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The Water Future of Earth's 'Third Pole'![]() Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 27, 2019 Himalaya. Karakoram. Hindu Kush. The names of Asia's high mountain ranges conjure up adventure to those living far away, but for more than a billion people, these are the names of their most reliable water source. Snow and glaciers in these mountains contain the largest volume of freshwater outside of Earth's polar ice sheets, leading hydrologists to nickname this region the Third Pole. One-seventh of the world's population depends on rivers flowing from these mountains for water to drink and to i ... read more |
Health warnings and speed limits as Europe bakes in heatwaveParis (AFP) June 25, 2019 As Europe sizzled Tuesday at the start of a heatwave tipped to break records, drivers on Germany's famously speedy motorways were ordered to slow down and fans at the women's World Cup were showered in health warnings. ... more
Dry lakebeds and fights for water as drought grips India's Chennai, India (AFP) June 22, 2019 Angry residents fight in queues at water taps, lakes have been turned into barren moonscapes and restaurants are cutting back on meals as the worst drought in living memory grips India's Chennai. ... more
Qu Dongyu becomes first Chinese to head UN food agency FAORome (AFP) June 23, 2019 Qu Dongyu on Sunday became the first Chinese national to be elected to head the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, clinching the post in the first round of voting. ... more
Fearful of elephant attacks, some in Botswana cheer hunting's returnKasane, Botswana (AFP) June 20, 2019 An elephant carcass lies at the edge of a field in Legotlhwana village, northeast Botswana - evidence of the desperation and anger felt by a farmer whose crops have been repeatedly destroyed. ... 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 |
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| Previous Issues | Jun 24 | Jun 23 | Jun 21 | Jun 20 |
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Drought forces Namibia to auction 1,000 wild animalsWindhoek (AFP) June 15, 2019 Drought-hit Namibia has authorised the sale of at least 1,000 wild animals - including elephants and giraffes - to limit loss of life and generate $1.1 million for conservation, the authorities confirmed Saturday. ... more
In Germany, activists battle food waste with dumpster divingBerlin (AFP) June 18, 2019 Wearing a balaclava and a headlamp under the cover of night, Andrea slips under an imposing fence into the backyard of a Berlin supermarket. ... more
Heavy toll for French farms and vineyards after brutal hailstormRomans-Sur-Isere, France (AFP) June 16, 2019 Farmers in southeast France counted the costs from lost harvests on Sunday after a fierce storm battered the region with hail the size of ping-pong balls, decimating orchards and vineyards just as the summer season was kicking into high gear. ... more
Demand for agricultural products pushing primates to brink of extinctionWashington (UPI) Jun 17, 2019 Growing global demands for food and agricultural commodities are driving deforestation across the neotropics - in Africa, as well as south and southeast Asia. ... more
Tough sell: Baijiu, China's potent tipple, looks abroadLuzhou/London, China (AFP) June 17, 2019 It may be China's national spirit, but for London bartender Ellie Veale it's clear from the first swig why baijiu has not caught on overseas. ... more |
![]() Under fire over Monsanto's glyphosate, Bayer vows 'transparency'
NASA explores our changing freshwater worldGreenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 13, 2019 Water is so commonplace that we often take it for granted. But too much - or too little of it - makes NASA explores our changing freshwater worlds. Catastrophic flooding in the U.S. Midwest th ... more |
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W.African farm 'bootcamp' gets green entrepreneurs into shapeTori-Bossito , Benin (AFP) June 9, 2019 Machetes in hand and wearing a straw hat against the sun, the participants of an "agro-bootcamp" in the farmlands of the West African nation of Benin harvest maize, cowpeas and rice. ... more
Sorghum making a rebound in Europe thanks to climate changeSzeged, Hungary (AFP) June 5, 2019 Ferenc Kardos planted 300 hectares of sorghum instead of corn this year. From the fertile Hungarian plain where he lives all the way to southeastern France, the hot weather cereal is taking root in Europe. ... more
Water tankers prove a lifeline for India's parched villagesShahapur, India (AFP) June 12, 2019 As Gajanand Dukre parks the water tanker in a drought-stricken Indian village, dozens of locals - mostly women in saris - come running with jerry cans, buckets and stainless steel pots. ... more
Honeybees harmed by tag team of insecticides, mitesWashington (UPI) Jun 5, 2019 For the first time, honeybee researchers have identified a "synergistic time-lag interaction" between parasitic Varroa mites and neonicotinoid insecticides. The two stressors, the latest research showed, combined to reduce the survival of honeybees during the winter. ... more
Locust swarm decimates crops in SardiniaRome (AFP) June 10, 2019 Millions of locusts have devastated at least 2,000 hectares of crops in Sardinia, Italian farmers union Coldiretti said Monday, with experts calling the invasion the worst in six decades. ... more |
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NASA helps warn of harmful algal blooms in lakes, reservoirs Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 24, 2019
Harmful algal blooms can cause big problems in coastal areas and lakes across the United States. When toxin-containing aquatic organisms multiply and form a bloom, it can sicken people and pets, contaminate drinking water, and force closures at boating and swimming sites.
With limited resources to monitor these often-unpredictable blooms, water managers are turning to new technologies from ... more |
Lockheed Martin Delivers GPS III Contingency Operations Denver CO (SPX) Jun 12, 2019
The next step in modernizing the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation with new technology and capabilities is happening from the ground up!
