THE CRUDE ZONE

THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF OIL

From the food on our tables to the fuel in our cars, crude oil seeps invisibly into almost every part of our modern lives. Yet many of us have little idea of the incredible journey it has made to reach our petrol tanks and plastic bags. ABC Science has created a special broadband companion website to this landmark documentary. The site enables you to view the entire documentary again, watch extended interviews which were not included in the program, and discuss how the world will cope as we approach the end of the Age of Oil. (You'll need a broadband connection to view the video).

http://www.abc.net.au/science/crude/

CYBERZONE

COPYING HD DVD AND BLU-RAY DISCS MAY BECOME LEGAL

Under a licensing agreement in its final stages, consumers may get the right to make several legal copies of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc movies they've purchased, a concession by the movie industry that may quell criticism that DRM (digital rights management) technologies are too restrictive.

http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=1798F8B:ECCF9AA50A17C8DC37E5DA4D5D19B6FBEFF29049075316B4

GOOGLE LAUNCHES GOVERNMENT SEARCH SITE

An interesting new information resource is available online. Google Inc. recently launched its new website, Google US Government Search.

The website will enable federal employees as well as everyday citizens to search across all government agencies. Users can personalize their home page to receive alerts on government-related news pieces as well.

http://www.google.com/ig/usgov

HOLOGRAPHICS SET TO FEED A MARKET HUNGRY FOR DATA BACKUP

The world's first commercial holographic storage system will be launched this autumn, with the product able to store 600GB on a disc about the size of a CD.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2080840,00.html

SCIENCE ZONE

GENETIC CODE OF DEADLY MOSQUITO CRACKED

An international consortium of researchers has sequenced the majority of the genome of the Aedes mosquito, the scourge behind outbreaks of the deadly yellow, dengue and even chikungunya fevers that kill thousands of people in Africa, South America and Asia every year.

__The genetic blueprint offers hope that specific genes can be identified that would allow scientists to combat these tropical diseases in their carrier.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=9B2ADE57-E7F2-99DF-3ABEA7B5202FD0E6&chanID=sa007

ENVIRONMENT ZONE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SLOW TO ACT ON CLIMATE, U.S. STATES DO...

Governors of both parties are taking the lead on finding ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0524/p10s01-wogi.html?s=hns

PRODUCING HYDROGEN WITH WATER AND A LITTLE METAL

Purdue University professor Jerry Woodall has discovered a way to make hydrogen out of a reaction of water and an alloy of aluminum and gallium. The production technique eliminates the need to store hydrogen, he said. __Mixing water and pellets made up of the alloy in a tank can produce fuel for a small engine, or conceivably a car.

http://news.com.com/Producing+hydrogen+with+water+and+a+little+metal/2100-11

392_3-6184879.html

NEW PHYTOPLANKTON MODEL MAY REVISE WARMING ESTIMATES

Global climate models are missing a good chunk of plant information that could significantly alter long-term climate change predictions. A new technique for modeling phytoplankton -- microscopic plants in the upper layers of the Earth's waters -- could reveal a much more accurate picture.

http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/news/2007/05/phytoplankton

GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS IN OVERDRIVE

From 2000 to 2004, emissions grew at a rate of 3 percent a year - more than the highest rates used in recent key UN reports.

Global emissions of carbon dioxide are growing at a faster clip than the highest rates used in recent key UN reports.

CO2 emissions from cars, factories, and power plants grew at an annual rate of 1.1 percent during the 1990s, according to the Global Carbon Project, which is a data clearinghouse set up in 2001 as a cooperative effort among UN-related groups and other scientific organizations. But from 2000 to 2004, CO2 emissions rates almost tripled to 3 percent a year - higher than any rate used in emissions scenarios for the reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0522/p01s03-wogi.html?s=wklysci

SCIENCE TEAM LANDS ON ICE ISLAND

Researchers plant a tracking beacon on a two-billion-tonne block of ice floating off the Canadian Arctic coast.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/6679321.stm

CHINA's SOLAR-POWERED CITY

Buildings in Rizhao, a coastal city of nearly three million on the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, have a common yet unique

appearance: most rooftops and walls are covered with small panels. They are solar heat collectors.

