by Tom Bosschaert
Director

May 24, 2013

Tom Bosschaert

This edition of Wormfood follows several important news updates including the escalating tension on the Korean peninsula, an unfortunate downturn for Bitcoin, an update on the 3 year-old BP oil spill, and many other inspiring and intriguing news stories you wont want to miss.

Global News

  • The Syria conflict is drawing hundreds of jihadists from Europe, says a new report.

  • The United States and China agree that the Korean peninsula must be denuclearized, top diplomats from both countries said on Saturday.

Business & Economy

  • Some 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two Dutch trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat.
  • Afghanistan could be sitting on mineral deposits worth $1 trillion according to US estimates
  • Bitcoin crashes, losing nearly half of its value in six hours. The plunge happens on the same day one anonymous redditor made it rain in Bitcoin

Energy & Environment

  • Three years after BP oil spill, USF research finds massive die-off
  • A small amount of toxic water leaked from an underground storage pool at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant on Sunday, barely two days after much larger leak from a similar storage pool was reported.
  • Ontario is on the verge of becoming the first industrial region in North America to eliminate all coal-fired electrical generation. Here’s how Canada’s most populous province did it - and what the U.S. and others can learn from it.

Science, Technology, & Design

  • NASA-backed fusion engine could cut Mars trip down to 30 days
  • Thunderstorms contain ‘dark lightning,’ invisible pulses of powerful radiation
  • A very interesting podcast on the outlook of electric engines for commercial aircraft. Ionized air molecules may provide more efficient thrust than jet engines.

Urban Environment

  • An archaeological dig in the heart of London "will transform our understanding" of Roman London, experts claim.
  • The Danish capital, Copenhagen, is moving rapidly toward a zero-carbon future, as it erects wind farms, transforms its citywide heating systems, promotes energy efficiency, and lures more people out of their cars and onto public transportation and bikes.

Unexpected and Intriguing

This bi-weekly digest is made by assembling items from all of Except’s people. Have questions, comments, or news items to suggest? E-mail matthew.fraser@except.nl. Read past Wormfood global news reports here.

May 24, 2013