A group of environmental scientists working with the CIA once again has access to data gathered by intelligence satellites. The images include tropical forests, ice melts, desert landscapes, even population shifts. The program had been discontinued in 2001.
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In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have proposed filling large valleys left by volcanic rock deep under the Atlantic Ocean with liquid carbon waste.
Estimates suggest that just one of these ‘vaults’ could potentially hold 40 years worth of waste from up to four coal power plants. However, according to National Geographic News, experts also warn there is a risk of earthquakes connected with storing carbon so close to the shoreline.
Multiple sites are being studied in and around the New York and New Jersey area and pilot programs for undersea carbon storage are underway in Iceland and in the Columbia River Valley.
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For some people, the New Year brings new concerns about the elderly folks in their lives. If that’s you, here’s something you should know: The internet strengthens the brains of even older people. Middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience were able to trigger key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning after just one week of surfing the web. Use of the internet could be one of the main reasons why IQ’s are rising. But while more older adults than ever are using cell phones and computers, a technology gap still exists that threatens to turn senior citizens into second-class citizens.
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What will drugs do to YOUR town in 2010? Most of us know that Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug of choice, and that heroin may be the most damaging drug an individual can use, but it is crack cocaine that has changed the world as Americans know it, especially in big cities. And the war against them isn’t working.
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