VIENNA (AP) ? Austrian police and firefighters have taken on the role of urban cowboys in a two-day round-up of a herd of cattle that broke out of a fenced-off pasture and decided to go into town.
A police statement says the 43 steers defied attempts by police and volunteer firefighters to recapture them after wandering off Thursday and heading toward the Upper Austrian town of Freistadt. After being chased away from the railway station, they endangered motorists by stampeding onto a two-lane highway before running into a town suburb.
Two firefighters who tried to stop them were injured and needed hospital treatment.
The statement says 18 of the animals remain on the loose Friday. The rest have been corralled or tranquilized.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ? A pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members took the stage Thursday in South Dakota for the first show in a week of concerts benefiting a music academy for Sioux Falls Boys & Girls Clubs members.
Alice Cooper jammed with Robby Krieger of The Doors and a who's who of '80s glam and metal rockers to help christen the $3.6 million Brennan Rock & Roll Academy in Sioux Falls. Also taking the stage were Joey Allen of Warrant, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, bassist Chuck Garric and Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer of Kiss.
"These guys all know my songs, so I'll be doing four or five of my songs, and then a couple of Doors songs," Cooper told The Associated Press before the show.
Cooper, wearing black leather pants, a black vest, black jacket and black gloves, belted out The Doors' "Back Door Man," aptly channeling the late Jim Morrison as Krieger led on guitar.
Cooper then told tales of warming up for The Doors in the late 1960s before the band jumped into "Break on Through (To the Other Side)."
Earlier in the set, Krieger came out for a duet with Bach on the lesser known "Crystal Ship," the B-side to superhit "Light My Fire."
The all-star band also performed some Kiss songs, a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" and a little Skid Row.
The $1,000-a-ticket concert is a fundraiser for the center, which is the brainchild of Sioux Falls native Chuck Brennan. Brennan, the founder of short-term lender Dollar Loan Center, based his idea on Cooper's Solid Rock Foundation in Phoenix.
Cooper said about 100 kids a night are flocking to his Solid Rock center, which opened about two years ago.
"If you take one kid out of a gang and get him involved in rock 'n' roll or get him involved in a guitar or bass or drums, you don't just change that kid, you change the neighborhood," he said.
The Sioux Falls academy has had the feel of an exclusive, intimate venue this week, but starting in April it will become the afternoon home for young people looking to learn or improve their skills in guitar, bass, drums, keyboards or vocals.
Lessons will be given in nine soundproof rehearsal rooms, five of which are wired to a professional mixing and recording studio. The four upstairs rehearsal rooms will honor Kiss, with each decorated as an homage to the band members' characters: The Demon, Starchild, Catman and Spaceman.
Kiss' Thayer, who grew up playing saxophone in a school music program before he ever touched a guitar, said the facility will spark kids' creative side.
"I'm blown away with this whole facility," Thayer said. "I think it's a great thing."
___
Follow Dirk Lammers on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ddlammers
The Environmental Protection Agency announced new standards on sulfur in gasoline Friday that many say will lead eventually to a hike in gas prices. The EPA expects a 1 cent per gallon increase; industry says it will be much more.
By David J. Unger,?Correspondent / March 29, 2013
Gasoline drips off a nozzle during refueling at a gas station in Altadena, Calif. A new rule from the EPA would reduce the amount of sulfur allowed in gasoline from 30 parts per million to 10 parts per million in 2017.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters/File
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The federal government proposed new standards Friday that further limit the amount of sulfur in gasoline. Compared with previous reductions, Friday's proposal is slight. But many say it's enough to increase the price Americans pay at the pump.
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Why It Matters
Energy: New regulations translate to a gradual increase in gas prices.
Environment: Less sulfur means lower pollution and reduced health costs associated with poor air quality.
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"New requirements, new regulations are going to drive prices up," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, a gas price analysis website.?"This isn?t the biggest change but it will cost motorists."?
The jump could be as high as 9 cents in some places, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade association for the oil and gas industry.?
"Consumers care about the price of fuel, and our government should not be adding unnecessary regulations that raise manufacturing costs, especially when there are no proven environmental benefits," Bob Greco, director of?API's downstream group,?said in a statement Friday. "We should not pile on new regulations when existing regulations are working.? ?
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? "Journey" arrived on top at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
The artsy video game developed by thatgamecompany swept the 13th annual ceremony Wednesday with six wins, including game of the year and the innovation award. "Journey" was also honored for best audio, game design, visual arts and as best downloadable game.
"I really think the success of 'Journey' is because we're standing on the shoulder of the giants," said "Journey" designer and thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen.
The wordless but emotional downloadable PlayStation 3 game casts players as a mysterious scarfed figure that must trek across a desert, through temples and toward a towering mountain. Other players appear online in the game, but they aren't able to communicate with words or sound.
"If you've played the game, you can imagine how difficult it was for the team to go through it," said Chen. "Particularly at the mountain, right before the end. It was very, very stressful. I actually had to go see a psychiatrist."
Selected by a jury of game creators, the Game Developers Choice Awards honor the best games of the past year.
Other winners at the Moscone Convention Center ceremony included Ubisoft's island shoot-'em-up "Far Cry 3" for best technology, Telltale Games' interactive zombie drama "The Walking Dead" for best narrative, Fireproof Studios' puzzler "The Room" for best handheld/mobile game. Arkane Studios' stealthy revenge tale "Dishonored" won the inaugural audience award, which was chosen by online votes.
Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, masterminds of such seminal role-playing games as "Baldur's Gate," ''Knights of the Old Republic" and "Mass Effect," were honored with the lifetime achievement award.
