Washington D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 8, 2013.  The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the prizes for which middle and high school teams from across the nation will compete at this year’s National Science Bowl, held from April 25 to April 29 in Washington, D.C. From a total of 1,894 high school teams[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 8, 2013.  Given the rise of target plant and animal pests that resistant to the tactics of the biotechnology industry, companies that produce genetically engineered (GE) crops have begun producing plants with “stacked” traits. For herbicide resistant crops, this means adding traits that incorporate crop resistance to increasingly[Read More…]

Protected Status for Vital Wetlands Reinstated by Court Ruling Bay of Panama (Karl Kaufman) Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 5, 2013.Today the Bay of Panama received a reprieve from destructive development as the Panamanian Supreme Court reinstated the protected status for the Bay of Panama wetlands, removing the temporary suspension it had placed[Read More…]

Research points to an abrupt and widespread climate shift in the Sahara 5,000 years ago CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –(ENEWSPF)–April 5, 2013.  As recently as 5,000 years ago, the Sahara — today a vast desert in northern Africa, spanning more than 3.5 million square miles — was a verdant landscape, with sprawling[Read More…]

Launches new Arctic Science Portal; Underscores need for streamlined, ‘whole of government’ approach with stakeholder, Alaska Native engagement WASHINGTON, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 4, 2013.  An interagency working group chaired by Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes today released a report that calls for an integrated management strategy for the rapidly changing Arctic.[Read More…]

Identifies removal of four dams as preferred alternative; Congressional authorization required before a public interest determination from the Secretary of the Interior Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 4, 2013.  The Department of the Interior today released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) evaluating the potential removal of four privately owned hydroelectric facilities on[Read More…]

WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–April 4, 2013.  The U.S. Department of Energy today announced it would fund its three Bioenergy Research Centers for an additional five-year period, subject to continued congressional appropriations. The three Centers —including the BioEnergy Research Center (BESC) led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC)[Read More…]

New study shows clouds will be important in region’s future The ICECAPS Mobile Science Facility at Summit Station against a backdrop of Arctic clouds. ICECAPS is short for Integrated Characterization of Energy, Clouds, Atmospheric state and Precipitation. Download here (Credit: CIRES/University of Colorado ) Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 4, 2013.  Clouds over[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 4, 2013.    Heavy precipitation. According to a newly-published NOAA-led study in Geophysical Research Letters, as the globe warms from rising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, more moisture in a warmer atmosphere will make the most extreme precipitation events more intense. The study, conducted by a team of[Read More…]

Report finds materials manufacturers will likely be unable to meet targets for carbon-emissions reductions by 2050. CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(ENEWSPF)–April 4, 2013.  A new report by researchers at MIT and elsewhere finds that the global manufacturing sector has made great strides in energy efficiency: The manufacturing of materials such as steel, cement,[Read More…]