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Use of mercury in gold mining stirs controversy in Brazil
Posted by SciDev.Net: Catarina Chagas on August 1st, 2012
SciDev.Net: Scientists in Brazil have expressed concern that new regulations in the country's Amazonas state continue to permit the use of mercury in gold mining, and have put forward what they say are more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
Mercury is used mainly in small-scale 'artisanal' mining, using amalgamation processes that extract gold from other minerals by binding it to the mercury, and then burning off the mercury.
This activity is increasing in developing countries across Latin America...
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Global water estimates ‘uncertain’
Posted by SciDev.Net: Catarina Chagas on July 4th, 2012
SciDev.Net: Great uncertainty exists regarding estimates of the global water budget (the amount of water involved in the hydrological cycle every year) because of discrepancies between global atmosphere and ocean models, and direct observations, a study has found. Furthermore, these uncertainties may worsen as the number of water measurement stations around the world decrease -- providing fewer opportunities to verify modelling data on the ground, according to the authors of the study, which was published in...