"Spacewar!" developer Steve "Slug" Russell received the pioneer award for his contribution to video games. Russell's "Spacewar!" was created in 1962 and is considered to be among the first digital computer games.
Chris Melissinos, creator of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's "The Art of Video Games" exhibit, was presented with the ambassador award, which recognizes individuals who have helped advanced the gaming industry.
"Thank you to all the game creators who have provided me with a lifetime of inspiration," Melissinos said while accepting his trophy. "You've had a much larger impact on the world than you may believe."
___
Online:
http://www.gamechoiceawards.com
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang/ .
FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2013 photo, Emma Clyman, 5, of Manhattan, holds a sign that reads "No More Newtowns" outside city hall park during the One Million Moms for Gun Control Rally in New York. Despite a proposal backed by over 8 in 10 people in polls, gun control supporters are struggling to win over moderate Democrats in their drive to push expanded background checks of firearms purchasers through the Senate next month. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2013 photo, Emma Clyman, 5, of Manhattan, holds a sign that reads "No More Newtowns" outside city hall park during the One Million Moms for Gun Control Rally in New York. Despite a proposal backed by over 8 in 10 people in polls, gun control supporters are struggling to win over moderate Democrats in their drive to push expanded background checks of firearms purchasers through the Senate next month. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - In this May 19, 2011 file photo, Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., speaks during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance on cell phone privacy on Capitol Hill in Washington. Despite a proposal backed by over 8 in 10 people in polls, gun control supporters are struggling to win over moderate Democrats like Pryor in their drive to push expanded background checks of firearms purchasers through the Senate next month. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2012 file photo, Sen.-elect Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., address her supporters in Bismarck, N.D. Despite a proposal backed by over 8 in 10 people in polls, gun control supporters are struggling to win over moderate Democrats like Heitkamp in their drive to push expanded background checks of firearms purchasers through the Senate next month. (AP Photo/Will Kincaid, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? It would seem a lobbyist's dream: rounding up votes for a proposal backed by more than 8 in 10 people in polls. Yet, gun control supporters are struggling to win over moderate Democrats in their drive to push expanded background checks for firearms purchasers through the Senate next month.
Backed by a $12 million TV advertising campaign financed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, gun control groups scheduled rallies around the country Thursday aimed at pressuring senators to back the effort. President Barack Obama was meeting at the White House with gun violence victims.
Moderate Senate Democrats like Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota are shunning Bloomberg as a meddling outsider while stressing their allegiance to their own voters' views and to gun rights. While saying they're keeping an open mind and support keeping guns from criminals and people with mental disorders, many Democrats are avoiding specific commitments they might regret later.
"I do not need someone from New York City to tell me how to handle crime in our state. I know that we can go after and prosecute criminals without the need to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding North Dakotans," Heitkamp said this week, citing the constitutional right to bear arms.
Heitkamp does not face re-election next year, but Pryor and five other Senate Democrats from Republican-leaning or closely divided states do. All six, from Southern and Western states, will face voters whose deep attachment to guns is unshakeable ? not to mention opposition from the still potent National Rifle Association should they vote for restrictions the NRA opposes.
"We have a politically savvy and a loyal voting bloc, and the politicians know that," said Andrew Arulanandam, spokesman for the NRA, which claims nearly 5 million paying members.
The heart of the Senate gun bill will be expanded requirements for federal background checks for gun buyers, the remaining primary proposal pushed by Obama and many Democrats since 20 first-graders and six women were shot to death in December at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada already has given up any hope of winning majority support for reimposing a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for ammunition.
Today, the background checks apply only to sales by the nation's roughly 55,000 federally licensed gun dealers. Not covered are private transactions like those at gun shows and online. The Senate measure is still evolving as Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., use Congress' two-week recess to negotiate for additional support in both parties.
Expanding background checks to include gun show sales got 84 percent support in an Associated Press-GfK poll earlier this year. Near universal background checks have received similar or stronger support in other national polls.
Polls in some Southern states have been comparable. March surveys by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute found more than 9 in 10 people in Florida and Virginia backing expanded background checks, the same margin found by an Elon University Poll in North Carolina in February.
Analysts say people support more background checks because they consider it an extension of the existing system. That doesn't translate to unvarnished support from lawmakers, in part because the small but vocal minorities who oppose broader background checks and other gun restrictions tend to be driven voters that politicians are reluctant to alienate.
"It's probably true that intense, single-issue gun voters have been more likely to turn out than folks who want common-sense gun laws," said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group that Bloomberg helps lead. Glaze, however, said he believes that has changed somewhat since Newtown and other recent mass shootings.
Several moderate Democrats are holding back as they assess the political landscape. They're also waiting to see exactly what the Senate will consider.
Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said Wednesday his state's voters tell him, "Don't take away our rights, our individual rights, our guns." Begich said he opposes a strict proposal requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales but will wait to see whether there is a bipartisan compromise he can support.
The problems faced by gun control supporters go beyond the challenge of winning moderate Democrats. GOP opponents are sure to force Democrats to get 60 of the Senate's 100 votes to win, and there are only 53 Democrats plus two independents who generally support them.
Also targeted by Bloomberg's ads are 10 Republicans, including Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, home of ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was severely wounded in a mass shooting; the retiring Saxby Chambliss of Georgia; and moderate Susan Collins of Maine.
In another indicator of hurdles facing gun control forces, the Senate voted 50-49 last week to require 60 votes for any legislation narrowing gun rights. The proposal lost because 60 votes in favor were required, but six Democrats voted for the proposal, offered by conservative Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
"It confirms there's no such thing as an easy gun vote," said Jim Kessler, a senior vice president of the centrist Democratic group Third Way.
