Fictional films and TV have immense power to shift attitudes on political issues, yet they remain little-used in debates over climate change.. - 'Para-social relationships' - TV has helped shift political attitudes over the years, especially around race and sexuality, from the first inter-racial kiss on "Star Trek" in the 1960s to the gay stars of 1990s sitcoms "Ellen" and "Will and Grace".
SpaceX is set Wednesday to launch the first private -- and Japanese -- lander to the Moon.. The mission, by Japanese company ispace, is the first of a program called Hakuto-R. The lander would touch down around April 2023 on the visible side of the Moon, in the Atlas crater, according to a company statement.
Two social traditions from South America were honored Tuesday as UNESCO recognized the rapidly disappearing skill required to make black pottery in Chile and the ancient knowledge of Colombian Indigenous groups as intangible cultural heritage practices. . Being on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding will allow Chile to access financing to preserve the tradition.
Fountains of lava up to 200 feet (60 meters) high have been fired into the air from Hawaii's Mauna Loa, geologists say, generating rivers of molten rock from the world's largest active volcano.. "Estimates of the tallest fountain heights are between 100–200 feet" but most are much smaller, the United States Geological Survey said in an update Monday.
China launched the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft on Tuesday carrying three astronauts to its space station, where they will complete the country's first-ever crew handover in orbit, state news agency Xinhua reported.. "The... main responsibilities for the mission are.. achieving the first crew-handover in orbit, installing... equipment and facilities inside and outside the space station and carrying out scientific experiments," Ji Qiming, a spokesman for CMSA said.
About 200 early-season ice fishers were caught by surprise and stranded in a Minnesota lake when the frozen slab under their feet broke free and drifted into open water -- triggering a complex rescue operation.. "The Beltrami County Sheriff's Office and other first responders arrived on scene and discovered a large portion of the ice with up to 30 yards (27 meters) of open water stranding the fishermen," Chief Deputy Jarrett Walton said in a statement.
Prospects for the world's nuclear industry have been boosted by the war in Ukraine and mounting hostility towards climate-wrecking fossil fuels -- but Niger, one of the world's biggest sources of uranium, has yet to feel the improvement.. In 2014, Areva and Niger signed a deal, after 18 months of negotiations, that set down improved conditions for Niger through operations at the Imouraren mine.
All regions of the world saw water extremes last year -- both floods and droughts -- and billions of people had insufficient freshwater, the United Nations said on Tuesday.. Some 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to freshwater at least one month per year.
Certain provisions in US President Joe Biden's landmark climate action plan, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), have provoked strong responses from the European Union, which fears it could hurt its industry.. Biden's initial proposal, the Build Back Better Act, was even more ambitious, providing $1.7 trillion dollars of investment.
The world's largest active volcano burst into life for the first time in 40 years, spewing lava and hot ash Monday in a spectacular display of nature's fury by Mauna Loa in Hawaii.. The volcano's submarine flanks stretch for miles to an ocean floor that is in turn depressed by Mauna Loa's great mass -- making its summit some 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) above its base, according to the USGS. One of six active volcanoes on the Hawaiian islands, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843.
