Researchers at KTH have been able to prove that the fossils of animals and plants are not necessary to generate raw oil and natural gas. This result is extremely radical as it means that it will be much easier to find these energy sources and that they may be located all over the world.
"With the help of our research we even know where oil could be found in Sweden!" says Vladimir Kutcherov, Professor at the KTH Department of Energy Technology in Stockholm.
Together with two research colleagues, Professor Kutcherov has simulated the process of pressure and heat that occurs naturally in the inner strata of the earth's crust. This process generates hydrocarbons, the primary elements of oil and natural gas.
Earth Changes
According to Canada's National Post, a humanitarian coalition "warns East Africa faces 'a perfect storm of crop failures, a multi-year lack of rain, conflicts and political turmoil,' which now threatens 20 million people with severe hunger." Fighting in Somalia has driven 1.55 million people to internal camps outside the capital of Mogadishu as well as refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where the unsanitary conditions of one camp led Oxfam to label it "barely fit for humans."
"For the fourth year in a row, East Africa is in the grip of a devastating drought, which is killing crops, livestock and children, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people," according to the National Post, which adds that 28 percent of the U.N.-led emergency appeal for $576 million in aid has received funding. One in 10 Kenyans and 4.6 million Ethiopians are in need of food assistance, according to the World Food Program (9/9).
The New York Times examines the situation in Kenya, where the "devastating drought ... is stirring up tensions in the ramshackle slums where the water taps have run dry, and spawning ethnic conflict in the hinterland as communities fight over the last remaining pieces of fertile grazing land."
"For the fourth year in a row, East Africa is in the grip of a devastating drought, which is killing crops, livestock and children, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people," according to the National Post, which adds that 28 percent of the U.N.-led emergency appeal for $576 million in aid has received funding. One in 10 Kenyans and 4.6 million Ethiopians are in need of food assistance, according to the World Food Program (9/9).
The New York Times examines the situation in Kenya, where the "devastating drought ... is stirring up tensions in the ramshackle slums where the water taps have run dry, and spawning ethnic conflict in the hinterland as communities fight over the last remaining pieces of fertile grazing land."
Los Angeles - Even as a mammoth wildfire still burns in the San Gabriel Mountains, California hasn't seen this year the level of destruction that flames delivered the past two years.
That could change soon however, fire officials say. A prolonged drought, which is drying up vegetation and fueling a seemingly endless fire that has burned more than 250 square miles of Los Angeles County, could be the start of a fall siege in Southern California.
That could change soon however, fire officials say. A prolonged drought, which is drying up vegetation and fueling a seemingly endless fire that has burned more than 250 square miles of Los Angeles County, could be the start of a fall siege in Southern California.
A violent storm that triggered a tornado has killed at least 17 people in the southern part of South America and destroyed hundreds of houses.
Northern Argentina and southern Brazil, and the small countries of Uruguay and Paraguay wedged between them, were hit by fierce rain, hail and winds travelling at more than 70mph.
In northeastern Argentina, 10 people died, including seven children, authorities said.
Northern Argentina and southern Brazil, and the small countries of Uruguay and Paraguay wedged between them, were hit by fierce rain, hail and winds travelling at more than 70mph.
In northeastern Argentina, 10 people died, including seven children, authorities said.
© Photograph: PR
A nudibranch rests against brightly coloured coral at the Wolf island site in the Galapagos.
A nudibranch rests against brightly coloured coral at the Wolf island site in the Galapagos.
Scientists have discovered three new coral species - and one that was thought to be extinct - in an extensive survey of reefs around the Galapagos Islands, raising hopes that reefs may be more resilient to rising sea temperatures than previously thought.
Honeycomb coral (Gardineroseris planulata) had apparently been wiped out in in 1997-98 by the last big El Niño event. This natural periodic event affects weather globally and another is expected this year. But the study around the relatively unexplored areas of the coasts of Wolf and Darwin islands to the north-west of the main archipelago turned up several separate colonies.
© Yavno
This is a round goby.
This is a round goby.
"This invasion poses many potential threats for native species of fish and mussels," says Mark Poos, a PhD Candidate in U of T's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Poos is lead author of the study published recently in the international journal Biological Invasions. Up to 89 per cent of fish species and 17 per cent of mussel species are either known or suspected to be affected by the goby invasion. Of particular concern is the impact on species that have a conservation designation, including such endangered species as the small eastern sand darter fish and mussels such as the wavy rayed lampmussel.
© Sangtae Kim/University of Florida
RARE PLANT Amborella trichopoda, a small shrub found only on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, represents the oldest living lineage of flowering plants.
RARE PLANT Amborella trichopoda, a small shrub found only on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, represents the oldest living lineage of flowering plants.
Darwin could see for himself how successful flowering plants had become. They make up the majority of living plant species, and they dominate many of the world's ecosystems, from rain forests to grasslands. They also dominate our farms. Out of flowers come most of the calories humans consume, in the form of foods like corn, rice and wheat. Flowers are also impressive in their sheer diversity of forms and colors, from lush, full-bodied roses to spiderlike orchids to calla lilies shaped like urns.
© USGS
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 at 05:14:33 UTC
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 at 12:14:33 AM at epicenter
Location:
17.737°N, 95.418°W
Depth:
113.6 km (70.6 miles)
Distances:
85 km (50 miles) SSW of San Andres Tuxtla, Veracruz, Mexico
85 km (50 miles) ESE of Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico
115 km (70 miles) WSW of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico
435 km (270 miles) ESE of MEXICO CITY, D.F., Mexico
© USGS
Monday, September 07, 2009 at 21:26:31 UTC
Monday, September 07, 2009 at 11:26:31 PM at epicenter
Location:
38.652°N, 14.074°E
Depth:
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Distances:
85 km (50 miles) NE of Palermo, Sicily, Italy
140 km (85 miles) WNW of Messina, Sicily, Italy
155 km (95 miles) NW of Catania, Sicily, Italy
385 km (240 miles) SSE of ROME, Italy
© USGS
The US Geological Survey said the quake was 10km (6.2 miles) deep, and its epicentre was 80km from the city of Kutaisi, in the Oni area.
There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the earthquake, which struck at 0341 local time (2241 GMT).
