Software that tracks tweets
said to track mood of nation


Researchers at Loughborough University in England have developed computer software they say can gauge the mood of a nation or even the entire globe, in real time.

The system, called EMOTIVE, is based on analyzing Twitter feeds, they say, adding that their software program can process and analyze up to 2,000 tweets a second.

Emotionally charged words or phrases are extracted and semantically filtered into eight categories of emotion: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise, shame and confusion.

“Twitter is a very concise platform through which users express publicly how they feel about a particular event, be that a criminal act, a new government policy or even a change in the weather,” said Tom Jackson of the university’s Center for Information Management. “Through the computer program we have created, we can collate these expressions of feelings in real time, map them geographically and track how they develop.”

While the system can map reactions to events as they unfold, it can also analyze how the public mood changes over time.

The researchers say the system could have several applications. For example, law enforcement could use it to track potential criminal behavior or threats to public safety, and policy makers could use it to help decision making during major incidents.

Currently, the system handles British-based tweets, but the researchers say it could be scaled up easily to monitor tweets globally, of which there are 10,000 a second.

According to Amanda Overend, a spokeswoman for Loughborough University, there have already been "screenings on events outside the UK. They did one on the NSA scandal in the US."


New study ties human efforts
to extreme weather events


No evidence has linked extreme weather events to climate change, until now. New research suggests devastating floods, droughts and storms were exacerbated by human-induced climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels in cars, factories and homes.

The new report, released by British and American climate agencies, analyzes a dozen extreme weather events which occurred worldwide in 2012.

“What they find is about half of the events," said Thomas Karl, director of the U.S. National Climatic Data Center. "The analyses reveal compelling evidence that human-caused change was a factor contributing to the extreme event.” 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Britain’s Met Office Hadley Centre edited the report. Co-editor and scientist Thomas Peterson says natural weather patterns and human induced climate change are factors in the intensity and evolution of events.

While last year’s spring and summer heat waves in the United States are attributed to normal atmospheric dynamics, climate scientists found that is not the entire story.

“They estimated that human caused climate change contributed about one-third of the magnitude of that warmth," Peterson said. "Or in terms of risk, greenhouse warming had already made very large seasonal departures from normal, like the temperatures in the spring in the Eastern U.S. about 12 times more likely to occur.”

The report also blamed human-caused climate change for the warmer ocean and atmosphere that drove the loss of sea ice in the Arctic.

That was not the case with Hurricane Sandy, the devastating storm that hit New Jersey and New York last October. Karl says the rare event might have occurred anyway.

“What the analysis was saying with the added increase of sea level, that just makes that kind of event incrementally worse," Karl said. "And in some of these events that is the kind of result that we are seeing.  However, in a number of these other events we could not detect a human influence.”

High rainfall in Britain, the United States, China and Japan were mainly due to natural variability, while the report detected a warming-climate connection in precipitation in Australia and New Zealand. 

“We are making great strides in our ability to understand these events," Karl said. "We attribute this to increased computational resource, improved quality of data sets. With these tools we continue to gain more insights into the many factors that affect the frequency and intensity as well as the spatial and temporal patterns of the extreme events.” 

And, Karl adds, the more accurate information collected by climate scientists can help policy makers and the public better understand and manage the impact of climate change.



China clamping down
on rumors from Internet


Chinese Internet users now could face up to three years in prison for writing what the government calls irresponsible rumors.

New guidelines issued by China's top court and prosecutor say defamatory messages are considered serious if they are viewed more than 5,000 times or reposted more than 500 times on blogs or social media networks such as Weibo. The new rules contain prohibitions against blackmail, extortion and provoking online arguments.

Proponents of the new guidelines said in an interview that standardization will help enforce the law.

However, opponents such as human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang say the rules are useless.

"I would consider it lazy to simply believe that a certain rumor could lead to turmoil without looking into other reasons that have caused the turmoil," Pu said. "In addition, I don't believe these two judicial interpretations will have any real vigor in the future. They are not usable and will be cast away very soon."

The Chinese government has been engaged in a high-profile anti-rumor campaign for several months. 



