New Zealand is at risk of a second year of drought in some regions, with a warmer-than-normal summer and below-average rainfall forecast, climate scientists said on Friday.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said much of the country, including key farming regions, would have above normal temperatures but also normal or above normal rainfall.
Problems associated with implanting animal organs in humans had seemed insurmountable, but new research could soon bring about the first clinical trials.
Air New Zealand and Boeing have set Dec. 3 as the date for a test flight powered partially by biofuel, the companies said.
An Air New Zealand 747-400 jetliner leaving from Auckland will burn, in one of its four engines, a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and fuel made from jatrohpa oil. Jatropha trees, which can be grown on marginal lands, produce inedible nuts that are high in oil.
A city of brittle stars off the coast of New Zealand, an Antarctic expressway where octopuses ride along in a flow of extra salty water and a carpet of tiny crustaceans on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor are among the wonders discovered by researchers compiling a massive census of marine life.
New Zealand's emissions scheme faces a turbulent road before it starts in 2009, bedevilled by hundreds of last-minute amendments, fierce criticism from industry and a national election within less than a month.
Many countries are exploring various alternatives to reduce fuel consumption and preserve air quality in urban areas. There is a variety of attractive measures, such as promoting public transit and bicycle use, deploying congestion pricing or fuel taxes, etc, which have been proven successful in the past.
Companiese that advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers may not get as much bang for their buck as they - or their critics - assume. Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of drugs is only permitted in the US and New Zealand and has long been controversial. Both proponents and opponents assume the ads increase prescriptions, with the former arguing they benefit society by raising awareness of diseases and available treatments and the latter that they pump up demand for drugs unnecessarily.
There is mounting evidence that climate change is triggering a shrinking and thinning of many glaciers world-wide which may eventually put at risk water supplies for hundreds of millions