On May 22, Lockheed Martin delivered the GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) software upgrade to the U.S. Air Force's current GPS ground control system. The upgrade will enable the Air Force to start commanding the new, next-genera ... more |
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Some trees make droughts worse, study says Washington (UPI) Jun 25, 2019
New analysis suggests some trees make drought conditions worse.
The loss of trees and vegetation can have a variety of negative effects on ecological health. Often, trees and vegetation help mitigate the damage caused by extreme weather. But new research suggests the effects of vegetation on weather conditions depends on the physiology of the involved vegetation.
According to a n ... more |
Efficiently producing fatty acids and biofuels from glucose Seoul, South Korea (SPX) Jun 24, 2019
Researchers have presented a new strategy for efficiently producing fatty acids and biofuels that can transform glucose and oleaginous microorganisms into microbial diesel fuel, with one-step direct fermentative production.
The newly developed strain, created by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee and his team, showed the highest efficiency in producing fatty acids and biodiesels ever rep ... more |
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meeco presents new innovative and flexible renewable energy mounting system Dresden, Germany (SPX) Jun 24, 2019
The Swiss-headquartered renewable energy generation and energy storage company The meeco Group has just launched its latest solar PV mounting solution. The sun2rope system offers a totally flexible and innovative way to build a solar energy system without the applica-tion of obstructing substructures harming the environment.
By mounting the solar m odules on special high-quality ropes, whi ... more |
Windmill protesters placed on Dutch terror list The Hague (AFP) June 24, 2019
Dutch counter-terror officials on Monday highlighted "extremist" wind turbine protesters alongside Islamists and the far right in the country's latest terrorism threat report.
At least two companies building new wind turbines in the Netherlands have cancelled construction projects "out of fear of attacks and have lost millions" of euros in damage, the NCTV counter-terrorism agency said.
... more |
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Trump administration completes rollback of Obama anti-coal plan Washington (AFP) June 19, 2019
President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday finalized its rollback of an Obama-era plan to cut harmful emissions from coal-fired power plants, triggering an outcry from opposition Democrats who called it a "giveaway to big polluters."
The reality may be more complex, however, as the US energy mix continues to shift away from coal and toward natural gas, as a result of the fracking b ... more |
Two Canadian naval vessels sail through Taiwan Strait Taipei (AFP) June 20, 2019
Two Canadian naval vessels sailed through the Taiwan Strait, Taipei's and Canada's defence ministries said, in the latest naval passage likely to irk Beijing.
The ships sailed through the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan in a "freedom of navigation" operation, the Taipei ministry said in a statement issued late Wednesday, without providing any details.
The next ... more |
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'Robot blood' powers robotic fish in Cornell laboratory Washington (UPI) Jun 20, 2019 Robot's still aren't conscious, but now they have blood, thanks to engineers at Cornell University.
Scientists have developed a robotic fish powered by "robot blood." The hydraulic liquid circulatory system allows the robot to use, store and transfer energy.
"In nature we see how long organisms can operate while doing sophisticated tasks. Robots can't perform similar feats for ve ... more |
Among world's worst polluters, ASEAN vows to tackle ocean waste Bangkok (AFP) June 22, 2019 With Southeast Asia awash in rubbish, from plastic-choked whales to trash-clogged canals, leaders are planning to push through a deal to fight maritime debris at a regional meeting this weekend.
Just five Asian countries - China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand - dump more than half of the eight million tonnes of plastic waste that end up in oceans every year, according t ... more |
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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 |
Looking for freshwater in all the snowy places Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 21, 2019
Snowflakes that cover mountains or linger under tree canopies are a vital freshwater resource for over a billion people around the world. To help determine how much freshwater is stored in snow, a team of NASA-funded researchers is creating a computer-based tool that simulates the best way to detect snow and measure its water content from space.
Snow's water content, or snow water equivale ... more |
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Islands in the sun: Heatwave gives cities that sinking feeling Paris (AFP) June 25, 2019
Boffins call it a heat sink - a passive exchanger designed to dissipate heat - but when the sink is an actual city, its concrete and asphalt sweltering in the heat, it feels more like an oven to those who live and work there.
The phenomenon where cities are hotter than the surrounding countryside is actually known as an urban heat island, and while the effect exists year-round, it is most ... more |
Trade negotiators hold talks ahead of Xi-Trump meeting Beijing (AFP) June 25, 2019
Top Chinese and US trade negotiators have held telephone talks ahead of a crunch meeting between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the G20 summit this week, Chinese state media said Tuesday.
Vice Premier Liu He - Xi's pointman in the trade war - spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday and they "exchanged opinions on econo ... more |
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NASA selects missions to study our sun, its effects on space weather Washington DC (SPX) Jun 24, 2019
NASA has selected two new missions to advance our understanding of the Sun and its dynamic effects on space. One of the selected missions will study how the Sun drives particles and energy into the solar system and a second will study Earth's response.
The Sun generates a vast outpouring of solar particles known as the solar wind, which can create a dynamic system of radiation in space cal ... more |
Monarch butterflies bred in captivity don't fly south, researchers find Washington (UPI) Jun 25, 2019
Monarch butterflies bred in captivity may lose their sense of direction.
When researchers at the University of Chicago bought and released monarch butterflies from a commercial breeder, the butterflies failed to fly south. Even when the captive-bred monarchs were raised outdoors, the butterflies were unable to orient themselves.
Genetic analysis showed the captive-bred monarchs a ... more |
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