Underscoring the uncertainty about moderate Democrats:
?Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is "still holding conversations with Virginia stakeholders and sorting through issues on background checks" and proposals to ban assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines, spokesman Kevin Hal said.
?Pryor said of Bloomberg's ads: "I don't take gun advice from the mayor of New York City. I listen to Arkansans." Spokesman Michael Teague said Pryor opposes universal background checks but could favor expanding the requirement to gun show sales.
?Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., told the Greensboro News & Record she favors expanded background checks, but said her vote would depend on the measure's details. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., answered, "Yes," when the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette asked whether he supports gun show background checks.
The gun bill also increases penalties for illegal gun sales and slightly boosts aid for school safety.
More abrupt changes like an assault weapons ban generally get slight majorities in polls. Democratic leaders decided to omit it from the Senate bill because such a provision lacks enough votes.
In the most?technologically advanced countries, filing a tax return is free, easy and fast: Instead of taxpayers painstakingly calculating figures themselves, the government provides estimates of what they owe based on the very bank records and wages it already collects. Intuit, maker of the popular tax preparation software, TurboTax, has funnelled millions to oppose every effort?to make tax day less painful. Intuit has spent $11.5 million lobbying the federal government — more than Apple or Amazon. Former California Senator, Tom Campbell, who felt Intuit’s power during his proposal for an easy-file system in California, wrote that he “never saw as clear a case of lobbying power putting private interests first over public benefit.” Intuit’s long and expensive?campaigns?over the years have argued that IRS-based service is a “massive expansion of the U.S. government through a big government program.” Intuit’s efforts have made friends from the most tech-savvy members of Congress, including Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (CrunchGov Grade: A) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CrunchGov Grade: A). “Government should avoid impeding innovation in the private sector because commercial innovation almost entirely occurs in the private sector,” wrote former Lofgren to her colleagues in 2005. “Duplication of private sector innovation by the government may seem to have short term advantages, but the long term benefit of nurturing innovation in the private sector is usually lost.” (Publica, which filed the investigative report,?stated that Lofgren declined to comment for the story, but her office quickly responded to us with this letter.) Examples of such innovations from TurboxTax would include live Q&A with tax professionals and automated tax deduction-finding features. Still, some tech-savvy policymakers are convinced a government system wouldn’t stop innovation.?”It’s voluntary,” argues Obama’s former chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, who authored a lengthy report on how return-free filing could save taxpayers billions. “If you don’t trust the government, you don’t have to do it.” [PDF] Moreover, Senator Ron Wyden (CrunchGov Grade: A) introduced a bi-partisan tax-reform bill in 2011 with a return-free file plan. Wyden and Lofgren rarely stand in opposition on tech issues, which makes opposition to an IRS system curious. One day, Americans may be as advanced as Estonia, Denmark and Sweden. Until then, try not to procrastinate doing your taxes — it’s a long and complicated process. [Image Credit: Zazzle.com]
Contact: Robin Ann Smith rsmith@nescent.org 919-668-4544 National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent)
On 1 of the hottest continents on Earth, fossil finds shed light on penguins' evolutionary past
Durham, NC Africa isn't the kind of place you might expect to find penguins. But one species lives along Africa's southern coast today, and newly found fossils confirm that as many as four penguin species coexisted on the continent in the past. Exactly why African penguin diversity plummeted to the one species that lives there today is still a mystery, but changing sea levels may be to blame, the researchers say.
The fossil findings, described in the March 26 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, represent the oldest evidence of these iconic tuxedo-clad seabirds in Africa, predating previously described fossils by 5 to 7 million years.
Co-authors Daniel Thomas of the National Museum of Natural History and Dan Ksepka of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center happened upon the 10-12 million year old specimens in late 2010, while sifting through rock and sediment excavated from an industrial steel plant near Cape Town, South Africa.
Jumbled together with shark teeth and other fossils were 17 bone fragments that the researchers recognized as pieces of backbones, breastbones, wings and legs from several extinct species of penguins.
Based on their bones, these species spanned nearly the full size spectrum for penguins living today, ranging from a runty pint-sized penguin that stood just about a foot tall (0.3 m), to a towering species closer to three feet (0.9 m).
Only one penguin species lives in Africa today the black-footed penguin, or Spheniscus demersus, also known as the jackass penguin for its loud donkey-like braying call. Exactly when penguin diversity in Africa started to plummet, and why, is still unclear.
Gaps in the fossil record make it difficult to determine whether the extinctions were sudden or gradual. "[Because we have fossils from only two time periods,] it's like seeing two frames of a movie," said co-author Daniel Ksepka. "We have a frame at five million years ago, and a frame at 10-12 million years ago, but there's missing footage in between."
Humans probably aren't to blame, the researchers say, because by the time early modern humans arrived in South Africa, all but one of the continent's penguins had already died out.
A more likely possibility is that rising and falling sea levels did them in by wiping out safe nesting sites.
Although penguins spend most of their lives swimming in the ocean, they rely on offshore islands near the coast to build their nests and raise their young. Land surface reconstructions suggest that five million years ago when at least four penguin species still called Africa home sea level on the South African coast was as much as 90 meters higher than it is today, swamping low-lying areas and turning the region into a network of islands. More islands meant more beaches where penguins could breed while staying safe from mainland predators.
But sea levels in the region are lower today. Once-isolated islands have been reconnected to the continent by newly exposed land bridges, which may have wiped out beach nesting sites and provided access to predators.
Although humans didn't do previous penguins in Africa in, we'll play a key role in shaping the fate of the one species that remains, the researchers add.
