Rakhshanda's Blog

Penguins From Texas Living happily in Dubai

2012-02-07T12:27:00.001+05:30

Penguins imported from Texas are now living at Ski Dubai — an indoor ski slope in the desert! 10 King and 10 Gentoo are living at the Dubai attraction.
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Cooling Lagoons aim to reduce thermal discharges to marine ecosystems, improve efficiency

2012-01-30T13:09:00.000+05:30

Gulf countries that lack freshwater resources rely deeply on seawater desalination to meet their daily needs and cool down thermal generation plants. According to Gulf News, the United Arab Emirates alone uses four trillion litres of Gulf seawater each year to cool down its power plants, foundries and desalination plants. The byproduct of these operations produces a hot briny fluid that is then pumped back into the Gulf, seriously compromising coral reefs and the overall marine ecosystem. But Crystal Lagoons — the same people who were behind the worlds largest artificial lagoon planned for the Red Sea, is marketing a new closed-loop cooling system that would ensure that no more water would have to be extracted from the Gulf to cool down industrial plants! Thermal power plants require water for cooling, but disposing of that water back into the Gulf is not only harmful to the marine ecosystem, according to Crystal Lagoons, it is also a waste of thermal energy.

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Oil spill on Yellowstone River disrupts farms

2011-07-06T19:02:00.002+05:30

A 12-inch Exxon pipeline ruptured on Friday night about 150 miles downstream from Yellowstone National Park near the town of Laurel, Montana, southwest of Billings, dumping up to 1,000 barrels, or 42,000 gallons, of crude oil into the flood-swollen river.

Toxic fumes from the oil overcame a number of people who reported breathing problems and dizziness and were taken to local hospitals. But state and federal officials on Tuesday said they lacked a tally of health problems or the number of riverside homes that were evacuated after the accident.

Qatar ranked above India, China in innovation index

2011-07-05T11:45:00.000+05:30

Qatar has been ranked 26th in the Global Innovation Index, securing the highest position in the Middle East ahead of even the world's two largest emerging economies China (29) and India (62). The report, prepared jointly by business school INSEAD and few other institutions, said that Qatar improved its world ranking by nine places vis-a-vis its 2010 position.

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Syria: Tanks and troops deployed in restive Hama

2011-07-03T22:15:00.002+05:30

Troops are said to be taking up positions at key entrances to Hama, and in the city centre.Syrian tanks and troops are being deployed in the restive city of Hama after the sacking of its governor, reports say.

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Are Palestinians 'ready' for statehood?

2011-04-24T12:08:00.001+05:30

Under the 1933 Montevideo Convention, the closest thing in international law to a codified definition of what it means to be a country, an entity must have the following things to qualify for statehood:

(a) a permanent population;

(b) a defined territory;
(c) government; and

(d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.

A, c, and d definitely apply to the Palestinian territories. B depends on your definition of "defined," but a theoretical Palestinian state certainly wouldn't be the only one in the world with some unresolved border disputes. So if the Palestinian Authority were to declare itself an independent state, as it plans to in the next few years, would it meet the criteria?

A new U.N. study says yes, the Palestinians qualify for statehood, but also to suggest yet another set of criteria for the process, crediting the PA with achieving sufficient progress in the following areas over recent years:

1. governance, rule of law & human rights;
2. livelihoods & productive sectors;
3. education & culture;
4. health;
5. social protection; and
6. infrastructure & water

Applying this set of qualifications to Palestinian statehood raises the question of what aspiring states not currently recognized by the U.N. would pass the bar: Taiwan certainly, perhaps Northern Cyprus too. A better question: what currently-recognized states wouldn't make the cut. There are more than a handful of U.N. member states with lower standards of governance, economic development, and healthcare than the Palestinian Territories.

The U.N. has welcomed South Sudan's vote for independence, but is there any chance that one of the world's least developed regions would make the cut for sovereignty if it had to demonstrate the kind of economic and political progress seen on the West Bank in recent years?

source: FP

Yemen leader Saleh agrees to step down under Gulf plan

2011-04-24T09:02:00.001+05:30

President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen has agreed to step down under a 30-day transition plan aimed at ending violent unrest over his 32-year rule.

