These maps will in turn guide partners in determining where to drill boreholes to bring the water to the surface in a cost effective manner.

UNESCO: Combating drought in the Horn of Africa

Smit, which in charge of salvaging Prestige before it sank, said the operation - to pump the oil back to the surface - would cost nearly 50m euros and take several months to complete.

BBC: French sub to try patching Prestige

The railroads retort that despite record traffic and profits, their return on investment since 2000 has been only 8%, which according to the Surface Transportation Board, another federal regulator, barely covers the cost of capital.

ECONOMIST: American railways

The taxpayers of Pennsylvania are now eating the cost of defending at least two men whose actions seem, at least on the surface, indefensible.

FORBES: Taxpayers Tapped as Penn State Scandal Rolls

But Bigelow argues the balance of risk and reward is changing with low-cost private rockets and his own inflatable space stations, which could be modified for surface use.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Having thousands of fans on the pitch is not just costly in terms of insurance, it's also wrecking the playing surface which will now have to be replaced ahead of schedule in 2010 at a cost of 1m euro.

BBC: Hidden cost of pitch invasions

The laser system, which includes a low-cost, portable scanner, is extremely accurate, according to the research team, and it also still recognised surface patterns after the materials had been abused.

BBC: NEWS | Technology | Laser spots paper 'fingerprints'

Unlike the iPad and some Android tablets, neither Surface can be ordered with built-in cellular connectivity, though the Pro can accept extra-cost plug-in cellular modems and, like competing tablets, it can be wirelessly tethered to a cellphone or stand-alone cellular modem.

WSJ: Review of Microsoft's Surface Pro: Hefty Tablet Is a Laptop Lightweight