Petrochemical train explodes in Quebec's Lac-Megantic

Extremely dangerous accident! Watch this video!

Scary, isn't it?

A train carrying petrochemicals has exploded in a Canadian town, forcing the evacuation of up to 1,000 people.

The blast sent a fireball and black smoke into the air, destroying dozens of buildings in Lac-Megantic, some 155 miles (250 km) east of Montreal.

The train derailed early on Saturday; emergency services who worked through the night said they could not tell if there were any casualties.

Firefighters from across the border in the US are helping tackle the blaze.

"When you see the centre of your town almost destroyed, you'll understand that we're asking ourselves how we are going to get through this event," an emotional Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche told a televised news briefing.

The train had 70 cars filled with petroleum products, some of which exploded, prompting fires in nearby homes.

It is not clear what caused the explosion.

Some of the train's cargo spilled into the nearby Chaudiere river, said Environment Quebec spokesman Christian Blanchette.

The train was reportedly destined for Maine.

Lac-Megantic, a lakeside town close to the border with Maine and Vermont, is home to some 6,000 people.

From BBC News

Unmanned Russian rocket crashes in Kazakhstan

An unmanned Russian Proton-M rocket has crashed just seconds after its launch from the Russian Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan.

The rocket exploded over the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan where it was launched

Dramatic video footage broadcast by Russian TV shows the rocket break up before exploding into a fireball over the Baikonur cosmodrome.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported that up to 500 tonnes of poisonous rocket fuel may have been released and contaminated the crash site.

There were no reported injuries.

The rocket was carrying three satellites for Russia's Glonass (global) navigation satellite system.

It is not yet clear what caused the accident.

It is not the first incident involving a Proton-M rocket, according to the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.

A similar rocket crashed shortly after it was launched six years ago, and in 2010 another rocket failed to put three navigation satellites into orbit.

From BBC News- Sci/Environment

Seaweed biofuel: How to farm marine plants

Scientists are farming seaweed next to the tiny north-western island of Kerrera as part of an international project to produce seaweed-based biofuel.

This farm is one of three trials in the inshore waters off the coasts of Norway, Scotland and Ireland, which are growing sugar kelp on textile mats suspended in the water.

This experimental harvest will reveal which textile produces the best "carpet of seaweed".

Some experts suggest that producing fuel from seaweed is too expensive to make it viable as a business, but these researchers say they could have commercial-scale farms within a decade. Selling the seaweed for other purposes - as a food or a cosmetic ingredient for example - could increase the value of the crop.

Local resident Duncan MacEachen explained to BBC News what this new technology could bring to this remote region. And Dr Phil Kerrison from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams) describes how this novel "aquaculture" works.

David Attenborough receives '32nd' honorary degree

Wildlife expert Sir David Attenborough has been given an honorary degree from Queen's University in Belfast, adding to the huge list he already has.

You don't study for honorary degrees, but they're awarded by universities to recognise the work people have done.

Sir David, 87, was given this one for his services to science and broadcasting.

It's reported that it's actually the natural history film-maker's 32nd honorary degree!

But he's staying modest and when asked about how many he had he cleverly avoided answering.

He just smiled and said "it was rude to count."

The TV legend, 87, who had emergency heart surgery last month, received the tribute at Queen’s University, Belfast, for his services to science and broadcasting.

Sir David, famous for programmes such as A Life On Earth and The Living Planet, said: “My work has been devoted to documenting the natural world, and to explaining its importance to humanity and its vulnerability. I am greatly honoured that Queen’s University should have endorsed that message.”

From CBBC News / Expresshttp://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/411780/Sir-David-Attenborough-awarded-his-32nd-Degree-at-Queens-University

Awards

• 1970: BAFTA Desmond Davis Award
• 1974: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
• 1980: BAFTA Fellowship
• 1983: Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
• 1985: Knighthood
• 1991: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) for producing Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas broadcast for a number of years from 1986
• 1991: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 1996: Companion of Honour (CH) for services to nature broadcasting
• 1998: International Cosmos Prize
• 2003: Michael Faraday Prize awarded by the Royal Society
• 2004: Descartes Prize for Outstanding Science Communication Actions
• 2004: Caird Medal of the National Maritime Museum
• 2005: Order of Merit (OM)
• 2005: Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest
• 2006: National Television Awards Special Recognition Award
• 2006: Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management - Institute Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the public perception and understanding of ecology
• 2006: The Culture Show British Icon Award
• 2007: British Naturalists' Association Peter Scott Memorial Award
• 2009: Prince of Asturias Award
• 2010: Fonseca Prize
• 2010: Queensland Museum Medal
• 2011: Society for the History of Natural History Founders' Medal
• 2011 Association for International Broadcasting AIB International TV Personality of the year
• 2012: IUCN Phillips Memorial Medal for outstanding service in international conservation
• Date unknown: RSPB Medal

From Wikipedia