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Iran Eager to own an RS satellite Soon

2011-04-19T21:12:00.000+05:30

Iran intends to design and build a remote sensing (RS) satellite jointly with Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) member states, according to Head of Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli. He said, "Iranian scientists have always taken part in APSCO meetings. Designing and building a RS satellite is one of the fields for cooperation."

"We plan to gain a larger share in building the satellite," Fazeli added. Iran has recently sent the first life-capsule into orbit. The launch aimed at testing the function of programming systems and subsystems. In addition, Kavoshgar 4, carrying the capsule, and three other satellites were unveiled by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in February.

The Islamic Republic launched its first domestically-built satellite, Omid (hope), into orbit in 2009. The Omid data-processing satellite was designed to circle the Earth 15 times every 24 hours and to transmit data via two frequency bands and eight antennas to an Iranian space station.

Iran is one of the 24 founding members of the United Nations' Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was set up in 1959.

Source

Libya pounded from Air and Sea

2011-03-20T14:27:00.001+05:30

The UK, US and France have attacked Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the first action to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone.

Pentagon officials say the US and the UK have fired more than 110 missiles, while French planes struck pro-Gaddafi forces attacking rebel-held Benghazi.

Col Gaddafi has vowed retaliation and said he would open arms depots to the people to defend Libya.

Cruise missiles hit air-defence sites in the capital, Tripoli, and Misrata.

Libyan state TV said 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the attacks. There was no independent confirmation of the deaths.

A French plane fired the first shots against Libyan government targets at 1645 GMT on Saturday, destroying a number of military vehicles, according to a military spokesman.

Iran sets up centre for satellite images

2011-02-17T12:31:00.000+05:30

Iran opened its first centre to receive satellite images, a new stage in its space programme that coincides with celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. According to Defence Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, equipments used in the centre have been manufactured by Iranian engineers.

Iran does not have an operational satellite of its own but announced in December, 2011, that it would launch two satellites -- Fajr (Dawn) and Rasad-1 (Observation-1) by the end of the Iranian year in March 2011.

The Kavoshgar-4 rocket can carry a payload up to 120 kilometres.

Source

MAN-MADE OASIS WILL TRANSFORM THE DESERT IN JORDAN

2011-01-23T11:22:00.000+05:30

An amibitious project to pipe salt water from the Red Sea into the arid coastal city of Aqaba, Jordan, could turn the region into an oasis. A 50-acre demonstration facility, which will combine two technologies -- seawater greenhouses and concentrated solar power -- to grow crops, produce carbon neutral energy and desalinate seawater, has received approval from the government of Jordan and could be operational by 2012, with full-scale commercial use going online in 2015.
read here:http://news.discovery.com/tech/man-made-oasis-will-transform-the-desert.html

Buried Secrets in the Heart of Tel Aviv

2011-01-01T20:48:00.001+05:30

Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University have unearthed some very interesting historical artifacts at an ancient fortress in the city. The fortress, Tel Qudadi, located at the mouth of the Yarkon River, was first excavated over 70 years ago, but the finds were never discovered. New evidence from the site indicates a linkage between ancient Israel and the Greek island of Lesbos.

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'250 billion' plastic fragments in Mediterranean

2010-12-31T11:40:00.000+05:30

Some 250 billion microscopic pieces of plastic are floating in the Mediterranean, creating a biological hazard that reverberates up the food chain, according to research supported by green campaigners.

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Five new data layers to National GIS in Bahrain

2010-12-31T11:33:00.000+05:30

Five new spatial data layers have been added to the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, according to Dr. Khalid Al—Haidan, Director of GIS and member of the National GIS Steering Committee, Bahrain. These layers are special data layers of digital elevations in the Kingdom, health information layer, demographic statistics layers, communications layer and Kingdom geoids layer.

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Could we clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

2010-12-24T22:46:00.002+05:30

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Bolivia slams widely praised climate plan

2010-12-11T12:41:00.000+05:30

Global climate talks made progress late toward a deal to slow global warming despite bitter objections by Bolivia to a widely praised proposal to break a deadlock between rich and poor.

