Bremerhaven, Germany (SPX) Oct 05, 2006 - Several days ago, the 'Maria S Merian' returned from her second Arctic expedition with data confirming trends of Arctic warming. Compared to last summer, the water that flows from the Norwegian Sea to the Arctic has been an average 0.8 degrees Celsius warmer this summer, says expedition leader Dr Ursula Schauer of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research.
Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 05, 2006 - While cool August temperatures prevented sea ice in the Arctic from reaching its lowest summer extent on record, 2006 continued a pattern of sharp annual decreases due to rising temperatures probably caused by greenhouse warming, according to University of Colorado at Boulder researchers.
Coronado CA (AFNS) Oct 05, 2006 - Naval Base Coronado's energy conservation efforts reached a major milestone Sept. 29 when the solar photovoltaic carport registered more than 5 million kilowatt-hours produced. The PV carport is a covered parking lot for 446 cars. Solar panels cover the roof, collecting energy for use on the base.
Davis CA (SPX) Oct 05, 2006 - Sudden shifts in temperature over Greenland and tropical rainfall patterns during the last ice age have been linked for the first time to rapid changes in the salinity of the north Atlantic Ocean, according to research published Oct. 5 in the journal Nature. The results provide further evidence that climate change can have a direct and rapid impact on ocean circulation and chemistry.
Ann Arbor MI (SPX) Oct 05, 2006 - In the history of life on earth, one intriguing mystery is how plants made the transition from water to land and then went on to diversify into the array of vegetation we see today, from simple mosses and liverworts to towering redwoods.
Oslo (AFP) Oct 05, 2006 - Norway, the world's third largest oil producer, said Thursday it would create a 20-billion-kroner (3-billion-dollar, 2.4-billion-euro) fund to promote renewable energy. The government's 2007 budget proposal, to be presented on Friday, includes the provision of 10 billion kroner for the fund and a further 10 billion in 2009.
Davis CA (SPX) Oct 05, 2006 - Sudden decreases in temperature over Greenland and tropical rainfall patterns during the last Ice Age have been linked for the first time to rapid changes in the salinity of the north Atlantic Ocean, according to research published Oct. 5, 2006, in the journal Nature. The results provide further evidence that ocean circulation and chemistry respond to changes in climate.
Newark NJ (SPX) Oct 05, 2006 - America's energy future is choice, not fate, and U.S. dependence on oil can be eliminated with proven technologies that create wealth and strengthen security. That's the message Nathan Glasgow of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) will bring to New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in his presentation on Oct. 25, 2006, at NJIT's Technology and Society Forum. Admission is free and the public is invited.
The Hague (AFP) Oct 04, 2006 - The rapid urbanisation of coastal lands is turning the worlds seas into garbage dumps, a UN report warned Wednesday, calling for urgent funds to tackle the problem of waste water and sewage. An estimated 80% of marine pollution originates from the land and this could rise significantly by 2050, the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said.
Islamabad (AFP) Oct 04, 2006 - Pakistan's earthquake relief chief says reconstruction is on track one year after the disaster that killed 73,000 and made three million homeless, despite widespread complaints from survivors. The 7.6-magnitude quake on October 8, 2005 destroyed more than 600,000 homes, 6,000 schools, dozens of healthcare centres and thousands of kilometres (miles) of mountain roads.
Beirut, Lebanon (UPI) Oct 04, 2006 - Amid the setbacks inflicted on democratic progress in the Middle East by recent or ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon, and the threat of religious extremism, heartening news about home-grown democratic initiatives is worth celebrating.
Hanoi (AFP) Oct 04, 2006 - The death toll in Vietnam from Typhoon Xangsane rose Wednesday to 52 with another seven people missing, officials said, as the clean-up operation swung into full gear. State media said most of them were electrocuted or had been killed by fallen trees or collapsed houses. Although the typhoon has moved on since slamming into central Vietnam early Sunday, officials said they were still worried about floods and landslides as rains remained very heavy in some areas.
Nairobi (AFP) Oct 4, 2006 - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday announced the creation of a global network of emergency aid depots to speed responses to the growing number of humanitarian emergencies around the world. The agency said the five hubs -- in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America -- would be stocked with strategic supplies of relief goods and equipment that could be delivered to crisis zones within 48 hours.
United Nations (UPI) Oct 03 2006 - A formal vote by the U.N. Security Council will not be held until next week, but it seems all but certain the South Korean candidate for U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has clinched the council's recommendation. And yet, even as the final vote approaches -- the 15-member U.N. Security Council is scheduled to finalize its recommendation Monday, and the candidate is expected to be pushed through the General Assembly soon thereafter -- there are no plans for a public forum to weigh his credentials.
Moscow (AFP) Oct 03, 2006 - The head of Russian oil group Rosneft said Tuesday that the Sakhalin-1 energy project, which the company is developing with US group ExxonMobil, fully respected environmental legislation. The Sakhalin-2 project, also on the Island of Sakhalin off Russia's eastern coast, has been hit by environmental inspections and an essential permit required for work has been withdrawn by Russian authorities.
St. Louis MO (SPX) Oct 02, 2006 - The Boeing team that is building the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system has successfully completed a key risk reduction milestone by selecting a vendor for the optical sensor that will fly aboard the Pathfinder spacecraft.
