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Archive for September 22nd, 2010
Dry Water Makes Waves in Fight Against Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Voice of America: Powdered material called "dry water," could provide a new way to store carbon dioxide in an effort to fight global warming. Dry water made some waves at a recent American Chemical Society meeting in Boston. The substance looks a lot like fine white sand, which isn't surprising since what makes it dry is that each tiny water droplet is covered with water-repelling silica, the stuff of ordinary beach sand. The coating makes it impossible for the water molecules to recombine and ...
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Peru’s water protests halt tourism
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Guardian: X
UN asks for action on nature loss
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
BBC: Governments must protect nature better in order to safeguard their countries' wealth, says the UN, as ministers meet for a day of talks on biodiversity. The session at UN headquarters co-incides with the final day of talks on the Millennium Development Goals, and the UN says the two issues are linked. Delegates are to discuss why they have failed to meet a 2010 target for curbing loss of biodiversity. Conservationists are calling for at least a 10-fold increase on ...
‘Extinct’ frogs haven’t croaked — scientists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
AFP: Delighted conservationists announced on Wednesday they had found two species of African frog and a Mexican salamander that had been feared to extinct. The find was made by scientists combing some of the world's remotest sites on a quest to determine the fate of a hundred species of amphibians that have not been sighted for decades. "These are fantastic finds and could have important implications for people as well as for amphibians," said Robin Moore, who is organising the ...
Environment key to U.S. security: Congress briefing
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Reuters: Environmental degradation and waning natural resources threaten U.S. security in the 21st century, in a shift from "kinetic" security threats, defense experts told a Capitol Hill briefing Wednesday. The loss of renewable natural resources, including forests, fresh water, fish and fertile soils, can drive political instability and conflict in the developing world, according to the briefing. "We can't just send in the Army and the Marines and the Air Force and the Navy to resolve ...
Rising energy demand hits water scarcity ‘choke point’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
IPS: Meeting the growing demand for energy in the U.S., even through sustainable means, could entail greater threats to the environment, new research shows. The study was carried out by Circle of Blue, a network of journalists and scientists dedicated to water sustainability, and could have implications not just for the relationship between energy demand and water scarcity in the U.S. but elsewhere in the world, as well. "It is not just that energy production could not occur without using ...
Nigeria gold rush: toxic quarry
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Guardian: In recent years a mini gold rush has swept through remote parts of Zamfara state, in the arid Sahel region just south of the Sahara, encouraging entire communities to abandon their traditional farming and herding activities. Crushed ore from quarries was typically transported in sacks back to villagers' homes, where the men and women ground it down by hand to search for tiny pieces of gold as their children played at their feet. Returns from selling the gold to traders were modest, but ...
Vulnerable Arab world lags on climate change action
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Reuters: The Arab world will be one of the regions worst hit by climate change but still lacks any coordinated response to its potentially devastating effects, experts said at a conference this week. With hotter, drier and less predictable climates, the amount of water running into the region's streams and rivers is set to fall 20 to 30 percent by 2050, worsening desertification and food insecurity, the United Nations Development Programme says. Arab states, many rich in petroleum and ...
‘Lost’ amphibian species rediscovered
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
Guardian: A team of scientists have discovered three species of amphibian previously thought to be extinct. Their finds include a cave-dwelling salamander last seen in 1941 – the same year that it was discovered – and two species of frog that dwell in west Africa. In total, the scientists hope to rediscover roughly 100 species of amphibian. Conservation International, in conjunction with the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group, has organised a string of international expeditions to search for ...
Cocaine, ecstasy found in waters of Spanish nature reserve
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 22nd, 2010
AFP: Spanish scientists said Wednesday they have detected cocaine, ecstasy and six other drugs in the waters of a nature reserve, and warned of a possible risk to wildlife and public health. Investigators from the University of Valencia analysed the water in canals and irrigation channels of eastern Spain's Albufera Natural Park, a major wetlands region, for the presence of 14 kinds of drugs, Spain's Scientific Information and News Service (SINC) said. The scientists looked for the ...