The Cairngorms are Britain's premier mountain range. Their scale, their altitude, and their value as wilderness country - for recreation and for nature conservation - are without equal in these islands. They stand near the centre of Scotland, between the straths of the rivers Dee and Spey.
PDF map available for downloading
The map is about Transboundary Aquifers (TBAs). It shows the present state of information regarding the occurrence and extent of TBAs world-wide. The intention of the map is to provide a global overview of these important shared water resources and to encourage their further assessment. The back of the map contains an introduction to a methodology for assessment of TBAs
In southern Utah, the Colorado River, halted by Arizona’s Glen Canyon Dam, creates Lake Powell, a meandering, narrow reservoir that follows the contours of the river. In the early twenty-first century, this modern marvel of engineering faced an ancient enemy: severe, prolonged drought in the American Southwest. Combined with water withdrawals that many believe are not sustainable, the drought has taken its toll on Lake Powell water levels.
VIDEO
A major development centred around a holiday resort is to be considered by Cairngorms National Park Authority's planning committee.
A huge ocean wave has been filmed from beneath the surface, revealing features never before captured on camera.
The remarkable video, which will be shown as part of the BBC Natural History Unit's new series South Pacific, was filmed in super slow motion using a high-definition camera.
Wetlands are among the world's most productive environments. They are cradles of biological diversity, providing the water and primary productivity upon which large numbers of plant and animal species depend for survival. They are also important locations of plant genetic diversity and support large numbers of bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, fish and invertebrate species. Wetlands provide tremendous economic benefits through their role in supporting fisheries, agriculture and tourism, and through much of the world they have a crucial role as a source of clean water for dependant human populations. Unfortunately they are also among the world's most threatened ecosystems, owing mainly to continued drainage, pollution, over-exploitation or other unsustainable uses of their resources.
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention or Wetlands Convention) was adopted in Ramsar, Iran in February 1971 and entered into force in December 1975. The Convention covers all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use. The Convention has three main 'pillars' of activity: the designation of wetlands of international importance as Ramsar sites; the promotion of the wise-use of all wetlands in the territory of each country; and international co-operation with other countries to further the wise-use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention's Contracting Parties have assumed a wide range of related obligations. Current details of Contracting Parties to the Convention, and the number and extent of Ramsar sites designated globally, are available on the Ramsar website http://www.ramsar.org/.
Natura 2000 is the centrepiece of EU nature & biodiversity policy. It is an EUwide network of nature protection areas established under the 1992 Habitats Directive. The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is comprised of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designated by Member States under the Habitats Directive, and also incorporates Special Protection Areas (SPAs) which they designate under the 1979 Birds Directive. Natura 2000 is not a system of strict nature reserves where all human activities are excluded. Whereas the network will certainly include nature reserves most of the land is likely to continue to be privately owned and the emphasis will be on ensuring that future management is sustainable, both ecologically and economically.The establishment of theis network of protected areas also fulfils a Community obligation under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
Natura 2000 applies to Birds Sites and to Habitats Sites, which are divided into biogeographical regions. It also applies to the marine environment.
Top 10 Water Wasters: From Washing Dishes to Watering the Desert
The many ways we squander water, from unintentional leaks to outright negligence
A Six-Point Plan to Avert a Global Freshwater Crisis
Policymakers need to figure out how to supply water without degrading the natural ecosystems that provide it.
Why don't we get our drinking water from the ocean by taking the salt out of seawater?
Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, distills an answer
Freshwater Conservation: Drip by Drip
Doing small things consistently over time—if enough people participate—can make a dent, even in a global problem. Here are a few suggestions:
Get Involved in Freshwater Conservation
To find out more about your local water situation, check in with your local water authority
Freshwater Crisis Map: Current Situation
Lots of Water, but Not Always Where It Is Needed
Freshwater Crisis Map: Looming Shortages
Models examining the effects of climate change and of population and economic growth on water availability by 2025 indicate that climate change alone will bring scarcity to many places.
It's an invisible ingredient, really, palm oil. You won't find it listed on your margarine, your bread, your biscuits or your KitKat. It's there though, under "vegetable oil". And its impact, 7,000 miles away, is very visible indeed.
The wildlife-rich forests of Indonesia and Malaysia are being chain-sawed to make way for palm-oil plantations. Thirty square miles are felled daily in a burst of habitat destruction that is taking place on a scale and speed almost unimaginable in the West.