Numbers of black-footed penguins have declined by 80% in the last 50 years, and in 2010 the species was classified as endangered. The drop is largely due to oil spills and overfishing of sardines and anchovies the black-footed penguin's favorite food.
"There's only one species left today, and it's up to us to keep it safe," Thomas said.
###
CITATION: Thomas, D. and D. Ksepka (2013). "A history of shifting fortunes for African penguins." Zool. J. Linn. Soc.
The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) is a nonprofit science center dedicated to cross-disciplinary research in evolution. Funded by the National Science Foundation, NESCent is jointly operated by Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. For more information about research and training opportunities at NESCent, visit http://www.nescent.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Robin Ann Smith rsmith@nescent.org 919-668-4544 National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent)
On 1 of the hottest continents on Earth, fossil finds shed light on penguins' evolutionary past
Durham, NC Africa isn't the kind of place you might expect to find penguins. But one species lives along Africa's southern coast today, and newly found fossils confirm that as many as four penguin species coexisted on the continent in the past. Exactly why African penguin diversity plummeted to the one species that lives there today is still a mystery, but changing sea levels may be to blame, the researchers say.
The fossil findings, described in the March 26 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, represent the oldest evidence of these iconic tuxedo-clad seabirds in Africa, predating previously described fossils by 5 to 7 million years.
Co-authors Daniel Thomas of the National Museum of Natural History and Dan Ksepka of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center happened upon the 10-12 million year old specimens in late 2010, while sifting through rock and sediment excavated from an industrial steel plant near Cape Town, South Africa.
Jumbled together with shark teeth and other fossils were 17 bone fragments that the researchers recognized as pieces of backbones, breastbones, wings and legs from several extinct species of penguins.
Based on their bones, these species spanned nearly the full size spectrum for penguins living today, ranging from a runty pint-sized penguin that stood just about a foot tall (0.3 m), to a towering species closer to three feet (0.9 m).
Only one penguin species lives in Africa today the black-footed penguin, or Spheniscus demersus, also known as the jackass penguin for its loud donkey-like braying call. Exactly when penguin diversity in Africa started to plummet, and why, is still unclear.
Gaps in the fossil record make it difficult to determine whether the extinctions were sudden or gradual. "[Because we have fossils from only two time periods,] it's like seeing two frames of a movie," said co-author Daniel Ksepka. "We have a frame at five million years ago, and a frame at 10-12 million years ago, but there's missing footage in between."
Humans probably aren't to blame, the researchers say, because by the time early modern humans arrived in South Africa, all but one of the continent's penguins had already died out.
A more likely possibility is that rising and falling sea levels did them in by wiping out safe nesting sites.
Although penguins spend most of their lives swimming in the ocean, they rely on offshore islands near the coast to build their nests and raise their young. Land surface reconstructions suggest that five million years ago when at least four penguin species still called Africa home sea level on the South African coast was as much as 90 meters higher than it is today, swamping low-lying areas and turning the region into a network of islands. More islands meant more beaches where penguins could breed while staying safe from mainland predators.
But sea levels in the region are lower today. Once-isolated islands have been reconnected to the continent by newly exposed land bridges, which may have wiped out beach nesting sites and provided access to predators.
Although humans didn't do previous penguins in Africa in, we'll play a key role in shaping the fate of the one species that remains, the researchers add.
Numbers of black-footed penguins have declined by 80% in the last 50 years, and in 2010 the species was classified as endangered. The drop is largely due to oil spills and overfishing of sardines and anchovies the black-footed penguin's favorite food.
"There's only one species left today, and it's up to us to keep it safe," Thomas said.
###
CITATION: Thomas, D. and D. Ksepka (2013). "A history of shifting fortunes for African penguins." Zool. J. Linn. Soc.
The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) is a nonprofit science center dedicated to cross-disciplinary research in evolution. Funded by the National Science Foundation, NESCent is jointly operated by Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. For more information about research and training opportunities at NESCent, visit http://www.nescent.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
A tigress and her cub rest in India's Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary.
By Douglas Main LiveScience
India has created a new protected area for tigers within a wildlife reserve in the south of the country.
The area, part of the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary, is home to about 25 tigers, according to a release from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a conservation group. This population of tigers rivals the size of some of India's better-known reserves, the statement said.
This will be the 42nd tiger reserve in the country, which is home to the largest population of tigers?in the world. The 272-square-mile (705 square kilometers) protected area will help connect several adjacent parks, making it one of the largest continuous tiger habitats in the world, according to the WWF. The area is also home to elephants, leopards, hyenas and vultures.
For more than a decade, WWF-India has worked with local authorities in the state of Tamil Nadu (where the reserve is found) to support projects to counter poaching, improve communications via cellular phones and wireless networks, train forest rangers and monitor tigers, the statement said.
"The tiger is the national animal of India, and WWF congratulates the government for yet another important milestone in its conservation efforts that will make a tremendous contribution to the goal of conserving wild tigers and their natural habitats in the country," said Dipankar Ghose, of WWF-India, in the statement.
Tiger numbers have declined by about 95 percent in the last century across their entire historic range, and experts think there are only about 3,000 left in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Email Douglas Main?or follow him @Douglas_Main. Follow us?@OAPlanet, Facebook?or? Google+.Original article on LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Ash from refuse could become hydrogen gasPublic release date: 25-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Aamir Ilyas aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se 46-707-480-232 Lund University
Every year, millions of tons of environmentally harmful ash is produced worldwide, and is mostly dumped in landfill sites or, in some countries, used as construction material. The ash is what is left when rubbish has been burnt in thermal power stations. A researcher from Lund University in Sweden has now developed a technique to use the ash to produce hydrogen gas. The method is presented in a new thesis.
