Satellites improving lives in rural Africa
Paris (ESA) Jun 03, 2014 -
An ESA-supported project is showing how satcoms can help farmers, voters and educators in rural Africa. The three elements of the Sway4edu project are helping to run elections, educate teachers and improve radio programming. Satellite terminals provide Internet connectivity, with solar panels and batteries (where needed), laptops, tablets, a projector with screen, and loudspeakers.
Sway4ed ...
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Oceans worth up to $222 bln annually in CO2 capture
Bonn (AFP) June 04, 2014 -
By absorbing carbon emissions from the atmosphere, the seas avert climate damage worth up to $222 billion (163 billion euros) every year, according to an estimate released on Thursday.
Fish catches are worth another $16 billion annually, according to the report by a non-governmental watchdog, the Global Ocean Commission, which hopes that by setting an economic price on the value of internati ...
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Truvia sugar substitute proves deadly to curious fruit flies
Philadelphia (UPI) Jun 5, 2013 -
One of the most popular sugar substitutes on the market is also an insecticide - masking the bitterness of coffee one minute, killing fruit flies the next.
Millions of people every day put the sweetener erythritol in their coffee and tea. Its consumers know it better by its slightly more appetizing trade name Truvia, in which erythritol is the main ingredient. No matter what it's calle ...
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Climate talks: 'Raise your voice, not sea level' - UN
Bonn (AFP) June 05, 2014 -
The United Nations used the occasion of World Environment Day on Thursday to demand action on climate change for the protection of small island states threatened by rising seas, drought and floods.
"We have very, very alarming news from science," UN climate chief Christiana Figueres told reporters in Bonn at a new round of talks on global warming.
"Greenhouse gas concentrations continue ...
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More evidence that Earth collision formed Moon: study
Washington (AFP) June 05, 2014 -
German scientists said Thursday that moon samples collected during the 1960s and 1970s have shown new evidence that the moon formed when a young Earth collided with another celestial body.
The smashup between an early form of Earth and a planetary body named Theia some 4.5 billion years ago is put forth by what scientists call the Giant Impact Hypothesis of moon formation.
While most exp ...
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2,000 Nepalese tree-huggers claim world record
Kathmandu June 05, 2014 -
More than two thousand people including lawmakers and students hugged trees in a park outside Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Thursday to claim a new record on World Environment Day.
After organisers sounded a horn, eager students, many wearing their school uniforms, clasped tree trunks and held tight for two minutes as Nepalese musicians beat traditional drums.
"We had a very high turnout. ...
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Hunch-bat, Zorro snake among new Mekong species
Hanoi (AFP) June 05, 2014 -
From a hunch-backed bat to a giant flying squirrel, scientists have identified 367 new species in the Greater Mekong area since 2012, according to a new WWF report.
But due to unsustainable development and rapacious demand for wildlife meat and luxury timber, almost all of the newly described species are soon likely to be threatened, the group warned.
Southeast Asia has a higher proport ...
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