Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Climate Change Update: CC not a priority in Tallahassee - Florida - MiamiHerald.com

Climate change not a priority in Tallahassee - Florida - MiamiHerald.com: "Four hundred scientists gathered in Copenhagen recently to talk about the warming temperatures in the Arctic. Their conclusion: The Arctic’s glaciers are melting faster than anyone expected due to man-made climate change.

As a result, the world’s sea level will rise faster than previously projected, rising at least two feet 11 inches and perhaps as high as five feet three inches by 2100, they said.

In low-lying Florida, where 95 percent of the population lives within 35 miles of its 1,200 miles of coastline, a swelling of the tides could cause serious problems. So what is Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection doing about dealing with climate change?

“DEP is not pursuing any programs or projects regarding climate change,” an agency spokeswoman said in an email to the Times earlier this month.

“That’s a crying shame,” said former Gov. Charlie Crist.

But it shows how fast popular causes can come and go in Florida politics — even ones that are put into state law. Yet even when causes lose favor in Tallahassee, that’s not necessarily the end of them."

Wellness Update: Antarctica: Polar explorer to take students to Antarctica

gulfnews : Polar explorer to take students to Antarctica:

"As Swan pursued his childhood dream of becoming an adventurer and environmentalist, 20 years later he is on a mission to create sustainability champions focusing on youth in various countries, including the Middle East, India and China.

'On those journeys 20 years ago, I walked under a hole in the ozone layer in the South Pole and my eyes burnt out… when I walked to the North Pole all the ice caps were melting and I made a decision back then that my job would be to inspire young people. I took up the role of being the Indiana Jones of environment for young people globally.'

Adventures with youngsters

In September he will take a group of schoolchildren, who won the Shell Better Environment Award 2011 in collaboration with Shell and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, on a trip on his yacht to Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
This comes after a series of recent school visits to encourage students to participate in programmes supporting the UAE environment and urging them to heighten their interest in health, safety and the environment.

The Shell Better Environment Awards 2011 were launched in November 2010 to raise awareness and inspire the younger generation to contribute in addressing key challenges concerning the environment, health and safety."

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Men see Women as Sex Objects Findings

Women as Sex Objects - Influenced By Sexy Images, Men See Women as Objects

Photos of Bikini-Clad Women Excite Same Part of Men's Brains That Enjoy Tools

By Linda Lowen, About.com Guide

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After generations of debate, science has an answer: Men respond differently to women after seeing photos of scantily clad females, and some even demonstrate increased hostility. That's according to Princeton psychologist Susan Fiske, who presented her findings at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago on February 15, 2008.

Writing for the Guardian, Ian Sample described how Fiske studied these responses:

Researchers used brain scans to show that when straight men looked at pictures of women in bikinis, areas of the brain that normally light up in anticipation of using tools, like spanners and screwdrivers, were activated.
Scans of some of the men found that a part of the brain associated with empathy for other peoples' emotions and wishes shut down after looking at the pictures....[T]he changes in brain activity suggest sexy images can shift the way men perceive women, turning them from people to interact with, to objects to act upon.
The finding confirms a long-suspected effect of sexy images on the way women are perceived, and one which persists in workplaces and the wider world today, Fiske said.
"When there are sexualised images in the workplace, it's hard for people not to think about their female colleagues in those terms. It spills over from the images to the workplace," she said.

At CNN.com, Elizabeth Landau detailed the research methods:

The participants, 21 heterosexual male undergraduates at Princeton, took questionnaires to determine whether they harbor "benevolent" sexism, which includes the belief that a woman's place is in the home, or hostile sexism, a more adversarial viewpoint which includes the belief that women attempt to dominate men.
In the men who scored highest on hostile sexism, the part of the brain associated with analyzing another person's thoughts, feelings and intentions was inactive while viewing scantily clad women, Fiske said.
Men also remember these women's bodies better than those of fully-clothed women, Fiske said. Each image was shown for only a fraction of a second.