More than 100 environment ministers were expected to work through the night to try to end a row between developing countries and Russia, Canada and Japan, which do not want to extend the Kyoto Protocol that curbs emissions in rich countries until 2012.Many developing nations as well as the European Union, Australia and the United States praised a draft drawn up by host country Mexico in the beach resort of Cancun on the final day of two-week talks. The proposed document refers to "a second commitment period" for Kyoto.

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A High-Yield Biomass Alternative to Petroleum for Industrial Chemicals

2010-11-28T13:04:00.000+05:30

A team of University of Massachusetts Amherst chemical engineers report in November 25 issue of Science that they have developed a way to produce high-volume chemical feedstocks including benzene, toluene, xylenes and olefins from pyrolytic bio-oils, the cheapest liquid fuels available today derived from biomass. The new process could reduce or eliminate industry's reliance on fossil fuels to make industrial chemicals worth an estimated $400 billion annually.

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Mexico eyes climate funds for locally run forests

2010-11-26T23:52:00.000+05:30

Local landowners collectively running a small lumber yard in the pine forests of central Mexico say they are making profits from logging and cutting carbon emissions at the same time.

Eleven communities share one sawmill in the town of Agua Bendita, processing planks for furniture and construction and earning enough to convince them that saving the forest is better than clear-cutting for agriculture.

Global warming, pollution and the future of forests will dominate the agenda when Mexico hosts nearly 200 nations in Cancun from November 29 to December 10 to try to put U.N. climate talks back on track after inconclusive discussions last year.

The cutting and burning of deforestation makes up about 10 percent of human greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are causing rising sea levels and extreme weather.

SMALL PLOTS AND INCOMES

Rich nations are pledging money to a U.N.-backed forest protection scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation -- REDD -- that could lead to a global trade in carbon credits worth $30 billion a year.

Selectively logged and managed forests capture more carbon on average than national parks, said a study released this week by Rights and Resources Initiative and the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry, two groups that support forest collectives.

New trees cultivated after controlled cutting capture more carbon than purely old-growth forests, the study said.

Mexico has several issues that complicate the efforts.

Unlike the rest of the world, where governments largely own forested land, nearly three-quarters of Mexico's wilderness is divided into plots of group-owned property, a legacy of land reforms after the Mexican revolution in the early 1900s.

For now, most Mexicans living off the forest struggle to make ends meet. Because of the slow pace of international talks, it will be a long time until REDD-related aid flows to cooperatives like Agua Bendita, or "holy water."

"Deforestation is an economic decision. The property owner wants to change the land use precisely because the forest does not give him enough income," said Juan Torres, the head of Mexico's national forest commission.

The government has a program in 5.7 million acres (2.3 million hectares) across the country to pay a small stipend in exchange for forest protection.

Source

LIQUID BATTERY COULD HARNESS AND STORE SOLAR ENERGY

2010-11-21T21:10:00.003+05:30

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German protesters mobilise against nuclear waste train

2010-11-08T11:28:00.002+05:30

German police scuffled with protesters as tens of thousands of people gathered in Dannenberg, northern Germany, vowing to block a nuclear waste convoy arriving from France.

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Lightbulb wars: More than just LED

2010-10-23T20:21:00.000+05:30

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Completion date for UAE renewable energy city pushed back

2010-10-11T11:34:00.000+05:30

The completion date for Abu Dhabi's Masdar City, set to be the first in the world powered solely by renewable energy, has been pushed back until between 2020 and 2025.

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Hungary toxic sludge spill reaches Danube

2010-10-08T11:51:00.000+05:30

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First residents move into UAE's 'renewable city'

2010-10-07T22:36:00.003+05:30

Abu Dhabi's planned Masdar City, which is to be the world's first powered solely by renewable energy, now has its first residents -- students at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

full story here

Jordan, Palestinians pull out of cycling tour with Israel

2010-10-06T21:42:00.000+05:30

Jordanians and Palestinians have pulled out of a cycling tour with Israelis to promote environmental awareness a week after Jordan's Islamist-dominated trade unions urged a boycott.

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Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar and Turkey Signed an Accord to Tackle Sand Storms

2010-10-01T16:49:00.000+05:30

Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar and Turkey have inked an accord in Tehran aimed at tackling the problem of sand storms within the next five years, local media reported.

