The mining and minerals processing industries are economically significant sectors for the Australian island state of Tasmania. But as companies apply for more and more exploratory licenses to identify new minerals deposits, landowners in the state are concerned about the environmental impacts.
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Despite the recorded benefits of co-locating solar panels and crops, the erroneous belief that photovoltaics and agriculture are an either/or situation remains a common perspective in governing bodies around the world. In the past month, two media announcements out of the Netherlands reveal how a proposed ban on solar deployments on agricultural land could severely hamper the country’s budding agrivoltaic industry.
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Over the past few years, the Scotland government has worked to develop a deposit return scheme to increase recycling rates for drink containers in the country. However, implementation of the scheme has been delayed due to pushback from retailers and drinks companies. A recent decision by the U.K. government excluding glass from the scheme has now pushed back the launch date to October 2025.
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The International Seabed Authority is running up against a July 9 deadline to finish developing a code for deep-sea mining. The possibility of mineral exploitation taking place without regulations has marine scientists concerned because so much is still unknown about the environmental effects of this practice.
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After a series of delays, the United Kingdom finally announced its strategy, as well as a new Japanese partnership, for supporting the semiconductor industry. Details of these plans—as well as industry response so far—are given in today’s CTT.
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Traditionally, Australia has lagged far behind other developed countries in electric vehicle adoption. The government has now released a National Electric Vehicle Strategy to speed up adoption and support the transition to clean transportation.
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The global submarine cable system carries about 95% of all global transnational communication data. In recent years, concerns that this network may be used to conduct espionage is driving a clash between China and the United States over which companies will secure contracts to lay strategic cable networks.
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The future of research communications is poised to become much more open than the current system. Learn what Wiley, ACerS’ publishing partner, is doing to prepare for the open-science movement, as well as open-access publishing options through ACerS journals.
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In January 2023, Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB announced that it had identified more than 1 million tonnes of rare earth oxides near the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. Though mining this deposit may reduce reliance on China for rare earths, the impacts of a new mine on Kiruna residents and the indigenous Sámi people cannot be overlooked.
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The National Science Foundation officially established the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships in March 2022, but the mission and scope of the directorate remained unclear until the Chips and Science Act of 2022 was signed into law this August. Learn about the priorities and programs of NSF’s newest directorate.
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