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The Maritime Silk Road: China's High Seas Ambitions

With its Maritime Silk Road, China is tapping the world's oceans for its own strategic purposes. It's a bold plan that is causing unease in India and the United States -- and also has implications for Europe.
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Ride-by by Solihin Suhaimi

Ride-by by Solihin Suhaimi

Solihin Suhaimi: Photos

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《卫报》为何要用中文报道大象的生存危机？

在接下来的一年，英国《卫报》将与中外对话联合推出大象保护与拯救的系列报道。翻译：金枝 (中外对话/chinadialogue)

从早先欧美的象牙收藏热，到近来亚洲地区对象牙高涨的需求，一波又一波的屠杀已经将非洲大象逼向灭绝的边缘。过去十年，为了满足人们对象牙不灭的热情，非法狩猎活动猖獗，导致非洲大象数量灾难性下降。

Related: 事实上，大象已经濒临灭绝

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Why the Guardian is publishing its elephant reporting in Chinese

A new partnership with chinadialogue will bring a year of in-depth reporting, expert opinion and features to a crucial audience of consumers and readers China

Wave after wave of elephant slaughter, driven first by European and US ivory collectors and more recently by demand in Asia, has brought the African elephant to its knees. A catastrophic decline in the past decade is primarily due to poaching to feed a continuing passion for ivory.

The poachers are mainly Africans, but their clients are often criminal gangs based in Asia who smuggle the tusks on planes and ships to countries where demand for ivory continues to grow. The largest of these is China.

Related: 《卫报》为何要用中文报道大象的生存危机？

Related: 事实上，大象已经濒临灭绝

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事实上，大象已经濒临灭绝

目前全球大象种群处境危急。卡尔·马蒂森就将向我们解释，为何大象即将迎来前所未有的生死攸关时刻。

翻译: Estelle/中外对话/chinadialogue

作为陆地上体积最大的野生动物，声音如雷、体重可达六吨的大象可谓是生物演化史上的一个奇迹。除了它们那有着10万块肌肉的灵活无比的鼻子，和能帮助它们驱走热量的特大号耳朵之外，大象族群还有着复杂的母系社会结构，它们甚至还会在同伴逝去之后恸哭哀痛。而大象的另外一个特征就是长长的象牙，这本来应该是它们保护自己的防卫武器，然而却最终成为了族群濒危的导火索。

Related: 《卫报》为何要用中文报道大象的生存危机？

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Whale Sushi and Overpriced Fish: New Report Shows Need for Strong Policies to Fight Seafood Fraud

"2016-09-08-1473341795-8876901-seafoodfraud.PNG"

The U.S. imports as much as 90 percent of its seafood, and it is vital for consumers to know where all this food is coming from. Seafood fraud - the mislabeling or species substitution of seafood products - is a global problem that cheats customers, poses a threat to consumer health, and hinders conservation efforts around the world. This week, a new report released by Oceana (Deceptive Dishes: Seafood Swaps Found Worldwide, Sept. 7) illustrates just how common seafood fraud is; a review of more than 200 published studies across 55 countries found that, on average, one in every five samples of seafood tested was mislabeled. This finding underscores the need for concrete action to put in place full boat to plate traceability for all U.S. seafood (whether domestic or imported) to protect U.S. consumers and businesses from seafood fraud.

The study found that, as in the U.S., seafood fraud globally is frequently driven by economic incentives, including the sale of illegally caught fish as well as driving up the price of cheap fish through dishonest labeling. For example, researchers found that farmed Asian catfish - a common, inexpensive fish - was dishonestly sold as 18 different types of fish that are typically sold at higher prices.

In addition, Oceana's report found that the global prevalence of seafood fraud is undermining the efforts of consumers who want to make responsible seafood choices. Without strict traceability rules and informative consumer labeling in place, protected or even endangered species may be unknowingly purchased by consumers. A study of Italian seafood products found that 82 percent of the 200 grouper, perch and swordfish samples tested were mislabeled. Of those samples, almost half of the substituted fish were species that are considered threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In California, a since-closed sushi restaurant was caught selling whale sushi - including meat from the endangered sei whale - which had been labeled as "fatty tuna" to illegally import it. Consumers will only be able to eat seafood responsibly if they are provided with the information they need to make informed choices at the seafood counter and in restaurants.

Fortunately, it is possible to effectively combat the problem of seafood fraud. For example, the European Union has moved to implement new policies designed to limit illegal fishing and improve transparency and accountability in the seafood supply chain. Oceana's research suggests that these measures are working, showing a steady decrease in EU seafood mislabeling rates, particularly in those species and sectors of the seafood supply chain covered by regulations. The 2015 fraud rate was found to be 8 percent - less than half what it was during the 2003-2011 time period.

