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| December 12, 2013 |
 Japan to spend $970 mn on nuclear soil store: report Tokyo (AFP) Dec 11, 2013 - Japan is planning to earmark 100 billion yen ($970 million) for a storage facility for tens of thousands of tonnes of soil contaminated with radiation from the Fukushima disaster, a report said Wednesday. The government will set aside the cash to buy some 3 to 5 square kilometres (1.2 to 2 square miles) of land somewhere near the crippled plant, the Asahi Shimbun reported. But finding a ... more |  |
 Geoengineering approaches to reduce climate change unlikely to succeed Munich, Germany (SPX) Dec 10, 2013 - Reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the planet's surface by geoengineering may not undo climate change after all. Two German researchers used a simple energy balance analysis to explain how the Earth's water cycle responds differently to heating by sunlight than it does to warming due to a stronger atmospheric greenhouse effect. Further, they show that this difference implies that ref ... more |  |
 US top court examines rules on cross-border air pollution Washington (AFP) Dec 10, 2013 - The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments on environmental rules aiming to reduce smog that drifts from one state to another. An appeals court in Washington has blocked the Environmental Protection Agency's "good neighbor" regulations, saying the agency exceeded its authority, after 14 states and several industry groups appealed. But nine states and six cities have asked the top c ... more |  |
 Putin orders military to boost Arctic presence Moscow (AFP) Dec 10, 2013 - President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's military on Tuesday to step up its presence in the Arctic after Canada signalled it planned to claim the North Pole and surrounding waters. The tough and rapid response to Canada's announcement reflected Russia's desire to protect its oil and natural gas interests in the pristine but energy-rich region amid competing claims there by countries that al ... more |  |
Canada to claim North Pole: minister Ottawa (AFP) Dec 10, 2013 - Canada signalled intentions to claim the North Pole and surrounding Arctic waters while announcing Monday the filing of a UN application seeking to vastly expand its Atlantic sea boundary. After a decade of surveying the country's eastern and far north seabeds and gathering supporting evidence, a claim was submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on Friday. Fore ... more |  |
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Showdown on Iraqi Kurds' oil, gas is looming Erbil, Iraq (UPI) Dec 11, 2013 - The thorny dispute over Iraqi Kurdistan's oil riches is likely to heat up in the weeks ahead, aggravating tensions in a flashpoint region at a time when al-Qaida bombers are wreaking havoc across the country spurred by the civil war raging in next-door Syria. The semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government in the Kurdish enclave that spans three provinces in northern Iraq wants to expor ... more |  |
 Google opens first data centres in Asia Taipei (AFP) Dec 11, 2013 - US search engine giant Google Wednesday opened its first data centres in Asia to cater for soaring demand, and said it would double its planned investment in the Taiwan facility to $600 million. Google inaugurated one of the new centres at an industrial park at Changhua in central Taiwan, and said a similar facility in Singapore was also up and running as of Wednesday. The company last y ... more |  |
 Myanmar businesses call for better deal from China Yangon (AFP) Dec 11, 2013 - Leading Myanmar firms called on China Wednesday to improve investment practices in its impoverished neighbour, amid increasing scrutiny of Beijing's sometimes controversial projects. China is a long-term ally of former military-ruled Myanmar. It accounts for the lion's share of the country's foreign direct investment - about 33 percent - and is considered a crucial trading partner. But ... more |  |
India to offer BHP Billiton incentives to keep oil and gas blocks? New Delhi (UPI) Dec 11, 2013 - India is trying to convince mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. to stay invested in the country, and may offer a partnership with state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. as an incentive, an oil ministry official said. Melbourne, Australia-based BHP announced its decision in October to relinquish nine of its 10 Indian oil and gas exploratory fields after it failed to secure clearance from the I ... more |  |
 More logging, deforestation may better serve climate in some areas Hanover, NH (SPX) Dec 10, 2013 - Replacing forests with snow-covered meadows may provide greater climatic and economic benefits than if trees are left standing in some regions, according to a Dartmouth College study that for the first time puts a dollar value on snow's ability to reflect the sun's energy. The findings suggest more frequent logging or deforestation may better serve our planet and pocketbooks in high latitu ... more |  |
