Clean-water activists hope new information about high lead levels in kids could revive a lawsuit against the city of Flint.   Read More……

How rare is gold really?

This series of 12 incredible visualizations in 3D show the world’s gold in bullion bars – putting everything in perspective.  More………

Renewables outstripped coal as a source of electricity in the UK during a full quarter for the first time ever, government data published Thursday shows.

According to the report, a combination of higher wind speeds, more installed solar panels and a 19.5% increase in rainfall — which resulted in record output at hydroelectric power stations — all contributed to renewables accounting for over 25% of generation in the second quarter of 2015.

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Satellite images show a number of artificial islands built by China amongst the Spratly islands of the South China Sea. What was once only 4 km2 of land above sea level created by China, has now transformed to 12.82 km2 despite several countries having a claim over this area.   Read more

The Peruvian city of Cerro de Pasco, perched high up in the Andes, is about to sink into the deeps of a half-century-old, open-pit zinc and lead mine that has been belching streamers of dust and polluting its surroundings for years. Read more

PM2.5 is an indicator of airborne particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or less — small enough to penetrate the bronchioles or alveoli of lungs.  Read more

Four Bucket DustWatch unit

Information about particle sizes has changed over the years and new information is shedding concern on the smaller particle sizes doing more damage than once thought……….. read more

Toxic materials, such as arsenic, were found in the water of the Rio Doce river days after a dam burst at a mine in Brazil earlier this month, Vania Somavilla, sustainability chief at Vale (NYSE:VALE), said Friday. Read more

Tens of thousands of workers suffer and die from toxic chemicals, fumes, and dusts each year. And the government’s system to protect them is tragically broken. Read more….

Second Largest Diamond Discovered

William Lamb, CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp. (TSX:LUC), got an urgent call from his chief operating officer, Paul Day, in Botswana at 1:29 am. Monday morning.

Lamb called him back at 4 a.m.

“He said, ‘Are you sitting down?’” Lamb told Business in Vancouver. “His comment was: ‘Congratulations – you are the CEO of the first company in 100 years to recover a stone over 1,000 carats.’ The fact it hasn’t happened in 100 years, when it does actually happen to you, it’s a bit of a shock.”

The gem quality diamond is 1,111 carats, which makes it the second largest ever discovered.

The largest was the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905. It was acquired by the British government and gifted to Queen Victoria.

Since then, the largest diamond that had been recovered was 507 carats.

“This one is an order of magnitude larger than that,” Lamb said.

The diamond is 65 millimetres by 56 mm by 40 mm in size. It’s not just large — it is rated as Type IIa stone, which means it has virtually no impurities. Less than 2% of the diamonds in the world are rated Type IIa.

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