66444389
submission
KermodeBear writes:
After taking out a 1.6 billion dollar federal loan through the Department of Energy to build a new solar power facility, NRG and Google have now applied for a 540 million dollar bailout to help pay off the loan. The reason? The solar plant isn't producing as much energy as they predicted — and now they want the American tax payer to cover for their mistake.
54821563
submission
KermodeBear writes:
Contrary to an earlier story about the sun not being a driving factor of climate change, a new report from Professor Mike Lockwood of Reading University argues that the world is set for global cooling due to rapidly falling solar activity.
45427131
submission
KermodeBear writes:
The Register reports that the current melting of the arctic ice is not without precedent. Eric Steig from the University of Washington has found that similar conditions existed in the 1940s and 1830s. This confirms the findings of an earlier study on the subject.
33690455
submission
KermodeBear writes:
In the absence of oxygen, estrogens from cattle gradually change from one form to another which stalls the bio-degradation process. These estrogens end up in waste water used to fertilize fields. This causes the overall free estrogen levels to rise in the soil and rain run-off, which affects nearby wildlife. Government regulations cover other contaminants, but there is no regulation for animal hormones.
18858914
submission
KermodeBear writes:
Dungeons and Dragons — originally Satan's Game — has now been found to encourage gang-like behavior. In a finding by a three judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, D&D "can mimic the organization of gangs and lead to the actual development thereof."
From the ruling:"during D&D games, one player is denoted the 'Dungeon Master.' The Dungeon Master is tasked with giving directions to other players, which Muraski testified mimics the organization of a gang."
7152246
submission
KermodeBear writes:
The Herald Sun is reporting a breach of security at the Climate Research Unit in Britain. A large amount of documents have been stolen, which seem to point to a global warming conspiracy at the CRU.
3969623
submission
KermodeBear writes:
According to Smashing Magazine, the newest version of Internet Explorer supports FireFox plugins, the Gecko and Webkit rendering engines, and has scored a 71 / 100 on the Acid3 test. Is this another example of Microsoft's Embrace, Extend, Extinguish business model?