The U.S. should follow the example of the European Union and put in place policies that will ensure that the seafood Americans eat is safe, legally caught and honestly labeled. The Obama administration's Presidential Task Force on Combating IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud released a proposed rule earlier this year that would require traceability to the first point of entry into U.S. commerce for certain species considered "at risk" of seafood fraud. This is an encouraging first step, but the final rule needs to go further. As world leaders head to Washington for the Our Ocean conference next week, the administration should take this opportunity to create the strongest rule possible by expanding the documentation requirements to all seafood and extending traceability throughout the entire seafood supply chain. Such a rule will protect American consumers and promote responsible stewardship of the oceans worldwide.

You can read more about Oceana's research at www.oceana.org/seafoodfraud, and an interactive map of global seafood fraud cases and studies compiled by Oceana can be found at www.oceana.org/seafoodfraudmap.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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World's loneliest snail lives in Hawaii but can't get a date
Only a single individual of a Hawaiian snail species is known, and most of archipelago's 50 other remaining snail species may go extinct soon
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Robert Fludd Scientist of the DayRobert Fludd, an English...

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Robert Fludd Scientist of the Day

Robert Fludd, an English physician and Hermetic philosopher, died Sep. 8, 1637, at age 63.

Humpbacks From Above - 1 by Simon Svensson

Got the opportunity to go up in a spotter plane (to locate whales, whale sharks, sharks and manta rays for the tour boats) in Coral Bay, and was lucky enough to see a mother and her calf on the inside of the reef. Such amazing animals!

Simon Svensson: Photos

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Renewables Trump Fossil Fuels
Let me get this out right up front: I'm not a fan of Donald Trump and I won't be voting for him. Over the past year, I've been both captivated and repulsed by the Republican presidential candidate's bullying tactics, outlandish lies, and seeming joy in stirring up deep-seated hatred and fear. And when it comes to my area of professional expertise, clean tech, I've been equally frustrated and confounded. As a firm believer in the need to apply advanced technologies and smart policies in the battle against human-caused pollution and climate change, I am dismayed (though not surprised) that Trump, and the Republican Party's national platform, would take such an oppositional stance toward clean-energy solutions.

In an atmosphere of record-setting global temperatures, uncontrollable flooding and fires, and a growing chorus of business, religious, policymaker, and public support for a clean-energy transition, it makes the Republicans (at the presidential and national level at least) look antiquated and deeply out of touch.

Here are some highlights of the two major party candidates and their respective platforms on clean energy and climate change.

Hillary Clinton

Like the vast majority of scientists, believes that climate change is real and that humans are having an impact on the global climate
Supports the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gases
Embraces solar and wind energy and wants to turn the U.S. into a "renewable energy superpower"
Proposes the expansion of solar power by 700% by the end of her first term
Calls on the U.S. to generate enough electricity from renewable sources to power every American home within ten years of taking office
Has suggested the creation of a60 billion competitive grant program to incentivize states, cities and rural communities to become clean-energy leaders
Calls for the elimination of billions of dollars in tax subsidies to oil and gas companies and to instead invest in clean energy

Donald Trump

Doesn't believe in climate change, has called it a hoax
Plans to rescind many of Obama's executive actions including the Climate Action Plan
Claims he will save the coal industry if he's president
Has attacked the wind industry for bird deaths, without acknowledging that buildings (like the ones with his name on them) are responsible for far more bird deaths than the wind industry
Promises to ask TransCanada to renew its permit application for the Keystone pipeline
Says he will cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. programs addressing global warming
Repeatedly talks about how "expensive" solar and wind power are, seemingly unaware of the fact that these technologies have reached cost parity across diverse geographies

Talk about an ideological chasm.

Back in 2012, Clint Wilder and I published our second book, Clean Tech Nation, which focused on how the U.S. could remain competitive in the global race toward a clean-tech future, and in which we outlined a Seven-Point Action Plan for the country. At the time, we reached out to a diverse group of politicians, businesspeople, investors, and others to provide early reviews, including those on the left, right, and in between. We were thrilled when former President Bill Clinton offered up the following assessment: "Clean Tech Nation dares to imagine a country in which bipartisanship reigns, green energy is our nation's greatest national resource, and our competitive edge in the global economy is restored."

Clinton's quote perfectly reflected some of the key themes and aspirations in our book:

Bipartisanship:
Clean energy should be treated not as a partisan divide, but as the unifying force that it is. In my June column, I highlighted the fact that red and blue states equally comprised the Top 10 states for solar and wind deployment in 2015. In polling, Americans of all political stripes and affiliations overwhelmingly support renewables. It's time that our political parties caught up with the rest of the nation.