These latest findings support previous research that indicates male behavior towards females is influenced by highly sexualized images of women. Together they suggest that certain images are inappropriate in the workplace, such as pin-up calendars or the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

As Fiske told CNN, "I'm not advocating censorship, but I do think people need to know what settings should discourage the display and possession of these kinds of things."

The objectification of women has long been a tool of businesses and advertisers who have used female bodies to sell anything from automotive parts to plumbing supplies. In decades past, these images have hung in break rooms, lockers, offices, and garages, much to the discomfort of the women who've shared these work spaces. Although the argument "there's no harm in that" has been made over the years, it's now clear that even if outright harm isn't a result of keeping and displaying sexualized images of women, their impact in the workplace is negative enough to warrant their removal.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Wellness Tip for Peace

Five myths about vegans - The Washington Post: "Vegans have countless rules about what can be eaten.

To vegans, it appears that meat-eaters are the ones with lots of rules. In the United States, people eat cows but not horses, and chickens but not cats. But among Hindus in India, cows are verboten, and in the Philippines and Korea, Lassie is on the menu. Some religions forbid eating pigs, while others don’t. In the face of these varying, often contradictory norms, vegans have only one rule: We don’t intentionally eat, use or wear anything from an animal — whether meat, leather, eggs, milk, wool, silk or honey.

If veganism seems to need an instruction manual, it’s because dead animals turn up in unexpected places. Most marshmallows contain gelatin, derived from animal bones. So do gelcaps and photographic film. Hostess fruit pies (but not Little Debbie’s) are made with beef fat. Dryer sheets have animal fat, too. Toothpaste may contain bone meal. And shampoo may have egg protein.

Sure, the list seems to go on and on. But at your chain supermarket, more products than ever are vegan-friendly. In 2011, it’s not hard to live up to veganism’s one simple ideal: trying to do the least harm possible." pls check website for complete info

Thursday, April 14, 2011

WELLNESS UPDATE IN ANTARCTICA: Antarctic krill harvest under scrutiny after penguin study

Antarctic krill harvest under scrutiny after penguin study: "Most abundant

The shrimp-like Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is one of the globe’s most abundant species found in densities of up to 30,000 creatures in a cubic-metre of seawater. Rich in phospholipids and omega-3s, they are harvested by companies such as Aker Biomarine and Neptune to make omega-3 products.

The British Antarctic Survey said the research underlined the need to monitor krill populations. The organization’s Simeon Hill told NutraIngredientsUSA: “This is a very welcome piece of research which illustrates that krill is a key part of a complex ecosystem. There are many causes of change in this ecosystem, including fluctuations in the climate and long term changes in the balance of species in the foodweb.

“These changes to penguin populations are a useful reminder of the need to continue to monitor and carefully regulate the krill fishery to ensure that it does not become an additional source of pressure on vulnerable populations.”

Last month, Hill told an omega-3 conference in Bruges, Belgium that the annual krill harvest ot 210,000 tonnes was 34 percent of the limit of 620,000 tonnes set to minimize environmental risk."

YouTube - Zara Jane Juan, Holistic Lifestyle, Innovative Mind & Body, Wellness for Peace, sailingforpeace

Sunday, April 10, 2011

First man in space: A 50-year-old feat remembered - Yahoo! News

First man in space: A 50-year-old feat remembered - Yahoo! News:

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"It happened 50 years ago this Tuesday, when an air force pilot named Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.
The 27-year-old cosmonaut's mission lasted just 108 minutes and was fraught with drama: a break in data transmission, glitches involving antennas, a retrorocket and the separation of modules. And there was an overarching question that science had yet to answer: What would weightlessness do to a human being?
'There were all kinds of wild fears that a man could lose his mind in zero gravity, lose his ability to make rational decisions,' recalls Oleg Ivanovsky, who oversaw the construction and launch of the Vostok spacecraft that carried Gagarin.
The flight was to be fully automatic, but what if weightlessness caused Gagarin to go mad and override the programmed controls? The engineers' solution was to add a three-digit security code that the cosmonaut would have to enter to gain command of the spacecraft.
It proved unnecessary. The flight went off safely, and the handsome Russian with the big smile became a poster boy for the communist world"

