SPOT 7 satellite launched
Paris, France (SPX) Dec 03, 2014 -
SPOT 7, the Earth-observation satellite designed and built by Airbus Defence and Space, has been launched, making its high-resolution imagery available to all users. Together with SPOT 6, Pleiades 1A and 1B, TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, SPOT 7 makes Airbus Defence and Space the first operator in the world to offer customers a full palette of Earth-imaging data spanning multiple resolution and spectr ...
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Silicon Valley clears out homeless 'Jungle' camp
San Jose, United States (AFP) Dec 05, 2014 -
Authorities began dismantling a notorious homeless camp Thursday known as "The Jungle" in the heart of California's affluent Silicon Valley, where skyrocketing rents have forced hundreds onto the streets.
Municipal workers in white overalls and face masks moved into the camp along a creek in San Jose where some 300 people live in tents and other makeshift lodging.
"It is a disgrace," sai ...
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Localized climate change contributed to ancient southwest depopulation
Pullman WA (SPX) Dec 05, 2014 -
Washington State University researchers have detailed the role of localized climate change in one of the great mysteries of North American archaeology: the depopulation of southwest Colorado by ancestral Pueblo people in the late 1200s. In the process, they address one of the mysteries of modern-day climate change: How will humans react?
Writing in Nature Communications, WSU archaeologist ...
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On solid ground
Paris (ESA) Dec 04, 2014 -
Lovers of architecture and history can rest easy: the stability of historical buildings can now be monitored in real time by a new technique with its roots in space. In the past, if you feared the land beneath your house or road might be shifting, the only method was to install measuring devices, and wait - often for months - to find out.
Today, landowners can determine whether or not they ...
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Millions evacuate as typhoon bears down on Philippines
Tacloban, Philippines (AFP) Dec 05, 2014 -
Millions of people in the Philippines began seeking shelter in churches, schools and other makeshift evacuation centres on Friday as a monster typhoon bore down on the disaster-weary nation.
The storm, which would be the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago this year, is expected to impact more than half the nation including communities devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan last yea ...
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El Nino's 'remote control' on hurricanes in the Northeastern Pacific
Manoa HI (SPX) Dec 05, 2014 -
El Nino, the abnormal warming of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, is a well-studied tropical climate phenomenon that occurs every few years. It has major impacts on society and Earth's climate - inducing intense droughts and floods in multiple regions of the globe.
Further, scientists have observed that El Nino greatly influences the yearly variations of tropical cyclones (a ...
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India says will not be bulldozed at climate talks
New Delhi (AFP) Dec 04, 2014 -
India, the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, said Thursday it is committed to tackling global warming but vowed to protect its interests at the latest round of UN climate talks in Lima.
"We will walk with confidence with our own aggressive actions on climate change," India's environment minister Prakash Javadekar told Indian television network NDTV on the eve of his departure for ...
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How Soil Microorganisms Get Out of Step through Climate Change
Neuherberg, Germany (SPX) Dec 05, 2014 -
Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, in collaboration with colleagues from the TU Munchen and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), have studied how soil microorganisms react to climatic change.
Their result: Extreme weather events such as long periods of drought and heavy rainfall have a strong impact on the metabolic activity of microbes. This may lead to a change in the nutri ...
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China renews pledge to stop using executed prisoner organs
Beijing (AFP) Dec 04, 2014 -
China will stop its controversial practice of using executed prisoners as a source of transplant organs from next month, a Chinese newspaper reported Thursday, a promise it has made repeatedly in the past.
High demand for organs in China and a chronic shortage of donations mean that death row inmates have been a key source for years, generating heated controversy.
International human rig ...
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Antarctica: Heat comes from the deep
Kiel, Germany (SPX) Dec 05, 2014 -
The Antarctic ice sheet is a giant water reservoir. The ice cap on the southern continent is on average 2,100 meters thick and contains about 70 percent of the world's fresh water. If this ice mass were to melt completely, it could raise the global sea level by 60 meters.
Therefore scientists carefully observe changes in the Antarctic. In the renowned international journal Science, researc ...
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Buckyballs enhance carbon capture
Houston TX (SPX) Dec 05, 2014 -
Rice University scientists have discovered an environmentally friendly carbon-capture method that could be equally adept at drawing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial flue gases and natural gas wells.
The Rice lab of chemist Andrew Barron revealed in a proof-of-concept study that amine-rich compounds are highly effective at capturing the greenhouse gas when combined with carbon-60 mo ...
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US: Chinese economy should wean from cheap labor model
Washington (AFP) Dec 03, 2014 -
The United States on Wednesday said China needs to move away from its cheap labor and export-focused economy to maintain growth in the years ahead.
US Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Nathan Sheets also said Europe and Japan need to take action to boost domestic demand and further a global "rebalancing" that would help growth in countries which run chronic trade deficits. ...
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Intel, Luxottica team up for smart eyewear
New York (AFP) Dec 03, 2014 -
US tech giant Intel said Wednesday it was joining forces with Italy's Luxottica to develop connected eyewear, with the first products due in 2015.
