#natural-resources

#natural-resources

Researchers at the Politecnico di Milan in Italy examined mysterious black stains on a folio of Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus and confirmed the presence of starch and vinyl glues in the affected areas.The glues were most likely applied during an earlier restoration effort some 50 years ago, according to a recent paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

A black bear was spotted wandering around and rifling through garbage cans in Kensington earlier this week.The bear was seen on Dewmar Lane on Monday, and on Culver Street on Tuesday.NBC4 also reports that last night, a Chevy Chase resident came close to petting a bear-which he'd mistaken for a dog-in his backyard.

A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzes the state of telework in 2022.The data finds that the percentage of businesses with little to no telework skyrocketed last year.That comes as companies tighten their purse strings and try to claw back power from workers.It's the end of a remote work era, as employers call their employees back into offices - and workers see their power dwindling.

Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias has visited the earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey on Sunday, accompanied by his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu.he visit was part of a new round of so-called "earthquake diplomacy" between the two uneasy allies, whose relations have often been frosty, if not downright hostile.

The King was greeted by lively drum beats and a warm welcome during his first visit to the new Africa Centre in south London.Charles spoke to artists, popped into a radio station and joined a discussion about the effects of climate change in Africa and the role of African people in the UK, during his visit to the cultural hub in Southwark.

How does this work?We're using ChatGPT, an open-source AI model designed for dialogue.Essentially, you type in a question, and it generates a response.After testing its article-writing skills (which in some cases were pretty good, in others not so much), we decided to test how good it was at telling jokes.

The panel is being hosted bya producer of culturally moving art experiences best known for his paintings/murals and nonprofit, Paint the City, which impacts social justice issues.The Lyric Opera of Chicago commissioned Keithley to create three original mural installations in the spirit of its other world premiere this season, " Lyric Unlimited and The Factotum."

Once again the world is divided into competing spheres of eastern and western power, but is it a new cold war or reheated leftovers from the last one?The answer is a bit of both.For Vladimir Putin, the superpower rivalry of the 20th century never ended, although in economic and military terms there was a clear winner and it wasn't the Soviet Union.

Officials in Hawaii seized a motorboat that had been floating just feet away from a sacred site on Maui known as the Hauola Stone.The officials told the boat owner they are taking control of the 56-foot grounded motorboat, named Kuuipo, in order to avoid damaging a culturally significant site, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a Facebook post Saturday.

Investigators probing the toxic train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, are reviewing multiple videos of the train prior to it derailing.One video shows what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement Tuesday.

As officials investigate the recent derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in eastern Ohio, concerns about the disaster's effects on human health and the environment are growing, and experts warned that understanding the causes and consequences could require a more comprehensive investigation than what they have seen so far.

What can be done to live more sustainably?Francesca Visintin St Philomena's (Image: Pexels) Sustainability is the responsible use of natural resources to support both current and future generations.In 1987, the United Nations defined sustainability as Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Aquatic plants and debris are exposed by the falling water levels at the Kakhovka Reservoir.Researchers say that the draining of the reservoir by Russian forces are but one example of the war's effect on Ukraine's water supply.Dmytro Smoliyenko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty At the massive Kakhovka Reservoir in southern Ukraine, water levels should be rapidly rising.

France is to reduce its military presence in Africa and transform its bases into partnerships with African soldiers, Emmanuel Macron has said ahead of a crucial trip to the continent this week.The French president's comments came as anti-French sentiment runs high in several former colonies in the Sahel, and Paris seeks to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.

Thursday, March 16, 2023 by Seth Smalley
Following a substantial decrease in demand, Travis County has announced that March 26 will be the last day Mansfield Dam Park will serve as a drop-off location for storm debris.Winter Storm Mara created an outsize need for debris disposal at the beginning of February, after it snapped tree limbs and downed power lines throughout the county.

Photo by Austin Resource Recovery
Thursday, March 2, 2023 by Seth Smalley
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday mulled the county's ongoing response to Winter Storm Mara, which rattled Central Texas with sleet, ice and rain four weeks ago, snapping power cables and tearing down tree branches.

Environment The right whale "Nimbus" was among them.Slow zones were put into effect in the waters near Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard as part of an ongoing effort to save endangered right whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.These voluntary speed advisories were implemented Friday and will remain in place until March 25 in the hopes of decreasing vessel strikes on whales.

