London (AFP) July 16, 2023 The door of the steel box lift clanks shut and a crane slowly lowers construction workers building London’s “super sewer” 40 metres (130 feet) to the bottom of an enormous vertical shaft. Here, a world away from the city’s busy streets, thousands of engineers and construction staff have spent the past seven years creating the biggest-ever upgrade to the city’s … Continue reading London’s new ‘super sewer’ to end Thames pollution blight

Cap-Aux-Meules, Canada (AFP) July 17, 2023 In the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, on the small Magdalen islands, foot paths are caving in, cliffs are receding and the sand dunes are disappearing, leaving homes vulnerable to the lashing waves. The archipelago, part of Quebec province in eastern Canada, is in a race against time – and the elements – to survive global warming. Residents are feeling … Continue reading Canada’s Magdalen islands have ‘front row’ seat to climate change

Los Angeles (AFP) July 17, 2023 Swaths of the United States home to more than 80 million people were under heat warnings or advisories Sunday, as relentless, record-breaking temperatures continued to bake western and southern states. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of “a widespread and oppressive heat wave” in parts of the Southwest, western Gulf Coast and southern Florida, with sizzling temperatures carrying inthttp://dlvr.it/SsMKKr Continue reading US West and South bake under extended heat wave

Vienna VA (SPX) Jul 13, 2023 Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) (“Spire” or “the Company”), a global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, was selected by OceanMind, a leader in marine enforcement and compliance, to extend its agreement in providing real-time automatic identification system (AIS) vessel-tracking data. Spire has been providing AIS data to OceanMind since 2019. OceanMind supports fishhttp://dlvr.it/SsGC6M Continue reading OceanMind selects Spire Global’s satellite ship-tracking data to combat illegal fishing

Austin TX (SPX) Jul 13, 2023 Scientists at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) have developed a radar technique that lets them image hidden features within the upper few feet of ice sheets. The researchers behind the technique said that it can be used to investigate melting glaciers on Earth as well as detect potentially habitable environments on Jupiter’s moon Europa. The near-surface … Continue reading New radar technique lets scientists probe invisible ice sheet region on Earth and icy worlds

Montreal (AFP) July 15, 2023 Canadian wildfires have burned more than 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) this year, a record-breaking figure that has surpassed scientists’ most pessimistic predictions, government data showed Saturday. The prior all-time high occurred in 1989, when 7.3 million hectares were burned over the course of an entire year, according to national figures from the Canadian Interagency Foresthttp://dlvr.it/SsGC3C Continue reading Canada wildfires have burned over 10 mn hectares this year

Beijing (AFP) July 16, 2023 US climate envoy John Kerry arrived in China on Sunday, state media reported, to restart stalled talks between the world’s two biggest emitters of planet-warming gases. Starting on Monday, “China and the United States will have an in-depth exchange of views” on climate issues, state broadcaster CCTV said on Kerry’s arrival in Beijing. Kerry’s trip to China, where he will … Continue reading US envoy Kerry arrives in China to restart climate talks

Concord, United States (AFP) July 16, 2023 From a distance, everything looks normal: neat rows of peach trees, their green leaves fluttering in the wind, near a pretty little American farmhouse. But Georgia farmer Stuart Gregg searched in vain among the branches, unable to find a single piece of fruit. “We have no harvest this year,” he said. Gregg’s prized peaches, like those on farms … Continue reading As climate changes, farms in US ‘Peach State’ Georgia suffer

Cairo (AFP) July 13, 2023 Egypt and Ethiopia agreed Thursday to finalise a deal over Ethiopia’s controversial mega-dam on the Blue Nile within four months, a breakthrough after years of tensions between the two countries. The massive $4.2-billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been at the centre of a regional dispute ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011, with Egypt fearing … Continue reading Egypt, Ethiopia agree to reach deal on controversial dam in four months

Washington (AFP) July 13, 2023 US climate envoy John Kerry hit back Thursday at claims that he uses a carbon-spewing private jet as he was grilled by Republican lawmakers on the State Department’s environmental agenda ahead of a trip to China. Kerry, who flies to Beijing for talks on emissions reduction at the weekend, said he had largely used commercial airliners in his work in … Continue reading US climate envoy locks horns with Republicans ahead of China trip