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Privatizing Climate Protection: A New Approach to Fighting Global Warming

2010-09-22T13:03:00.002+05:30

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Drought shrinks Amazon River to lowest level in 47 years

2010-09-17T00:58:00.000+05:30

A severe drought parching northern Brazil this year has shrunk the mighty Amazon River -- the world's longest river -- to its lowest level in 47 year.
read here http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100915/tsc-drought-shrinks-amazon-river-to-lowe-b1f5339.html

Taiwan turns plastic junk to 'green' gold

2010-09-15T17:27:00.000+05:30

The mountains of used plastic bottles at a recycling station in Taipei emit a faint smell of garbage dump, but soon they will be turned into wigs and clothes that people will wear.

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India confirms seven payloads for Chandrayaan-2

2010-08-31T23:40:00.002+05:30

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Ancient Microbes Responsible for Breathing Life Into Ocean 'Deserts'

2010-08-24T02:56:00.001+05:30

More than two and a half billion years ago, Earth differed greatly from our modern environment, specifically in respect to the composition of gases in the atmosphere and the nature of the life forms inhabiting its surface. While today's atmosphere consists of about 21 percent oxygen, the ancient atmosphere contained almost no oxygen. Life was limited to unicellular organisms. The complex eukaryotic life we are familiar with -- animals, including humans -- was not possible in an environment devoid of oxygen.

read on....

Monsoons: Magic or Mayhem

2010-08-17T23:17:00.000+05:30

Since time immemorial, rains have fascinated mankind. Monsoon has been a deliverer for farmers across the sub continent. Monsoon clouds have decided the weather patterns in the sub continent. Poets and bards have extolled the colour and magic she spins. After a parched and treacherous Indian summer, the animal kingdom too loves it.

Yet as global warming stares at us ominously, mankind is just about beginning to see her ferocious mood. The Pak floods, the sudden cloudburst in Ladakh, the landslides in China all hark to one reality: the earth is getting hotter and it isn’t doing us any good.

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Bahrain launches five new geospatial maps

2010-07-18T11:06:00.002+05:30

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Baghdad's Trash Piles Up

2010-07-11T00:54:00.001+05:30

The Baghdad municipality has launched new plans to tackle the capital's rubbish problem, though there are question marks over whether the city has the money or manpower for the clean-up.

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And now the Flying Car named Terrafugia Transition

2010-07-04T17:05:00.000+05:30

It's a two-seater. Front-wheel-drive. Gets about 30 mpg on the highway. But give it a third of a mile of straight asphalt in front of it, and it really flies.

Of course, you have to unfold the wings first.

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Deep in the Ocean Depths

2010-07-04T10:19:00.000+05:30

The dark deeps of the ocean has always been mysterious because they are dark (of course) as well hard to visit and see what is down there. For example the Coelacanth, long thought extinct, lives down deep and was only discovered in 1938 as well the elusive giant squids of legend. A study of the occurrence of fishes in the ocean's deepest reaches (the hadal zone, below 20,000 feet) has provided evidence that some species of fishes are more numerous at such depths than experts had thought. The authors of the study, which is published in the July/August issue of BioScience, observed 10 to 20 snailfish congregating at a depth of 25,000 feet around a baited video lander in the Japan Trench. The observation period lasted only five hours, so the occurrence of so many snailfish was a surprise.

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Environmental Police Close in on Asia's Tiger Traffickers

2010-07-03T19:35:00.001+05:30

Just 30 wild tigers survive in Vietnam and poachers are going after those, but the country's newly established Environmental Police were able to put a stop to some of the illegal trafficking last week.full story

Hurricane Alex Hampers Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Cleanup

2010-06-30T14:34:00.000+05:30

Roaring across the Caribbean, Alex has become the first hurricane of the 2010 season and the first June Atlantic hurricane since 1995, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

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Hurricane Celia strengthens in Pacific off Mexico

2010-06-21T22:12:00.000+05:30

Hurricane Celia, the first hurricane of the 2010 Pacific season, formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico on Sunday but was headed away from land, the U.S.

