|
|
French watchdog bans sale of common pesticide![]() Paris (AFP) May 28, 2019 The French food safety agency ANSES on Tuesday barred the sale of epoxiconazole, a widely-used pesticide, citing a "worrying danger" to humans. The fungicide, mainly produced by the German chemical giant BASF, is used for about half of France's cereal crops and 70 percent of beetroot cultivation, ANSES said. The agency says the substance, already a suspected carcinogen, is thought to be "toxic" to human reproduction. ANSES took up the question after the European Union adopted new regulations ... read more |
Sydney imposes first water restrictions in decadeSydney (AFP) May 28, 2019 Sydney on Tuesday announced its first major water restrictions in a decade, putting limits on homes and businesses amid a record-breaking drought. ... more
Farmers have less leisure time than hunter-gatherers, study suggestsCambridge UK (SPX) May 23, 2019 Hunter-gatherers in the Philippines who adopt farming work around ten hours a week longer than their forager neighbours, a new study suggests, complicating the idea that agriculture represents progr ... more
UD researchers examine the age of groundwater in Egyptian aquifersNewark DE (SPX) May 27, 2019 Most of the water used by people in Egypt comes from the Nile River, which originates from precipitation over mountainous areas in the Ethiopian highlands. In areas far from the Nile River Valley, h ... more
Unexpected observation of ice at low temperature, high pressure questions water theoryOak Ridge TN (SPX) May 23, 2019 Through an experiment designed to create a super-cold state of water, scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutron scattering to discover a pathway to the unex ... more |
IMF approves $206 mn aid to Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah
Flights cancelled, roads flooded as rare storm soaks UAE Sri Lanka plans $1.6 bn in cyclone recovery spending in 2026 Brazil megacity Sao Paulo struck by fresh water crisis Indonesians reeling from flood devastation plea for global help Levee break near Seattle prompts evacuation order Flash flood kills dozens in Morocco town At least 20 dead in eastern Bolivia floods Press Release from Business Wire: Textron Inc. Flash floods kill 37 in Moroccan coastal town |
|
|

| Previous Issues | May 29 | May 28 | May 27 | May 24 | May 23 |
|
Seasonal Monsoon Rains Block Key Ocean CurrentPasadena CA (JPL) May 20, 2019 Our oceans and the complex "conveyer belt" system of currents that connects them play an important role in regulating global climate. The oceans store heat from the Sun, and ocean currents transport ... more
Swine fever sending pork prices higherParis (AFP) May 20, 2019 In a cruel irony in the Chinese Year of the Pig, outbreaks of African Swine Fever are forcing huge culls that could send pork prices to levels never seen before. ... more
Study reports breakthrough to measure plant improvements to help farmers boost productionUrbana IL (SPX) May 20, 2019 An international team is using advanced tools to develop crops that give farmers more options for sustainably producing more food on less land. To do this, thousands of plant prototypes must be care ... more
New research accurately predicts Australian wheat yield months before harvestUrbana IL (SPX) May 14, 2019 Topping the list of Australia's major crops, wheat is grown on more than half the country's cropland and is a key export commodity. With so much riding on wheat, accurate yield forecasting is necess ... more
Drought sharpens Morocco nomads-farmers disputeTiznit, Morocco (AFP) May 18, 2019 "We refuse to be confined to a cage," declares nomadic herder Mouloud, asserting the rights and customs of his kin as they graze livestock in Morocco's southern expanses. ... more |
![]() Mineral misery: Vietnam salt farmers battered by imports, climate
North Korea seeing worst drought in a century: state mediaSeoul (AFP) May 17, 2019 North Korea is experiencing its worst drought in over a century, official media reported Friday, days after the World Food Programme expressed "very serious concerns" about the situation in the country. ... more |
|
Outback farmers lead charge as climate heats up Aussie electionMackay, Australia (AFP) May 15, 2019 As Australians head to the polls this week after the country's hottest-ever summer, outback farmers - walloped by epic fires, floods and heatwaves - are leading the fight against climate change, making it one of the election's key issues. ... more