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Study: Maine the most peaceful U.S. state, Louisiana the least - Yahoo! News

Study: Maine the most peaceful U.S. state, Louisiana the least - Yahoo! News:

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"'The USPI report reveals that peace in the United States has improved since 1995 primarily driven by a substantial decrease in homicide and violent crime,' the IEP says on its website, adding that 'peace is significantly correlated with factors related to economic opportunity, education and health.'
The group lists the ten most peaceful states in order as: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota, North Dakota, Utah, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Iowa, and Washington. And here are the least (also in order, with Louisiana leading the unrest): Louisiana, Tennessee, Nevada, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Maryland."

Care to join a different kind of ‘rock’ group? - Yahoo!

Care to join a different kind of ‘rock’ group? - Yahoo!:

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"QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA — For these artists, the art of balancing stones can be an effective way to encourage people to protect nature.
Leandro Inocencio and Ildefonso Vista established Rock Balancing Philippines last year to introduce this art form. Rock balancing involves stacking stones of varying shapes and sizes using only one's hands.
From its ancient roots, sculptors like Bill Dan and Andy Goldsworthy transformed rock balancing into an art.
'Like rock balancing nothing is permanent in this world so why worry? Just give everything you've got with what you can make do with what's around,' said Ildefonso, a landscaping artist."

Team heads to Mount Everest to clean up peak - Yahoo!

Team heads to Mount Everest to clean up peak - Yahoo!:

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"A team of mountaineers led by a veteran Sherpa guide has flown to Mount Everest to begin an expedition that aims to clear away tons of garbage left on the world's highest peak.
The expedition team plans to bring down 11,000 pounds (5,000 kilograms) of garbage from the slopes of Everest during the spring climbing season. The team's leader, Apa, has climbed Everest a record 20 times."

allAfrica.com: South Africa: Health - the Role of the State - Living With Aids # 470

allAfrica.com: South Africa: Health - the Role of the State - Living With Aids # 470:

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"Almost 90% of some African countries' health budgets are funded through donor finances. Yet, African leaders accept that health is a critical component for the survival of their countries. At a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, one decade ago they promised to increase their budget allocations for health to 15%. For many countries, health budgets have increased to about 12% since then. A human rights activist from Zambia, Daniel Libati, says leaders have shown their political will to take health seriously, but cautions that political will on its own does not pay for health.

'The political will should be able to be matched with the need that's on the ground and that matching comes in as far as resources are concerned. We look at the resources which our government itself is actually contributing to antiretrovirals and TB drugs, compare it to what our co-operating partners, that is, the donors are contributing, you come and realise that the co-operating partners are putting more into the basket than our government', Libati says.

South Africa is one of the countries that are not yet spending 15% of their health budgets on health."

Cities said most at risk in climate change

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Cities said most at risk in climate change

Thursday, April 07, 2011 6:34 PM

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Apr. 7, 2011 (United Press International) -- Fast-growing urban areas worldwide, especially in developing countries, will suffer (OOTC:WLVTQ) disproportionately from impacts of changing climate, a U.S. researcher says.

An examination of urban policies by Patricia Romero Lankao at the National Center for Atmospheric Research says cities worldwide are failing to take necessary steps to protect residents even though billions of urban dwellers are vulnerable to heat waves, sea level rise and other changes associated with warming temperatures, an NCAR release said Thursday.

"Climate change is a deeply local issue and poses profound threats to the growing cities of the world," Lankao says. "But too few cities are developing effective strategies to safeguard their residents."

Most cities are also failing to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that affect the atmosphere, she says.

Scientists say they are increasingly concerned about the potential impacts of climate change on cities, now home to more than half the world's population.

Their locations and dense construction patterns often place their populations at greater risk from natural disasters, they say, including those expected to worsen with climate change.

