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Preserved leaves reveal 7,000 years of rainfall and drought![]() Adelaide, Australia (SPX) Feb 18, 2019 A study by University of Adelaide researchers and Queensland Government scientists has revealed what south-east Queensland's rainfall was like over the last 7000 years - including several severe droughts worse and longer lasting than the 12-year Millennium Drought. The study - published in Scientific Reports - used preserved paper-bark tea tree leaves from North Stradbroke Island's Swallow Lagoon that have been collecting in the sediment for the past 7700 years. The leaves - analysed for che ... read more |
Surprise findings turn up the temperature on the study of vernalizationNorwich UK (SPX) Feb 18, 2019 Researchers have uncovered new evidence about the agriculturally important process of vernalization in a development that could help farmers deal with financially damaging weather fluctuations. ... more
After deadly clashes, Ivorian farmers and herders try dialogueBouna, Cate D'Ivoire (AFP) Feb 17, 2019 Gathered under the spreading baobab tree in Danoa town square, farmers and herders in a remote corner of Ivory Coast are finally talking about a dispute that has poisoned relations and destroyed lives. ... more
Prickly pears: 'humble' cactus brings hope to AlgeriaSidi Fredj, Algeria (AFP) Feb 15, 2019 For generations Algerians like the Gueldasmi family have barely eked out a living growing prickly pear fruits, but thanks to the cactus's new found virtues their lives are steadily improving. ... more
Tracking pollen with quantum dotsStellenbosch, South Africa (SPX) Feb 15, 2019 A pollination biologist from Stellenbosch University in South Africa is using quantum dots to track the fate of individual pollen grains. This is breaking new ground in a field of research that has ... 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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Australia cattle giant warns of 'extreme losses' from floodsSydney (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. ... 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
'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
Four crops alone comprise close to 50 per cent of all crops grown globallyToronto, Canada (SPX) Feb 07, 2019 A new U of T study suggests that globally we're growing more of the same kinds of crops, and this presents major challenges for agricultural sustainability on a global scale. The study, done b ... more |
![]() Campaigners to Pope: $1m to charity if you go vegan for Lent
Prehistoric food globalization spanned three millenniaSt Louis MO (SPX) Feb 07, 2019 Since the beginning of archaeology, researchers have combed the globe searching for evidence of the first domesticated crops. Painstakingly extracting charred bits of barley, wheat, millet and rice ... more |
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Gypsum as an agricultural productWashington DC (SPX) Feb 07, 2019 Warren Dick has worked with gypsum for more than two decades. You'd think he'd be an expert on drywall and plastering because both are made from gypsum. But the use of gypsum that Dick studies might ... more
Drought-stricken Aussie farmers now battered by floodsTownsville, Australia (AFP) Feb 6, 2019 Australian ranchers who struggled to keep their cattle alive during a prolonged drought last year are now battling to save herds from record-breaking floods inundating the northeast of the country, officials said on Wednesday. ... more
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 |
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exactEarth's real-time maritime tracking system now fully-deployed Cambridge UK (SPX) Feb 15, 2019 |
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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Indonesian firms owe $1.3 bn in forest damage fines: Greenpeace Jakarta (AFP) Feb 15, 2019
Indonesian firms owe at least $1.3 billion in unpaid fines for environmental damage caused by widespread forest clearing and deadly fires linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths, a Greenpeace study said Friday.
Citing government data, the environmental group said it examined 11 civil court cases between 2012 and 2018 where palm oil and pulp-and-paper companies were ordered to pay fin ... more |
New insights into radial expansion of plants can boost biomass production Gent, Belgium (SPX) Feb 11, 2019
Besides the obvious longitudinal growth, plants also enlarge in the radial sense. This thickening of plant stems and roots provides physical support to plants, provides us with wood and cork, and plays a major role in sequestering atmospheric carbon into plant biomass.
The tissues responsible for this radial expansion are the vascular tissues which transport water and nutrients around plan ... more |
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Moving artificial leaves out of the lab and into the air Chicago IL (SPX) Feb 13, 2019
Artificial leaves mimic photosynthesis - the process whereby plants use water and carbon dioxide from the air to produce carbohydrates using energy from the sun. But even state-of-the-art artificial leaves, which hold promise in reducing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, only work in the laboratory because they use pure, pressurized carbon dioxide from tanks.
But now, researchers from th ... 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 |
Chinese movies dodge censors to shine at Berlin filmfest Berlin (AFP) Feb 14, 2019
A moving Chinese epic looking at the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, the one-child policy and forced abortion made it past censors to premiere at the Berlin film festival Thursday despite a widening crackdown.
"Di jiu tian chang" (So Long, My Son) by Wang Xiaoshuai, clocking in at more than three hours, is a sweeping allegorical drama about two families whose fates become intricately i ... more |
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The first walking robot that moves without GPS Pris, France (SPX) Feb 14, 2019
Human eyes are insensitive to polarized light and ultraviolet radiation, but that is not the case for ants, who use it to locate themselves in space. Cataglyphis desert ants in particular can cover several hundreds of meters in direct sunlight in the desert to find food, then return in a straight line to the nest, without getting lost. They cannot use pheromones: they come out when the temperatu ... more |
In New York, one non-profit looks to combat textile waste New York (AFP) Feb 14, 2019
The fashion industry generates tons of fabric waste each year, notably in New York - one of the world's shopping capitals and host twice a year to runway shows, a major contributor to the wider problem.
Enter Fabscrap, a non-profit organization dedicated to recycling and reusing textiles that are unsuitable for donation.
Every day, 3,000 pounds (some 1,350 kilos) of scraps arrive at the ... more |
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Tasmania fires may 'wipe out' ancient species Hobart, Australia (AFP) Feb 15, 2019
Tasmania's ancient rainforest and alpine flora species face an uncertain future, scientists have warned, after out-of-control bushfires consumed vast tracts of wild bushland.
As authorities downgraded emergency warnings Friday, with wetter weather - and even some snow - bringing respite from more than a month of rolling fires, scientists warned they are still assessing the damage to the is ... more |
Carbonaceous chondrites provide clues about the delivery of water to Earth Madrid, Spain (SPX) Feb 15, 2019
An international study led by researchers from the Institute of Space Sciences, from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya has discovered that carbonaceous chondrites, a class of meteorites, incorporated hydrated minerals along with organic material from the protoplanetary disk before the formation of planets.
Scientists from the stu ... 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 |
Hong Kong's super rich took a $20 bn beating in 2018: Forbes Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 14, 2019
China's slowdown, trade tensions, stock plunges and a softening of the world's least affordable property market helped wipe some $20 billion from the fortunes of Hong Kong's wealthiest last year, Forbes has reported.
The southern Chinese financial hub boasts entrenched income inequality with one of the highest concentrations of billionaires in the world.
But the ultra-wealthy had an unch ... more |
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Scientists use spacecraft's measurements to study solar wind heating Washington (UPI) Feb 14, 2019
With the help of a NASA spacecraft, astrophysicists have uncovered the process by which energy is transferred between electromagnetic fields and plasma in space.
Most of the visible matter in the universe exists in the form of plasma, an ionized state of matter. Understanding how energy is transferred to and from ionized particles in space can help scientists to better understand a vari ... more |
Danish economist picked to be new UN environment chief United Nations, USA (AFP) Feb 15, 2019
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has picked Danish economist and environmentalist Inger Andersen to be the new UN environment chief, turning the page on a scandal over expenses that rocked the UN agency, according to a letter seen by AFP on Friday.
Andersen, who heads the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is set to succeed Erik Solheim of Norway, who resigned in Nov ... more |
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