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Market for fuel cell vehicles to take off by 2020

2010-06-17T12:45:00.001+05:30

Fuel cell vehicles will overcome obstacles and the market will start to see growth within 10 years, according to a report released Wednesday by Pike Research.

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BP Pressed to Set Aside $20 Billion for Oil Spill Costs

2010-06-15T17:28:00.002+05:30

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BSC-EarthView: How Big is the Gulf Oil Spill?

2010-05-25T12:46:00.000+05:30

BSC-EarthView: How Big is the Gulf Oil Spill?

Odd Geometry of Bacteria May Provide New Way to Study Earth's Oldest Fossils

2010-05-23T18:18:00.002+05:30

One way that geologists try to decipher how cells functioned as far back as 3 billion years is by studying modern microbial mats, or gooey layers of nutrient-exchanging bacteria that grow mostly on moist surfaces and collect dirt and minerals that crystallize over time. Eventually, the bacteria turn to stone just beneath the crystallized material, thereby recording their history within the crystalline skeletons. Known as stromatolites, the layered rock formations are considered to be the oldest fossils on Earth.

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BP tries mile-long tube, latest bid to plug leak

2010-05-16T17:58:00.001+05:30

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Calm U.S. Gulf weather aids spill fight

2010-05-05T18:29:00.000+05:30

here

First Atlas Of Yemen Satellite Images Completed

2010-04-27T12:56:00.000+05:30

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India initiates project to study impact of global warming

2010-04-02T20:50:00.002+05:30

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Science justifies California water limits

2010-03-20T23:49:00.001+05:30

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Chile quake halts refineries, copper mines

2010-02-28T10:57:00.001+05:30

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

2010-02-27T00:35:00.001+05:30

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

2010-02-23T13:42:00.002+05:30

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Robot subs to map Arctic sea floor

2010-02-18T14:47:00.001+05:30

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.

Alternative Energy Grows in Europe

2010-02-06T20:50:00.004+05:30

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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Fog in Aligarh

2010-01-23T00:09:00.002+05:30

Help Children of India

2010-01-20T12:33:00.000+05:30

Hello Readers
Got this e-mail from indiblogger.in. Read through and click on the link given below.
Here is a unique opportunity to reach out and impact thousands of lives through your blog. Yes, sitting at your desk and writing a blog post can help educate 40,000 young Indians all over our country!

One of India’s most trusted and credible NGOs, GiveIndia is taking part in a competition on Facebook to win a US$1 million grant. The winner will be the NGO that gets the highest number of votes from Facebook users. The prize of $1 million will help put or keep 40,000 children across India in school for one year!

Imagine the IndiBlogger community coming together to spread the word and help the underprivileged children of India. The impact would be tremendous and together, IndiBloggers and GiveIndia would be able to gather the votes we need to win.

Voting in the competition is for one week only, from Friday, January 15 – Friday, January 22, 2010. Can we make a difference in the next 5 days? We sure hope so!

The link for voting, where you can also see more details of the competition is

http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/338730

There’s been lots of talk about how social media can bring change and make an impact on the world we live in. Well, here is one tangible way for us to take a small action that could have a HUGE outcome.

Higher Temperatures Can Worsen Climate Change, Methane Measurements from Space Reveal

2010-01-18T02:34:00.000+05:30

Higher temperatures on the earth's surface at higher latitudes cause an increase in the emission of methane, a greenhouse gas that plays an important role in global warming. Therefore, higher temperatures are not just a consequence of climate change but can also worsen cause of it, conclude climate researchers in an article published in Science.

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Study report warns Indian states of land degradation

2009-12-21T21:24:00.000+05:30

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NASA Study Shows Major Groundwater Loss in California Since 2003

2009-12-16T19:23:00.001+05:30

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CORS and GPS Station to go live in Nigeria

2009-12-09T12:54:00.000+05:30

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Oil moves down near $77 amid economic uncertainty

2009-11-22T11:39:00.000+05:30

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Green University: Saudi Arabia’s KAUST With Eco-Friendly Environment

2009-11-04T16:02:00.000+05:30

With the opening of the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, otherwise known as KAUST, a new era in academic learning, combined with new innovations in ecological architecture and design, has begun in which both men and women students will benefit jointly.