National Resource:
The U.S. possesses a rich and diverse clean-energy resource base, spanning solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, and more. Last year, for example, solar and wind represented more than 60% of new electricity capacity additions. And for 2016, the EIA projects that utility-scale solar (not including distributed on-site solar generation) will outpace both natural gas and wind power in terms of total capacity additions, with a projected 9 GW installed. Talk about a national resource!

Economic Competitiveness:
At Clean Edge, we firmly believe that the U.S. economy remains intricately linked to breakthroughs and deployment in green buildings, renewable energy, energy storage, advanced agriculture, electrified transportation, and other emerging clean-tech sectors. China, Germany, Japan, and other nations are aggressively pursuing these industries as well, and we ignore these opportunities, from an economic perspective, at our peril.

Below is a slightly updated Seven-Point Action Plan from our 2012 book. I believe this plan still offers a strong blueprint (and insights) for a potential national clean-energy strategy.

1. Enact a National Renewable Electricity Standard of 50% by 2040
2. Create and Fund a National Smart Infrastructure Bank
3. Leverage Proven Investment Tools from Oil, Gas, and Real Estate Sectors (such as MLPs, REITs, etc.)
4. Phase out all Energy Subsidies within 10 Years (to Level the Playing Field)
5. Foster Open-Source Collaboration to Set Clean-Tech Standards
6. Fund Military Initiatives on Energy and Water Security
7. Launch Federally Backed Prizes for Clean-Tech and Climate Innovation

Based on their statements and positions, it's obvious which of the current major party candidates will support the clean-energy aspirations of the majority of Americans - Democratic, Republican, Independent, Libertarian, Green, or other. My advice: if you want to ensure that renewables continue to trump fossil fuels, vote for Hillary Clinton.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Red Panda

Mathias Appel posted a photo:

Jang is a very photogenic panda!

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Get inside the collective mind of a genius superorganism
The amazing bridges and scaffolds that ants build using their own bodies can teach us a thing or two about robotics, engineering and cooperation
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Public masturbation not a crime declares Italy's top court

Though tossing more than coins in the Trevi fountain could still merit a fine

A 61-year-old Italian convicted of public masturbation has had the threat of hard time lifted, after judges declared the dirty old goat's favoured pastime isn't actually a crime in the country.…

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Child Soldiers in Mali: A Skinny Boy with a Kalashnikov

The war robbed him of a homeland but in the refugee camp there was no future. That's why Abdallah and his friends returned -- to fight as child soldiers against Mali's hated government.
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Early evening, View from the Shard

littlestschnauzer posted a photo:

This was taken roughly 8pm, end of August 2016....it's not fully dark yet, so whilst the contrast isn't yet at it's fullest, you can pick out everything that is still going on across the City Of London.
I was lucky enough to have dinner on Floor 31 of the Shard, in a restaurant called the AquaShard, where we had a window table and for a few hours had amazing views across London.

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Crab from the Chinese pet market turns out to be a new species of a new genus
Shimmering carapaces make crabs attractive to pet owners. To answer the growing demand, fishermen collect and trade crustaceans, often not knowing what exactly they have handed over to their clients. Luckily for science and nature alike, however, the authors of a new article have spotted such a crab and recognized its peculiarities to prove it as a new species and even a new genus from southern China.
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How A Dog In An MRI Scanner Is Like Your Grandma At A Disco

To study dogs' brain activity, scientists had to train canines to hold absolutely still for eight minutes without restraint. But how do you get a dog to freeze that long inside a clanging MRI scanner?

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High Flux Isotope Reactor

Full Text:

The High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the highest flux reactor-based source of neutrons for research in the United States, and it provides one of the highest steady-state neutron fluxes of any research reactor in the world. The reactor underwent routine refueling in July 2015, as seen in this photo. While submersed, the spent fuel emits a luminescent blue glow due to Cherenkov radiation, in which shedding electrons move through the water faster than the speed of light. Once removed from the reactor, spent fuel is then relocated into an adjacent holding pool for interim storage.

Image credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL

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How long before its goes on the CITES endangered species list? ;)) https://t.co/GsQaHgPH1M
https://t.co/GsQaHgPH1M

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Apple Nixes Headphone Jack In iPhone 7, Reveals Cordless AirPods

Why is Apple pushing users toward wireless earbuds? "Courage," says an Apple executive. Other news from the Apple event involved Super Mario, Pokemon Go and water-resistant features.

technology

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