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Ramped up efforts needed to protect the world's inland waters![]() Munich, Germany (SPX) Feb 06, 2019 At least 15% of the world's inland surface water areas are covered by protected areas, according to a new study from the JRC. This is close to the global target of 17% set out in Aichi Target 11 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). However, surface water protection is very unevenly distributed globally, still falling well below 17% in over half of the world's countries. Surface water protection is far below that target in 53% ... read more |
Insecticides blamed for honeybee deaths in California almond grovesWashington (UPI) Feb 5, 2019 Researchers have identified a culprit for the dramatic honey bee die offs among the almond groves of California's Central Valley. ... more
Passing aircraft wring extra snow and rain out of cloudsWashington DC (SPX) Feb 01, 2019 Planes flying over rain or snow can intensify the precipitation by as much as 10-fold, according to a new study. The rain- and snow-bursts are not caused by emissions from the aircraft but are ... more
Brazilian indigenous community threatened in aftermath of dam burstSao Joaquim De Bicas, Brazil (AFP) Feb 1, 2019 In her 88 years, Antonia Alves has seen much hardship as a member of Brazil's indigenous community, whose people have often been driven from their ancestral lands over conflicts with farmers and loggers. ... more
European colonisation of the Americas killed 10 percent of world population and caused global coolingWashington DC (SPX) Feb 01, 2019 While Europe was in the early days of the Renaissance, there were empires in the Americas sustaining more than 60m people. But the first European contact in 1492 brought diseases to the Americas whi ... 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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| Previous Issues | Feb 05 | Feb 04 | Feb 01 | Jan 31 | Jan 30 |
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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
Record breaking floods hit north AustraliaCairns, Australia (AFP) Jan 27, 2019 Communities were cut off, farmers stranded and cows washed offshore as heavy rain pelted northeast Australia Sunday, with one major river breaking 118-year-old floodwater records. ... more
Envisioned 'octopus farms' would have far-reaching and detrimental environmental impactNew York NY (SPX) Jan 25, 2019 Commercial octopus farming, currently in developmental stages on multiple continents, would have a negative ripple effect on sustainability and animal welfare, concludes a team of researchers in a n ... more |
![]() 'Radical rethink' needed to tackle obesity, hunger, climate: report
Navy denies claims from Camp Lejeune's contaminated waterWashington DC (UPI) Jan 25, 2019 Nearly 4,400 civil claims resulting from contaminated drinking water at the Camp Lejeune, N.C., military base were denied by the U.S. Navy. ... more |
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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 |
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Plexscape partners with Birdi to offer up-to-date satellite imagery integration within CAD platform Athens, Greece (SPX) Feb 06, 2019
Plexscape, developers of Plex.Earth, one of the most popular tools for AutoCAD for the acceleration of architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) projects, and Bird.i, a start-up that combines the latest satellite imagery and artificial intelligence technology to provide valuable business insights, are on a mission to change the way engineering projects are being designed by opening up ac ... more |
Magnetic north pole leaves Canada, on fast new path Washington (AFP) Feb 5, 2019
The position of the Earth's magnetic North Pole - used in navigation systems such as smartphones - is moving far faster than it has, sending scientists scrambling to put out a new model this week.
The magnetic North is the point at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically down.
The World Magnetic Model is critical to sea and military navigation - as well as our ubiquitous s ... more |
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Innovative GEDI Instrument Now Gathering Forest Data Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 04, 2019
NASA instrument scientist Bryan Blair had just finished writing the flight software for the agency's Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, or MOLA, when he was invited in 1991 to fly a lidar instrument aboard a P-3 research aircraft to test new lidar techniques over the ice sheets in Greenland. En route, he gathered measurements of forested areas in New York state. What he discovered in the data stunned ... more |
British air base ready to run on green energy from biomass Washington (UPI) Feb 1, 2019
The United Kingdom formally opened a biogas processing site to provide for nearly all the energy needs for a nearby air force base.
Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood ceremonially opened the facility, built and operated by Future Biogas, in Swaffham, England, on Thursday.
