Clipmarks | righthand's environment collection

Peak Everything: Why Are We Running Out Of Everything?

Fri, 30 May 2008 21:29:02 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Why those basic things that we take for granted--such as water, food, and fuel--are getting expensive and scarce, all at once?

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Metal

Demand for products made from metals is exceeding production capacity

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Oil

declining and uncertain supply with exploding demand

result is a rapid increase in price, with ripple effects throughout the rest of our society, which is built almost entirely out of cheap oil

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Corn

if we are made of corn, corn is made of fossil fuels

When gas prices started going up, so did the price of corn.

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Rice

spot shortages appear to be caused by political action, such as export controls, and through waste

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Water

There is lots of water in America, it is just grossly mis-allocated and wasted.

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Gas

markets are pushing up natural gas in reaction to higher oil prices

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Electricity

we still have what Bill Richardson called "a superpower with a third-world electricity grid."

the demand is only going to get higher

Clip Source: planetgreen.discovery.com

Peak Dirt

the world is losing soil 10 to 20 times faster than it is replenishing it

Till it and plant a monoculture like corn on it and that soil gets depleted rapidly

Tags: resources, energy, limited, conserve, protect, future

Healthy lifestyle triggers genetic changes: study

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:17:20 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Freaking amazing!

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said

the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy

The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation

they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes

After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off

Tags: health, genes, genetics, changes, lifestyle, food, exercise

'bizarre mix of mammal, bird and reptile, with very complex sexuality'

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:15:04 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: The fact that the animal has five X and five Y chromosomes is "the weirdest thing about a very weird animal," said Ewan Birney, a co-author on the paper, based at the European Bioinformatics Institute, near Cambridge. "In theory it means there are 25 possible sexes, though in practice that doesn't happen."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A DNA study found the creatures to be a mix of mammal, bird and reptile with, even more strangely, 10 sex chromosomes

Platypus proves even odder than scientists thought

At first dismissed as a prank, and later cited as proof that God has a sense of humour, the duck-billed platypus has finally given up its evolutionary secrets

The creature, considered one of the strangest mammals in the world, has become the latest to have its genetic code sequenced, revealing it to be a bizarre mix of mammal, bird and reptile, with very complex sexuality. While humans have two sex chromosomes, the X and Y, the platypus has 10, with five of each kind

An international team of scientists extracted DNA from a female platypus, named Glennie, reading all 2.2bn pairs of her genetic "letters". Thought to have begun to diverge from other mammals 170m years ago, the platypus has been regarded as the nearest thing biologists have to a missing link between the earliest reptiles and mammals

A Real SHI@ Story.

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:13:23 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Cow dung fate for 'manure bomber'

Clip Source: farm1.static.flickr.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A woman fell into a tank of slurry as she tried to make "manure bombs" using her stockings, German police today said.

The unfortunate woman stripped off her foul smelling clothes and fled the scene naked, along with a female accomplice wearing just her bra and pants, a police spokesman told Reuters.

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

It is unclear what the women were going to do with the manure-filled stockings, but officials suspect it could have been related to Germany's 3-2 victory over Turkey in the Euro 2008 semi-finals that day.

Clip Source: www.saundersallotment.co.uk

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The two women entered a farm in the northern village of Eberholzen, Lower Saxony, on Wednesday evening and started to fill the stockings from the slurry tank.

Clip Source: extension.usu.edu

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

"One of them slipped into the manure tank, right into the cow muck," said the spokesman. "The other one helped her out. We found their clothes in a field. One seems to have run off naked, the other in her underwear."

Clip Source: z.about.com

Clip Source: www.leps.bc.ca

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Police have not said if the pair had committed any offences

Clip Source: cranbrookpavement.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

held on to the discarded clothi

Tags: environment, eu

Lightening KILLS Three Soccer Players!

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:28:35 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lightning kills three players in Cambodian football match

Clip Source: mcgonnigle.files.wordpress.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A lightning bolt killed three Cambodian football players and put three others in hospital at a match in the south-east Asian nation's capital played during a monsoon season thunderstorm, officials said today.

