Dutch astronomers and ecologists are working with Leiden University on a project, MONOCLE, that allows people to measure the quality of their water, simply by taking a photo with their smartphones.
Italy's constitutional court ruled on Wednesday a national referendum could be held against the construction of nuclear power plants, dealing a potential blow to government plans to relaunch the sector. Italy is the only Group of Eight industrialized nation that does not produce nuclear power, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi aims wants nuclear plants to generate a quarter of the country's
<p>U.S. oil refiner Valero Energy Corp will invest up to $50 million in a plant that will produce ethanol from wood, a major mainstream backing for the emerging technology. The investment in venture capital-backed Mascoma Corp includes a deal for Valero to purchase the facility's 40 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol, the companies said on Thursday in a joint statement.
A tiny Canadian startup company that is preparing to open a biodiesel plant in Toronto this spring says it will produce clean fuel, animal feed and human food all from the modest flax seed. Privately held Energy Innovation Corp, which has also developed a way to produce biofuel from used coffee grounds, said its production process creates multiple revenue streams, but no waste. "The demand i
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will detail on Tuesday a tender for the construction of the country's first offshore wind power farms, an ecology ministry spokeswoman said on Monday. France aims to build wind power capacity of 25,000 megawatts by 2020, including 6,000 MW offshore, for an investment of 20 billion euros ($27.1 billion) to meet its goal of generating enough green energy to cover
Greenpeace said activists climbed a cooling tower at a Spanish nuclear power station on Tuesday, and the environmental group called on the regulator to reject the plant's bid to renew its operating permit next month. The Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) said the 1,000 megawatt Cofrentes plant had declared an emergency alert but was working normally after 14 activists broke through the perimeter fen
The number of tigers in India has plummeted to around 1,411, nearly half the previous estimate, according to a government survey. Here are some key facts about the tiger: - The largest of all cats, the tiger is one of the most fearsome predators in the world. It can weigh up to 450 kg (1,000 lb) and measure around 10 feet (three metres) from nose to the tip of the tail. - Tiger numbers in the wild are thought to have plunged from 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to between 5,000 and 7,000 today.
Farmers around the world continued to plant more land with genetically modified crops in 2007, according to a biotech industry-sponsored report released Wednesday. Here are key facts from the report issued by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, also known as ISAAA: * Biotech crop acres in 2007 totaled 114.3 million hectares, or 282.4 million acres, an increase of 12 percent over 2006.
Beijing will ban sales of new cars that fail to meet new emission standards starting from March, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, in another move to clean up its air before the August Olympic Games. All new cars are required to meet the new national standards that are equivalent to Euro IV standards, Xinhua said, citing Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the city's Environment Protection Bureau. The tougher emission standards will extend to heavy vehicles used for public transportation, sanitation and mail services from July, the report said. About a third of the main pollutants in Beijing such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide come from vehicle exhaust, said Du. The new standards are estimated to cut emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides by 48,000 tonnes, 5,300 tonnes and 4,100 tonnes, respectively, this year. The capital city will keep a ban on diesel vehicles which emit three times as much nitrogen oxide as gasoline-power ones, Du was quoted as saying. Beijing already ordered petrol stations in the city to sell gasoline and diesel that meet Euro IV standards at the start of 2008. The city has about 3.1 million motor vehicles, and every day about 1,200 new ones hit the road, Xinhua said. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Jeremy Laurence) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
At least 115 Panamanians died after drinking toxic cough syrup in 2006, investigators said on Thursday, as the slow probe into the health disaster turned up more cases. Jose Oro, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Affairs, said recent clinical tests had shown at least 115 people died after taking cough syrup that was adulterated with diethylene glycol, a poisonous substance normally used in engine coolant. The Chinese-made toxin was mistaken for a sweetener by government drug manufacturers, who made low-cost medicines for Panama's poorest people. Investigators previously estimated the drug had killed 94 people, mainly from kidney failure or related ailments. Investigations are only slowly turning up new cases because of the number of people involved. Only around 20 percent of the 763 people tested to date have actually shown traces of the deadly drug, according to a government study. (Reporting by Andrew Beatty, editing by Todd Eastham) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
