June 11, 2008
Green Car Congress: Report: The Economic Costs of Deteriorating Ecosystems
Among other red flags, the report's researchers found:
* Globally, forests have shrunk by approximately 40% in the last three centuries, having completely disappeared in 25 countries; another 29 countries have lost more than 90% of their forest cover.
* About 50% of the planet's wetlands have been lost in the past century, with increasing pressure in the last half-century to convert tropical and sub-tropical wetlands to alternative land use.
* Around a third of the world's coral reefs--which can have higher levels of biodiversity than even tropical forests--have been seriously damaged through fishing, pollution, disease and coral bleaching; another 25% are in immediate danger of the same fate.
* More than a third of the world's mangroves have disappeared in the last two decades; in some countries, the loss is up to 80%, via conversion for aquaculture, over-exploitation and storms.
* The Earth is currently undergoing its sixth mass extinction event, which has the distinction of being the only one that has been human-induced. The rate of manmade species extinction is estimated to be 1,000 times faster than the natural rate of extinction which is typical of Earth's long-term history.The net effect is that more than half of the world's life-giving ecosystems, which operate in interdependent ways that are not fully understood by science, have deteriorated in the last half-century, primarily as a result of human impacts. In their introduction to the report, Stavros Dimas and Sigmar Gabriel bluntly assert that "we are, so to speak, erasing nature's hard drive without even knowing what data it contains."
Green Car Congress: Report: The Economic Costs of Deteriorating Ecosystems
Posted by thdyck on June 11, 2008 | permanent link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 26, 2008
BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Lindbergh's deranged quest for immortality
Stuart Derbyshire, a leading expert in pain based at the University of Birmingham, says it is certainly "desirable to live a long and healthy life" - but from Lindbergh's experiments to today's ethical question for longevity, he says there is also a "troubling" side to the "quest to live forever".
"Any life, long or short, is only worthwhile if it is lived towards some purpose. The zealous pursuit of health and longevity can too easily become a substitute for real purpose.
"Health itself becomes a quasi-religious crusade against the old sins of the flesh - gluttony, sloth, lust - with all the attendant odious associations of physical impairment or disease with moral turpitude or a bad life."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7420026.stm
Posted by thdyck on May 26, 2008 | permanent link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 20, 2008
Slashdot | Congress Slashes Funding for Peaceful Conflict Resolution Game
In a departure from the usual video game setting a recent educational video game called "Cool School" was designed to teach kids peaceful conflict resolution. Unfortunately Congress has decided to slash the funding of this program that has been receiving rave reviews from the testers at schools in Illinois. "Cool School focuses on taking players through a school where just about everything (desks, books, and other objects) are alive and have their own personality. Over the course of ten levels and over 50 different situations designed by Professor Melanie Killen and then-doctoral student Nancy Margie (both of the University of Maryland). The primary goal of the game is to teach students how to solve social conflict through skills like negotiation and cooperation. During the title's development, Killen and Margie were able to work with some talented members of the video game industry, including independent developer F.J. Lennon and animator Dave Warhol." The game is now available as a free download and will play on both Mac OS X and Windows XP.
Slashdot | Congress Slashes Funding for Peaceful Conflict Resolution Game
Posted by thdyck on May 20, 2008 | permanent link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 19, 2008
BBC NEWS | Europe | Forum seeks to ban cluster bombs
Diplomats from around the world are gathering in Dublin for a conference that aims to secure a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs.
The proposed ban has the support of more than 100 countries.
Humanitarian organisations say a binding treaty is now urgent because these weapons cause unacceptable harm to civilians.
But some of the biggest producers of cluster weapons, including the US, China and Russia, are against the move.
BBC NEWS | Europe | Forum seeks to ban cluster bombs
Posted by thdyck on May 19, 2008 | permanent link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 18, 2008
Emergency Car Survival Kit: Assembling the contents - Instructables - DIY, How To, ride, life
step 1Assembling the contents
This emergency kit consists of:1.) Jumper cables (aka booster cables)
2.) Multi-Tool (one of those pliers that have tons of tools in the handle)
3.) Map (local area or area you'll be traveling)
4.) First-aid kit
5.) Flashlight
6.) Rag
7.) Duct tape (because you can fix a lot of things with Duct tape)
8.) Rain coat (the folded $1 type)
9.) Emergency blanket (the folded $1 type)
10.) Folding shovel (entrenching tool)
11.) Fuses for fuse box
12.) Water bottles
13.) Protein bars or M.R.E. (meal-ready-to-eat)
14.) Reflective tape or reflective triangles (flares are hard to find)
15.) Old Cell phone, fully charged. Call customer service via the phone to make sure it works. Do not make test calls to 911 (Service is not needed to make 911 calls). Most modern cell phones and cell networks can triangulate your position, this is very handy in an emergency.
16.) Lighter or water proof matches, or flint rod.
17.) CompassI'll address some of these items in the next few steps.
Emergency Car Survival Kit: Assembling the contents - Instructables - DIY, How To, ride, life
Posted by thdyck on May 18, 2008 | permanent link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
BBC NEWS | Africa | Zimbabwe's turbulent priests
Outside the church, three armed policemen sat on a park bench directly opposite the entrance to the cathedral.
They have become a permanent feature at Sunday services since Zimbabwe's Anglican Communion split last year, resulting in violent clashes between worshippers loyal to Bishop Nolbert Kunonga and his rival Bishop Sebastian Bakare.
Bishop Kunonga is a staunch supporter of President Robert Mugabe and once described Zimbabwe's leader as a "prophet of God".
He was dismissed by the church's regional leaders last year and says he is being persecuted by the global church leadership for his opposition to the ordination of gay priests.
But Zimbabwe's opposition says the government installed him to stop the church criticising human rights abuses.
BBC NEWS | Africa | Zimbabwe's turbulent priests
Posted by thdyck on May 18, 2008 | permanent link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 16, 2008
Inside UP : What Do We Mean By "Sustained"?
Even though the kids were poor, the school was clean and there was a lot of energy in the air. The courtyard had "life-size" paintings of different characters ranging from Mayan warriors to Winnie the Pooh and Fred and Wilma Flintstone. The combined 5th and 6th grade class had about 20 kids, including the class president, a girl who won the office because she had the best grades. The 3rd grade class was way more crowded, with over 40 kids. "This is the age when we start to lose them" Lorena told me. "Anything we can do to keep them in school longer will make a difference." She also told me that attendance had increased after the school had opened a computer lab, and the school was in the process of converting one of their buildings into new classrooms to accommodate the increase.
http://blogs.technet.com/jamesu/archive/2007/10/05/what-do-we-mean-by-sustained.aspx
Posted by thdyck on May 16, 2008 | permanent link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