"What is at stake, of course, is the very existence of many human institutions, and the safety and well-being of masses of humans," Lankao says.

(Source: UPI )
(Source: Quotemedia)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Ozone layer faces record loss over Arctic - Yahoo! News

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Ozone layer faces record loss over Arctic

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press – Tue Apr 5, 5:47 am ET

GENEVA – The depletion of the ozone layer shielding Earth from damaging ultraviolet rays has reached an unprecedented low over the Arctic this spring because of harmful chemicals and a cold winter, the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday.

The Earth's fragile ozone layer in the Arctic region has suffered a loss of about 40 percent from the start of winter until late March, exceeding the previous seasonal loss of about 30 percent, the World Meteorological Organization said.

The Geneva-based agency blamed the loss on a buildup of ozone-eating chemicals once widely used as coolants and fire retardants in a variety of appliances and on very cold temperatures in the stratosphere, the second major layer of the Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere.

Arctic ozone conditions vary more than the seasonal ozone "hole" that forms high in the stratosphere near the South Pole each winter and spring, and the temperatures are always warmer than over Antarctica.

Because of changing weather and temperatures some Arctic winters experience almost no ozone loss while others with exceptionally cold stratospheric conditions can occasionally lead to substantial ozone depletion, U.N. scientists say.

This year the Arctic winter was warmer than average at ground level, but colder in the stratosphere than normal Arctic winters. U.N. officials say the latest losses — unprecedented, but not entirely unexpected — were detected in observations from the ground and from balloons and satellites over the Arctic.

Atmospheric scientists who are concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first.

Ozone scientists have said that significant Arctic ozone depletion is possible in the case of a cold and stable Arctic stratospheric winter. Ozone losses occur over the polar regions when temperatures drop below -78 degrees Celsius (-108 Fahrenheit), when clouds form in the stratosphere.

Average temperatures in January range from about -40 to 0 C (-40 to 32 F), while average temperatures in July range from about -10 to 10 C (14 to 50 F).

"The Arctic stratosphere continues to be vulnerable to ozone destruction caused by ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities," said WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud. "The degree of ozone loss experienced in any particular winter depends on the meteorological conditions."

The loss comes despite the U.N. ozone treaty, known as the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which has resulted in cutbacks in ozone-damaging chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons, halons and other, that were used in the making of refrigerators, air conditioners, fire extinguishers and even hairspray.

The 196-nation ozone treaty encourages industries to use replacement chemicals less damaging to ozone, the atmospheric layer that helps protect against the sun's most harmful rays.

But because these compounds have long atmospheric lifetimes, it takes decades for their concentrations to subside to pre-1980 levels as was agreed in the Montreal Protocol.

U.N. officials project the ozone layer outside the polar regions will recover to pre-1980 levels sometime between 2030 and 2040.

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Monday, April 4, 2011

UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News - UPI.com

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Study: Southern Ocean under human threat

SOUTHAMPTON, England, March 31 (UPI) -- The native fauna and ecology of the Southern Ocean, the vast body of water around the Antarctic continent, is under threat from human activity, researchers say.

"Although Antarctica is still the most pristine environment on Earth, its marine ecosystems are being degraded through the introduction of alien species, pollution, overfishing, and a mix of other human activities," said Sven Thatje of the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science at the U.K. National Oceanography Center.

That conclusion is based on an extensive review by U.K. and U.S. researchers of the impacts of a wide range of human activities on the ecosystems of Antarctica, an NOC release said Thursday.

The Antarctic Treaty system, which includes environmental and fisheries management, provides an effective framework for the management and protection of the continent, but some of the threats are not being fully addressed, researchers said.

Some impacts such as pollution can be relatively localized, they said, but global climate change caused by human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has the potential to affect the entire Antarctic region for decades.