When the rainforests disappear almost all of the wildlife – including the orangutans, tigers, sun bears, bearded pigs and other endangered species – and indigenous people go. In their place come palm-oil plantations stretching for mile after mile, producing cheap oil – the cheapest cooking oil in the world – for everyday food.
Rothiemurchus is a special place at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, near Aviemore, in the Scottish Highlands. It offers a warm welcome, stunning scenery and outdoor activities for individuals, families, groups and corporate parties to enjoy.
Rothiemurchus, Aviemore, Scotland for Walking, Outdoor Activities, Camping and Shopping
Grantown Grammar School in the Highlands is next to Cairngorms National Park. School Reporters investigate if it is possible to protect both nature and local peoples' livelihoods.
VIDEO
BBC NEWS | School Report | Protecting nature and the economy
Glacial advance and retreat is determined by the balance between the accumulation of snow and the removal of ice by sublimation, melting, and calving (ablation). When the rate of ablation below the snowline equals the rate of accumulation above it, the glacier is stationary, as in View 1. During glacial retreat, View 2, the rate of ablation exceeds the rate of accumulation, and the position of the toe retreats toward the origin of the glacier. Glacial advance, View 3, occurs when the rate of accumulation exceeds the rate of ablation. For all views, pay attention to the motion of the stones. Note that in all cases, ice flows downhill.
ANIMATIONS
The Cairngorms form some of the most cherished scenery of the Scottish Highlands. These are granite hills - the Cairngorm Granite intrusion is one of the largest in the British Isles and displays fine examples of classic granite landforms. The Cairngorms is equally a glacially-shaped terrain that exhibits splendid corries, over-deepened valleys and roches moutonnées. The mountains provide a world-class example of a landscape of selective linear glacial erosion. Here glacial erosion has been concentrated in the glens whilst the adjacent plateau has been left largely untouched by the passage of ice. The magnificent natural sculptures of the summit tors include features over half a million years old. The Cairngorms includes the largest area of high ground in Britain. The climate of the high tops is as severe as in arctic regions and a range of cold-climate landforms are developed, reflecting the central importance of frost action both now and in the past. Much scenery-shaping activity continues today, under the savage impact of avalanches, wind storms and floods and the unseen but relentless onslaught of weathering and erosion
Braemar, or Braigh Mharr in Gaelic (which finally died out locally as a spoken language about 1900), is not only redolent with Scottish history, but is a land of superlatives. It is the highest and most mountainous parish in the UK, with each of its 182,000 acres being more than 1000ft above sea level (the Post office, in the village centre, is at 1110ft).
The area contains within its borders some 24 Munros, or mountains of over 3,000ft, with three over 4,000ft. It is also the only parish in the country to border with four of the old counties (Banffshire, Inverness-shire, Perthshire and Angus). It has the highest 18-hole golf course in the country, and shares with Perthshire the Cairnwell Pass, at 2,100ft the highest through road in the country, which on the Braemar side passes through the Glenshee Ski Centre.
Aonach Mor is a 4006ft mountain that is best described as "the next but one along" from Ben Nevis when seen from the north or north west. When combined with its slightly higher southern neighbour Aonach Beag it makes an excellent hillwalking expedition.
Since its construction in 1989 the northern slopes of Aonach Mor have become much better known as the home to Nevis Range. A mountain gondola whisks visitors from a base station just off the A82 midway between Fort William and Spean Bridge. The gondola's top station lies at a height of 655m or 2150ft, where you find a range of facilities including the Snowgoose Restaurant.
Glenshee Ski Centre offers the UK's most extensive skiing and snowboarding facilities - we hope you will enjoy our mountains of adventure.Glenshee's impressive 20 lifts and 36 runs offer an amazing diversity of natural terrain for all standards of skiers and snowboarders.
There are lots of options to choose from - you can join a class, go private, hire an instructor for your group, get into race training or simply take advantage of one of our great value package deals.
Data base that can be interrogated.
INSTRUCTIONS :
1. Cause of Death Column to the left is in World Rank Order.
2. Select a Country from the list on the right, click on it to place it in the Grid. You can place up to 7 countries into the Grid at one time.
3. Once the Country is in the Grid you can change the Cause of Death Column from the World Order to the Individual Country order by clicking on the Abbreviation beneath the Flag. Sorting the Data in this way enables you to compare one Country to another and against the World at the same time.
