natural resources

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The Lunar Rush Is On, With Plans to Mine Helium-3
Rare Gas Sets Off
a Lunar Rush
Mar 23, 2024 7:30 AM CDT

Rare Gas Sets Off a Lunar Rush

Startup Interlune plans to mine the moon for helium-3, estimated to be worth $4 billion per ton

(Newser) - Like many private companies, Interlune is seeing dollar signs in the night sky—and now its plans to extract a rare gas from the moon has a timeline. Per Ars Technica , there's an abundance of helium-3 that can hypothetically be extracted from the moon and transported back home, and...

Today Marks a Troubling Day for the Planet

Earth Overshoot Day is here, a day earlier than last year

(Newser) - Environmental groups say today is "Earth Overshoot Day"—the day when all the resources the planet can regenerate in a year have been used up—and the rest of the year's consumption will be what amounts to deficit spending. The date went back to August 22 due...

We Just Hit a Disappointing Mark: Earth Overshoot Day

We've used all that the planet can regenerate in a year

(Newser) - Today is "Earth Overshoot Day," the day in the year when humans have used more resources than the planet can regenerate and created more pollution than it can absorb, according to the Global Footprint Network . But don't save the date in your calendar—it has arrived earlier...

Hunters' Quota Was 119 Wolves. They Blew Past It

Wisconsin's quota was exceeded by 82%

(Newser) - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved 1,547 permits to kill a quota of 119 wolves during a weeklong hunt. What happened instead: 216 wolves were killed in less than 60 hours, per the New York Times . That's 82% more than the limit allowed, and conservationists are furious....

Today Marks a Grim Day for Planet Earth

We just used up a year's worth of natural resources in 8 months

(Newser) - Happy "overshoot day." Eight months into 2015, the global population has used up a year's supply of natural resources, meaning we're now in "ecological debt," reports the Guardian , via the Global Footprint Network . The GFN measures "humanity's annual demand for the goods...

Report: Earth Heading for Point of No Return

Biodiversity down, and resources being eaten up

(Newser) - Humans are using up Earth’s resources much faster than they can be renewed—it takes the Earth 1.5 years to make up for what we use in just one year, according to a disturbing new report from the World Wildlife Fund . Last year, humans went through the full...

Let's Start Paying for Water—Or Lose It
 Let's Start Paying 
 for Water—Or Lose It 
OPINION
Aug 30, 2009 11:54 AM CDT

Let's Start Paying for Water—Or Lose It

Solution to 'crisis' may be controversial, but problem will only worsen

(Newser) - You may receive a water bill every month, but you’re not actually paying for water. You’re paying for the cost of service, and this free-rider problem is contributing to the worsening water crisis that threatens to dehydrate the US, author and law professor Robert Glennon argues in the...

Russia Warns of Arctic War
 Russia Warns 
 of Arctic War 
May 14, 2009 3:41 AM CDT

Russia Warns of Arctic War

New document says Moscow should prepare for polar resources battle

(Newser) - A document released by the Russian government suggests that the country should prepare for war in the Arctic within the next decade, as rising temperatures intensify the scramble for the region's vast oil and gas fields. Russia claims sovereignty over a 465,000-square-mile ridge, which the US and other northern...

Bush Policies Will Blow Through Nat'l Parks for Years

Putting commerce over conservation, White House stifled scientists' protests

(Newser) - Views of spacious skies and purple mountain majesties in US national parks may soon be interrupted by industrial roads and power lines, after years of Bush policies that pushed commerce over conservation, reports the Los Angeles Times. And unlike the many decisions that President Obama can quickly reverse, the changes...

War in Congo Is Over Profit—From Us
 War in Congo Is Over 
 Profit—From Us 
OPINION
Nov 1, 2008 8:47 AM CDT

War in Congo Is Over Profit—From Us

Westerners fund violence over control of minerals

(Newser) - We’re told that the renewed bloodshed in Congo is spurred by tribal conflict and payback for the Rwandan genocide, but that’s not true, writes Johann Hari in the Independent. In fact, the war starting again there—"the deadliest war since Adolf Hitler"—is over Congo’s...