"Simultaneous action at local, regional and global scales is needed if we are to halt the damage being done to the marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean," Richard Aronson, a paleoecologist at the Florida Institute of Technology, said.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

UN climate meeting kicks off in Bangkok

BANGKOK, April 3 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations meeting on climate change kicked off on Sunday in Bangkok to discuss action plans following decisions made at a ministerial meeting in Mexico last year.

Participants at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting are to map out action plans in their six-day meeting in Bangkok, the first UNFCCC meeting after the meeting in Cancun, Mexico from Nov. 29 to Dec. 10 last year.

Pre-sessional workshops will continue from Sunday to Tuesday morning before the official opening takes place on Tuesday afternoon.

The meetings include sixteenth session of the ad hoc working group on further commitments of developed nations under the Kyoto Protocol, and the fourteenth session of the ad hoc working group on long-term cooperative action under the UNFCCC.

The Kyoto Protocol commits parties to the convention to reduce green house gas emissions.

A total of 2,271 representatives from 175 countries are attending the Bangkok meeting, of which 1,417 are government officials, according to a UN official.

Move to put climate change back on agenda - The Irish Times - Mon, Apr 04, 2011

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Thai floods claim 40 lives as UN climate talks begin | 04/04/2011

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Global warming will be a hot topic for the delegates gathered this week in Bangkok, writes FRANK McDONALD

WITH WORLD attention grabbed by a succession of natural disasters in New Zealand and Japan as well as popular revolts in north Africa and the Middle East, the United Nations will be seeking this week to put climate change back on the international agenda.

Nearly four months after last year’s moderately successful climate summit in the Mexican resort of Cancún, delegates from 193 countries have gathered in Bangkok for a preliminary round of talks aimed at paving the way for progress at next December’s summit in Durban.

They’re conscious that global warming “hasn’t gone away, you know”, as Gerry Adams TD once said of the Provisional IRA.

Indeed, 2010 was officially one of the hottest years on record, with heatwaves, floods, landslides, forest fires and other “extreme weather events”.

Even though critics claim there is “nothing real on the table”, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres insisted that Cancún was “a solid step forward for strengthened global climate action”, and she has called on governments to “maintain momentum” in the run-up to Durban.

Speaking in Bangkok, Ms Figueres said there needed to be agreement on a clear work plan for 2011 by moving on outstanding issues by making institutions for climate funding, technology co-operation and adaptation “fully functional within the deadlines agreed in Cancún” (ie, by December).

Meanwhile, figures published last Friday showed carbon emissions from industry in the EU rose by 6 per cent in 2010, indicating that a mild recovery is under way – but also demonstrating the link between economic growth and emissions has not yet been broken.

The European Commission’s Road map for Moving to a Competitive Low-Carbon Economy in 2050 , published last month, expressed confidence the EU is on track to meet its target of reducing emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

But the level of ambition, particularly in its longer-term proposals to cut emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050, was described as “totally inadequate” by Friends of the Earth to achieve the declared goal of limiting the rise in temperatures at 2 degrees Celsius.

Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout also criticised the road map, saying it would “set the EU on the wrong road for its climate policy up to 2050” and, as a result, it would “fail to revive EU climate leadership . . . nor will it inspire other countries to adopt more ambitious climate policies”.

The US is certainly falling behind. An analysis by HSBC estimated that Republican proposals before the US Congress “would more than halve federal spending on the climate economy in 2011, with high-speed rail, carbon regulation and international climate funds particularly at risk”.

By contrast, China’s 12th five-year plan – adopted last month by the National People’s Congress – will see a further 16 per cent reduction in the “carbon intensity” of its economy (in line with the Copenhagen Accord) on top of a 19 per cent fall over the past five years.

Last week in Beijing, the Climate Group launched a new programme – China Redesign – which will help five Chinese cities to develop and implement their own low-carbon growth strategies, on the basis that cities “are where the foundations for green growth will be laid”.

China also has no intention of abandoning its nuclear programme, despite picking up traces of radioactivity from the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The 28 nuclear reactors it plans (on top of 12 already operating) account for 40 per cent of the total under construction worldwide.