US farm lobby calls for swift end to China trade warWashington (AFP) May 15, 2019 A major US farming organization called Wednesday for a swift resolution to the trade war with China, saying lost exports were exacerbating the burden of an industry already in hard times. ... more
What we've learned from water in motionPasadena CA (JPL) May 14, 2019 When you hear news about ice loss from Greenland or Antarctica, an aquifer in California that is getting depleted, or a new explanation for a wobble in Earth's rotation, you might not realize that a ... more
Trump says tariffs battle will help US farmersWashington (AFP) May 14, 2019 President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to help hard-hit American farmers caught in the middle of the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing. ... more
Trump tells farmers victory awaits in trade war ; Just a little squabbleWashington (AFP) May 14, 2019 US farmers who are major exporters of pork and soy, are caught in the middle of President Donald Trump's trade wars. ... more |
|
|
|
|
First ICESat-2 Global Data Released: Ice, Forests and More Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 30, 2019
More than a trillion new measurements of Earth's height - blanketing everything from glaciers in Greenland, to mangrove forests in Florida, to sea ice surrounding Antarctica - are now available to the public. With millions more observations added each day, data from NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 is providing a precise global portrait of elevation and will allow scientists to t ... more |
China's satellite navigation industry scale to exceed 400 billion yuan in 2020 Beijing (XNA) May 27, 2019
The output value of China's satellite navigation industry is expected to surpass 400 billion yuan (about 57.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020, according to the ongoing 10th China Satellite Navigation Conference on Thursday.
"Currently, we have built the complete industry chain which is made up of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) basic products, application terminals and systems, ... more |
|
|
A forest 'glow' reveals awakening from hibernation Salt Lake City, UT (SPX) May 28, 2019
Winters in the northern hemisphere are brutal. The harsh conditions drive some species to hibernate; bears reduce their metabolic state to conserve energy until spring. Forests also endure winter by conserving energy; they shut down photosynthesis, the process by which a green pigment called chlorophyll captures sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce the chemical energy that fuels the plan ... more |
Table scraps can be used to reduce reliance on fossil fuels Waterloo, Canada (SPX) May 27, 2019
Wasted food can be affordably turned into a clean substitute for fossil fuels.
New technology developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo engineers natural fermentation to produce a biodegradable chemical that can be refined as a source of energy.
The chemical could also be used to replace petroleum-based chemicals in a host of products including drugs and plastic packagin ... more |
|
|
Renewables doesn't equal zero-carbon energy, and the difference is growing Stanford CA (SPX) May 27, 2019
While 160 companies around the world have committed to use "100 percent renewable energy," that does not mean "100 percent carbon-free energy." The difference will grow as power grids become less reliant on fossil power, according to a new Stanford study published in Joule. Entities committed to fighting climate change can and should measure the environmental benefits of their renewable strategi ... more |
Can sound protect eagles from wind turbine collisions? Washington DC (SPX) May 23, 2019
Every year, bald and golden eagles are killed when they inadvertently fly into wind turbine blades. One possible way to prevent these deaths is to chase the birds away with acoustic signals - sound. To determine what types of sounds are most effective in deterring the birds, researchers at the University of Minnesota and their colleagues tested the behavioral responses of bald eagles to a batter ... more |
|
|
Grandma Ca: the 99-year-old standing up to Vietnam's coal rush Van Phong Bay, Vietnam (AFP) May 22, 2019
Toothless and nearly blind, grandmother Pham Thi Ca refuses to leave her plot of land even after bulldozers demolished her house - an extraordinary holdout against communist Vietnam's deepening addiction to coal.
