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(CNN) - A furnace explosion at a Chinese-owned nickel factory in Indonesia on Sunday has killed at least 13 workers and injured 38 others, officials say. The incident took place at a factory in the Morowali Industrial Park on the island of Sulawesi. The factory is operated by Chinese steel and nickel giant Tsingshan, which has stakes in Indonesia’s lucrative nickel mining industry and runs operations under its local arm, Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS). Morowali police spokesperson Ipda Hamid told CNN affiliate CNN Indonesia that 13 people had died at the scene, with multiple victims being rushed to nearby...

DIY (Do It Yourself): Furnace Air Conditioning Saving Project. I've moved into a new home in a retirement community and don't want big bills to replace my furnace A/C down the line. I also don't like the idea that my energy bills may go up significantly with the global climate change policies that many are embracing. What can I do? DIY (easy): Powered Furnace Filter - $149 Amazon. Improves air flow by 30% (lower heat/cooling bills), captures much finer/more particulate matter saving the furnace A/C down the road. DIY (Moderate): Nest 3rd Generation or equivalent Wi-Fi Thermostat - $206 Amazon....

One of the world’s oldest workshops for smelting copper – going back some 6,500 years – has been uncovered in Beersheba by archaeologists at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The remnants go back to the Chalcolithic period – the word “chalcolithic” is made up of the Greek words for “copper” and “stone” – is so named because although metalworking was already in evidence, the tools used were still made of stone. An analysis of the isotopes of ore remnants in the furnace shards show that the raw ore was brought to Neveh Noy neighborhood from Wadi...

I've never seen brands rated in Consumer Reports. Time for a new one and this winter only made it more apparent.

Replacing an aging furnace could cost homeowners thousands of dollars more after May 1, when new federal energy efficiency standards take effect for northern states, including New Jersey. The new energy-efficient natural gas furnaces aren’t that much more expensive themselves, but they must be vented directly to an outside wall rather than through the chimney, which can increase installation costs dramatically, home heating contractors say. (snip) Under the Department of Energy rules, gas furnaces installed after May 1 must be at least 90 percent efficient, compared with the current 78 percent efficient criterion. Similar improvements in energy efficiency are set...

The bodies of thousands of rabbits culled every year from the parks in Stockholm’s Kungsholmen neighbourhood are being used to fuel a heating plant in central Sweden. The decision to use Stockholm’s rabbit cadavers as bioenergy to warm Swedes living in Värmland doesn't sit well with Stockholm-based animal rights activists. “Those who support the culling of rabbits surely think it’s good to use the bodies for a good cause. But it feels like they’re trying to turn the animals into an industry rather than look at the main problem,” Anna Johannesson of Vilda kaniners värn (‘Society for the Protection of...

Ancient furnace sparks archaeological interest A UNIQUE site in the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean and expected to shed more light on ancient copper mining has been uncovered in the Mathiatis area, about 20km south of Nicosia. It consists of the base of a copper smelting furnace with its last charge of slag still in place. The discovery was made by students participating in an educational research programme in cooperation with Inter Community School Cyprus Project 2005, under the direction of Dr Walter Fasnacht. The participants from the staff of the Department of Antiquities were G. Georgiou, archaeologist, and E...