India Plans Smart Cities for ‘Harmonious Living With Nature’
India’s Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed serious concern over rising air pollution and deteriorating sanitation in urban areas impacting quality of urban life and called for reorientation of urban design and planning approaches to promote such a harmony.
Earth’s ocean abyss has not warmed, NASA study finds
The cold waters of Earth's deep ocean have not warmed measurably since 2005, according to a new NASA study, leaving unsolved the mystery of why global warming appears to have slowed in recent years.
Air pollution increases river flows, study shows
Air pollution has had a significant impact on the amount of water flowing through many rivers in the northern hemisphere, a new study shows.
$1 Trillion Trove of Rare Minerals Revealed Under Afghanistan
Despite being one of the poorest nations in the world, Afghanistan sits on a gold mine: Nearly $1 trillion worth minerals in the world which is something U.S. desperately wants for mobile phones, televisions, weapons systems, wind turbines, MRI machines and the regenerative brakes of hybrid cars. But Afghanistan entrusted and signed mining rights to China and India.
USA sinking? Louisiana’s growing sinkhole unstoppable, swallowing trees in seconds
Local U.S. officials say that the opening in the earth in the state of Louisiana is growing and unstoppable, swallowing trees in seconds.
Ecosystems change long before species are lost
Communities in nature are likely to be a lot more sensitive and fragile to change than previously thought, according to a new study.
China has potential to be leader in global sustainability
China, with its enormous cities and vast countryside, is a potential star in the ongoing global drama of slashing carbon emissions.
‘Pretty’ beaches leave tiny sand-dwelling critters homeless and suffer extinctions
Where the average sunbather may only see beauty in wide, flat swath of sandy beaches, the scientists see peril for plant and animal alike.
Mere Fear-Propaganda: Researchers say ‘peak oil’ concerns should ease
Fears of depleting the Earth's supply of oil are unwarranted, according to new research, which concludes that the demand for oil – as opposed to the supply – will reach its own peak and then decline. "Peak oil" prognosticators have painted pictures of everything from a calm development of alternatives to calamitous shortages, panic and even social collapse as the world reaches its peak of oil production – and then supplies fall.
Declassified: French nuclear tests ‘showered vast area of Polynesia with radioactivity’
Declassified papers reveal that plutonium fallout hit the whole of French Polynesia, a much broader area than France had previously admitted. Tahiti, the most populated island, was exposed to 500 times the maximum accepted levels of radiation. The impact spread as far as the tourist island, Bora Bora.
Serengeti road divides biologists
Serengeti National Park in Tanzania may be the most iconic national park in the world. Here, lions, leopards, elephants, hippos and giraffes wander free. Rivers of wildebeests, zebra and Thompson’s gazelles – more than 2 million all told – cross the landscape in one of the largest animal migrations on the planet. While the park is ideally located for wandering wildebeests, its location is less than ideal for the region’s residents. They see the undeveloped park as a formidable barrier to trade and travel. To address this, the Tanzania government now plans to build a gravel road across 50 km of the northern part of the park to link the country’s coast to Lake Victoria and countries to the west, including Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Plans for the road have raised an international outcry.
Warning to Pacific Northwest: Massive Cascadia 9.0+ quake on the horizon
Great Subduction Zone earthquakes are the largest earthquakes in the world, and can exceed magnitude 9.0. Earthquake size is proportional to fault area, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone is a very long sloping fault that stretches from mid-Vancouver Island to Northern California. It separates the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. Because of the very large fault area, the Cascadia Subduction Zone could produce a very large earthquake. The last known great earthquake in the northwest was the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. The next rupture of the Cascadia Subduction Zone is anticipated to be capable of causing widespread destruction throughout the Pacific Northwest. Ocean floor is sinking below the continental plate offshore of Washington and Oregon. The North American Plate moves in a general southwest direction, overriding the oceanic plate. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is where the two plates meet. The Cascadia subduction zone is of particular interest to geologists and coastal managers because geological evidence points to recurring seismic activity along the fault line, with intervals between 300 and 500 years. With the last major event occurring in 1700, another earthquake could be on the horizon. The most active volcanoes in the chain include Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Baker, Lassen Peak, and Mt. Hood. St. Helens captured worldwide attention when it erupted catastrophically in 1980. Major cities affected by a disturbance in this subduction zone would include Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Sacramento, California. A better understanding of how such an event might unfold has the potential to save lives.