4. To remove an Individual Country from the Grid, return to the Country List on the right and Click to remove. You can then replace it with another Country or click the orange "Clear" button located at the top of the List to remove all Countries at once.
5. To assist you in finding Countries you may use the control above the list to alphabetise them. You'll also notice each time you select a country to be placed in the Grid it will change color and move to the top of the list making it easy to find to remove it. This feature also assists you in knowing which countries are in the Grid for review.
There are now 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre of the world's oceans, killing a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals each year. Worse still, there seems to be nothing we can do to clean it up. So how do we turn the tide?
Drowning in plastic: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of France - Telegraph
The UK government has given a massive boost to world ambitions to develop clean-coal technology. It announced a decision that will herald a new generation of coal-fired power stations in the UK - but all of them will have to have their CO2 emissions partially captured by cutting-edge technology.
This map shows the change in run-off inferred from streamflow records worldwide between 1948 and 2004, with bluish colors indicating more streamflow and reddish colors less. Graphic: Journal of Climate, modified by UCAR
Some of the mightiest rivers on the planet, including the Ganges, the Niger, and the Yellow river in China, are drying up because of climate change, a study of global waterways warned yesterday.
Climate change threatens Ganges, Niger and other mighty rivers | Environment | The Guardian
The latest set of aerial photographs of the London 2012 olympic show just how far the building works have come along. Compare this aerial view of the Olympic Village site in April 2007...
London 2012 aerial pictures show Olympic Park's changing skyline - Telegraph
Water levels in some of the world's most important rivers have declined significantly over the past 50 years, US researchers say.
BBC NEWS | World | Americas | World's major rivers 'drying up'
The central Italy region ravaged by an earthquake more than a week ago will need at least euro12 billion (about $16 billion) for rebuilding, the country's interior minister said.
RELEASE DATE: Friday 24th April
Werner Herzog journeys to Antarctica's McMurdo Station to find out what it is that drives its 1,000 inhabitants to want to live and work in this remotest of glacial landscapes
Countries with ties to Antarctica have adopted US proposals to limit tourism in the region, in a bid to protect the fragile ecosystem of the continent.Parties to the Antarctic Treaty agreed to limit the size of cruise ships and the number of tourists taken ashore at a meeting in the US city of Baltimore. Limiting tourism has taken on urgency due to a surge in visits and a number of cruise ship accidents. Antarctic visits have risen from 6,700 in 1992-93 to over 45,000 last season.
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | New limits to Antarctic tourism
Researchers believe the drought that struck parts of Northern Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, killing hundreds of thousands and displacing millions more, may have been the result of a natural climate cycle. In the past, many scientists thought the drought in the Sahel zone – a band that runs just below the Sahara – was caused by humans overusing natural resources in the region.
But a new study in the journal Science shows that they are a natural part of weather pattern of the area for the last 3,000 years.
If anything the droughts were less severe than those seen historically, with previous periods without rain lasting more than a century.
Catastrophic droughts in Africa are the norm, claim scientists - Telegraph
The annual Social Trends study published by the Office for National Statistics presents a revealing portrait of the way we live now.
Nearly two million men aged between 20 and 34 still live with their parents, almost twice the number of women of the same age. The proportion of young adults who are reluctant or unable to leave home has increased by about 300,000 since 2001. Far more are continuing with their studies, while others are unemployed. The lack of affordable housing is the chief deciding factor in living with parents. The proportion of single-person households has doubled since 1971, from 6 per cent to 12 per cent, while the number of marriages in England and Wales – 237,000 in 2006 – was the lowest for more than a century. The average age at which people tie the knot is 31.8 for men and 29.7 for women. In the past 10 years, the number of women under 25 giving birth has overtaken the number marrying by that age.
EDUCATION LAW and ORDER EMPLOYMENT POPULATION
LIFE STYLE WEALTH HEALTH HOUSING TRAVEL ENVIRONMENT
and SOCIETY
Britain is living beyond its environmental means and is increasingly dependent on the rest of the world for its natural resources, a thinktank study has revealed.The recession may have slowed consumption but the New Economics Foundation (Nef) says we are now drawing deep on the cropland, pasture, forests and fisheries of other countries. The research also shows that by tomorrow the country will have used the levels of resources it should consume in an entire year if it were to be ecologically self-sufficient.