Progress reported in battle
against exploitation of wildlife


Thai and American officials are reporting progress in a combined effort to curb the global trade in illicit wildlife. But they say the problem is growing because of increased demand worldwide for endangered animals and lucrative parts of their bodies.

Thai authorities are trying to make a dent in what has become a multibillion dollar illicit business, taking endangered animals from their natural habitats and selling them or parts of them on the black market.

For the past several years, Thailand has had an ally on the law enforcement front to combat the trade, the United States government.

A key official on the American side is William Brownfield, the State Department's assistant secretary responsible for the global fight against illegal drugs and organized crime, who investigates, arrests, prosecutes and incarcerates illicit traders.

“Illegal wildlife traffickers are definitely criminals," Brownfield said.
 
Thai authorities say they forecast a total seizure this year of 20,000 live animals, a  number that has been increasing in recent years in Thailand and other countries.

Increased demand, in part from wealthier customers in Asia, is creating a larger market, said Brownfield.

"The larger number of seized and confiscated wildlife shows, as well, that law enforcement is beginning to work," he said.

One of the biggest concerns for authorities here is that Thailand is being used as a shipping point, especially for ivory.  A single elephant can be worth up to $30,000.
 
Cooperation with the United States has become a key factor in reducing wildlife trafficking and sales of related illicit products, said Theerapat Prayurasiddhi, the deputy director general of Thailand's national parks.

"It's a worldwide problem due to poverty, greed and people who want to exploit natural resources for their own benefit," he said.  "This results in the increase in wildlife trafficking and we must pursue a global solution."

But even pursuing a regional solution in Southeast Asia is proving to be a big challenge. The kingpins of the trafficking have proven to be untouchable, so far. Honest officers say they are stymied by corrupt counterparts and a lack of sharing of intelligence, among different agencies, let alone across borders.

U.S. wildlife authorities say they will destroy six metric tons of illegal elephant ivory seized by customs agents.

Whole tusks, carvings and other ivory material held in storage in Colorado will be crushed next month.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewel says the rising demand for ivory is fueling the horrific slaughter of African elephants and threatens the remaining elephant population.

Jewell says the United States will work aggressively with global law enforcement agencies to prosecute criminals who traffic in ivory.

The ivory trade and elephant poaching continues despite a global ban on ivory in 1990.


Found Van Gogh landscape
will go on exhibit Sept. 24


Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum has unveiled a newly discovered painting by the Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh.

The museum on Monday revealed "Sunset at Montmajour," a large oil landscape.

Museum officials say the painting had been in the attic of a Norwegian collector who thought the painting was a fraud after buying it in 1908.

They say the painting was authenticated by letters, style and the physical materials used.

Museum officials described the discovery as a "once in a lifetime experience."

The painting will go on public display at the museum on Sept. 24.


Religions seen as allies
in preserving biodiversity


Throughout history, there have been many groups and cultures that have worshiped the Earth or nature. While the world’s major organized religions do not hold to those beliefs, some scientists say today’s religious leaders could play a key role in protecting the environment.

Ecologist Grzegorz Mikusinski believes a little faith may go a long way in helping to preserve biodiversity. He and his colleagues have studied how people of different religions are distributed around the world. Many live in areas where biodiversity may be at risk from climate change, development or other factors.

“Christians and especially Roman Catholics are most numerous in the countries where there is a lot of biodiversity. It’s obvious that South America is very, very important here: Brazil, Ecuador and so on. And all these countries are strongly Catholic. And then the United States, Mexico and then some countries in Africa – those countries that are in this belt of very high biodiversity along the equator,” said Mikusinski, an associate professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

He said there’s a certain amount of overlapping of religions and biodiversity, such as Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Hindu in the Indian subcontinent and Islam in Asia Minor and regions of North and Central Africa. He says the environment is not usually a topic of sermons or speeches to the faithful, but perhaps it should be.

“I’ve actually been a member of  Catholic Church many, many years and I have to tell you, frankly, that, I don’t know, maybe I’ve listened to 1,500 preaching priests and I’ve never heard a word – or very little, I think never – about being more modest in your way you are using the resources.”

Caring for the environment, he said, would be in religious communities’ best interests.