The new campus opened its doors in September in the Red Sea city of Thuwal. The Campus is constructed in a manner to utilize the maximum benefit of sea breezes for cooling, the buildings have been constructed in order to screen out a good amount of the heat that is generated by the hot Arabian sun; making the internal environment more sustainable for the students.

source

GEC launches Gujarat's first GIS-based website

2009-11-03T00:00:00.000+05:30

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India offers to share satellite data with ASEAN countries

2009-10-29T01:15:00.000+05:30

India offered to help South East Asian nations in management of natural disasters by sharing satellite data for the region and launch small satellites built by them."We would be ready to share satellite data for management of natural disasters, launch small satellites and scientific instruments and payloads for experiments in remote sensing and communication for space agencies and academic institutions in ASEAN countries," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.The Indian Space Research Centre (ISRO) has one of the largest constellation of advanced remote sensing satellites in the world which orbit the earth at regular intervals. Images of the earth received from these satellites can be utilised for disaster management initiatives in the ASEAN region, parts of which are prone to cyclones and earthquakes.

source

Killer Algae was Key Player In Mass Extinctions

2009-10-20T19:53:00.000+05:30

A new theory suggests lowly algae may be the killer behind the world's great species annihilations. Anywhere there is water, there can be toxic algae. The microscopic plants usually exist in small concentrations, but a sudden warming in the water or an injection of dust or sediment from land can trigger a bloom that kills thousands of fish, poisons shellfish, or even humans.

James Castle and John Rodgers of Clemson University think the same thing happened during the five largest mass extinctions in Earth's history. Each time a large die off occurred, they found a spike in the number of fossil algae mats called stromatolites strewn around the planet.

Farmers use vending machines to sell produce

2009-10-12T12:21:00.000+05:30

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Online atlas to map Indian state’s biodiversity 8 October 2009

2009-10-08T19:39:00.000+05:30

The Karnataka Biodiversity Board (KBB) is preparing an online atlas of the state’s biodiversity. The atlas, the first of its kind in the country, will provide information about the diversity of Karnataka’s wildlife species and their habitats and help researchers, resource managers, decision-makers and the public. This would help conservation planning and decisionmaking.The KBB official said that once the atlas was ready, any individual, group or agency concerned about biodiversity and interested in protecting the diverse species and habitats in the state, could access a range of data under one umbrella.The board has identified four organisations— Atree (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment), Bangalore University, EMPRI (Environment Management and Policy Research Institute) and the Forest College of the Agriculture University— for the development and maintenance of this atlas.The National Biodiversity Board would be the primary funding agency for this project. Institutions involved in the project would prepare their respective cost estimates.

Source : http://www.expressbuzz.com

Iran test-fires missiles amid nuclear tension

2009-09-28T08:46:00.001+05:30

Iran test-fired missiles to show it was prepared to head off any military threat, four days before the Islamic Republic is due to hold rare talks with world powers worried about its nuclear ambitions.
It coincide with escalating tension in Iran's nuclear row with the West, after last week's disclosure by Tehran that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant.

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Thinning Of Greenland And Antarctic Ice

2009-09-27T12:24:00.001+05:30

The most comprehensive picture of the rapidly thinning glaciers along the coastline of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets has been created using satellite lasers. The findings are an important step forward in the quest to make more accurate predictions for future sea level rise.

Reporting in the journal Nature, researchers from British Antarctic Survey and the University of Bristol describe how analysis of millions of NASA satellite measurements* from both of these vast ice sheets shows that the most profound ice loss is a result of glaciers speeding up where they flow into the sea.

full story

Everest "memento" for Obama to show climate change impact

2009-09-20T10:06:00.000+05:30

Nepal's sherpa community is sending a piece of rock from Mount Everest to U.S. President Barack Obama to underscore the impact of global warming on the Himalayas.

Environmental group WWF said Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had promised to carry the "memento" and give it to Obama when world leaders meet in New York next week as "a symbol of the melting Himalayas in the wake of climate change."

Heads of state will attend a U.N. General Assembly meeting as well as hold talks on climate change in New York.

The rock was collected from the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) Mount Everest by Apa Sherpa, who climbed the mountain for a record 19th time in May.

