thought, which can help optimize how corn ... more
Human diet causing 'catastrophic' damage to planet: studyParis (AFP) Jan 16, 2019 The way humanity produces and eats food must radically change to avoid millions of deaths and "catastrophic" damage to the planet, according to a landmark study published Thursday. ... more
60 percent of coffee varieties face 'extinction risk'Paris (AFP) Jan 16, 2019 Three in five species of wild coffee are at risk of extinction as a deadly mix of climate change, disease and deforestation puts the future of the world's favourite beverage in jeopardy, new research warned Wednesday. ... more
Desalination produces more toxic waste than clean waterParis (AFP) Jan 14, 2019 More than 16,000 desalination plants scattered across the globe produce far more toxic sludge than fresh water, according to a first global assessment of the sector's industrial waste, published Monday. ... more
Million dead fish cause environmental stink in AustraliaSydney (AFP) Jan 14, 2019 As many as a million fish are believed to have died along the banks of a major river system in drought-battered eastern Australia, and the authorities warned Monday of more deaths to come. ... more |
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River levels tracked from space Munich, Germany (SPX) Jan 30, 2019
Water levels in the Mekong basin, which extends through six countries in South-East Asia, are subject to considerable seasonal fluctuations. A new model now makes it possible to compute how water levels are impacted on various sections of the river by extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall or drought over extended periods.
To model the flow patterns of the river, with its complex ne ... more |
China to launch 10 BeiDou satellites in 2019 Beijing (XNA) Jan 31, 2019
China will send 10 satellites to join the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) through seven separate launches this year, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced Tuesday.
The launches will help complete the BDS global network by 2020, said Shang Zhi, director of the Space Department of the CASC, at a press conference, where the Blue Book of China Aerospa ... more |
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Abandoned fields turn into forests five times faster than thought Washington DC (SPX) Jan 29, 2019
Russian scientists studied abandoned arable land in the European part of Russia where temperate forests grow. The study showed that trees start to grow on the abandoned fields immediately after the land has been withdrawn from agricultural use.
This finding contradicts the belief that trees appear on the fields only after grass that was approved earlier. As it turned out, the presence or a ... more |
A powerful catalyst for electrolysis of water that could help harness renewable energy Seoul, South Korea (SPX) Jan 28, 2019
The importance of finding and improving renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly important. One strategy to generate energy is breaking water molecules (H2O) apart in an electrochemical reaction known as electrolysis. This process allows us to convert energy from the sun or other renewable sources into chemical energy.
However, electrochemically splitting water molecules requires ... more |
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BayWa teams up to secure the future of solar power in Victoria Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Jan 30, 2019
Business energy retailer Flow Power has entered into a ten-year offtake agreement with BayWa r.e, to purchase 48MW from two of Northern Victoria's largest solar farms. The agreement adds to Flow Power's rapidly growing portfolio of renewable generation and brings its total announced offtake close to 300MW.
The 112MW Karadoc solar farm and 106MW Yatpool solar farm, which are owned and devel ... more |
Major companies, cities buying into Texas' green energy boom Washington (UPI) Jan 28, 2019
For decades, Texas has been known for big oil. Now, greener energy production is growing at such a fast rate that several major U.S. companies are lining up for the clean power.
The wind industry is scrambling to get as many turbine farms up and running in the next two years before the federal government phases out a key tax credit.
Dallas-based Tri Global Energy is working to fi ... more |
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Torn over coal, German village struggles to heal Proschim, Germany (AFP) Jan 27, 2019
Sybille Tetsch returned to the German village of Proschim to set up a restaurant four years ago, in an attempt to save her birthplace from mining excavators and heal a deep rift there over the future of coal.
Residents of Proschim have for years lived with the uncertainty of whether the Welzow-Sued mine at the edge of their village will be expanded, flattening their homes.
With Germany p ... more |
Chinese rights lawyer jailed for 'subversion'; Activist jailed for five years Beijing (AFP) Jan 28, 2019 Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was sentenced on Monday to four and a half years in prison for state subversion, sealing the fate of another attorney swept up in a 2015 crackdown.
Wang, 42, who defended political activists and victims of land seizures, disappeared in a sweep aimed at courtroom critics of Communist authorities known as the "709" clampdown because the arre ... more |
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Automation to hit most jobs, but overall impact 'muted': study Washington (AFP) Jan 24, 2019
Artificial intelligence and automation will lead to job losses in "virtually all occupational groups" over the coming decades in the United States, but the overall impact on employment will be "muted," a prominent think tank study said Thursday.
"Almost no occupation will be unaffected by the adoption of currently available technologies," said the Brookings Institution study.
The researc ... more |
S. Korea in airborne fight against 'Chinese' pollution Seoul (AFP) Jan 25, 2019
Seoul on Friday sent aircraft over the Yellow Sea to carry out cloud-seeding experiments in an effort to tackle air pollution many South Koreans blame on China.
Air quality in South Korea is generally better than in its giant neighbour, the world's biggest polluter, which is periodically affected by choking bouts of filthy air and according to the International Energy Agency uses coal to gen ... more |
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Forest soil takes decades to recover from wildfire, logging Washington (UPI) Jan 23, 2019
Many forest species can rebound relatively quickly in the wake of wildfire. Some animals even thrive among the newly scorched environs. But according to new research, forest soil takes up to 80 years to recover from severe burns.
Researchers at the Australian National University found both fire and logging can have surprisingly long-lasting effects on the health of forest soil.
" ... more |
Warming Seas May Increase Frequency of Extreme Storms Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 29, 2019
A new NASA study shows that warming of the tropical oceans due to climate change could lead to a substantial increase in the frequency of extreme rain storms by the end of the century.
The study team, led by Hartmut Aumann of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, combed through 15 years of data acquired by NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument over the t ... more |
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Four dead, 195 injured in Havana tornado Havana (AFP) Jan 29, 2019 A rare and powerful tornado has devastated sections of Havana, killing four people and injuring 195, as it overturned cars, uprooted trees and destroyed dozens of homes.
A shaken resident, recalling a night of terror, said she clutched her daughter and crouched down in her kitchen as the tornado came roaring in Sunday night.
"It was as if rocks were falling - it was hail - and I felt t ... more |
WTO to probe Trump's China tariffs Geneva (AFP) Jan 28, 2019
The World Trade Organization decided Monday to investigate the tariffs Washington slapped on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, as the two countries prepare to meet for renewed trade talks.
The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has agreed to establish an expert panel to review US President Donald Trump's decision to hit China with tariffs on a quarter of a trillion dollars' worth of good ... more |
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Surprising Explanation for Differences in Southern and Northern Lights Bergen, Norway (SPX) Jan 25, 2019
For many years, scientists assumed the aurora seen around the north pole was identical to the aurora seen around the south pole. The poles are connected by magnetic field lines, and auroral displays are caused by charged particles streaming along these field lines. Because the charged particles follow these field lines, it would make sense that the auroras would be mirror images of each other. ... more |
Man versus condor: the king of the Andes under threat Cerrito, Colombie (AFP) Jan 28, 2019
By all accounts, Dasan and Illika should have died of poisoning.
But they are back on their feet, poking their beaks through the bars of their cages, impatient to return to the skies over Colombia, which have been transformed into hostile territory for the so-called king of the Andes - the condor.
Dasan, a five-year-old male, fell victim first. Locals found him in November - weak and s ... more |
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