Science News Archive - July 11, 2009
One of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines could be ready to erupt soon, experts at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on Friday.
They’ve been dubbed “grassoline†- second generation biofuels made from inedible plant material, including fast-growing weeds, agricultural waste, sawdust, etc. - and numerous scientific studies have shown them to be prime candidates for replacing gasoline to meet our transportation needs. However, before we can begin to roll down the highways on sustainable, carbon-neutral grassoline, numerous barriers must be overcome, starting with finding ways to break lignocellulosic biomass down into fermentable sugars.
All along the California coast, stretching from Los Angeles to San Francisco, a species of rapidly-growing sea kelp from Japan has begun taking over the coastline and spreading quicker than authorities can contain it.
More tropical fish species are thriving off the Australian coast near Sydney because ocean temperatures have warmed, an ecologist says. Marine ecologist David Booth of Sydney's University of Technology said when combined with the increasing strength of ocean currents in the region, warmer temperatures have made the traditionally cold waters more hospitable to fish species, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in its Sunday edition. More and more of the fish are surviving winter down here, Booth said.
