Chile quake halts refineries, copper mines

A powerful earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday halted production at two oil refineries and two major mines in the world's top copper supplier, but exports of the metal will not be affected, officials said.

The 8.8-magnitude quake forced state mining company Codelco to halt operations at its El Teniente and Andina mines, and Mining Minister Santiago Gonzalez said it could take two days for production to resume. Other Codelco operations were unaffected.

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Environmental disaster looms from River Po oil spill

A giant oil slick threatened wildlife, fishing grounds and tourist spots Thursday as it moved down the Po, Italy's longest river, towards the sea, defying all efforts to stem its progress.
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Indonesian forests expand but doubt on image analysis

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Robot subs to map Arctic sea floor

Two robot submarines will plunge into the Arctic next month in an effort to help Canada stake a claim to a large swath of potentially mineral-rich seafloor in the polar region. According to Larry Mayer, chief scientist of the mission, apart from the land claims, the missions have scientific significance. The Arctic maps could also have important ramifications with respect to climate modelling and climate change because the global distribution of heat is controlled by ocean currents. Where heat flows is often controlled by the sea floor.

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Alternative Energy Grows in Europe

Wind and solar technology made up over half of Europe’s new electricity generating capacity in 2009, as the number of new coal and nuclear facilities fell

More wind capacity was installed in Europe during 2009 than any other electricity-generating technology, according to statistics released today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
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