earth

U.S. and E.U. grapple with crunch in rare earth supplies

The World Trade Organization, the European Union, and the United States said on Tuesday they were pressing for solutions to concerns China may be exploiting its stranglehold on rare earth metals, crucial in the making of everything from portable phones to wind turbines.

Officials and industry executives in Berlin and Washington warned of severe repercussions from a scarcity of the minerals with magnetic, luminescent, and other properties that go into products such as hybrid cars, solar panels, and windmills. The dominance of China, which produces 97 percent of the world's supply of rare earths, has been well-known for years, … Read more

Italy vs. Google--from Street View to street theater?

editor's notebook Is Google's Street View about to become a global forum for street theater?

It might be headed in that direction, if Italian officials get their way. According to a report, Italy has demanded that Google start giving people in that country three-days warning, via radio and newspapers, as to when its Street View cars will be roaming the stradas collecting images to plaster all over the Web.

The demand, picked up by PC Magazine from a report in La Stampa, is hardly surprising. As my colleague Chris Matyszczyk has pointed out, the Street View cars have … Read more

Google Earth for Android dives into oceans

Most of the Earth's surface is covered with water, which we land-lubbers have a difficult time exploring on our own. A new update to Google Earth for Android adds an ocean layer to its application for surveying our planet.

The Ocean layer will be switched on by default. To explore the ocean floor, zoom in to just below the ocean surface and tap the "look around" button to take a closer look at undersea dimensions.

We dove underwater to check out the Monterey Bay Canyon that's situated just off the California coastline. Other fissures and mounds … Read more

Making real estate look good in Google's 3D world

In the physical world, people knowing they'll be judged on appearances often prefer to put their best foot forward.

But there's a direct analog of the real world taking shape inside thousands of Google computers, a collection that began with addresses and roads and that's extended to photos and 3D buildings. What do you do when it's time to spruce up for virtual visitors?

You can of course learn how to create 3D models and submit them to Google. But a New Zealand start-up is hoping you'll do the same thing most people do when … Read more

China clean tech's rare-earth advantage

In the race to build hybrid cars and wind turbines to feed growing demand for green technology, China has one clear advantage: it holds the world's largest reserves of rare-earth metals and dominates global production.

Wind turbines, made by No. 2 wind turbine maker Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology, and hybrid cars, being developed by Warren Buffett-backed Chinese automaker BYD, are among the biggest guzzlers of rare-earth minerals, which analysts say are facing a global supply crunch as demand swells.

This little-known class of 17 related elements is also used for a vast array of electronic devices ranging from … Read more

Sun eruptions spit plasma at Earth

Since Sunday, four eruptions on the sun have sent plasma into space on a crash course for Earth, scientists at NASA have found.

The eruptions, dubbed coronal mass ejections, started early Sunday, NASA said. When the plasma ejected from the eruptions hits the planet, the particles will come down toward the North Pole and South Pole. As they do so, they will hit nitrogen and oxygen, creating a colorful spectacle of green and red lights flying through the sky. According to scientists, the lights will be visible in northern U.S. states, on up to Canada.

The eruptions were caught … Read more

Town uses Google Earth to find unpermitted pools

I have a thing about busybodies. They never seem all that busy to me. Unless stooping to snoop into other people's lives can be called busy work.

Now I am not entirely sure that the town criers of Riverhead, Long Island, New York, can be classified as busybodies, but I still feel a little shiver at their reported behavior.

You see, according to MyFox New York, the town's official representatives are most fascinated with whether the wily and sometimes dubious residents of Long Island have installed swimming pools in their backyards without necessarily securing all the appropriate permits. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1281: Microsoft gets serious about tablets. Again. (podcast)

Steve Ballmer admits Apple knows a thing or two about tablets. The U.K. government says it's sticking with IE 6 despite the entire world saying it's full of security holes. And the U.S. Congress, realizing it's out of money, wants to bring Internet gambling back to the U.S. so it can be taxed.

Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (640x360) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS (640x360)… Read more

A Google Earth layer to scare you into submission

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Apple releases an update to iPhone software in preparation for its press conference at 10 a.m. PDT Friday, which we will cover live here. Amazon is sued by Discovery Communications for alleged patent infringement on the Kindle. The latest Facebook scam claims to have horrific information about Coca-Cola. It doesn't. Don't click that. The upcoming version of Ford Sync can respond to over 10,000 commands. Mozilla releases Firefox Home on iPod Touch and iPhone to sync your desktop browsing with your mobile device. A new Google Earth layer may … Read more