The technique has significant potential: 20 billion litres of hydrogen gas a year, or 56 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Calculated as electricity, the energy is the equivalent of the annual needs of around 11 000 detached houses. Hydrogen gas is valuable and is viewed by many as an increasingly important energy source, for example as a vehicle fuel.
"The ash can be used as a resource through recovery of hydrogen gas instead of being allowed to be released into the air as at present. Our ash deposits are like a goldmine", said Aamir Ilyas, Doctor of Water Resources Engineering at Lund University and the developer of the technique.
Refuse incineration is a widespread practice in Europe. The technique involves placing the ash in an oxygen-free environment. The ash is dampened with water, whereupon it forms hydrogen gas. The gas is sucked up through pipes and stored in tanks.
It is the heavy, grit-like bottom ash that is used. In combustion, a lighter fly ash is also formed. The bottom ash remains in quarantine, in the open air, at the site for up to six months to prevent leaching of environmentally harmful metals and the risk of hydrogen gas being formed, since accumulation of hydrogen during indoor storage can result in explosion.
"A bonus is that this method removes the risk of hydrogen gas. It also reduces the strain on our landfill sites."
In some countries, processed bottom ash is sometimes used as a construction material for roads and buildings. This doesn't happen at present in Sweden because the ash contains hazardous substances that do not meet the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's strict requirements. Usually it is used as top cover at landfills.
Today, hydrogen gas is mainly produced from natural gas. However, biogas, oil and coal can also be used as the raw material. Hydrogen gas is an important raw material in industry and is used in refineries and to manufacture ammonia. Hydrogen gas has the potential to produce electricity and heat and also to become a vehicle fuel; a number of car manufacturers are investing in hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars. Hydrogen gas is not expensive, but because there is a lack of infrastructure for the production of the gas, the production and handling costs are high. However, these costs would decrease in the future once a production system is established.
"There will not be one universal solution that will be used to generate energy. We need to find a number of solutions", said Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering and one of Aamir Ilyas's supervisors.
###
The technique is described in a thesis entitled Unsaturated Phase Environmental Processes in MSWI Bottom Ash, see: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12683&postid=3409175
For more information, please contact Dr Aamir Ilyas, +46 707 480232 (aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se), or Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering, +46 46 222 9470 (kenneth.persson@tvrl.lth.se).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Ash from refuse could become hydrogen gasPublic release date: 25-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Aamir Ilyas aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se 46-707-480-232 Lund University
Every year, millions of tons of environmentally harmful ash is produced worldwide, and is mostly dumped in landfill sites or, in some countries, used as construction material. The ash is what is left when rubbish has been burnt in thermal power stations. A researcher from Lund University in Sweden has now developed a technique to use the ash to produce hydrogen gas. The method is presented in a new thesis.
The technique has significant potential: 20 billion litres of hydrogen gas a year, or 56 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Calculated as electricity, the energy is the equivalent of the annual needs of around 11 000 detached houses. Hydrogen gas is valuable and is viewed by many as an increasingly important energy source, for example as a vehicle fuel.
"The ash can be used as a resource through recovery of hydrogen gas instead of being allowed to be released into the air as at present. Our ash deposits are like a goldmine", said Aamir Ilyas, Doctor of Water Resources Engineering at Lund University and the developer of the technique.
Refuse incineration is a widespread practice in Europe. The technique involves placing the ash in an oxygen-free environment. The ash is dampened with water, whereupon it forms hydrogen gas. The gas is sucked up through pipes and stored in tanks.
It is the heavy, grit-like bottom ash that is used. In combustion, a lighter fly ash is also formed. The bottom ash remains in quarantine, in the open air, at the site for up to six months to prevent leaching of environmentally harmful metals and the risk of hydrogen gas being formed, since accumulation of hydrogen during indoor storage can result in explosion.
"A bonus is that this method removes the risk of hydrogen gas. It also reduces the strain on our landfill sites."
In some countries, processed bottom ash is sometimes used as a construction material for roads and buildings. This doesn't happen at present in Sweden because the ash contains hazardous substances that do not meet the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's strict requirements. Usually it is used as top cover at landfills.
Today, hydrogen gas is mainly produced from natural gas. However, biogas, oil and coal can also be used as the raw material. Hydrogen gas is an important raw material in industry and is used in refineries and to manufacture ammonia. Hydrogen gas has the potential to produce electricity and heat and also to become a vehicle fuel; a number of car manufacturers are investing in hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars. Hydrogen gas is not expensive, but because there is a lack of infrastructure for the production of the gas, the production and handling costs are high. However, these costs would decrease in the future once a production system is established.
"There will not be one universal solution that will be used to generate energy. We need to find a number of solutions", said Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering and one of Aamir Ilyas's supervisors.
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The technique is described in a thesis entitled Unsaturated Phase Environmental Processes in MSWI Bottom Ash, see: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12683&postid=3409175
For more information, please contact Dr Aamir Ilyas, +46 707 480232 (aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se), or Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering, +46 46 222 9470 (kenneth.persson@tvrl.lth.se).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.
Between the Kinect and Leap Motion, gesture control's on just about everyone's minds these days. There's still a ways to go, certainly, before such devices become a mainstream method for interfacing with our PCs, but they've already become a ripe source of inspiration for the DIY community. Duo's hoping to further bridge the gap between the two, with a "the world's first 3d motion sensor that anyone can build." The desktop sensor features two PS3 Eye cameras that can track hands and objects for a more natural interface with one's computer. Duo's unsurprisingly looking to crowdfund its efforts. A pledge of $10 or more will get you early access to the company's SDK. For $40 you'll get the case and instruction. Add $30 to that number, and you've got yourself the kit, which includes everything but the camera ($110 will get you all that). Check out the company's plea after the break, and if you're so inclined you can pledge at the source link below.
