Thursday 20 August 2009

BELLA GAIA

BELLA GAIA(TM) (Beautiful Earth) is a 'Living Atlas' journey of our world, expressing the deeply moving beauty of planet Earth as seen through the eyes of astronauts. Created by award winning director and classically trained violinist Kenji Williams, BELLA GAIA(TM) features live performances by Williams and world music artists against a large-screen backdrop of orbiting visualizations of Earth from space.

BELLA GAIA

Shanghai urges 'two-child policy'

 

Chinese child with teddy, flag

China's only children are often spoiled "little emperors"

Officials in Shanghai are urging parents to have a second child, the first time in decades the government has pushed for more babies.

A public information campaign has been launched to highlight exemptions to the country's one-child policy.

Couples who were both only children, which includes most of the city's newly-weds, are allowed a second child.

The move comes as China's most populous city becomes richer and older, with the number of retired residents soaring.

"Shanghai's over-60 population already exceeds three million, or 21.6% of registered residents," said Zhang Meixin, a spokesman for the city's Municipal Population and Family Planning Commission.

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Shanghai urges 'two-child policy'

If you want to go green, buy Spanish strawberries - Green Living, Environment - The Independent

The belief that local is best when it comes to measuring the environmental impact of our food is often wrong, says new research

 

Strawberry fields: Fruit grown in southern Spain contributes fewer greenhouse gases to global warming

Millions of Britons who think they are doing their bit for the environment by choosing home-grown food over produce imported from thousands of miles away could actually be having the reverse effect, according to a startling new report.

The "food miles" philosophy that decrees anything transported over distance is worse for the environment than something closer to home is frequently flawed, according to researchers funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

If you want to go green, buy Spanish strawberries - Green Living, Environment - The Independent

Outline Maps

 

Outline Maps

Outline Maps

Krakatoa's fiery eruption

Krakatau volcano: Powerful lightning hits the volcano's crater in June 2009

Amateur photographer Marco Fulle's pictures of Krakatoa, between the islands of Java and Sumatra, taken last month, highlight the raw intensity of volcanic eruption

Krakatoa's fiery eruption | World news | guardian.co.uk

In pictures: The world's melting glaciers | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Glaciers-under-treat-Amou-010

Glaciers around the world are retreating at unprecedented rates as temperatures rise due to climate change. Some ice caps, glaciers, sea ice and even an ice shelf have disappeared altogether in this century and many more are retreating so rapidly that they may vanish within a matter of decades

In pictures: The world's melting glaciers | Environment | guardian.co.uk

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Typhoon batters south-east China

merkot map

Typhoon Morakot has struck China's south-east coast, destroying hundreds of houses and flooding farmland.

Almost one million people were evacuated ahead of the storm, which crashed ashore in Fujian province with winds of up to 119km/h (74mph).

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Typhoon batters south-east China