“Religious congregations own about, I think, if I recall well, seven percent of the land on the Earth and then additional eight percent are considered as being sacred lands. So, actually 15 percent – that is very high number – is directly linked to religions, so to speak.”

His colleague at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences -- Malgorzata Blicharka – is co-author of the study. She wrote that conservation strategies are needed which “can change people’s ethical attitudes towards nature and encourage modes of thinking and lifestyles that are good for the environment.” Mikusinski agrees.

“We have a moral obligation to secure a decent living for coming generations. This is common for almost all religions. We are using more and more resources per capita. And of course in the long run it’s not sustainable,” he said.

He admitted it’s a complicated issue. For example, it’s difficult to ask the poor to use even fewer resources than they do now.

Another co-author of the study, Hugh Possihngham of the University of Queensland in Australia, wrote, “Roman Catholics, per capita, have the greatest potential to preserve biological diversity where they live.”

Mikusinski pointed out that Francis of Assisi is the Roman Catholic patron saint of animals and ecology. And now, the current pope is named Francis. He said that he hopes Pope Francis will take an active role in protecting biodiversity.


Missing motorcyclist found
alive after four months in Andes


A 58-year-old Uruguayan man who disappeared four months ago in the remote Andes Mountains has been found alive.

Argentine authorities say they found Raúl Fernando Gómez Circunegui Sunday in a shelter 2,840 meters above sea level when they traveled there to record snow levels.

Gómez set out in May to motorcycle across the Andes between Chile and Argentina. He said his motorcycle broke down and he tried to finish his trip on foot, but became disoriented by two heavy snowfalls. Local media reported he survived winter by eating rats he trapped, sugar, raisins, and food stored in mountain shelters.

He lost 20 kilograms during the ordeal and is dehydrated, but doctors say he is otherwise in good condition.

A search for Gómez had been called off in July due to heavy snowstorms.


Coffee grounds are ingredient
in biofuels research project


What’s usually considered old garbage might be a promising asset for our energy supply, according to University of Cincinnati researchers.

University of Cincinnati researchers are discovering that an ingredient in our old coffee grounds might someday serve as a cheaper, cleaner fuel for cars, furnaces and other energy sources.

Yang Liu, a graduate student in environmental engineering in Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science presented a summary of early-but-promising discoveries on his team’s research at the American Chemical Society’s 246th National Meeting & Exposition in Indianapolis.

Liu and fellow researchers Qingshi Tu, a doctoral student in environmental engineering, and Mingming Lu, an associate professor of environmental engineering, used a three-pronged approach to converting waste coffee grounds into energy sources including biodiesel and activated carbon by extracting oil from the waste, drying the waste coffee grounds after oil removal to filter impurities in biodiesel production and turning what was left as an alternative energy source for electricity, similar to using biomass.

The researchers launched the project in 2010, gathering waste coffee grounds in a five-gallon bucket from a Starbucks store on the University of Cincinnati campus. After collection, they removed the oil from the waste coffee grounds and converted triglycerides into biodiesel and the byproduct, glycerin. The coffee grounds were then dried and used to purify the biodiesel they derived from the waste coffee grounds.

The preliminary results showed that the oil content in the waste coffee grounds was between 8.37 to 19.63 percent, and biodiesel made from coffee oil meets international standards. The efficiency of using the waste coffee grounds as a purification material to remove the impurities in crude biodiesel, such as methanol and residual glycerin, was slightly lower compared with commercial purification products. However, the researchers reported that results still indicate a promising alternative, considering the cost of purification products. Future research will continue to focus on improving the purification efficiency of waste coffee grounds-derived activated carbon.

Compared with petroleum diesel, the cleaner-burning biodiesel reduces the emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particular matters.

Waste coffee grounds that result from brewing one of the world’s most popular beverages is estimated to result in more than one million tons per year in the U.S. alone, with the majority of that waste getting dumped into landfills.

The researchers say the method they’re exploring to produce biodiesel would not only open landfill space, but it also holds promise in creating biodiesel from a natural product that’s not also in high demand as a food source, such as corn and soybean crops that are used to manufacture biodiesel.