Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

By Marianna Parraga WILLEMSTAD (Reuters) - Lighting up the night sky with flames from its chimneys, Curacao's giant Isla refinery is at the center of an increasingly acrimonious dispute over the island's economic and environmental future. [More]

In the wake of radioactive releases from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, critics are saying a California nuclear plant's susceptibility to earthquakes and tsunamis could affect its chances of renewing its operating license. While the federal licenses for Pacific Gas & Electric's Diablo Canyon plant, near San Luis Obispo, and Southern California Edison's San Onofre plant are valid for at least another decade, both utilities have begun the renewal process ahead of time.

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Environmental regulators proposed rules on Wednesday that would force aging coal-fired power plants to choose between installing costly anti-pollution technology or shutting, which could ensure reliance nuclear power and natural gas. [More]

One of the risks in writing about endangered species is concentrating too much on the cute ones. But I couldn't skip covering the African black-footed cat ( Felis nigripes ) and the scientific breakthrough that could give this rare species an extra chance at survival. The African black-footed cat is one of the world's smallest and rarest cat species, not to mention one of the least studied.

Last week, a very prominent artist in the paleontology community somewhat publicly blew a gasket. His tirade started a conversation that has been sorely in need of attention for some time now.

Dear EarthTalk : Instances of people with thyroid problems seems to be on the rise.

The Catlin Arctic Survey is a unique collaboration between polar explorers and scientists to gather data on the impacts of climate and environmental change in the Arctic. This 10-week international scientific expedition will travel to the furthest reaches of the Arctic to research the impact of melting ice caps on the world's oceans and weather systems

The sun strikes every square meter of our planet with more than 1,360 watts of power. Half of that energy is absorbed by the atmosphere or reflected back into space.

High-end restaurants have begun adding a new piece of equipment to the kitchen that until recently was found mainly in medical laboratories and university chemistry departments. The bigger versions look a bit like washing machines, but the spin cycle in these ultracentrifuges is a lot more powerful than that of any Maytag. They whirl vials around tens of thousands of times a minute, generating centrifugal forces up to 30,000 times as strong as Earth’s gravity.

For the second time in under a year, a large-scale energy disaster is unfolding before our eyes.

The developing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has raised concerns over the health effects of radiation exposure: What is a "dangerous" level of radiation?

By Richard Monastersky "This earthquake is a lesson in humility," says Emile Okal, a geophysicist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, who studies great earthquakes and tsunamis. [More]

By Jon Cartwright Scientists in the United States have devised a new way to avoid collisions among space debris, and possibly even reduce the amount of debris in orbit. [More]

A full meltdown has been avoided so far at Japan's 40-year-old Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

By Nichola Groom LOS ANGELES, March 15 (Reuters) - Californians have long had an uneasy relationship with their two nuclear power plants, and the crisis in Japan raises new doubts about how long nuclear power will survive in the earthquake-prone state. The first test of the Golden State's support for nuclear power is coming soon, as the nuclear plants perched on the scenic but fault-laden California coastline since the early 1980s begin the process for 20-year license renewals