Environment

Powerful, deadly storms continue to move across US South

(AP) - Powerful storms that killed at least two people continued to move across the South on Sunday after spawning suspected tornadoes that left several people injured and multiple homes and businesses damaged or without power.

National Weather Service meteorologist John Moore said a possible twister touched down Saturday in the Vicksburg, Mississippi, area. No injuries have been reported, but officials said several businesses and vehicles were damaged. Trees were down throughout the hilly city on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi.

"Bomb cyclone" storm hammering central US, disrupting travel

(AP) - Blizzard warnings were posted from Colorado to Minnesota on Wednesday and wildfires were a concern in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma as the second so-called “bomb cyclone” storm in less than a month hit the central U.S., raising the prospect of renewed flooding in the already drenched Midwest.

Heavy snow disrupted ground and air travel Wednesday. Roads became impassable and visibility was down to a few feet in northeastern South Dakota due to heavy snowfall. About half of the daily flights at Denver International Airport were canceled.

Dutchman concludes 95,000km 'world's longest electric car trip'

SYDNEY, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Dutchman Wiebe Wakker pulled into Sydney on Sunday having traveled 95,000 km over three years in his fully electric powered car.

In a journey which took him across 33 countries including Turkey, Iran, India and Malaysia, Wakker hoped to prove the viability of electric vehicles and spread a message of sustainability.

While not officially a world record, due to the car being modified for electric power, the 95,000-km distance is reportedly the longest ever driven in an electric vehicle.

Experimental water purifying plant opens in Australia

SYDNEY, April 8 (Xinhua) -- An experimental facility launched in the Australian State of Queensland on Monday will test a new way to purify bore water, industrial wastewater and sea water for drinking.

For the past three years, researchers from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), along with Japanese chemical conglomerate Asahi Kasei, have worked to develop a method by which solar energy or industrial "waste heat" can be used to desalinate water samples.

German automakers illegally colluded on emissions technology

5 Apr 2019; DW: German car manufacturing giants Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW illegally colluded to hinder competition on emission cleaning technology, the European Commission said on Friday.

The initial findings from an investigation by the EU's antitrust regulators came nearly two years after authorities carried out raids on their headquarters.

What the Commission found:

India: Pollution main factor in rise of COPD

KANPUR: Pollution has been a vital factor in rising of heart diseases, lungs cancer, lungs infection, asthma, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases. This city, being one of the most polluted cities in the country, remains badly in grip of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is a common lung disease. It becomes hard to breathe if one has COPD.

Judge restores Obama-era drilling ban in Arctic

31 Mar 2019; AP: President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he reversed bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, a U.S. judge said in a ruling that restored the Obama-era restrictions.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason in a decision late Friday threw out Trump’s executive order that overturned the bans that comprised a key part of Obama’s environmental legacy.

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