The 99-year-old was offered money to move as authorities hoovered up land for a planned $2.6 billion Japanese-funded coal plant in the remote Van Phong Bay she has called home sinc ... more |
Mahathir says Malaysia will use Huawei 'as much as possible' Tokyo (AFP) May 30, 2019
Malaysia will continue using Huawei products "as much as possible," bucking a global trend prompted by security concerns and a US ban on the Chinese firm, the country's prime minister said Thursday.
Mahathir Mohamad, speaking at a conference in Tokyo, acknowledged the security concerns but said they would not deter Malaysia.
"Yes, there may be some spying. But what is there to spy (on) e ... more |
|
|
Artificial intelligence becomes life-long learner with new framework Research Triangle Park NC (SPX) May 23, 2019
A project of the U.S. Army has developed a new framework for deep neural networks that allows artificial intelligence systems to better learn new tasks while forgetting less of what they have learned regarding previous tasks.
The North Carolina State University researchers, funded by the Army, have also demonstrated that using the framework to learn a new task can make the AI better at per ... more |
Malaysia to ship back hundreds of tonnes of plastic waste Port Klang, Malaysia (AFP) May 28, 2019
Hundreds of tonnes of imported plastic waste will be shipped back to where it came from, Malaysia said Tuesday, insisting the country did not want to be a global dumping ground.
Around 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), with much of it ending up in landfill or polluting the seas, in what is becoming a growing international ... more |
|
|
Forest fires accelerating snowmelt across western US, study finds Portland OR (SPX) May 07, 2019
Forest fires are causing snow to melt earlier in the season, a trend occurring across the western U.S. that may affect water supplies and trigger even more fires, according to a new study by a team of researchers at Portland State University (PSU) , the Desert Research Institute (DRI), and the University of Nevada, Reno.
It's a cycle that will only be exacerbated as the frequency, duration ... more |
Ocean and space exploration blend at URI's Graduate School of Oceanography Kingston RI (SPX) May 30, 2019
Scientists with a NASA-led expedition are operating from the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography as colleagues explore the deep Pacific Ocean to prepare to search for life in deep space.
The SUBSEA (Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog) research program is a partnership among NASA's Ames Research Center in Si ... more |
|
|
Powerful tornado devastates US town, killing two Washington (AFP) May 26, 2019
Rescuers in the US state of Oklahoma were searching Sunday for survivors in the tangled remains of mobile homes and other structures demolished overnight by a powerful tornado that killed at least two people.
"Right now (we are) doing a search effort to assess everything," El Reno Mayor Matt White told reporters in a televised news conference. "We can confirm there have been two fatalities a ... more |
Manufacturing migration: Trade spat shifts business from 'Factory of the World' Hanoi (AFP) May 29, 2019
From socks and sneakers to washing machines and watches, Asian countries are hoping the US-China trade war will permanently boost manufacturing as brands dodge the row by choosing cheaper locations to make their goods.
Business has fanned out from China, often referred to as the 'Factory of the World', into Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Indonesia for years.
But the shift has accelerated a ... more |
|
|
Scientists uncover exotic matter in the sun's atmosphere Dublin, Ireland (SPX) May 27, 2019
Scientists from Ireland and France have announced a major new finding about how matter behaves in the extreme conditions of the Sun's atmosphere.
The scientists used large radio telescopes and ultraviolet cameras on a NASA spacecraft to better understand the exotic but poorly understood "fourth state of matter". Known as plasma, this matter could hold the key to developing safe, clean and ... more |
Poaching slows but Africa's elephants still face extinction Paris (AFP) May 28, 2019 The illegal slaughter of African elephants to feed Asia's demand for ivory has decreased by more than half in eight years, but the majestic mammals are still threatened with extinction, researchers warned Tuesday.
In 2011, poachers killed some 40,000 tuskers - about ten percent of the continent's population, according to figures from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Speci ... more |
|
| Buy Advertising | Media Advertising Kit | Editorial & Other Enquiries | Privacy statement |
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement |