Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Predictions of oil on Atlantic beaches off
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Predictions this summer of oil-fouled beaches across Florida and all the way up the East Coast from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill got...
Melting Sea Ice Forces Walruses Ashore in Alaska
Incident Has Happened Twice Before, in 2007 and 2009, Because Sea Ice They Normally Rest on Has Melted
Oil 2-Inches Thick Found On Gulf Sea Floor
Scientist Shocked by Samples of "Dense" Sludge a Mile Below Surface, and as Far as 80 Miles from BP Well
Megrahi interest curious, Scotland says
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Scottish officials Thursday noted with interest that U.S. lawmakers investigating the release of the Lockerbie bomber issued no complaints in 2009. ...
EU, Africa team up to boost energy access
VIENNA, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The European Union has pledged to by 2020 provide 100 million Africans with clean and sustainable energy. ...
Shell looks to carbon-capture in Canada
CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Carbon dioxide captured from the production of oil sands in Canada will allay environmental concerns associated with development, Shell said. ...
China announces new submersible craft
BEIJING, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- China says its recently announced Jiaolong submersible craft is designed to go deeper than any other in the world. ...
Home energy monitors may not cut electricity use
(PhysOrg.com) -- Home energy monitors (smart meters or Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS)), monitor the energy used by households and/or individual appliances within the home, and they are often recommended...
For Many, ‘Washroom’ Seems to Be Just a Name
Observers watched people in stadiums and other places to see if they washed their hands after using restroom. Many did not.
EPA told gas drilling does, does not taint water
(AP) -- Rep. Maurice Hinchey told a federal hearing Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate hydraulic fracturing, the natural gas extraction process that he said has contaminated...
Dust affects on climate to be examined
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Sept. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they will spend three years studying the impact about 770 million tons of dust wafting from the Sahara Desert each...
Rescue plane en route to evacuate man in Antarctica
A rescue plane is in the air en route to McMurdo Station in Antarctica in an effort to evacuate an American crew member from the U.S. research station, LiveScience has...
Scientists find 'rubble pile' asteroids
TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Asteroids made of gravel-sized rocks held together by gravity could hit the Earth like a shotgun blast rather than a single cannonball,...
Satellites reveal Russian fires worst in 14 years
(PhysOrg.com) -- More wildfires have burned around the Russian capital this year than in the last decade and a half, according to sensors aboard ESA's observation satellites. The forest...
Chilean data could help predict size of earthquakes
Monitoring the build up of stress along fault lines could enable better earthquake preparedness.
CDC: Utah leads US for breast-feeding, 9 of 10 try
(AP) -- A new government report says Utah leads the nation in breast-feeding with 9 in 10 Utah mothers trying it and about 6 in 10 sticking with it...
Younger, hotter Earth still not understood
Plate tectonics may not have operated on a younger and hotter Earth according to new research from the University of Bristol carried out on preserved remnants of ancient continental crust...
The sun and volcanic eruptions pace North Atlantic climate swings
Changes in solar intensity and volcanic eruptions act as a metronome for temperature variations in the North Atlantic climate, according to new research. Scientists studied the climate in the North...
New theory provides better basis for biodiversity conservation
A mathematical model that provides a more effective basis for biodiversity conservation than existing frameworks has been developed by a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Space technology spin-off aids mining
Dutch company EstrellaSat, supported by ESA, is using space technology to raise the productivity and safety of heavy-duty mining machines. Full-scale field trials began in August at an open mine...
Big plans at southern Iraqi oil field
BAGHDAD, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- An Asian consortium of oil companies is set to start developing the Gharraf oil fields in Iraq by the end of the year, the...
Romania confirms South Stream interest
BUCHAREST, Romania, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Romanian officials, during talks with Gazprom in Bucharest, stated their willingness to help build the South Stream gas pipeline, the Russian gas company...
ASUS introduces the Eee PC 1015PEM dual core netbook
ASUS today announces the launch of the Eee PC 1015PEM with the latest Intel Atom N550 dual core processor. This processor gives the 1015PEM a level of performance that surpasses...
Australia hopes for carbon capturing 'sponges'
Australian scientists said Monday they are working to develop "molecular sponges" that they hope will soak up carbon gases and help in the fight to contain greenhouse gas pollution.
Logging spells danger for Europe's last primeval forest
Deep in the forest, along a dirt road off-limits to tourists, the trunks of centuries-old fir trees lie waiting to be hauled to a sawmill -- felled giants from Europe's...
Taiwan turns plastic junk to 'green' gold
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...
Giant ice island breaks in two
NEWARK, Del., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A giant iceberg four times the size of Manhattan that split off from a Greenland ice sheet last month has split in two,...
Daley supports reversing river flow
CHICAGO, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Chicago's mayor says undoing a historic engineering feat, when the Chicago River's flow was reversed away from the Great Lakes, could improve their ecology. ...