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San Francisco Launches First Airport Carbon Kiosks

2009-09-19T20:10:00.000+05:30

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German ships successfully make "Arctic Passage"

2009-09-12T22:40:00.002+05:30

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EPA to declare CO2 a dangerous pollutant

2009-09-01T20:10:00.000+05:30

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Ganges River Dolphin Survival Threatened by Oil Exploration

2009-08-31T14:25:00.001+05:30

Dolphin protected areas must be established if the Ganges River dolphin is to survive in the Brahmaputra river system, new research indicates. The study was prompted by the need for accurate dolphin population data after Oil India Ltd. proposed to start prospecting for oil along the bed of the Brahmaputra River using air guns and explosives.
Such prospecting "has potentially disastrous implications for Ganges River dolphins," the report concludes.Estimates have put the total population of the Ganges River dolphin, Platanista gangetica gangetica, at around 2,000. Between 240 to 300 of these inhabit the Brahmaputra River system in India, according to the survey prepared for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Sir Peter Scott Fund.

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Oil spill sparks evacuation off Australian coast

2009-08-22T00:28:00.002+05:30

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An oil leak off Australia's western coast has sparked the evacuation of dozens of workers from a rig, the operator PTTEP Australasia said .

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Eating carbon - Greenhouse gases

2009-08-20T19:37:00.000+05:30

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Wipro’s Green Gamble

2009-08-20T00:28:00.000+05:30

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For Greening Aviation, Are Biofuels The Right Stuff?

2009-08-15T16:36:00.000+05:30

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3D topographic lunar map by September

2009-08-11T00:09:00.000+05:30

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More Accurate Weather Forecasts Coming Soon

2009-08-07T12:29:00.001+05:30

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Asia darkens under longest solar eclipse of century

2009-07-22T15:13:00.001+05:30

A total solar eclipse on Wednesday swept across a narrow swathe of Asia, where hundreds of millions of people watched the skies darken, though in some places thick summer clouds blocked the sun.

The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century cut through the world's most populous nations, India and China, as it travelled half the globe. It was visible along a roughly 250 km-wide (155 miles) corridor, U.S. space agency NASA said.In India, where eclipse superstitions are rife, people snaked through the narrow lanes of the ancient Hindu holy city of Varanasi and gathered for a dip in the Ganges, an act believed to bring release from the cycle of life and death.Amid chanting of Hindu hymns, thousands of men, women and children waded into the river with folded hands and prayed to the sun as it emerged in an overcast sky."We have come here because our elders told us this is the best time to improve our afterlife," said Bhailal Sharma, a villager from central India travelling in a group of about 100.But for one 80-year-old woman the trip was fatal. Police said she died from suffocation in the crowd of hundreds of thousands that had gathered to bathe in the Ganges.The eclipse next swept through Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and over the crowded cities along China's Yangtze River, before heading to the Pacific.In Hindu-majority Nepal, the government declared Wednesday a public holiday and thousands headed for water.

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Solar eclipse

2009-07-21T23:24:00.001+05:30

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Are Aluminum Bottles Greener than Glass?

2009-07-19T16:36:00.002+05:30

Aluminum as a substitute for glass bottles has been inching its way into the consumer experience in the last few years, most notably in the US in the form of beer bottles from Anheuser-Busch and Iron City Beer, a popular regional brand founded in Pittsburgh. Coca-cola has also announced plans to roll out aluminum bottles in this country, though only in limited venues.

Now Rexam, one of the world’s largest consumer packaging companies, has developed a lighter, resealable aluminum bottle that it hopes will replace glass bottles for many beverages, including wine.

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Environmental Scientists Use Fish Behavior To Monitor Water Quality

2009-07-14T15:43:00.001+05:30

Researchers are using bluegills to detect industrial and agricultural spills in water supplies. Changes in the environment cause the fishes' behavior and breathing patterns to change. Electrodes are placed inside the tanks that contain the fish and water from a nearby water supply, and they set off an alarm if conditions inside the tank change.

