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Australia cattle giant warns of 'extreme losses' from floods![]() Sydney (AFP) Feb 12, 2019 Australia's largest cattle company has warned of "extreme losses" after record-breaking floods, as producers said more than 300,000 cows were drowned or washed away in the vast continent's northeast. After more than five years of drought, heavy rains over an almost two-week period turned dusty and parched land in Queensland state into vast swathes of mud that bogged down already weakened cattle. Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (AACo) said Monday that four of its properties were "severely imp ... read more |
On Lake Victoria, a green stain spreads across Africa's blue heartKisumu, Kenya (AFP) Feb 8, 2019 With nets piled onto wooden boats, a group of fishermen joke while gazing out across Lake Victoria and the vast green weed clogging up the waterway. But their laughter has a worried edge as the sun sets. ... more
Researchers provide new definition for major Indian monsoon seasonTallahassee FL (SPX) Feb 11, 2019 Toward the end of every year, the Northeast Indian Monsoon (NEM) batters southern India with torrents of driving rain, but climatologists have never precisely defined when the monsoon begins and end ... more
'Hundreds of thousands' of cattle feared dead after Australia floodsTownsville, Australia (AFP) Feb 8, 2019 Hundreds of thousands of cattle weakened from a severe drought are feared to have died in record-breaking floods in northeastern Australia, authorities said Friday, as they stepped up efforts to feed surviving livestock. ... more
Meat consumption is pushing 150 large animal species toward extinctionWashington (UPI) Feb 6, 2019 The significant environmental costs of humans' meat consumption are becoming increasingly apparent. ... more |
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 Winds, rain lash Philippines as super typhoon nears Tornado kills six, wrecks town in Brazil |
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| Previous Issues | Feb 12 | Feb 11 | Feb 08 | Feb 07 | Feb 06 |
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How landscape plants have an impact on the carbon footprintLexington KY (SPX) Feb 07, 2019 A study out of the University of Kentucky provides a base of understanding of carbon footprint terminology and illustrates carbon footprint analyses using data from previous research that modeled nu ... more
Sharp bends make rivers wanderAustin TX (SPX) Feb 07, 2019 Left to their own devices and given enough time, rivers wander, eroding their banks and leaving their old channels behind. It's a behavior that engineers have to keep in mind when managing rivers or ... more
Chinese hunger for 'world's smelliest fruit' threatens Malaysian forestsRaub, Malaysia (AFP) Feb 6, 2019 Soaring demand for durians in China is being blamed for a new wave of deforestation in Malaysia with environmentalists warning vast amounts of jungle is being cleared to make way for massive plantations of the spiky, pungent fruit. ... more
Ramped up efforts needed to protect the world's inland watersMunich, 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 ... 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 |
![]() Interdisciplinary approach only way to address soil erosion
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 |
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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
Australia river agency pilloried amid mass fish deathsSydney (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. ... more
Space technology predicts droughts several months in advanceCanberra, Australia (SPX) Jan 29, 2019 Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have used new space technology to predict droughts and increased bushfire risk up to five months in advance. ANU researcher Siyuan Tian ... more
Mites, not a virus, are the main threat to bees, study findsWashington (UPI) Jan 30, 2019 Several studies have suggested parasitic mites both spread and worsen the effects of Deformed Wing Virus among honey bees. But new research shows the link between the two threats is tenuous. ... more |
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In Solar System's Symphony, Earth's Magnetic Field Drops the Beat Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 13, 2019
Space isn't silent. In fact, an entire orchestra of instruments fills our near-Earth environment with eerie sounds. Scientists have long known about space phenomena involving electromagnetic waves travelling around Earth that resonate like string instruments and whistle like wind instruments. Now, new research published in Nature Communications has added a percussive member to the cosmic ensembl ... more |
Angry Norway says Russia jamming GPS signals again Oslo (AFP) Feb 11, 2019
Norway's foreign intelligence unit on Monday expressed renewed concerns that its GPS signals in the country's Far North were being jammed, as Oslo again blamed Russia for the "unacceptable" acts.
In its annual national risk assessment report, the intelligence service said that in repeated incidents since 2017, GPS signals have been blocked from Russian territory in Norwegian regions near the ... more |
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US Senate votes to expand nationals parks, protected lands Washington (AFP) Feb 13, 2019
The US Senate approved a landmark expansion of protected lands Tuesday, the first major gain for conservationists in two years after repeated setbacks by the Trump administration.