Climate change likely to worsen threat of diarrheal disease in Botswana, arid African countriesPublic release date: 26-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Davis davisl@vt.edu 540-231-6157 Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech researcher say climate driving diarrheal disease
In a National Science Foundation funded study, Kathleen Alexander, an associate professor of wildlife at Virginia Tech, found that climate drives a large part of diarrheal disease and increases the threat of climate change for vulnerable communities.
The only study of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa is based on three decades of historical data and has important implications for arid countries around the world struggling with poverty and increasing health challenges.
Alexander, a veterinarian, teaches in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment and conducts research at the Blacksburg, Va., campus and at her nonprofit research center, the Center for African Resources: Animals, Communities, and Land Use(CARACAL), in Chobe, Botswana.
Alexander's research study, "Climate Change Is Likely to Worsen the Public Health Threat of Diarrheal Disease in Botswana," was published today (March 26, 2013) in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Alexander and colleagues analyzed data on diarrheal disease from 1974, eight years after Botswana gained independence from British rule, through 2003.
"Botswana proactively set up a health surveillance program shortly after it became independent. Over such a long time period, however, it was not easy locating all the historical documents pertaining to diarrhea case incidence," Alexander said.
"Finding such data in Africa is difficult, and this explains why long-term studies of climate and health interactions are uncommon," she continued. "Our work indicates that there is a critical need to identify climate-health interactions across the continent and develop appropriate adaptive strategies in response."
The Botswana Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism provided research assistance. The Wildize Foundation, an African conservation organization, supplemented funding. Researchers Marcos Carzolio and Eric Vance from Virginia Tech and Douglas Goodin from Kansas State University co-authored the study.
"Diarrheal disease is an important health challenge, accounting for the majority of childhood deaths globally and the second highest in Botswana," Alexander said. "Our findings suggest that climate change will increase the occurrence of diarrhea and the burden of disease among vulnerable populations in Botswana and similarly affected regions."
Botswana is an arid, landlocked country in southern Africa with a subtropical climate of distinct wet and dry seasons. Alexander and her co-authors evaluated monthly reports of diarrheal disease among patients treated at Botswana health facilities since 1974 and compared that data with climatic variables over that same period.
"Our analysis suggests that forecasted climate change increases in temperature and decreases in precipitation for the region are likely to increase dry season diarrheal disease incidence, while diarrheal disease incidence in the wet season is likely to decline," Alexander explained.
Diarrheal case incidence peaks in both the wet and dry seasons in Botswana with mean case incidence 20 percent higher on average in the dry season over the wet season.
"We were not expecting diarrheal disease to be worse in the dry season," Alexander pointed out. "These dry season diarrheal disease peaks occur during the hottest and driest times of the year, conditions that can increase fly activity and density. This is significant, as flies can be important in the transmission of diarrheal-disease-causing microorganisms."
Alexander believes flies may provide an important dry season amplifying influence on factors already contributing to diarrheal disease. "It is an important area of research that we will be pursuing," she added.
"Our results identify significant climate-health interactions and highlight the need for an escalated public health focus on controlling diarrheal disease in Botswana," she continued. "Understanding the potential health impacts of climate change in low-income countries will be essential to developing mitigation and adaptive strategies designed to protect these vulnerable populations expected to be impacted the hardest but least able to adapt."
"While our work identifies important climate-health interactions and increased vulnerability of Botswana to forecasted changes in regional climate," Alexander cautioned, "it is important to remember that this does not account for affects of nonclimatic factors such as future improvements in sanitation infrastructure and hygiene. The impact of forecasted climate change on this disease syndrome is likely to be significantly reduced if present day public health deficiencies are fully identified and addressed."
"It is essential, however, that we include affected communities in identifying climate change preparedness," Alexander emphasized. "Lack of sociocultural considerations in public health planning can result in locally applied interventions being nonsustainable."
Understanding climate variability as a determinant of infectious disease is increasingly seen as a cornerstone of climate change preparedness and an urgent area of need in Africa and elsewhere around the world.
"Much of the threat of climate change on health results from our vulnerabilities to environmental change. These vulnerabilities are primarily associated with the poor, who are most dependent on the environment and least able to adapt to changes in these systems," she explained. "If we address current community health deficiencies now, climate change impacts are not likely to have such important and potentially devastating consequences in the future."
Because of the magnitude of Alexander's work in Botswana, she is one of three scholars selected as an African regional expert by the World Health Organization and the Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat to participate in a regional workshop in Mozambique April 2-5. As a specialist in disease ecology with associated ecological and human dimensions, she will make a presentation to leaders from various African countries on integrating health and biodiversity in policy and planning efforts.
"Kathy is a brilliant scholar who successfully connects her many skills to people in Botswana," said Paul Winistorfer, dean of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment. "She recognizes that her most important goal is to improve the lives and livelihood of these people, while respecting the human-wildlife interaction that is coupled to environmental sustainability."
###
For more on Alexander's research in Botswana, visit the program blog and the CARACAL Facebook page.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Climate change likely to worsen threat of diarrheal disease in Botswana, arid African countriesPublic release date: 26-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Davis davisl@vt.edu 540-231-6157 Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech researcher say climate driving diarrheal disease
In a National Science Foundation funded study, Kathleen Alexander, an associate professor of wildlife at Virginia Tech, found that climate drives a large part of diarrheal disease and increases the threat of climate change for vulnerable communities.
The only study of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa is based on three decades of historical data and has important implications for arid countries around the world struggling with poverty and increasing health challenges.