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DubaiSat-1 reaches launch pad in Kazakhstan

2009-07-13T19:46:00.002+05:30

The first remote sensing satellite developed by a UAE entity - the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science & Technology (EIAST) has been shipped from its development base in South Korea to the launch pad in Baikonour in Kazakhstan. DubaiSat-1 is a stepping stone in the UAE's attempt to create a sound infrastructure that enables the collection of space and earth observation data to power the comprehensive development of the nation. The satellite highlights the commitment of EIAST to create a knowledge based economy by leveraging the advances in satellite technology.The launch of DubaiSat-1 consists of three segments; space, ground and actual launch. The ground segment comprises mission control station, image receiving and processing station, and antenna and RF subsystem.

NAVTEQ’s first map of Egypt

2009-07-07T19:38:00.001+05:30

NAVTEQ released first Intermediate map for Egypt. The product will represents the highest 3rd party data available published in standard formats supported by NAVTEQ globally.With this Intermediate Map of Egypt, drivers will have access to approximately 50,000 km of roads and more than 42,000 POIs referenced to the map to enhance the functionality of navigation systems.Egypt has a very complex road network, strong tourism industry and is one of the region's most populous nations, with an estimated population of 78.3 million inhabitants. The Intermediate Map of Egypt has been designed to meet the evolving needs of the growing user base. Intermediate Maps are a separate class of map data provided by NAVTEQ to support customers who are interested in introducing LBS and navigation applications in emerging markets. The launch of Egypt further demonstrates NAVTEQ's ongoing commitment to the region. Future plans include upgrading Egypt to a NAVTEQ map. To accomplish this, NAVTEQ's geographic analysts will drive the roads to collect and verify up to 260 attributes, resulting in the highest quality navigable map and a foundation for new content.

Source : http://www.zawya.com/

Topographic map of earth from NASA

2009-07-07T19:23:00.001+05:30

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Cars of the Future will be made of plastic

2009-07-01T00:10:00.001+05:30

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Scientists Show Bacteria Can 'Learn' And Plan Ahead

2009-06-20T22:28:00.002+05:30

Bacteria can anticipate a future event and prepare for it, according to new research at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In a paper that appeared June 17 in Nature, Prof. Yitzhak Pilpel, doctoral student Amir Mitchell and research associate Dr. Orna Dahan of the Institute's Molecular Genetics Department, together with Prof. Martin Kupiec and Gal Romano of Tel Aviv University, examined microorganisms living in environments that change in predictable ways.

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Mounting evidence shows native grasses could destroy explosives pollution

2009-06-18T11:55:00.001+05:30

The notion started with mounting evidence that native grasses could render harmless a common weed killer.....

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Swine Flu Origins Revealed

2009-06-15T10:24:00.000+05:30

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Food Pyramid of Temperate Rain Forest Biome

2009-06-14T18:02:00.002+05:30

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Acid rain

2009-06-14T01:08:00.000+05:30

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Global Warming: Heat Could Kill Drought-stressed Trees Fast

2009-06-10T13:15:00.001+05:30

Widespread die-off of piñon pine across the southwestern United States during future droughts will occur at least five times faster if climate warms by 4 degrees Celsius, even if future droughts are no worse than droughts of the past century, scientists have discovered in experiments conducted at the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2.

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GPS helps in fire-fighting In Chennai ,India

2009-06-09T12:32:00.001+05:30

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Solar-thermal power stations announced

2009-06-07T18:01:00.000+05:30

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Ancient Antarctic Mountains Found Under Miles of Ice

2009-06-06T13:16:00.001+05:30

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Global methane levels on the rise again

2009-06-06T12:20:00.000+05:30

Global Bird Species in Serious Decline

2009-06-02T23:07:00.002+05:30

Researchers have known about the speckled brown Sidamo lark for only 40 years. Always a rare sight, the elusive bird may soon vanish from the prairie grasses of Ethiopia forever.

Its habitat already restricted to less than 100 square kilometers, the lark is rapidly losing territory as local residents, the Borana ethnic group, convert grassland into heavily grazed pasture. Unless the Borana are allowed to resume their nomadic ways, within the next few years the Sidamo lark will likely become the first known bird species to vanish from mainland Africa, researchers say.

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Small Wind Beginning to Make a Big Difference

2009-06-01T21:09:00.001+05:30

Astronomers probe close to supermassive black hole's edge

2009-05-28T11:55:00.000+05:30