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Archive for July 2nd, 2014
Problems Inspire Ingenious Solutions in Peruvian Amazon Town
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 2nd, 2014
Inter Press Service: He may look like a rapper, but 33-year-old José Antonio Bardález is the mayor of Jepelacio, in the Peruvian Amazon. His ingenious innovations in the municipality include transforming waste management into a source of income and making spring water a source of drinking water.
"I'm a civil engineer, but people think I'm an environmental engineer," the mayor told IPS, driving his pickup truck and stopping frequently to greet and joke with local people in the district, located in the department of...
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With driest year notched, Santa Cruz County on pace for hottest
Posted by Santa Cruz Sentinel: Jason Hoppin on July 2nd, 2014
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Not only has Santa Cruz County finished off its driest rain year on record, but there are early signs that 2014 could turn out to be the warmest in recorded history as well.
With the rain year concluding June 30, just 13.55 inches of water fell from the sky, beating the previous record of 13.88, in 1976. Normal is 31.35 inches.
A cooling trend is expected over the weekend, but that's an exception. The dense fogs that normally swamp the coast in summer months seem to have disappeared, leaving...
Water supply key to outcome of conflicts in Iraq & Syria, experts warn
Posted by Gurdian: John Vidal on July 2nd, 2014
Gurdian: The outcome of the Iraq and Syrian conflicts may rest on who controls the region’s dwindling water supplies, say security analysts in London and Baghdad.
Rivers, canals, dams, sewage and desalination plants are now all military targets in the semi-arid region that regularly experiences extreme water shortages, says Michael Stephen, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank in Qatar, speaking from Baghdad.
“Control of water supplies gives strategic control over both cities...
Fish Have Long-Term Memory, Can Remember Food Source After 12 Days
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 2nd, 2014
Nature World: African Cichlids, a popular aquarium fish species, has a long memory. Researchers have found that the fish can remember the location of a food source after a 12-day gap.
The study was conducted by researchers at the MacEwan University in Canada. According to the team, the fish's ability to store long-term memories could be an evolutionary advantage.
"Fish that remember where food is located have an evolutionary advantage over those that do not" said lead scientist Dr Trevor Hamilton. "If they...
Hit by slime, Caribbean corals could vanish in two decades: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 2nd, 2014
Reuters: Most coral reefs in the Caribbean could vanish in the next two decades, hit by the loss of fish and sea urchins that eat a slime of coral-smothering algae, a U.N.-backed study said on Wednesday. The review, the most comprehensive to date of Caribbean reefs that are vital tourist attractions for many island nations, said climate change had played only a minor role in the reefs' demise, despite past speculation it was a main cause. "With only about one-sixth of the original coral cover left, most...