The president of the Cambodian Soccer Federation, Sao Sokha, told Reuters the victims, all in their 20s, were taking part in a tournament organised by the government to introduce youngsters to the game and to build the strength of the national team.

Clip Source: www.cambodia.org

Clip Source: www.uchsc.edu

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Players and coaches are now being warned not to play on fields while thunderclouds loom overhead, a regular occurrence during the May-October rainy season.

Clip Source: microscopiq.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

"We encourage children to play the game, but they should not do so during bad weather," Sao Sokha said.

Clip Source: www.bugbog.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Keo Vy, of the national disaster committee, said 40 people had been killed by lightning in Cambodia so far this year, nearly as many as the total killed for the whole of 2007.

Clip Source: www.astrosurf.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tuesday July 1, 2008

Tags: sport, dead, environment

Wildlife in Florida Everglades - pics

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:27:48 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: The Everglades, a vast chain of marshes that is home to manatees, Florida panthers, great egrets and other threatened species, was declared a protected area in 1934

The health of the park dubbed the River of Grass has suffered greatly in recent years, hurt by polluted runoff generated by sugar farms that lie in the centre of the ecosystem.

The land sale, unveiled by Florida governor Charlie Crist, jump-starts one of the biggest environmental rebuilding projects in modern US history.

Crist said the pact was "as monumental as our nation's first national park," adding that he hopes to sign a final pact by September.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Florida Everglades

verglades national park was created to protect a fragile ecosystem instead of safeguarding a geographic feature. Thirty-six species designated as threatened or protected live in the park, including the Florida panther

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

n American green tree frogs rest in the shade of a palm tree

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Salt marsh pink. The Everglades has an immense capacity for water storage, due to the sponge-like permeable limestone underneath the exposed land

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A trio of red-bellied woodpeckers. The ecosystems in Everglades national park have suffered significantly from human activity, and the repair and restoration of the Everglades has become a politically charged issue

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A dragonfly hangs onto a stick. Although humans have lived in the Everglades for thousands of years, it was not until 1882 that the region began to be drained for agricultural or residential use

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

roseate spoonbill

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

flock of flamingos takes flight.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

black vulture.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

great egrets

declared a protected area in 1934

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lily pads

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

environmental rebuilding project

Tags: animals, nature, usa

The Week in Wildlife, Coral & New Wonders

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:36:23 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fort Smith, US: A butterfly gathers nectar

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

California, US: Naturalists are looking after endangered condor chicks that have been caught up in the wild fires still affecting through the Big Sur area. The Californian condor - the largest bird in North America - was declared an endangered species in 1967. Ten years later, there were only an estimated 25-30 birds in the wild until scientists began capturing and breeding them in captivity before releasing them into the wild in the mid-1990s

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Washington, US: A squirrel rests in the shade

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Los Quetzales, Costa Rica: Vegetation at the new national park of 4,111 acres which was inaugurated by the national government

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Moscow, Russia: A Dagestan ibex plays with its mother.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

China: Two giant pandas play

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ashchurch, UK: A capricorn beetle, believed to have been extinct in the UK since the early 18th century, has been found on an industrial estate

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

cutout from a poster

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

t Paul Island, Alaska: Puffins and murrs sheltering on a cliff face

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

bluefin tuna cage

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

iguana

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

India

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tags: photos, animals

Pictures of Cute Bears

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:53:51 GMT

clipped by: sweetsfoods

Clip Source: geniusbeauty.com

Pictures of Cute Bears

Tags: animals, pictures, pics, photos, photography, photo

"Haughton's Drop", Hanging, Dublin Zoo, Darwin, Wallace, history

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:18:39 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Haughton House in Dublin Zoo is being restored to its ancient glories in honour of the great patron and scientist.

On a visit to Bronx Park, New York he became a bit bored by the record of perfection which he received on all sides, so he enquired about the financial aspect of the institution: how did they pay for their obviously princely expenditure? So-and-so, he was told, but of course the main source of income was gate-money. “What ?” asked Haughton, “do you mean you charge people to get in?” “Of course; don’t you?” “Oh! no - we let them in free; then we enlarge one of our celebrated lions and charge them to get out! We do better that way.”

