Earth

Welcome to our second weekly headlines for 2013. This week's stories include:

• A Science Rendezvous to Inspire the Next Generation
  
• Next Steps for the Mars One Project
• Feeding the Planet Would Be Easier if We Didn't Waste Half of What We Produce
  

Welcome to 2013 and our first headlines posting of the year. This week's stories include:

• Mars Rover Approaches Ninth Anniversary on the Planet and is Still Ticking
• Study Correlates Climate Change with Increased Episodes of Volcanism

Shell Oil has been doing test drilling in the Arctic off Alaska's north shore and this week the reality of just how problematic this can be came to fruition. The Arctic is an extreme environment. And planning for all the potential things that can go wrong usually leaves out the one thing that does go wrong.

On this our last headlines posting for 2012 I have selected the following five stories:

• Wind Power Tax Policies Have Worked to Increase Capacity;
• Robockey - Robotic Game Sharpens Engineering Skills;
• Can Geo-Engineering Stop the Arctic Sea Ice From Melting?

“In the end…the environmental budget is the only one that really counts…it’s difficult to find two nations that have been more severely disadvantaged by climate change than the US and Australia.”--
Tim Flannery, Australian scientist, conservationist and author of The Weather-Makers and The Future Eaters

We live on Lifeboat Earth. Our sea is the Universe. To be ignorant of this is to ignore the potential consequences of our bad behavior and its impact on the boat. We have to stop putting spikes in the bottom of it otherwise we will eventually sink. Instead we need to protect every square centimeter, husbanding all our on board resources and ensuring we survive the journey.

Here we are in the last week of 2012 with another 88 years before we see the end of the current century and I am one of those who is hopeful that we have the tools to make the world by then a much better place for all of humanity and the biodiversity that surrounds us.

A large number of us don't have access to electricity. Those in the know put the number at 1.5 billion. That's more than the total population of China. Can you imagine an entire country the size of China being completely off the grid?

Every once in awhile I rant.

This week's five stories look at:

• New 3D Display Represents Advance in Augmented Reality;
• More Evidence that Fracking Causes Earthquakes;
• Seeding the Ocean to Sequester Carbon a Non-Starter;
• New Microscale Actuator Provides Engine for Micro Robots;