In what appears to be an example of lightning-quick evolution, the size of African and Indian Elephants’ tusks have grown dramatically smaller in the last 150 years. Oxford scientists suggest that poaching might be the cause of this never-before-seen rate of evolution.
China Announces Plastic Bag Ban
The Chinese government has announced that as of June of this year, flimsy pastic bags will be banned from use and production in the country. The country – which currently uses 3 billion plastic bags a day – is encouraging people to use traditional baskets or cloth bags as an alternative.
Abu Dhabi Unveil Plans for Sustainable City
Working with the World Wildlife Fund, the government of Abu Dhabi has announced plans to start construction of Masdar City – the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city.
Synthetic Fuel From a Solar Collector
Researchers from the US Department of Energy have created a device called the Counter Rotating Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (CR5), which can create hydrogen from water and sunlight and can also split carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide that can be used to create synthetic hydrocarbon fuels.
New Sun Cycle Raises Risk of Disruptive Solar Storms
The appearance of a newborn sunspot on the surface of the Sun marks the beginning of a new solar cycle that will bring with it more intense solar activity which holds the possibility to disrupt power grids, communications, and even ATM transactions on Earth.
Las Vegas to Build World's First 30 Story Vertical Farm
The city of Las Vegas, Nevada is planning to construct a $200 million, 30 story farm that is expected to feed 72,000 people a year and – once functional – be as profitable as a casino.
Insect Attack May Have Been Death Knell for Dinosaurs
A new book authored by George and Roberta Poinar presents the hypothesis that the death knell of the mighty dinosaurs was the introduction of disease-carrying insects, as opposed to the sudden impact theories so prevalent today.
NASA Scientists To Fly Over Arctic to Study New Year Meteor Shower
On the evening of January 3, NASA scientists and astronomers will make a 10 hour flight over the arctic to gather data on the Quadrantid meteor shower, which experts are saying will be the most brilliant meteor shower of 2008.
Energy Tower: Power for 15 Earths?
Researchers at Israel’s Technicion have developed an energy tower they say could produce 15 to 20 times the total electricity the world uses today, be used as a desalination device and even reverse some of the adverse effects of global warming.
Mitigating Climate Change with Geoengineering
As scientists debate whether human activity will lead to disastrous or catastrophic climate change, some discuss how geoengineering could mitigate the changes through global manipulation of the environment. Yikes!