Alexander, a veterinarian, teaches in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment and conducts research at the Blacksburg, Va., campus and at her nonprofit research center, the Center for African Resources: Animals, Communities, and Land Use(CARACAL), in Chobe, Botswana.
Alexander's research study, "Climate Change Is Likely to Worsen the Public Health Threat of Diarrheal Disease in Botswana," was published today (March 26, 2013) in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Alexander and colleagues analyzed data on diarrheal disease from 1974, eight years after Botswana gained independence from British rule, through 2003.
"Botswana proactively set up a health surveillance program shortly after it became independent. Over such a long time period, however, it was not easy locating all the historical documents pertaining to diarrhea case incidence," Alexander said.
"Finding such data in Africa is difficult, and this explains why long-term studies of climate and health interactions are uncommon," she continued. "Our work indicates that there is a critical need to identify climate-health interactions across the continent and develop appropriate adaptive strategies in response."
The Botswana Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism provided research assistance. The Wildize Foundation, an African conservation organization, supplemented funding. Researchers Marcos Carzolio and Eric Vance from Virginia Tech and Douglas Goodin from Kansas State University co-authored the study.
"Diarrheal disease is an important health challenge, accounting for the majority of childhood deaths globally and the second highest in Botswana," Alexander said. "Our findings suggest that climate change will increase the occurrence of diarrhea and the burden of disease among vulnerable populations in Botswana and similarly affected regions."
Botswana is an arid, landlocked country in southern Africa with a subtropical climate of distinct wet and dry seasons. Alexander and her co-authors evaluated monthly reports of diarrheal disease among patients treated at Botswana health facilities since 1974 and compared that data with climatic variables over that same period.
"Our analysis suggests that forecasted climate change increases in temperature and decreases in precipitation for the region are likely to increase dry season diarrheal disease incidence, while diarrheal disease incidence in the wet season is likely to decline," Alexander explained.
Diarrheal case incidence peaks in both the wet and dry seasons in Botswana with mean case incidence 20 percent higher on average in the dry season over the wet season.
"We were not expecting diarrheal disease to be worse in the dry season," Alexander pointed out. "These dry season diarrheal disease peaks occur during the hottest and driest times of the year, conditions that can increase fly activity and density. This is significant, as flies can be important in the transmission of diarrheal-disease-causing microorganisms."
Alexander believes flies may provide an important dry season amplifying influence on factors already contributing to diarrheal disease. "It is an important area of research that we will be pursuing," she added.
"Our results identify significant climate-health interactions and highlight the need for an escalated public health focus on controlling diarrheal disease in Botswana," she continued. "Understanding the potential health impacts of climate change in low-income countries will be essential to developing mitigation and adaptive strategies designed to protect these vulnerable populations expected to be impacted the hardest but least able to adapt."
"While our work identifies important climate-health interactions and increased vulnerability of Botswana to forecasted changes in regional climate," Alexander cautioned, "it is important to remember that this does not account for affects of nonclimatic factors such as future improvements in sanitation infrastructure and hygiene. The impact of forecasted climate change on this disease syndrome is likely to be significantly reduced if present day public health deficiencies are fully identified and addressed."
"It is essential, however, that we include affected communities in identifying climate change preparedness," Alexander emphasized. "Lack of sociocultural considerations in public health planning can result in locally applied interventions being nonsustainable."
Understanding climate variability as a determinant of infectious disease is increasingly seen as a cornerstone of climate change preparedness and an urgent area of need in Africa and elsewhere around the world.
"Much of the threat of climate change on health results from our vulnerabilities to environmental change. These vulnerabilities are primarily associated with the poor, who are most dependent on the environment and least able to adapt to changes in these systems," she explained. "If we address current community health deficiencies now, climate change impacts are not likely to have such important and potentially devastating consequences in the future."
Because of the magnitude of Alexander's work in Botswana, she is one of three scholars selected as an African regional expert by the World Health Organization and the Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat to participate in a regional workshop in Mozambique April 2-5. As a specialist in disease ecology with associated ecological and human dimensions, she will make a presentation to leaders from various African countries on integrating health and biodiversity in policy and planning efforts.
"Kathy is a brilliant scholar who successfully connects her many skills to people in Botswana," said Paul Winistorfer, dean of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment. "She recognizes that her most important goal is to improve the lives and livelihood of these people, while respecting the human-wildlife interaction that is coupled to environmental sustainability."
###
For more on Alexander's research in Botswana, visit the program blog and the CARACAL Facebook page.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian prosecutors and tax police searched the Moscow headquarters of Amnesty International and several other rights groups Monday, continuing a wave of pressure that activists say is part of President Vladimir Putin's attempt to stifle dissent.
Sergei Nikitin, Amnesty's Russia chief, told The Associated Press that officials from the general prosecutor's office and tax police conducted an unannounced audit of his offices. Nikitin said the officials requested documents from the human rights watchdog that the government already has on file.
They were accompanied by journalists from the state-controlled NTV television station, which has been used by the Kremlin for hatchet jobs against its political foes.
Other rights groups were also subject to searches.
Veteran activist Lev Ponomarev's For Human Rights movement was also visited by officials and an NTV crew on Monday. He wrote a letter to the Moscow prosecutor's office calling the search illegal, since prosecutors provided no evidence that his organization broke the law.
Public Verdict, a well-known human rights law group, was also searched Monday.
Putin has long been suspicious of NGOs, especially those with American funding, which he has accused of being fronts for U.S. meddling in Russian politics.
After he returned to the presidency in May, parliament rubber-stamped a Kremlin-backed law requiring all NGOs who receive foreign funding to register as "foreign agents," a term that many Russians find pejorative.