UK goes into ecological debt on Easter Sunday | Environment | The Guardian
THE overthrow of Madagascar’s president in mid-March was partly caused by water problems—in South Korea. Worried by the difficulties of increasing food supplies in its water-stressed homeland, Daewoo, a South Korean conglomerate, signed a deal to lease no less than half Madagascar’s arable land to grow grain for South Koreans. Widespread anger at the terms of the deal (the island’s people would have received practically nothing) contributed to the president’s unpopularity. One of the new leader’s first acts was to scrap the agreement.
Three weeks before that, on the other side of the world, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California declared a state of emergency. Not for the first time, he threatened water rationing in the state. “It is clear,” says a recent report by the United Nations World Water Assessment Programme, “that urgent action is needed if we are to avoid a global water crisis.”
The government has released a list of 11 sites in England and Wales where new nuclear power stations could be built.The locations were nominated by companies interested in building the stations, and the government has given its initial approval to the sites.
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | New nuclear site options unveiled
ROME, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the earthquake in central Italy's Abruzzo region rose to 287 on Thursday, Italian media reported. Days after the 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday, aftershocks continued to jolt the region, with 71 seismic events recorded Wednesday night, Abruzzo Governor Gianni Chiodi said. There had been a total of 1,000 aftershocks since the quake struck the region on Monday, he said.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi said earlier on Thursday it was still too early to estimate the costs of rebuilding the quake-stricken region of Abruzzo, but this would likely require "several billion euros." Meanwhile, the government has approved a package of emergency measures to ease financial pressures on the 29,000 people left homeless by the earthquake.
According to the plan, families will receive up to 400 euros a month to help with rent while business owners, including farmers, who have had to cease activity because of the quake will receive a monthly allowance of 800 euros.
Electricity and gas bills for the stricken areas have been suspended for two months and insurance contributions have also been put on hold, while survivors will be able to renegotiate mortgages with banks. Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said government aid to deal with the disaster had been increased to 100 million euros.
The government also approved the deployment of 700 troops to patrol the quake-hit areas alongside police to prevent looting. Some 19,000 survivors from the quake are currently housed in tent camps, while 10,000 others are allowed to live in hotels paid by the state.
The government also approved the deployment of 700 troops to patrol the quake-hit areas alongside police to prevent looting. Some 19,000 survivors from the quake are currently housed in tent camps, while 10,000 others are allowed to live in hotels paid by the state.
Photographs http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/the_laquila_earthquake.html
Warning given http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6046585.ece
Images http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirkosim/
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Italy quake survivors mark Easter
Mexico City officials have shut down a main pipeline providing fresh water to millions of residents because reserves have fallen to record low levels.
BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Country profiles | Water cut off in Mexican capital
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Anyone unfortunate enough to have been caught by this year’s record-breaking UK floods might wonder how a lack of water could possibly be an imminent global problem. But away from our damp corner of the planet, things are rather different. Since 1950, the world’s population has doubled but the amount of fresh water available hasn’t actually budged at all. The result? According to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), one-third of the world’s population is short of water. What’s worse, this is a point that the planet was not expected to reach, according to previous reports, until 2025, implying that the situation is deteriorating – fast
Pump Aid is a leading water and sanitation organisation, providing lasting solutions to clean water provision and sanitation. At Pump Aid we believe that access to clean water is a fundamental human right. Provision of clean water for rural communities in Africa, means that people can lead a healthy and productive life. Children are able to attend a full day at school, instead of fetching water from far away, open sources. Villagers in rural communities can utilise the clean water source for drinking, washing and irrigation that can lead to generating income from their vegetable crops
A desperate search for survivors is on in and around the Italian city of L'Aquila after a quake killed, Italian media say, at least 150 people.Some 5,000 rescuers are picking through rubble in the walled medieval city and nearby towns and villages, some of them said to have been virtually destroyed. Tents are being put up in tennis courts and on football pitches to house some of the 30,000-40,000 homeless. The number of people injured has been put at 1,500.
If you think it's impossibly complicated to make your town or city low carbon, think again.This website gives expert advice on planning, designing and managing a sustainable place. It cuts through the complexity with clear priorities for action. And it shows which places are getting it right.Getting it right means a more resilient economy, healthier residents, a more beautiful place and a better quality of life for everyone.
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