Tag Archives: Argentina

Environmental Cost of Agriculture: Soil Determines Fate of Phosphorous

By Guest PostDecember 17, 2012Environment21st century, agricultural nutrient, agriculture, alfisol, algae, algal blooms, amazon basin, Argentina, brazil, brown university, buenos aires, clean water act, environmental challenge, environmental consequence, environmental cost, farmer, fertilizer, goldilocks problem, grosso, industrial agriculture, iowa farmers, mato, modern farming, mollisol, overfertilization, oxisol, phosphorous, polluted waterways, renewable, shelby riskin, single crop, soil demand, soil ph, soil type, soybean, soybean fields, soybean harvest, stephen porder, ultisol, united states

Brazil’s soybean yields have become competitive with those of the United States and Argentina, but the soil demands a lot of phosphorous, which is not renewable. In the United States, meanwhile, historical applications of the fertilizer have polluted waterways. What accounts for these problems? It’s the soils, according to a new study comparing agriculture in the three countries.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Just 20 years ago, the soils of the Amazon basin were thought unsuitable for large-scale agriculture, but then industrial agriculture — and the ability to fertilize on a massive scale — came to the Amazon. What were once the poorest soils in the world now produce crops at a rate that rivals that of global breadbaskets. Soils no longer seem to be the driver — or the limiter — of agricultural productivity. But a new Brown University-led study of three soybean growing regions, including Brazil, finds that soils have taken on a new role: mediating the environmental consequences of modern farming. (more…)

Student’s Summer Internship Taught Her the Value of Elm Trees

By Guest PostSeptember 24, 2012Education, Environmentamerican, ann boleyn, archbishop, Argentina, autumn, biodiversity, bioethics society, China, church, climate change, conservation foundation, council, david shreeve, david smith, disease, dutch elm, elm city, elm tree, England, Environment, environmental charity, environmental issue, environmental work, essex, gold, harlow, hyde park, Israel, kingman brewster, london, michelle bayefsky, new haven, ocean, odds award, queen, sapporo, singapore, uganda, uk, united kingdom, yale junior

Michelle Bayefsky hopes that London’s future will be filled with elm trees.

The Yale junior spent part of her summer in that city helping to ensure that will be the case.

An International Bulldogs Internship allowed Bayefsky the opportunity to work for an environmental charity called The Conservation Foundation, which among other initiatives is engaged in a project to re-establish elm tree populations in the United Kingdom (U.K.). For Bayefsky, the experience was not only an introduction to environmental work, but also confirmed that small actions can sometimes have a big impact. (more…)

Dinosaur Die Out Might Have Been Second of Two Closely Timed Extinctions

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 2012Scienceaerosols, ammonite, antarctic peninsula, antarctic sediment, Argentina, asteroid, asteroid impact, carbon dioxide, deccan plateau, dinosaurs, earth, eduardo olivero, environmental effect, eric steig, fossil, free swimming, greenhouse gas, hell creek formation, history, India, isaac hilburn, james ross island, joseph kirschvink, magnetic field, magnetostratigraphy, mass extinction, matthew diamond, Mexico, montana, ocean floor, particles, peter ward, planet, ross mitchell, second event, sediment deposit, seymour island, species, thomas tobin, timothy raub, university, volcanic eruption, Washington, yale university, yucatan peninsula

The most-studied mass extinction in Earth history happened 65 million years ago and is widely thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs. New University of Washington research indicates that a separate extinction came shortly before that, triggered by volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet and killed life on the ocean floor.

The well-known second event is believed to have been triggered by an asteroid at least 6 miles in diameter slamming into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. But new evidence shows that by the time of the asteroid impact, life on the seafloor – mostly species of clams and snails – was already perishing because of the effects of huge volcanic eruptions on the Deccan Plateau in what is now India. (more…)

Microsoft Launches More Expansive Imagine Cup 2013

By Guest PostAugust 29, 2012TechnologyArgentina, games, imagine cup 2013, innovation, john scott tynes, Microsoft, sally buberman, world citizenship, wormhole it

Eleventh year features new categories and bigger cash prizes to inspire more young developers and entrepreneurs around the globe.

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 29, 2012 — Students ages 16 and older can now register for Microsoft Imagine Cup 2013, the world’s premier student technology competition, in its 11th year. To inspire more students and encourage a wider variety of aspiring innovators to participate, Microsoft Corp. has redesigned Imagine Cup around three new core competitions — World Citizenship, Games and Innovation — and more than doubled the prize money to US$300,000.

