News
June 30, 2013
The International Conference "Geosites of Russia: the conservation and recreation potential" took place at A.P. Karpinsky Russian Geological Research Institute (VSEGEI) from 27 to 29 June 2013 in St. Petersburg. The main aims of the conference were to discuss the strategy of conservation and efficient use of Russian geosites, proposals for the geosites use on a regional geological exploration of the territory of the Russian Federation, grounds for attraction of investments in geological tourism.
June 24, 2013
Delegation of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation participates in the 37th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC), currently held in the city of Phnom Penh (Kingdom of Cambodia). As part of the WHC work on June 18-19, 2013 there was the discussion held regarding the state of preservation of five Russian natural properties, included into the World Heritage List of UNESCO: "Western Caucasus", "Lake Baikal", "Virgin Komi Forests," "Golden Mountains of Altai" and "Kamchatka Volcanoes".
June 21, 2013.
To mark its Centennial in 2014, Carnegie Council has launched Global Ethical Dialogues. They are a multi-year project that engages societies across world in the quest for a global ethics – shared values with which to tackle problems that transcend national boundaries. Global Ethical Dialogues began in June 2013 with visits to Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, followed by North America. The next Dialogues will be in the Balkans in 2014, and Asia and Africa in 2015.
June 14, 2013
Somewhere in Chinese Arctic. Beijing crawling to the Arctic riches. Over the recent years, more and more countries start allocating their forces and resources for the analysis and assessment of the situation in "Great Arctic game". Circumpolar regions attract attention first of all due to the possibility of using the sea routes for transportation of goods between Europe and Asia, and due to the mineral deposits.
June 12, 2013
A catastrophic landslide-induced oil spill in Ecuador. One of the largest impacts of landslides occurs when the slide severs an oil or gas pipeline, allowing a release into the environment. Given that pipelines are increasingly being built in landslide-prone terrain this is a real problem. A clear illustration of this occurred in Ecuador on 31st May, when the Trans Ecuador pipeline ruptured in a landslide. The volume of oil released to the environment is reported to have been about 11,500 barrels, which is about 205,000 liters.
June 05, 2013
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation has prepared the first Environmental rating of Russian cities in 2011 – the first quarter of 2012. Rating and estimation procedure have been made by order of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and meet world standards and criteria of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Environmental rating methodology has been prepared for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation by Ernst&Yang.
May 22, 2013
Volcanologists who monitor eruptions of Alaskan volcanoes are scrambling to cope with US federal budget cuts - even as the Pavlof volcano, 1,000 kilometers southwest of Alaska's biggest city, Anchorage, spouts a towering ash plume that is threatening plane flights.
Funding cutbacks at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), which has staff in Anchorage and Fairbanks, have halted real-time monitoring of at least four of the state’s volcanoes. Seismic stations that would normally listen for imminent eruptions have stopped working, a casualty of deferred maintenance and repair.
January 22, 2013
The World Bank’s arbitration court dismissed claims brought by Canadian mining company “Vanessa Ventures” against Venezuela in its first ruling on mining and energy seizures that started when President Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999. The case, initially filed at the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in 2004, was brought by Vannessa Ventures Ltd. over the nationalization of the Las Cristinas gold mine in 2001.
December 21, 2012
Journal of Science Communication has published the article G. Sturloni. A lesson from L’Aquila: the risks of science (mis)communication. Jcom 11 (04) 2012.
December 18, 2012.
As a new year approaches, the University of Notre Dame's John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values has announced its inaugural list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology for 2013. The Reilly Center explores conceptual, ethical and policy issues where science and technology intersect with society from different disciplinary perspectives. Its goal is to promote the advancement of science and technology for the common good.