The plant will make electricity from locally grown fermented crops to power RAF Marham, the air base where the R ... more |
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A new approach for the fast estimation of the solar energy potential in urban environments Delft, Netherlands (SPX) Feb 05, 2019
TU Delft researchers have developed a new approach for calculating fast and accurate the solar energy potential of surfaces in the urban environment. The new approach can significantly help architects and urban planners to incorporate photovoltaic (solar power) technology in their designs. The findings were presented on Monday 4 February in Nature Energy.
Buildings, trees and other structu ... 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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China not 'walking the walk' on methane emissions Washington DC (SPX) Jan 30, 2019
Chinese regulations on coal mining have not curbed the nation's growing methane emissions over the past five years as intended, says new research from a team led by Carnegie's Scot Miller and Anna Michalak. Their findings are published in Nature Communications.
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, which is used to generate more than 70 percent of its electricity. It ... more |
Chinese 'underground' bishop gains official recognition: state media Beijing (AFP) Feb 2, 2019
A bishop from China's "underground" Catholic church is slated to step up as the official state-backed clergyman for a diocese in central China, state-run media reported, amid a thaw in relations between Beijing and the Holy See.
China's estimated 10 million Catholics are legally supposed to attend only churches governed by a state-controlled body with clergy appointed by the Communist Party. ... more |
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Engineers build a soft robotics perception system inspired by humans San Diego CA (SPX) Feb 01, 2019
An international team of researchers has developed a perception system for soft robots inspired by the way humans process information about their own bodies in space and in relation to other objects and people. They describe the system, which includes a motion capture system, soft sensors, a neural network, and a soft robotic finger, in the Jan. 30 issue of Science Robotics.
The researcher ... more |
A warming world increases air pollution Riverside CA (SPX) Feb 05, 2019
Climate change is warming the ocean, but it's warming land faster and that's really bad news for air quality all over the world, says a new University of California, Riverside study.
The study, published February 4 in Nature Climate Change, shows that the contrast in warming between the continents and sea, called the land-sea warming contrast, drives an increased concentration of aerosols ... 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 |
Ramped up efforts needed to protect the world's inland waters Munich, Germany (SPX) Feb 06, 2019
At least 15% of the world's inland surface water areas are covered by protected areas, according to a new study from the JRC.
This is close to the global target of 17% set out in Aichi Target 11 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
However, surface water protection is very unevenly distributed globally, still falling well b ... more |
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Death toll in Cuba tornado rises to six Havana (AFP) Feb 4, 2019
The number of people killed in the powerful tornado that ripped through part of Havana last week has risen to six, authorities said Sunday.
Public Health Minister Jose Angel Portal Miranda said in state media that "sadly, two people have died among the 13 who were in critical condition." The earlier death toll was four.
The storm which hit Havana area towns including Regla, Guanabacoa, ... more |
China fears shake Berlin's economic principles Berlin (AFP) Feb 5, 2019
Fear of China appears set to divert Germany from decades of hands-off economic policy, as Berlin plans a public investment fund to block hostile takeovers of high-tech firms from abroad and calls for new mega-mergers.
Aware he was making a rare break with conventional wisdom, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier took pains to set limits to his public investment scheme, one element of the "nationa ... more |
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All systems go as Parker Solar Probe begins second orbit of Sun Laurel MD (SPX) Jan 29, 2019
On Jan. 19, 2019, just 161 days after its launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA's Parker Solar Probe completed its first orbit of the Sun, reaching the point in its orbit farthest from our star, called aphelion. The spacecraft has now begun the second of 24 planned orbits, on track for its second perihelion, or closest approach to the Sun, on April 4, 2019.
Parker S ... more |
Ice Age survivors or stranded travellers? A new subterranean species discovered in Canada Washington DC (SPX) Feb 06, 2019
The discovery of a new to science species of rare and primitive arthropod from the depths of a cave that was covered by a thick ice sheet until recently is certain to raise questions. In their study, published in the open-access journal Subterranean Biology, entomologist Alberto Sendra and local caver Craig Wagnell describe a new species of cave-dwelling, insect-like campodeid dipluran from the ... more |
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