Russian officials have searched up to 2,000 non-governmental organizations nationwide in the past month, according to Pavel Chikov, a member of the presidential human rights council.
The searches began after Putin gave a speech urging the Federal Security Service to focus attention on groups receiving foreign funding, which he said were "putting pressure on Russia."
Although the Justice Ministry said it was unenforceable earlier this year, it told the Interfax news agency on Monday that the searches were being carried out in line with the foreign agents law.
According to Chikov, however, many organizations have been checked under another, vaguely worded law on "extremism," including by agencies that have nothing to do with enforcing it, like the fire service and the health department.
The U.S. Embassy, Amnesty, the presidential human rights council and Public Verdict have all expressed concern over the wave of searches.
Tracy Glesby is a real estate agent. No doubt she?s good at her job. But D Magazine did not name her a Best Real Estate Agent in either 2011 or 2012, as one would be led to believe by her Facebook page. Glesby and I aren?t friends, so I can?t see her timeline. But the screenshot you see here was taken today. Which is why I like this lady?s moxie. Because last Wednesday, she got a call from our brand manager, politely asking her to remove the Best logos that she had not earned. Some snippets of that conversation:
D Magazine: ?I?m curious. How is it that you acquired these logos? I am the person who disseminates these to the winners, so I am unsure how it is you even have one.?
Tracy Glesby: ?Uhh, you can just google image it.?
And then:
D Magazine: ?Our editors and fact checkers go through a very rigorous process to determine these lists, and when it is misconstrued or intentionally misrepresented by someone claiming to have won when it was not actually bestowed upon them, it really undermines the prestige.?
Tracy Glesby: ?Ok, well, now you?re just using a bunch of words that I don?t understand. I?m an end-game person. Let?s just get to the end of this. If I take those two little logos off, are we all good? Because I can do that when I get to the office in the morning.?
As I say, that conversation happened last Wednesday. Yet the logos remain. That there is what you call stick-to-it-ness. You put your house on the market, and it doesn?t sell the first day? Tracy Glesby isn?t going to give up. To make the sale, that lady is going to do whatever it takes.
By early 2014, passengers may be able to use certain electronic devices in airplane mode during takeoff and landing, according to a New York Times report. The publication's industry sources say that the Federal Aviation Administration may announce more lenient electronics policies later this year, allowing passengers to use "reading devices" during takeoff and landing -- while it's not clear which gadgets would qualify, cellphones would remain on the ban list. The FAA commissioned an industry group to study the issue of in-flight electronics use -- the team, which includes representatives from Amazon, Boeing, the CEA, FCC, and others, will announce the results of its study by July 31st.
The issue has support from key lawmakers as well. Senator Claire McCaskill is calling the FAA out on its authorization of pilots to use iPads in the cockpit and flight attendants to use devices of their own, while restricting passengers from reading books on e-readers -- "A flying copy of 'War and Peace' is more dangerous than a Kindle," she told the Times. And we'd have to agree. Until the FAA announces a policy revision, we all have no choice but to reluctantly comply with the ban, but with devices like Google Glass on the horizon, updated restrictions could not come too soon.
In the most?technologically advanced countries, filing a tax return is free, easy and fast: Instead of taxpayers painstakingly calculating figures themselves, the government provides estimates of what they owe based on the very bank records and wages it already collects. Intuit, maker of the popular tax preparation software, TurboTax, has funnelled millions to oppose every effort?to make tax day less painful. Intuit has spent $11.5 million lobbying the federal government — more than Apple or Amazon. Former California Senator, Tom Campbell, who felt Intuit’s power during his proposal for an easy-file system in California, wrote that he “never saw as clear a case of lobbying power putting private interests first over public benefit.” Intuit’s long and expensive?campaigns?over the years have argued that IRS-based service is a “massive expansion of the U.S. government through a big government program.” Intuit’s efforts have made friends from the most tech-savvy members of Congress, including Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (CrunchGov Grade: A) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CrunchGov Grade: A). “Government should avoid impeding innovation in the private sector because commercial innovation almost entirely occurs in the private sector,” wrote former Lofgren to her colleagues in 2005. “Duplication of private sector innovation by the government may seem to have short term advantages, but the long term benefit of nurturing innovation in the private sector is usually lost.” (Publica, which filed the investigative report,?stated that Lofgren declined to comment for the story, but her office quickly responded to us with this letter.) Examples of such innovations from TurboxTax would include live Q&A with tax professionals and automated tax deduction-finding features. Still, some tech-savvy policymakers are convinced a government system wouldn’t stop innovation.?”It’s voluntary,” argues Obama’s former chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, who authored a lengthy report on how return-free filing could save taxpayers billions. “If you don’t trust the government, you don’t have to do it.” [PDF] Moreover, Senator Ron Wyden (CrunchGov Grade: A) introduced a bi-partisan tax-reform bill in 2011 with a return-free file plan. Wyden and Lofgren rarely stand in opposition on tech issues, which makes opposition to an IRS system curious. One day, Americans may be as advanced as Estonia, Denmark and Sweden. Until then, try not to procrastinate doing your taxes — it’s a long and complicated process. [Image Credit: Zazzle.com]![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 26-Mar-2013
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Tracy Glesby is a real estate agent. No doubt she?s good at her job. But D Magazine did not name her a Best Real Estate Agent in either 2011 or 2012, as one would be led to believe by her Facebook page. Glesby and I aren?t friends, so I can?t see her timeline. But the screenshot you see here was taken today. Which is why I like this lady?s moxie. Because last Wednesday, she got a call from our brand manager, politely asking her to remove the Best logos that she had not earned. Some snippets of that conversation: