Science, Technology, Heritage & Architecture~
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China finds new way to recycle plastic
BEIJING — A Chinese research team has developed a new method of recycling polyethylene plastic waste that could cut costs while producing a range of useful petroleum-based materials, according to a paper published recently in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Polyethylene plastic, which is one of the five main types of plastic, is highly stable and Continue reading
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Warming shocks the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Climate change is bringing heatwaves and drought, glaciers are melting faster, lakes are expanding and desertification is worsening. July 4, 2023 Editor’s Note: The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in south-western China, is known as the “roof of the world”. It is home to more mountain glaciers than anywhere else on the planet and is the source of Continue reading
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BRICS Health & Pharmaceutical Association
BRICS Health and Pharmaceutical Association of Africa has been launched in South Africa to help the African continent improve its health systems and be prepared for future pandemics. The initiative seeks to tap into research and development and advanced technology from BRICS countries and use it in Africa to address the burden of diseases, according Continue reading
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China bans Fukushima produce
China bans food imports from Fukushima, tightens scrutiny of seafood shipments from other parts of Japan Japan’s nuclear regulator granted approval on Friday for utility company Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), which ran the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, to start the country’s controversial plan to dump a million tons of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into Continue reading
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Japan ocean discharge threat to all
“The Fukushima accident is considered already as the largest manmade release of radioactive material into the ocean …. In Fukushima nuclear wastewater, tritium is not the only radionuclide of great concern. … Nuclear waste water contained other radioactive materials apart from tritium, such as Ruthenium 106, Cobolt 60 and Strontium 90. Although the concentration of these isotopes Continue reading
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Ancient China green seaweed micro-fossils
Paleontologists have made a remarkable discovery in China -one billion-year-old micro-fossils of green seaweeds that could be related to the ancestor of the earliest land plants and trees that first developed 450 million years ago. A team of scientists from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology in China and the Department of Geosciences and Continue reading
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Engels and Foundations of Marxism
Engels and the Second Foundation of Marxism The following article by Professor John Bellamy Foster is based on his Engels Memorial Lecture presented to the Marx Memorial Library in London, England, on November 30, 2022. The author has revised it here, including the addition of a lengthy postscript, from the earlier version published in the Marx Continue reading
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Food security: protecting China’s soils
China launches national soil survey to protect arable land Originally Posted August 7, 2022 After rapid development and intensive farming, China is to carry out a new national soil survey to help with its food security and carbon targets. China Dialogue recently published an article by three Chinese scientists. The authors are soil science experts Continue reading
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China’s commercial Small Modular Reactor
China is building the “Linglong-1,” a small modular reactor (SMR) in the country’s southern island province of Hainan. It’s the world’s first of this type of reactor to be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and it intends to serve the region’s diverse power needs. A design sketch of a completed Linglong-1 power unit. /Hainan Nuclear Continue reading
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China improves soil quality with humus
Originally Posted 19 Dec 2021 A type of biological humic acid, featuring high purity and high activity, extracted from agricultural and forestry waste has been industrialized and used for soil restoration in China. A large amount of agricultural and forestry wastes are burned in the open air due to the lack of large-scale high-value utilization, resulting Continue reading
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New Environmental History of Socialism
Review of: Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro, Socialist States and the Environment: Lessons for Ecosocialist Futures (London: Pluto Press, 2021), 288 pages, $26.95, paperback. Review by associate professor Andy Bruno. Starting in the late 1970s, a narrative emerged about the extreme levels of environmental damage in the Soviet Union and, by implication, most state-socialist countries. The explosion and initial Continue reading
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China finds gene to boost grain yield
Originally posted 24 July 2022 Chinese scientists have found a gene in crops such as rice and wheat which can improve the efficiency of photosynthesis and nitrogen utilization and significantly boost grain yield. The researchers enhanced the expression of the OsDREB1C gene in two rice varieties through genetic engineering technology. And they conducted field trials Continue reading
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China’s plan to clean up ‘new pollutants’
“This is a significant step forward for China’s chemical regime.” Liu Jianguo, Associate Professor, Peking University Hopes are high that a Chinese action plan will help control chemicals with ongoing harmful effects. In 2014, China declared a “war on pollution”. Since then, air quality has improved significantly, with nationwide levels of PM2.5 – harmful fine particles Continue reading
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China’s new solar semi-satellite drone
In a big step toward green development, China has built its first solar-powered large unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone successfully carried out its maiden flight on Saturday. It took off from an airport in Yulin, northwest China’s Shaanxi province and landed smoothly after 26 minutes airborne with all systems operating normally, according to a report Continue reading
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China chairs Biodiversity Convention on
China currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD). This is the first time China has overseen a major UN intergovernmental negotiation on the environment. The first meeting in the current round of Conference of Parties (COP15) of the CBD was officially opened by China in Continue reading
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Extreme heat and global climate
China recently braved its strongest heatwave. Europe is also suffering from heatwaves and the worst drought in 500 years. What’s behind the high temperatures? And what does this extreme heat tell us about global climate change? What is going to be the impact on agriculture and food security? “A a very important facet is that Continue reading
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Extreme drought tests China’s power
Galvanizing energy tests As the rare triple-dip La Nina treks the globe leaving behind it extreme weather phenomena and disasters, some regions in southern China are experiencing a severe drought that only happens once in decades, which has challenged the country’s power supply and storage system. Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, which largely relies on hydropower, Continue reading
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Global South not cause of climate change
‘Time to call a spade a spade ….’ In response to our article posted on another Facebook environmental site commenting on how China leads the world in green energy, a US reader from New York in the USA commented: “It may, but China is still the biggest CO2 emitter by far.” This sort of snide Continue reading
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Emerging technologies to hasten China’s renewable power revolution
Electricity generation remains China’s major source of CO2 emissions. China Daily reports: Digital technology will play an important role in Chinese power generation enterprises’ transition to a low carbon world by enabling emissions reductions, according to a recently released report. Digitalization tools, including the internet of things, 5G, smart grids and distributed energy resources, along Continue reading
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Environmental noise affects mate choice in animals: Chinese study
Chinese researchers have discovered that noise influences mate choice based on visual information in animals via cross-sensory interference, according to the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Animal communication is often hampered by noise interference, while little is known about its cross-modal effect and how animals weigh unimodal and multimodal courtship Continue reading
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China commissions first phase of 200 MW ‘vanadium flow battery’ – scale dwarfs anything else in the world
Energy Storage News reports that China has commissioned a 100MW/400MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) energy storage system in Dalian City’s Shahekou District, which is in Liaoning Province in northeastern China. A vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is a type of rechargeable flow battery is a type of electrochemical cell where chemical energy is provided by two chemical components dissolved in liquids, that are Continue reading
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China: national soil survey to protect arable land
Published 2022/08/07 After rapid development and intensive farming, China is to carry out a new national soil survey to help with its food security and carbon targets. Black soil in North East China is some of the most fertile in the world, but the has been damaged by over-cultivation says Chinese Academy of Sciences. China Continue reading
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China’s experience guides international high-speed railway standards
The International Union of Railways published, for the first time, two international standards for high-speed railway infrastructure design and power supply, which were mainly drafted and developed by China. Known by its French initials UIC, the union was founded in France in 1922. Being a 210-member international association, the UIC aims to promote global railway transportation and cooperation. Continue reading
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Biodiversity conservation in Tibet: China releases over 2.6 million native fish
A total of 2.65 million fish have been bred and released this year in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, including six fish species endemic to the Lhasa River, to further aid local aquatic biodiversity conservation. Currently, 71 species (including subspecies) of indigenous fish can be found in Tibet. Tsedrum, president of the Tibet Academy of Continue reading
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China a world leader: top 10 institutions by research output in 2021
Four Chinese scientific institutions ranked among world’s top 10 institutions of research output in 2021, with the country demonstrating strong R&D capacity and gradually minimizing the gap between developed countries, according to the Nature Index released in June. Chinese Academy of Sciences won the first spot globally, followed by Harvard University in US, Max Planck Continue reading
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Chinese EV technology helps Scottish bus builder deliver greener future
In March 2021, Scottish-based bus builder Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and Chinese owned BYD (UK) jointly announced that their electric vehicle partnership will manufacture electric single and double deck buses in Scotland for the British market. ADL is the UK’s leading electric bus producer, having manufactured buses since in 1904. Joint production commenced in the Continue reading
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China has highest levels of trust in science
A total of 92 percent of respondents in China believe there are negative consequences for society if people do not value science. SOSI Chinese people have the highest level of trust in science, relying on it to solve pandemic and environmental challenges, a recent survey finds. Among 17 countries surveyed, 90 percent of Chinese respondents Continue reading
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Professor Jeffrey Sachs on COVID-19: I’m pretty convinced it came out of US lab biotechnology
World-renowned economist and author Professor Jeffrey Sachs has said that he was “pretty convinced” Covid-19 did not come from nature but rather was an accidental release “out of US lab biotechnology.” Professor Sach’s view lends further support for the need for an independent international invesigation into US bio labs run by the US military in Continue reading
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China draws on markets for $10 billion to strengthen its clean tech supremacy
Three Chinese electric vehicle battery and material companies are tapping investors for more than $10bn in new funding as the country cements its dominance over global clean tech supply chains. The combined fundraising by the three Chinese groups — CATL, Tianqi Lithium and Huayou Cobalt — eclipsed the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent Continue reading
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China’s wind and solar potential nine times that needed for carbon neutrality
In September 2020, China pledged to peak its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030 and achieve “carbon neutrality” by 2060. In a new study, published in Carbon Neutrality, Drs Qingchen Chao and Wang Yang at the National Climate Center of the China Meteorological Administration explore whether China has sufficient wind and solar potential, given that decarbonising its energy system will Continue reading
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Chinese e-vehicle battery enables 1,000-km journey on single charge
China’s leading automotive lithium-ion battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), revealed on Thursday a new battery that provides electric vehicles with a driving range of over 1,000 km on a single charge. With the third generation of cell-to-pack (CTP) technology, the battery named Qilin, or CTP 3.0 battery, has a volume utilization efficiency Continue reading
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Ancient Forest Discovered in Remote China Sinkhole
Chinese scientists from the Institute of Karst Geology of the China Geological Survey have uncovered a “lost world” at the bottom of a massive sinkhole in China. The cave exploration team discovered a giant karst sinkhole in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, bringing the number of such sinkholes in the county to 30. The Continue reading
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Cuba and China announce patent for new Pan-Corona vaccine
Cuba and China announce patent for new Pan-Corona vaccine, aiming to protect against future Covid-19 variants several related viruses. The China-Cuba research center in Yongzhou (Hunan province), led by Cuban scientists from the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, developed the vaccine on China’s request; Pan-Corona has the technology of other Cuban Covid-19 vaccines (e.g., Abdala) Continue reading
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China’s first international journal on grassland science starts publication
China’s first international academic journal on grassland science has begun publication, highlighting the roles of grassland science in sustainable development, according to Lanzhou University. Grassland Research is co-sponsored by the Chinese Grassland Society and Lanzhou University. It publishes forefront research on rangelands, forages and sown pastures, as well as amenity grassland and ecosystems, said Lanzhou Continue reading
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Farmers in China use salt-tolerant wheat to increase output in barren land
Farmers in China have harvested salt-tolerant wheat in fields used to be barren as harvesting season starts. Varieties of salt-tolerant wheat have been specifically designed to grow in saline and alkali soils, as soluble salts such as sodium, calcium affect crops output. Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have designed new cultivars that Continue reading
China Environment News 