44 articles from SATURDAY 17.8.2019

From tusks to tails, nations eye trade in endangered species

From guitars to traditional medicines and from tusk to tail, mankind's exploitation of the planet's fauna and flora is putting some of them at risk of extinction. Representatives of some 180 nations are meeting in Geneva to agree on protections for vulnerable species, taking up issues including the trade in ivory and the demand for shark fin soup. The World Wildlife Conference on trade in...

World’s nations gather to tackle wildlife extinction crisis

Giraffes, sharks, glass frogs - and the woolly mammoth - may get boosted protection at summitFrom giraffes to sharks, the world’s endangered species could gain better protection at an international wildlife conference.The triennial summit of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), that began on Saturday, will tackle disputes over the conservation of great beasts such as...

AI can read your emotions. Should it?

Advertisers, tech giants and border forces are using face tracking software to monitor our moods – whether we like it or notIt is early July, almost 30C outside, but Mihkel Jäätma is thinking about Christmas. In a co-working space in Soho, the 39-year-old founder and CEO of Realeyes, an “emotion AI” startup which uses eye-tracking and facial expression to analyse mood, scrolls through a...

Unprecedented heatwave 'kills thousands of fish' in Alaska

Climate change and warming rivers may have caused the mass death of salmon in parts of Alaska, scientists say.Large numbers of salmon died prematurely in some Alaskan rivers in July according to local reports, and scientists believe the cause could be the unprecedented heatwave that gripped the state last month.“Climate change is here in Alaska. We are seeing it. We are feeling it. And our...

Did Russia’s Bizarre Nuclear-Powered Missile Just Blow Up?

Did Russia’s nuclear-powered cruise missile just blow up? Or was it something else that spewed a radioactive cloud and triggered radiation alarms?  An accident at a military test site in northern Russia has sparked speculation of a mishap with the 9M730 Burevestnik ("Petrel"), an intercontinental cruise missile powered by a nuclear reactor.  Russia has confirmed an explosion during...

Thailand's lost baby dugong dies from shock, eating plastic

An 8-month-old dugong nurtured by marine experts after it was found lost near a beach in southern Thailand has died of what biologists believe was a combination of shock and ingesting plastic waste, officials said Saturday. The female dugong — a large ocean mammal — was named "Marium" and became a hit in Thailand after images of biologists embracing and feeding her with milk and seagrass...

Climate change will create serious upheaval. What will our role be?

During a reporting fellowship in Rhode Island five years ago, I was taken to a beach in Narragansett. Not for beach play and swimming, but to see how the area was losing its beach to rising seas and catastrophic storms, as well as settling of the Earth. In other words, Rhode Island, which already had a low shoreline, is slowly sinking while the waters adjacent to it are rising at a more rapid...

NASA puts Alabama center in charge of moon lander program, drawing Texans’ ire

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced today that Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama will take the lead role in developing the vehicles for landing astronauts on the moon – which could be good news for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture, but definitely came as bad news for Texas lawmakers. To be fair, Texas is getting a piece of the action in NASA's Artemis moon...

Evers creates new Wisconsin office to reach carbon-free goal

Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order Friday creating a new office to help his administration achieve his goal of 100% carbon-free electricity in Wisconsin by 2050 after Republicans killed the proposal in the state budget. The governor issued an executive order creating the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy within the state Department of Administration. The order requires the office...