More than 1.65 million students across the globe have participated in Imagine Cup during the past decade, creating applications and games that address the world’s toughest social problems. The 2013 competition builds on the core elements that have been most popular with students in the past 10 years — social impact and gaming — while expanding the competition’s focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. In Imagine Cup 2013, students may compete in the following competitions: (more…)

World’s Top Tech Students Go for It All Down Under

By Guest PostJuly 6, 2012Technology2012 summer games, Argentina, australia, blog entry, brazilian brothers, bubblegum, cloud computing, darkened room, eduardo, eureka, gold medals, Greece, Iceland, imagine cup 2012, kinect fun labs, korea, let it bee, london, mathdash, Microsoft, olympic athletes, Pizza, project, robert miles, roberto sonnino, roberts quest, serbia, sydney, team, team boddymusic, team catchcake, team drexel dragons, team radiant, team symbiosis, Technology, united states, walid abu-hadba, windows, worldwide finals, xbox, xbox 360

Young technologists are looking to take the world by storm this weekend at the Imagine Cup 2012 Worldwide Finals in Sydney, Australia.

SYDNEY – Wrapped in the flags of their countries, the competitors climb onto the podium, beaming with joy as the cameras flash. They are young, passionate, business-savvy ambassadors of their field.

These aren’t soccer players or high jumpers, but they are no less competitors than the athletes seeking gold medals at the 2012 Summer Games in London. They are the planet’s premiere young technologists. And, to slightly alter an infamous movie line, they’ve come to change the world and chew bubblegum – and they’re all out of bubblegum. (more…)

Social Networking Eclipses Portals as the Most Engaging Web Activity in Latin America

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2012Technologyalejandro fosk, apple, Argentina, brazil, Chile, Colombia, Comscore, digital advertising, digital traffic, Google, ipad, iPhone, latin america, Mexico, mobile, mobile phone, online video, peru, puerto rico, search, social media, webinar

Google Sites Reigns as Most-Visited Destination in Region, Facebook Leads in Engagement Accounting for 1 in Every 4 Minutes Spent Online

comScore Presents Complimentary Webinar on the 2012 Latin America Digital Future in Focus

Santiago, Chile, March 21, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its annual report on Latin America’s key digital trends of the past year and what they mean for the year ahead. The 2012 Latin America Digital Future in Focus examines how the prevailing trends in social media, online video, digital advertising, mobile and search are defining the current marketplace and how they are likely to shape the coming year. The results of the study will be presented via a complimentary, live webinar on Thursday, March 22. For more information and to register, please visit: https://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Events_Webinars/Webinar/2012/Futuro_Digital_-_Latinoamerica_2012 (more…)

Dictators in The Dock

By Guest PostDecember 23, 2011Politicsabdullah al senoussi, al capone, arab spring, Argentina, augusto pinochet, Chile, dictatorial regimes, dictators, dictatorship, egyptian president, embezzlemen, ex dictators, exile, hosni mubarak, human rights, hypothesis, intelligence chief, international criminal court, juan maria bordaberry, justice cascade, kangaroo courts, kathryn sikkink, latin america, libya, malefactors, military junta, moammar gadhafi, prosecution, sadam hussein, saif al islam, slobodan milosevic, trial, university of minnesota, uruguay, violations, yugoslavia and serbia

*Human rights trials for ex-dictators speed healing*

If dictators who torture, kill, or otherwise abuse their citizens’ human rights are overthrown, should they be brought to trial?

On one hand, convicting and punishing an ex-dictator and his minions would strike a welcome blow for justice in countries where it has been denied. (more…)

Latin America’s Social Networking Market Sees 88 Percent Gain in Engagement in the Past Year

By Guest PostSeptember 20, 2011Technologyalejandro fosk, Argentina, brazil, Chile, Comscore, Facebook, latin america, orkut, social media, the rise of social networking in latin america, Twitter, Venezuela

*Increase in Time Spent on Facebook Accounts for 90 Percent of Increase in Total Time Spent Online in Latin America*

comScore Releases Report, “The Rise of Social Networking in Latin America”

Santiago, Chile, September 20, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the report The Rise of Social Networking in Latin America. The report examines the state of Latin America’s dynamic social networking landscape, providing insights into trends at a global, regional and individual market level. The 35-page analysis also reveals how social media has shaped the larger digital environment through its influence on other social web activities and its role in the dissemination of marketing messages.

“Social networking has become an essential part of consumers’ digital lives over the past several years,” said Alejandro Fosk, comScore senior vice president for Latin America. “As it has become more widely adopted throughout the region and across demographic segments, it has redefined the way consumers interact with content and with each other. Social media is also changing the way marketing messages are disseminated and offers a new channel to engage with current and potential customers, which presents a variety of attractive opportunities for brands to effectively integrate social into their digital strategies.” (more…)