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Chinese newspaper blasts state TV for tribute to smog Beijing (AFP) Dec 10, 2013 - A Chinese newspaper lashed out Tuesday at the state broadcaster for crediting the country's choking air pollution with making the nation more equal, branding it a sycophantic stunt to curry favour with Communist authorities. China Central Television (CCTV) carried a commentary on its website that claimed the smoggy haze, which has worsened in recent years and blanketed many Chinese cities la ... more |  |
 US takes last shipment of Russian uranium Washington (AFP) Dec 10, 2013 - The United States has taken delivery of its last shipment of downgraded uranium from Russia, signaling the end of a 20-year program to neutralize around 500 tonnes of the weapons-grade material, the White House said Tuesday. "Today the United States and Russia are commemorating the completion of one of the most successful non-proliferation programs in our history," National Security Council ... more |  |
Pentagon chief affirms Qatar, US defence ties Al-Udeid Airbase, Qatar (AFP) Dec 10, 2013 - Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel reaffirmed US military ties with Qatar on Tuesday, during a regional tour aimed at shoring up Gulf alliances amid disagreements over policy on Iran and Syria. Hagel met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his minister of state for defence, Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah, in Doha where they renewed a defence agreement. US air force commander ... more |  |
Polymers can be semimetals Linkoping, Sweden (SPX) Dec 11, 2013 - Polymers can behave like insulators, semiconductors and metals - as well as semimetals. Twenty researchers, under the leadership of Xavier Crispin, Docent in organic electronics at Linkoping University, are behind the breakthrough published in Nature Materials. Traditional plastics, or polymers, are electrical insulators. In the seventies a new class of polymers that conduct electricity li ... more |  |
 Oregon scientists offer new insights on controlling nanoparticle stability Eugene OR (SPX) Dec 11, 2013 - University of Oregon chemists studying the structure of ligand-stabilized gold nanoparticles have captured fundamental new insights about their stability. The information, they say, could help to maintain a desired, integral property in nanoparticles used in electronic devices, where stability is important, or to design them so they readily condense into thin films for such things as inks or cat ... more |  |
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A Stopwatch for Electron Flashes Munich, Germany (SPX) Dec 11, 2013 - Physicists at LMU Munich and the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics measure the duration of energetic electron pulses using laser fields. A stopwatch made of light can determine the duration of extremely brief electron flashes. Teams based in the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics (LAP) at LMU and at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have, for the first time, succeeded in measu ... more |  |
Deep Carbon Observatory scientists discover quick recipe for producing hydrogen Washington, DC (SPX) Dec 11, 2013 - Scientists in Lyon, a French city famed for its cuisine, have discovered a quick-cook recipe for copious volumes of hydrogen (H2). The breakthrough suggests a better way of producing the hydrogen that propels rockets and energizes battery-like fuel cells. In a few decades, it could even help the world meet key energy needs - without carbon emissions contributing to the greenhouse effect an ... more |  |
CWRU researchers report nanoscale energy-efficient switching devices Cleveland OH (SPX) Dec 11, 2013 - By relentlessly miniaturizing a pre-World War II computer technology, and combining this with a new and durable material, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have built nanoscale switches and logic gates that operate more energy-efficiently than those now used by the billions in computers, tablets and smart phones. Electromechanical switches were the building blocks of electroni ... more |  |
Scientists scale terahertz peaks in nanotubes Houston TX (SPX) Dec 11, 2013 - Carbon nanotubes carry plasmonic signals in the terahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum, but only if they're metallic by nature or doped. In new research, the Rice University laboratory of physicist Junichiro Kono disproved previous theories that dominant terahertz response comes from narrow-gap semiconducting nanotubes. Knowing that metallic or doped nanotubes respond with plasmon ... more |  |
 Millions of hidden share trades to be revealed Coventry, UK (SPX) Dec 11, 2013 - Millions of previously hidden US stock trades will be revealed for the first time on Monday 9 December thanks to research from a team of academics. Previously odd lots, which are trades of less than 100 shares, have not been revealed on the publicly available 'consolidated tape', with only big investment banks and sophisticated computer-powered high-frequency traders paying to see them from indi ... more |  |
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