A combination of regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city held open seminars and ran public advertising on television.

In Rizhao City, which means City of Sunshine in Chinese, 99 percent of households in the central districts use solar water heaters, and most traffic signals, street and park lights are powered by photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. In the suburbs and villages, more than 30 percent of households use solar water heaters, and over 6,000 households have solar cooking facilities. More than 60,000 greenhouses are heated by solar panels, reducing overhead costs for farmers in nearby areas.

In total, the city has over a half-million square meters of solar water heating panels, the equivalent of about 0.5 megawatts of electric water heaters.

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48605

NEW LEGISLATION WOULD BRING WIND POWER TO A HALT

Legislation just introduced and slated to move quickly in the U.S. House of Representatives would bring new wind energy development in the U.S. to a grinding halt Introduced this week by Congressman Nick Rahall (D. WV), and scheduled for action in early June at the House Resources Committee which he chairs, H.R. 2337 would burden wind power with sweeping new requirements that have never applied to other energy sectors, Swisher said, noting: -- Subtitle D of the bill would direct the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to review every existing and planned wind project, a mandate far beyond the agency's resources and capabilities, and criminalize operation of wind energy facilities not formally certified by USFWS.

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48596

ASIA PACIFIC ZONE

CHINA ABANDONS BLOG IDENTITY PLAN

China backs down from a censorship plan that required people to register on blog sites with their real names.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6682755.stm

NTT's IP PHONE CONNECTIONS DISRUPTED

Internet protocol phone services connecting the areas covered by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp with those served by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corp were temporarily disrupted due to suspected equipment failure, the two regional telecommunications carriers said Wednesday. Subscribers to NTT's Hikari Denwa Internet-based IP telephone were unable to make phone calls between the areas from around 6:30 a.m. to shortly past 10 a.m. Wednesday. Connections within the 17 prefectures served by NTT East or within the 30 prefectures covered by NTT West were unaffected, the companies said (Kyodo News)

NORTH SHORE TO GET TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM

A new hi-tech warning phone system will soon be available for residents on Auckland's North Shore to alert them of a tsunami, a move council and civil defence officials hopes will save lives in an emergency.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,104084~4070101a28~,00.html

CAN CHINA's TECH FIRMS MAKE IT TO THE MAJORS?

In recent years, the world has watched with a mixture of fascination and trepidation as Chinese technology companies making everything from semiconductors to cell phones have pushed their way onto the global stage. Investors have piled in, hoping to reap the rewards that would flow from betting on an Intel or Dell in the making.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/57375.html

WIRELESS ZONE

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CELLPHONE ACT LIKE A BLACKBERRY

Three new services from Google, Yahoo and Teleflip can forward e-mail to ordinary cellphones.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/technology/24pogue.html?8cir&emc=cir

SAN FRANCISCO's MAYOR SOUNDS OFF ON STALLED WIFI

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says he's "frustrated" with the city's stalled municipal Wi-Fi project and said if the city's Board of Supervisors doesn't vote in favor of the proposed plan, San Francisco could be one of the last U.S. cities to have a Wi-Fi network.

http://www.wirelessweek.com/article.aspx?id=148186

MARRIOTT CHECKS OUT DUAL-MODE PHONES

http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/1573291/255221/64683/2/

MOTOROLA's SOLAR LCD TO CHARGE YOUR CELL PHONE

Motorola has received a patent for technology that combines a cell phone display and solar energy to potentially keep your phone perpetually charged.

http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/1563886/1423585/64239/2/

SITE CITE

DARWIN's LETTERS DEBUT ON THE WEB

Nearly 5,000 letters written by and to the great scientist Charles Darwin are made available online.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/6657237.stm