earth

China to reform rare-earth exports after WTO ruling

China will reform its export of rare earths based in part on World Trade Organization rules, state media reported today, a day after the global trade governing body ruled against its curbs on exports.

The Ministry of Commerce will study and take steps forward in rare-earth export management, "according to relevant laws and World Trade Organization rules," the official Xinhua news agency quoted China's vice commerce minister, Zhong Shan, as saying.

The WTO ruled yesterday that China broke international law when it curbed exports of coveted raw materials such as bauxite, coke, and magnesium used in the production of steel, electronics, and medicines.

That ruling, initiated by a complaint filed by the United States, the European Union, and Mexico in 2009, was seen as a landmark that could have implications for the legality of China's rare-earth export quotas.

China produces 97 percent of the world's supplies of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in electronics and defense and renewable-energy industries. … Read more

How to use satellite data to track Las Conchas fire

The Las Conchas wildfire, a 92,735-acre blaze extending around the community and national laboratory of Los Alamos, N.M., often moves faster than the officials who monitor it. That can be frustrating for people who want to see where the fire is burning.

But NASA has an automated answer for the impatient: the MODIS satellite. It records fire data, and the U.S. Forest Service packages it up so Google Earth users can get a rough but useful view of the fire's behavior.

Here's how to take a look. But first, I'll share a sobering NASA photo taken from the International Space Station on Monday, the second day of the fire.

It's a daunting image for anyone like me who knows the area and the scale involved. There are 752 people fighting the fire right now, including four bulldozers, 28 fire engines, and five helicopters. Since the Cerro Grande fire of 2000, which burned hundreds of Los Alamos homes and thousands of acres of Los Alamos National Laboratory property, the lab has taken new fire counter measures including more forest clearing and automatic fire-suppression systems. So far today, physical risks to the lab are lower than earlier in the week, LANL Director Charlie McMillan said. … Read more

Watching a wildfire hit home--from 5,000 miles away

I'm watching my hometown of Los Alamos, N.M., grapple with yet another massive wildfire, and even though I'm 5,000 miles away, the Internet has given me front-row seats.

It's not pleasant to see--but it's better than the alternative.

I'm not a member of the ignorance-is-bliss camp, particularly when friends and my parents still live there. The Las Conchas wildfire blew up to a size larger than Washington D.C. when it started on Sunday, and on Tuesday morning it reached 60,740 acres; Los Alamos National Laboratory is closed to all but essential … Read more

Google optimizes Earth for Android tablets

Google has updated its version of Google Earth for Android to take advantage of the large screen size and processing power of tablets.

In a blog post yesterday, product manager Peter Birch said the update added support for fully textured 3D buildings, as well as a new action bar making it easier to search the imagery and navigate layers of information. Google Earth started life as the company's virtual globe, but now incorporates street-level imagery and even extends out to space.

"Moving from a mobile phone to a tablet was like going from a regular movie theatre to … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1454: Don't make more kids smart ... just make more smart kids (Podcast)

On today's show, a brilliant solution to the problem of science education, and which tech companies have the best and worst green records (it is Earth Day, after all -- for real this time)! Also, Google and Apple are sending your location data back to the Mother Ship, Amazon is making everyone nervous about the cloud, and AT&T thinks wireless competition is "extraordinary." Uh huh. All that and the best Computer Love success story ever. --Molly

Where Molycorp mines rare earth elements (panoramas)

MOUNTAIN PASS, Calif.--Here in a hot, dusty corner of Southern California desert, a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table--so critical to advanced technology industries that they're a matter of national security--are being unearthed. Molycorp's rejuvinated $500 million facility, now under construction and set for completion in July 2012, will reduce the environmental impacts of the rare-earth-element-mining process and dramatically cut costs, providing a homegrown source for the elements used in so many national defense, energy, and consumer electronics products. This week, I toured the facility here, the only place in the United States that … Read more

Budget LEDs debut on Amazon

Lighting manufacturer Lighting Science Group announced yesterday it will begin selling low-cost LED lightbulbs on Amazon.com beginning today.

The company's A19 omnidirectional 8.5-watt bulb (40-watt equivalent) will sell for $21.98, and is only the first in a line of low-budget LED bulbs planned for sale at the online superstore, according to Lighting Science Group.

The company says its bulbs will last up to 23 years, and are 76 percent more efficient than a standard incandescent bulb.

"Lighting accounts for more than 18 percent of the average U.S. household's energy bill--that's because incandescent … Read more

On the hunt for green-tech game changers

To borrow a line from science fiction writer William Gibson, the future of green tech is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed.

Today is Earth Day, a good time to consider how the technology meant to preserve our environment and natural resources is progressing. If you consider individual green products, whether it's plug-in cars or home solar panel leasing, the impact on the giant scale of the energy industry is quite small. Hybrids, never mind plug-in hybrids, are less than 2 percent of total sales, and renewable energy is about 10 percent of electricity generation, with … Read more

Free books for your Kindle

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon.com launches a library lending program for its Kindle e-reader

Toshiba's tablet will come out in June in Japan and shortly thereafter abroad

eBay purchases geolocation service Where

Google launches Earth Builder for cloud storage of geographic and geospacial data

Gamefly wins its case against the U.S. Postal Service

On Call: Best carriers for recycling your phone

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

Though you probably know that Friday is Earth Day, I'd wager that you weren't aware that it's also National Cell Phone Recycling Week. Created two years ago by the Environmental Protection Agency, the week encourages U.S. wireless subscribers to recycle and reuse old handsets rather than discarding them into a drawer, or worse yet, throwing them away in the trash.

It's a noble effort, indeed, particularly when you consider how often we're encouraged to … Read more