Sunday, January 31, 2010

It Will be possible to feed nine billion people sustainably

Researchers estimate that the global population will level-out at nine billion people in 2050, adding over two billion more people to the planet. Since, one billion of the world's population (more than one in seven) are currently going hungry—the largest number in all of history—scientists are struggling with how, not only to feed those who are hungry today, but also the additional two billion that will soon grace our planet. In a new paper, published in Science, researchers make recommendations on how the world may one day feed nine billion people—sustainably. 
read here

Friday, January 29, 2010

The Ozone Hole Is Mending Now ‘But’ there is a Downside

That the hole in Earth’s ozone layer is slowly mending is considered a big victory for environmental policy makers. But in a new report, scientists say there is a downside: its repair may contribute to global warming.
read it here

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Scientists Capture Haiti Disaster With High-Tech Imaging System


In the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that struck Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, scientists from Rochester Institute of Technology are sweeping the leveled city with high-tech imaging integrated into a small aircraft.Funded by the World Bank, and in collaboration with ImageCat Inc., the five-day flight is meticulously mapping the disaster zone to aid in crisis management and eventual reconstruction of the city. The twin engine Piper Navajo, operated by Kucera International, an Ohio-based aerial mapping company, will fly from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and refuel daily in the Dominican Republic. The plane flies at 3,000 feet over Port-au-Prince and other areas badly hit by the earthquake. The operation began Jan. 21.
read here
 

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Pakistani NGOs to use GIS for saving turtle habitat


 Karachi-based  non-governmental organisation Shehri-CBE (Citizens for a Better Environment) would conduct GIS mapping of Karachi’s beaches as well as carry out a GIS-based analysis of the turtle habitat, in collaboration with the Indus for All Programme-WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) Pakistan.The project will include environmentally sensitive eco-systems such as the Korangi Creek system. Stretched over 70 kilometres between Rehri Goth and Cape Monze, the project would cost 4.1 million PKR (Pakistani currency), out of which WWF-Pakistan would contribute 70 percent and Shehri-CBE would add the remaining fund.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Unique Oppurtunity to Educate 40,000 Underprivileged Children of India

Hello Readers

Got this e-mail from indiblogger.in.  Read through and click on the link given below
.
Here is a unique opportunity to reach out and impact thousands of lives through your blog. Yes, sitting at your desk and writing a blog post can help educate 40,000 young Indians all over our country!



One of India’s most trusted and credible NGOs, GiveIndia is taking part in a competition on Facebook to win a US$1 million grant. The winner will be the NGO that gets the highest number of votes from Facebook users. The prize of $1 million will help put or keep 40,000 children across India in school for one year!


Imagine the IndiBlogger community coming together to spread the word and help the underprivileged children of India. The impact would be tremendous and together, IndiBloggers and GiveIndia would be able to gather the votes we need to win.

Voting in the competition is for one week only, from Friday, January 15 – Friday, January 22, 2010. Can we make a difference in the next 5 days? We sure hope so!




The link for voting, where you can also see more details of the competition is

http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/338730

There’s been lots of talk about how social media can bring change and make an impact on the world we live in. Well, here is one tangible way for us to take a small action that could have a HUGE outcome.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Diamond Oceans on Uranus, Neptune


Oceans of liquid diamond, filled with solid diamond icebergs, could be floating on Neptune and Uranus, according to a recent article in the journal Nature Physics.The research, based on first detailed measurements of the melting point of diamond, found diamond behaves like water during freezing and melting, with solid forms floating atop liquid forms. The surprising revelation gives scientists a new understanding about diamonds and some of the most distant planets in our solar system.
here 

Monday, January 11, 2010

Earthquake Deaths Lower in 2009



The US Geological Survey reports that earthquake related deaths numbered 1783 worldwide, a big decrease from 2008 when more than 88,000 died, with more than 87,000 of the deaths occurring in the Eastern Sichuan, China earthquake in May 2008. In 2009, the worst earthquake was the September 30th earthquake in Southern Sumatra, Indonesia in which 1,117 people were killed.
read it here 

Saturday, January 9, 2010

How Cold Is It?



It is very cold in most of the US this winter. It brings to mind is it so cold that you can freeze to death as well as what happened to global warming? Cooling as well as warming trends have happened before and will happen again. Back in the 1970's for example winters turned significantly colder for awhile.Meteorologists are quick to point out that reliable U.S. weather data goes back only to the late 1800s, so it's normal for records of various types to be broken every year, somewhere, when dealing with such a relatively brief data set. Any given day or year may set set a record. For global warming it is the long term trend that is important.
read it here

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Lithuania shuts Soviet-era nuclear plant


Lithuania shut down its nuclear power plant in Ignalina last week, raising fears of increased energy dependency on Russia and of a further blow to an already recession-hit economy.The Baltic state shut down the last reactor at the Ignalina plantexternal on Thursday (31 December).
full story

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Fast Pace of Glacier Melt in the 1940s: Lower Aerosol Pollution


The most recent studies by researchers at ETH Zurich show that in the 1940s Swiss glaciers were melting at an even-faster pace than at present. This is despite the fact that the temperatures in the 20th century were lower than in this century. Researchers see the main reason for this as the lower level of aerosol pollution in the atmosphere.
read it here