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Massachusetts Might Become the Second State in the US to Ban Fracking
Posted by Softpedia: None Given on December 2nd, 2013
Softpedia: Massachusetts moves to impose 10-year moratorium on fracking The state of Massachusetts in the US has high chances to become the country's second ever to ban the practice of fracking, otherwise known as hydraulic fracturing.
For those unaware, fracking boils down to injecting high-pressurized water, sand, and chemicals in the underground in order to split open rocks and make it easier to access oil and gas.
Last week, the state's Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Massachusetts Might Become the Second State in the US to Ban FrackingTwo Lakes Discovered Under Greenland’s Ices
Posted by Softpedia: None Given on November 28th, 2013
Softpedia: A team of researchers with the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) from the University of Cambridge announces the discovery of two subglacial lakes in Greenland, the first of their kind to be found on the island. Similar formations were thus far only known to exist beneath the Antarctic ice sheets.
According to the research group, these lakes are now only one third of their previous area. Measurements conducted by the team revealed that each of the two lakes covers an area of 8 to 10 square...
World’s Forests Show Decrease Photosynthetic Activity
Posted by Softpedia: None Given on November 23rd, 2013
Softpedia: An international collaboration of scientists argues in a new study that the world's forests have been undergoing a browning process for more than 20 years, and say that this process leads to a significant decrease in overall photosynthetic activity. Photosynthesis is one of the most important natural processes occurring anywhere on Earth. Through it, plants convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into oxygen, in the presence of light, water and nutrients from the ground. Without it, we would...
US Water Reserves Dwindling, NASA Study Shows
Posted by Softpedia: None Given on November 1st, 2013
Softpedia: According to a paper published this summer in the respected journal Science, the amount of freshwater available for consumption in the United States is declining, a phenomenon fueled in part by global warming.
This conclusion is based on data collected by the NASA/DLR Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) spacecraft.
The observations cover 9 years (2003-2012) and showcase how freshwater storage rates have changed over the continental US. As visible in the image above, most of the...