Water-Neutral Campaign Is Nothing but Eco-Guilt
Water-Neutral Campaign
Is Nothing but Eco-Guilt
OPINION
Aug 24, 2008 3:07 PM CDT

Water-Neutral Campaign Is Nothing but Eco-Guilt

If rich countries were really water-neutral, we'd all be dead

(Newser) - A new UK campaign urging people to be more “water wise” lays bare a flaw in the environmental movement, Brendan O’Neill writes in Spiked. The campaign urges people to be conscious of the “virtual water” used on their behalf to carry out tasks like growing coffee beans...

This View Zaps Stress, Naturally

Study finds plasma TV images no substitute

(Newser) - For stress relief, there is no substitute for views of nature, the Seattle Times reports. A University of Washington study found that students who faced a stressful task returned to a normal heart rate most quickly while looking out the window at trees and grass.

WWII Mines Block Egypt's Access to Oil

4.8B barrels of crude lie under 22M mines, shells in desert

(Newser) - Millions of land mines and unexploded artillery shells left over from World War II are hampering Egypt's efforts to get at a treasure trove of oil and gas beneath the desert, der Spiegel reports. The ordnance is an unwelcome reminder of the North African conflict between Brits and Erwin Rommel’...

Feds Flood Grand Canyon
Feds Flood Grand Canyon
Mar 5, 2008 6:27 PM CST

Feds Flood Grand Canyon

Controlled deluge may help rebuild vanishing sandbars

(Newser) - Government officials sent a flood of water surging through the Grand Canyon today in a bid to mimic Mother Nature and rebuild sandbars and other natural habitat for endangered fish. The deluge will continue for three days, increasing by about four or five times the usual flow from the Grand...

Greenies Blast Plan to Flood Colorado River

Move may help fish endangered by dam, scientists say

(Newser) - A plan to flood the Colorado River is a token move that leaves fish endangered, green advocates say. Federal officials retort that scientists will probe whether the controlled flood—the third so far—helps species threatened by the Glen Canyon Dam. But "doing one of these every five or...

EU Makes Nice With Africa
EU Makes Nice With Africa 
Dec 7, 2007 8:10 PM CST

EU Makes Nice With Africa

Europe offers trade pacts that snub human rights; UK refuses to attend Lisbon summit

(Newser) - The EU will pooh-pooh human rights issues this weekend as it woos Africa with new trade pacts at a rare summit in Lisbon, the Economist reports. With China and India snapping up more African resources, Europe plans to offer friendly deals that leave out human rights demands. But the EU's...

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Water

Sunbelt lusts for Great Lakes' water, but eight states vow to keep it

(Newser) - You'd think the warm weather and easy living would make the West and South leave Frostbelters alone. But no, they want what that frost is made from: water. As drought and development strain limited local water resources, the Sunbelt wants to tap some of the billions of gallons of Great...

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed
Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed
Oct 17, 2007 9:28 AM CDT

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed

Bid follows this summer's Arctic territory scramble

(Newser) - Britain will submit a claim to the UN for 386,000 square miles of Antarctica, its foreign office said today, joining the international race to grab a piece of the mineral- and oil-rich territory as global warming makes it more accessible. The move violates a 1959 treaty, which Britain signed,...

China Seeks Oil in Africa
China Seeks Oil in Africa
Aug 13, 2007 10:34 AM CDT

China Seeks Oil in Africa

Eschewing the West, Beijing touts mutual prosperity with developing nations

(Newser) - China is exploring the sweltering wilderness of Chad in search of lucrative pockets of oil and other materials, the New York Times reports. Chinese officials tout the strategy as a "win-win" situation as the country develops relationships with African nations to achieve mutual prosperity by capitalizing on natural resources...

Canada Vows to Defend Pole
Canada Vows to Defend Pole
Aug 10, 2007 2:56 PM CDT

Canada Vows to Defend Pole

New patrol vessels to venture out as Arctic tensions escalate with Russia

(Newser) - As Russia presses claims to the North Pole, Canada is stepping up its defense of its Arctic territory and will no longer take its sovereignty "too lighty," PM Stephen Harper declared yesterday during an Arctic tour. Canada is building six patrol vessels to guard the icy territory where...

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