Fukushima has been a huge setback for the nuclear industry, which had been making significant strides in selling itself as a climate-friendly technology.

As a result of the damage after the earthquake and tsunami, safety reviews were ordered in several countries – Britain, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the US.

“We believe that events at Fukushima could change national energy policies in nuclear countries, with potentially both shut-downs of existing nuclear plants and fewer new nuclear installations,” HSBC said.

Winners will be natural gas, energy efficiency and renewables.

Former Greenpeace climate campaigner Jeremy Leggett, now chairman of Solarcentury, believes the crisis triggered by events in north Africa, the Middle East and Japan show that “we are entering a time of consequences” regarding where the world will get its energy.

“Nobody – whether individual, household, community, city, government or business – can responsibly afford simply to hope for a comfortable outcome on the peak-oil risk issue any longer.

“We all need to be drawing up contingency plans,” he blogged.

Report: Egypt FM wants UN, EU to play role in peace process

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi said that he plans to ask for an international supervisory body from the United Nations and the European Union to oversee the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Israel Radio reported on Sunday.

He cautioned, however, that both sides need to agree to such a move in order for it work.

On another note, Arabi said that he has approved efforts for Egypt to improve its strained relations with Iran, according to the report.Subscribe to our Newsletter to receive news updates directly to your email

12-day ritual to preserve environment, usher global peace - The Economic Times

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It is not really a baptism by fire nor is it playing with fire. In fact, it is a homage paid to the lord of fire. Athirathram, the world's 'oldest Vedic ritual', which means constructing a fireplace and performing yagna or yajna (an oblation conducted overnight) returns to a quaint village called Panjal in Thrissur district in Kerala after 35 years.

The 12-day ritual was officially discontinued in the late Vedic period at a time when Jainism and Buddhism was on the rise in India. Nevertheless, a few Namboodiri Brahmin families in Kerala kept up an unbroken 3,000-year tradition and this edition of the ritual begins today. It is not a myth if you think so. It is just that a few individuals have come together to form a trust to put the clock back 5000 years to perform rituals that many scholars regard as inseparable from the myth surrounding athirathram.

There are many including the one called Putrakameshti (blessing the childless couples). But that isn't first on the priority list of the members of the Varthathe Trust, formed by a group of individuals from India and abroad who think alike. The yagna has more universal ideas to implement in its wish list.

Says Dr Sivakaran Namboothiri, an Ayurvedic doctor and a participant of this large-scale Somayagna: "The yagam hopes to achieve two goals, propitiate world peace, and energise and protect the environment by destroying undesirable elements. Fire is believed to cleanse, and that is what this ritual is all about."

It involves the chanting of selected mantras from three Vedas, the ancient sacred texts of Hinduism, Rig, Yajur and Sama. Beginning today, the yagna will be conducted by the best in the business, where 'best' means the only ones who can recite the mantras impeccably.

At the time this correspondent visited the village the Yajaman or the main conductor, Puthillathu Ramanajan Somayaji, a frail 77 year-old who seldom betrays the fact that he is graduate and has worked in a bank, was training a group of Vedic scholars to chant the Sama Vedas with the right intonation for maximum positive impact on the environment. When the world is being ravaged by repeated disasters from earthquakes to tsunamis, from civil wars to nuclear leaks Somayaji will invoke the forces of fire to preserve the flora and fauna of the earth.

And what better time than this warm month of spring to conduct this mammoth feat that stands on the thin line that divides myth from reality. About 5000 years ag, sometime after our ancestors had controlled fire and accepted it as a deity, but long before they were telling ghost stories, mankind in these parts of the world huddled around a fireplace to meditate and partake in spiritualistic rituals.

Today, when we slow down for a yellow light on the road, relish the glow of the metal gold or do anything, really, that involves working memories about gold, we have these ancient brainstorming sessions to thank. And it is the yellow of a fire that will exude a mystical smoke that will ward off all evils. Psychologists like Matt J. Rossano have often argued that ritualistic gatherings sharpened mental focus.