Rich foreign countries are buying up Thai farmland to ensure their own food supplies, said Sanitsuda Ekachai. An international nonprofit farmers’ rights group has documented “an alarming trend of governments and corporations buying up farmland on a large scale in more than 60 developing countries.” The rush began after the global food crisis of 2007-08, when rich countries realized they […]
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In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientists from three universities show that products made in China are associated with significantly higher carbon dioxide emissions than the same products made elsewhere. “The amazing increase in Chinese manufacturing over the past 15 years has driven the world economy to new heights and supplied consumers in developed countries with […]
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Penguins Relocate, resulting in many other geological changes. The Antarctic Peninsula, one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth, is experiencing significant environmental changes due to rising temperatures. As the ice retreats, both the physical landscape and the region’s delicate ecosystems are undergoing dramatic transformations. A major consequence of this warming is the shifting distribution of penguin colonies. These iconic birds, […]
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Worrying about everyday problems will shorten your life. A British study found that people who reported feeling even mild anxiety—the sort that distracted them, depleted their self-confidence, or occasionally kept them awake at night were 16 percent more likely to die over a 10-year period than people with no such concerns. About one in four people experiences mild anxiety, but […]
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The newest professor in the University of Rhode Island’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences, Hollie Putnam, thinks some corals and shellfish might have good enough “memories” to buffer the changes in ocean chemistry that are resulting from the effects of climate change on coral reefs. A native of Minnesota who earned a doctorate at the University of Hawaii, […]
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More than 100 intense Arctic wildfires have ravaged the Arctic since June, with scientists describing them as “unprecedented.” Satellite images show huge clouds of smoke billowing across uninhabited Arctic land in Greenland, Siberia and parts of Alaska. The wildfires come after the planet experienced the hottest June on record and is on track to experience the hottest July on record, […]
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The Flint water crisis. A health catastrophe uncovered by a doctor at the Flint, MI Public Hospital. Dr. Mona as she is referred to is also a professor at Flint, MI state university’s College of Medicine. Call it fate, but Dr. Mona was in the right place at the right time when she discovered the horrific safety hazards posed by […]
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On Aug 12, two blasts ripped through a warehouse in Tianjin Port, where large amounts of toxic chemicals were stored, including around 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide. Death toll from the blasts exceed 160. Thousands of dead fish washed up on a riverbank near the site of the explosions last week. White foam filled the streets during the first rain […]
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Beijing The cloud of pollution over Beijing grew so dense this week that much of the city was rendered invisible. Hundreds of flights were grounded, auto traffic was stalled for scores of miles, and residents rushed to buy masks and air filters. Chinese officials downplayed the air-quality crisis, as usual, saying their readings showed that air pollution was “moderate.” But […]
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Babies exposed to air pollution in the womb are more likely to have autism than those whose mothers spend pregnancy in clean air, according to a new study. In the largest study of its kind, UCLA researchers compared levels of air pollutants, mostly related to vehicle traffic, during pregnancy gestation periods of 7,603 children with autism and 75,635 children without […]
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