Clip Source: archives.tcm.ie

THE extraordinary transformation of Dublin Zoo

The world’s third oldest public zoo was opened in the Phoenix Park in 1831. Only the Paris Zoo of 1828 and London’s of 1829

Haughton House

born in Carlow in 1821, became Professor of Geography at Trinity College. A fellow the Royal Society and president of the Royal Irish Academy, he was a man of boundless energy with an extraordinary range of interests

These included climatology, tidal movements and the mathematics of elasticity. He took a medical degree at the age of 41 and studied the action of bone joints.

Haughton’s main claim to fame is more grisly; he proposed a new, and more humane, method of hanging. In those days, a condemned prisoner would be forced to stand on a cart or trap-door and the rope placed around the nec

trap-door

proposed the rope be lengthened, allowing the victim to fall further. The neck would be broken by the sudden jerk and the spinal cord would be severed. Unconsciousness and death would follow in seconds

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Dublin Zoo

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Tags: history, irish, animals, evolution

Run, Rabbit, Run!!!

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:14:26 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

German police investigate serial rabbit killings

Clip Source: www.elcivics.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fear is driving rabbit owners in Germany to lock up their pets at night after a spate of brutal bunny slayings in which pets have been beheaded and drained of blood.

More than 40 rabbits have been killed in the country's Ruhr district since late last summer, prompting police in the Dortmund area to set up a special task force to find the culprit.

Clip Source: www.hoax-slayer.com

Clip Source: www.iwatchstuff.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

There has been speculation that satanists could be responsible because many of the way the rabbits have been killed.

Clip Source: satanism.meetup.com

Clip Source: www.cartoonstock.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Since April, five officers in the small town of Witten have been investigating the case, according to Spiegel Online.

The task force is looking into the possibility that the rabbits were being targeted using the online mapping programme Google Earth.

Clip Source: satanism.meetup.com

Clip Source: www.cartoonstock.com

Clip Source: satanism.meetup.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The officers have interviewed more than 300 people but have so far found nothing, the website reported.

Initially there were only a few isolated killings, but this spring the number of incidents picked up with four fatal attacks in May.

Tags: animal

Father of India's Green Revolution Prepares for Evergreen Revolution

Mon, 12 May 2008 19:59:20 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: “In every crisis is an opportunity” Swaminathan is once again agitating for revolution -- this time a perpetual one.

In the early ‘60s, India grew 12 million tons of wheat every year. Starvation was rampant and the country imported much of its food. Swaminathan, an agricultural geneticist, developed new strains of high-yield wheat for his country and the programs that led to an India that exports food. Today, India grows some 70 million tons of wheat and has become the world's second-largest wheat producer.

He says that today India has reached a plateau in production and productivity because a problem of under investment in rural infrastructure.

His M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development follows a pro-nature, pro-poor and pro-women orientation to a job-led economic growth strategy in rural areas through harnessing science and technology for environmentally sustainable and socially equitable development.

Clip Source: cache.daylife.com

Clip Source: www.hinduonnet.com

Clip Source: www.iaapindia.org

Clip Source: www.worldfoodprize.org

Dr. Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan received the first World Food Prize in 1987 for spearheading the introduction of high-yielding wheat and rice varieties to India’s farmers.

Clip Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Forty years after he helped rescue the world from growing famine and a deepening gloom over the future of food supplies

The 82-year-old scientist,

says the current food crisis offers the world a chance to put farmers on the right road to unending growth.

"I'm very happy now, because in every crisis is an opportunity,"

In the twenty-first century's "Evergreen Revolution", as he calls it, conservation farming and green technology will bring about sustainable change that could allow India to become an even bigger supplier of food to the world.

welcome news for the millions of impoverished people and food-importing nations who are struggling to cope with the surge in basic crop prices over the last year

The Green Revolution created a sense of euphoria that we have solved our production problem.

Clip Source: www.worldfoodprize.org

Tags: famine, food crisis, india, evergreen revolution, wheat, farm, green, sustainable

10 newly discovered species

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:48:10 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: news.cnet.com