"The ultimate goal is to help pioneer that change and deliver smart, fashion-forward products that are meaningful and desirable to consumers," said a joint statement from the two companies.
Details of the new products were not announced. Luxot ...
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US tech firm Intel plans $1.6 bn investment in China
Shanghai (AFP) Dec 04, 2014 -
US microprocessor maker Intel plans to invest $1.6 billion over the next 15 years to upgrade an existing facility in China's western city of Chengdu, the company said in a statement provided to AFP on Thursday.
It it the company's latest move in China, after it said in September it would invest $1.5 billion in two Chinese cell phone component firms by acquiring a 20 percent stake in the hold ...
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Texas study finds chink in U.S. shale gas armor
Austin, Texas (UPI) Dec 4, 2014 -
A study of shale natural gas plays in the United States finds some of the predictions for long-term growth may be overly optimistic, the journal Nature reports.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects shale natural gas production to increase through 2040. Advances in hydraulic fracturing, the drilling practice known commonly as fracking, has given energy companies a way to co ...
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North Dakota unfazed by low oil prices
Bismarck, N.D. (UPI) Dec 4, 2014 -
North Dakota's governor rolled out his budget plans for the next year, saying the state's financial position was strong despite fears sparked by low oil prices.
North Dakota oil production in September, the last full month for which data are available, was 1.18 million barrels per day, an all-time high. Nearly all of the production came from the Bakken shale formation in the state.
...
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Experts urge Norway oil fund to consider climate criteria
Oslo (AFP) Dec 03, 2014 -
An expert panel recommended Wednesday that Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, give more consideration to climate change in its investments but stopped short of calling for it to spurn fossil fuels as demanded by environmentalists.
The panel was appointed by the government to examine calls by environmental groups and some politicians for the fund to divest from coal, oil and ...
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WTI falls despite lower U.S. inventories
New York (UPI) Dec 4, 2014 -
Static U.S. oil production and lower inventories weren't enough to stave off a Thursday drop in West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices.
WTI, the U.S. benchmark price, shed close to $1 per barrel for the January contract in early Thursday trading to fetch $66.40. That's down more than 30 percent from the June value and below the point where oil production from U.S. shale deposits is co ...
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South Stream decision 'final'
Moscow (UPI) Dec 4, 2014 -
Kremlin decisions to end the pursuit of the South Stream natural gas pipeline project for Europe are final, the Russian energy minister said Thursday.
"In my view, the decision is final," Minister Alexander Novak said from Moscow.
With a delegation from natural gas company Gazprom in tow, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an end to a project that would cross the Black Sea ...
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Britain eyes nuclear overhaul despite French delays
London (AFP) Dec 04, 2014 -
Britain is pressing ahead with an overhaul of its ageing nuclear plants despite trouble at home with the French firms leading the drive and doubts after the Fukushima disaster, officials said on Thursday.
"The public supports nuclear," Hergen Haye, director of new nuclear projects at the energy ministry, said at Britain's Nuclear Industry Association conference.
"All the main political p ...
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Environmental group: U.S. tax credit for wind energy not enough
Washington (UPI) Dec 4, 2014 -
An environmental group said a bill extending tax relief for the U.S. wind energy sector pales in comparison to subsidies for the fossil fuels industry.
The House of Representatives, by a vote of 378-46, passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act, which, among other things, extends a tax credit for wind energy resources for another year. The language of the measure states the bill prevents t ...
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Sanctions show West is fearful, Putin says
Moscow (UPI) Dec 4, 2014 -
Sanctions targeting the energy sector are a response from a Western power base wary of the rise of post-Soviet Russia, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
Putin delivered his annual State of the Union address at a time when the Russian economy is on the verge of a recession brought on by a bear market for crude oil and sanctions imposed on the country's energy sector.
Sanctio ...
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China bank ICBC plans $5.6 bn preferred share issue
Shanghai (AFP) Dec 04, 2014 -
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) will sell more than $5.60 billion worth of preferred shares offshore in three different currencies, it said Thursday, as the world's biggest lender bolsters its capital.
ICBC is issuing the shares in three tranches: $2.94 billion in US dollars, 12.0 billion yuan ($2 billion) and 600 million euros ($739 million), according to a statement file ...
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World's fastest 2-D camera may enable new scientific discoveries
St. Louis MO (SPX) Dec 05, 2014 -
A team of biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis, led by Lihong Wang, PhD, the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has developed the world's fastest receive-only 2-D camera, a device that can capture events up to 100 billion frames per second.
That's orders of magnitude faster than any current receive-only ultrafast imaging techniques, which ...
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Low-grade waste heat regenerates ammonia battery
University Park PA (SPX) Dec 05, 2014 -
An efficient method to harvest low-grade waste heat as electricity may be possible using reversible ammonia batteries, according to Penn State engineers. "The use of waste heat for power production would allow additional electricity generation without any added consumption of fossil fuels," said Bruce E. Logan, Evan Pugh Professor and Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering.
"Thermall ...
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