The US Forest Service will move forward with killing feral cattle in New Mexico's Gila National Forest, officials say.The agency issued its decision in a news release on Thursday, stating the feral cattle pose a significant threat to public safety and natural resources.Aerial shooting of the cattle will take place from February 23 to February 26, according to the news release.

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Rachel Ziemba of the Center for a New American Security about sanctions which have failed to dramatically weaken Russia's economy, and its ability to finance the war.LEILA FADEL, HOST: Since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, the U.S. and other allies have imposed more than 11,000 sanctions on Russia.

Animal rights organisation PETA has launched the Vegan Wool Challenge, calling on designers and researchers to develop a vegan alternative to sheep's wool with a lower environmental impact.The competition will award $1 million to the first entrant who develops a bio-based or bioengineered material that mimics the look, feel and performance of wool and is adopted by a major fashion brand.

Local Julia Hopkins, an assistant professor at Northeastern University, is using coconut fibers, wood chips and other material to create floating mats to blunt the force of waves, and encourage growth of aquatic vegetation in Boston.Coastal communities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and around the world are adding a tropical twist to shoreline protection, courtesy of the humble coconut.

A growing debate over the possible environmental damage caused by fireworks shows, especially over waterways, recently erupted in federal court where climate activists are pushing for stronger regulations of a popular Independence Day celebration in Southern California.While fireworks have for years been known to cause significant air pollution - with July 4 and 5 recording some of Southern California's worst air quality days - activists and attorneys with the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation want officials to help minimize the damage fireworks pose to waterways when the pyrotechnics debris and chemicals sink into the ocean or other water sources.

In ecology, as in comedy, timing is everything.Hours, minutes or even seconds can make the difference for an animal between stumbling upon a predator and avoiding one, between finding a bush loaded with berries and discovering branches that have already been gnawed bare.Mere moments can determine whether a raccoon comes face-to-face with a bobcat at night, whether a flock of cocky turkeys finds its field already occupied by cranes, whether a deer disappears into the trees before a coyote appears on the scene.

A group of German lawmakers said their visit to Taipei is a gesture of "solidarity."The visit has sparked criticism and condemnation from the Chinese government.Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen thanked Germany for its support following a meeting with a delegation of senior German lawmakers on Tuesday.

Portland's Charter Review Commission voted to send seven charter amendments to voters in 2024 and five potential charter amendments to City Council for final deliberation Tuesday evening.The commission could technically revote on the proposals this coming Saturday, but they likely won't have enough members present to changes the results of Tuesday's vote.

Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released her annual report Wednesday.Here are some of the highlights from the 15 different audits her office conducted.The auditor general's 2022 report covers a wide range of topics, from Ontario's COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout to money laundering in the province's casinos.

The environmental activist who was killed by police in Atlanta while protesting against Georgia's planned Cop City was shot more than a dozen times, according to private autopsy results released by his family.Officers from multiple agencies shot and killed Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, also known as Tortuguita, on 18 January after authorities moved through the camp of activists who were in a forest to protest a planned $90m police training facility.

A Russian businessman believed to be a close ally of Yevgeny Prigozhin has been taken to hospital in Central African Republic after an assassination attempt, the RIA Novosti news agency has reported, citing the local Russian embassy.Dmitry Sytii, who officially works as the head of the Russian House culture centre in CAR's capital, Bangui, had sanctions imposed on him by the US in September 2020 for his alleged links to Wagner Group, a private military group founded by Prigozhin that has deployed more than 1,000 fighters in the unstable country to fight rebels.

The fight to preserve Bell Bowl Prairie in Rockford, where federally endangered rusty patched bumblebees have been found, ramped up this week, with environmentalists saying they intend to return to federal court.The Natural Land Institute, a nonprofit that opposes the Chicago Rockford International Airport's plan to build a road through the heart of Bell Bowl, said their lawyers had sent a letter to local, state and federal agencies informing them of plans to file a lawsuit alleging violations of the Endangered Species Act.

Three remote Spanish communities have been named as among the best villages in the world for tourists  the most entries for a single country.The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently revealed its annual list of the best tourism villages across the globe, with those included in the list scoring highly on social and environmental sustainability as well as their tourism work.

The US is set to double its gas exports to the UK under plans to clamp down on rising living costs by weaning Britain off Russian energy.The Prime Minister has pledged that the new partnership to boost energy security, efficiency and affordability will cut prices for Britons and ensure the UK's national supply can never again be manipulated by the whims of a failing regime.