The Senate voted 98-2 in support of the Natural Resources Management Act, which gives new or strengthened protection from mining and encroachment to more than two million acres (810,000 hectares), expands eight nat ... more |
UD researchers synthesize renewable oils for use in lubricants Newark DE (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
Engine gears, plane thrusters, refrigerator compressors, wind turbines - the list of important industrial machinery, agricultural equipment, transportation vessels, and home applications that depend on lubricants might be endless. These slick substances quite literally keep the world turning, touching nearly every facet of modern life and comprising a global industry worth more than $60 billion ... more |
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Unleashing perovskites' potential for solar cells Boston MA (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
Perovskites - a broad category of compounds that share a certain crystal structure - have attracted a great deal of attention as potential new solar-cell materials because of their low cost, flexibility, and relatively easy manufacturing process. But much remains unknown about the details of their structure and the effects of substituting different metals or other elements within the material. ... more |
Sulzer Schmid's new technology platform slashes cost of drone-based rotor blade inspections Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 07, 2019
Sulzer and Schmid Laboratories AG reports it has launched a new highly competitive inspection platform. The company's new 3DX HD product has been developed as a cost-effective solution to cope with large volumes of high definition blade inspections.
Based on the compact and flexible DJI M-210 drone, Sulzer Schmid's latest innovation delivers high performance and fully autonomous drone insp ... more |
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Australian court rejects coal mine on climate grounds Sydney (AFP) Feb 8, 2019
An Australian court on Friday delivered a landmark ruling by rejecting plans to build a coal mine on the grounds it would worsen climate change.
Chief Justice Brian Preston said a planned open cut coal mine in a scenic part of New South Wales state would be in "the wrong place at the wrong time".
The ruling by the New South Wales Land and Environment Court was notable for citing not only ... more |
Banned Chinese billionaire calls Australia 'a giant baby' Beijing (AFP) Feb 12, 2019
A Chinese billionaire barred from Australia on suspicions he is part of a Communist Party influence campaign has lashed out at Canberra, calling it a "giant baby" that hasn't found its place in international politics.
Huang Xiangmo, a long-term Sydney resident, had been a prominent donor to Australia's two major parties before he was blocked from re-entering the country last week - with his ... more |
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Trump orders government to prioritize artificial intelligence Washington (AFP) Feb 12, 2019
President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the US administration to give greater priority to artificial intelligence, a move seen as firing up a battle for leadership with China.
The American AI Initiative executive order calls for the administration to "devote the full resources of the federal government" to help fuel AI innovation.
"Americans have profited tremendously from being the ear ... more |
Holloman Air Force Base receives notice for groundwater contamination Washington (UPI) Feb 8, 2019
New Mexico's Environment Department served Holloman Air Force Base with a notice of violation after monitoring wells tested at twice the acceptable levels for suspected carcinogenic contaminants.
Violations of the discharge permit trigger corrective action requirements for the Air Force, according to a state environment agency news release this week.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl subs ... more |
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Greece too reliant on fire planes: experts Athens (AFP) Feb 7, 2019
Greece is "excessively" dependent on aerial fire-fighting and suffers from poor coordination, experts said on Thursday in a study of the country's worst fire tragedy that claimed 100 lives in July.
The committee of forestry and safety engineering experts from some of Greece's leading universities was ordered formed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras after the July 23 wildfire in the coastal re ... more |
On Lake Victoria, a green stain spreads across Africa's blue heart Kisumu, Kenya (AFP) Feb 8, 2019
With nets piled onto wooden boats, a group of fishermen joke while gazing out across Lake Victoria and the vast green weed clogging up the waterway. But their laughter has a worried edge as the sun sets.
The thick green carpet of water hyacinth is again choking Kisumu bay, floating on the surface and blocking Kenya's main entry to the largest body of water in Africa.
Leggy egrets are del ... 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 |
Mnuchin in Beijing for crunch US-China trade talks Beijing (AFP) Feb 12, 2019
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was "looking forward" to crunch negotiations with China as he emerged in Beijing on Tuesday with global attention focused on whether the two sides can reach a trade deal.
Mnuchin appeared at a Beijing hotel a couple of days ahead of scheduled high-level meetings with Chinese officials in the capital, with a March 1 deadline looming to strike an ac ... more |
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Shedding light on the science of auroral breakups Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 11, 2019
Auroras, also known as Northern or Southern lights depending on whether they occur near the North or South Pole, are natural displays of light in the Earth's sky. Typically these lights are dimly present at night. However, sometimes these otherwise faint features explode in brightness and can even break up into separate glowing hallmarks, appearing as spectacular bursts of luminous manifestation ... more |
Toward automated animal identification in wildlife research University Park PA (SPX) Feb 12, 2019
A new automated method to prepare digital photos for analysis will help wildlife researchers who depend on photographs to identify individual animals by their unique markings. A wildlife biologist from Penn State teamed up with scientists from Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing service, using machine learning technology to improve how photographs are turned into usable data for wildlife research ... more |
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