About a year ago the United Nations announced UNdata, a way to disseminate data stretched out across 22 United Nations databases through one central application. While UNdata houses 66 million records, it's tough to get a sense of what's going on without a visual representation.
Progress is an effort to make this world data visible. More than anything though, it was a chance for me to mess around with some data.
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth at all levels. Photographer: Paul A Souders/Corbis
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth at all levels: from genes to species to ecosystems. An apple variety is an example of biodiversity; so is Siberian coastal tundra. Most of the time, though, biodiversity is spoken about in terms of species.
The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by the worst environmental disaster in Australia's history after a ship ran aground. So why are giant coal carriers allowed to use this well-known shipping hazard as a shortcut?
Bristol is the UK's most bike-friendly big city, while London is one of the least hospitable to cyclists, according to a survey.The study by Cycling Plus magazine took the country's 20 biggest cities and towns by population – thus excluding traditional bike centres such as Cambridge and York – and ranked them using a series of factors including cycle commuter numbers, levels of bike theft, the number of traffic-free bike lanes, casualties, pollution and even rainfall.Bristol edged out Nottingham and Leicester, while London was rated 17th, above only Glasgow, Birmingham and bottom-placed Bradford.
The accolade for Bristol comes two years after it was named the country's first "cycling city" by the Department for Transport, giving it access to around £20m in extra funding for bike-related schemes. The city is also the birthplace of Sustrans, the green cycle route charity which began 30 years ago when volunteers converted an old rail line between Bristol and Bath into a dedicated bike route.
Bristol tops list of bike-friendly cities | Life and style | The Guardian
Early on Sunday morning (the 21st of March) eruption started at Fimmvorduhals, an area between Katla volcano and Eyjafjallajokull glacier and a popular hiking trail. Fear remains that the eruption at Fimmvorduhals might trigger a much larger eruption in Katla volcano. If that happens, these webcams will provide a direct view of the events.
The two new webcams showing Eyjafjallajokull glacier and provide a view of the eruption area were installed by Mila. The Hekla webcam (bottom of page) was installed in partnership between Iceland´s National Radio, Iceland´s Civil Protection Department and Siminn telephone. Volcanic activity is best viewed during dusk (6pm-8pm local time) as night falls and daylight reduces.
Webcam location map
- Webcam 1 of Eyjafjallajokull
- Webcam 2 of Eyjafjallajokull
- Webcam 3 of Eyjafjallajokull
(english version by Vodafone)
Reykjavik Iceland Volcano Webcams - Hekla and more... - My Reykjavik Info
Toads able to detect earthquake days beforehand, says study | Science | guardian.co.uk
South Downs National Park designation takes effect – 31 March 2010
The new South Downs National Park is designated at a minute past midnight on Wednesday 31 March. Covering an area over 1600 square kilometres, the South Downs National Park is the tenth National Park to be designated in England, offering an area of protected countryside that everyone can visit and enjoy. The famous South Downs Way, loved by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, stretches the entire 160 km length of the Park from Winchester in Hampshire to the white chalk cliffs of Beachy Head, near Eastbourne.
As a lover of our planet, Graverson Green, like us, is not a fan of dirty coal. Cue Coalfinger, a coal super villain and Green's ultimate enemy! Along with his dopey sidekick Dr. Anthracite, Coalfinger plans to cover the world in coal-fired power stations and destroy the climate. Can Green stop them with the help of his assistant Katrina Hurkane?
Britain's richest and poorest regions have drawn farther apart since 1995, with workers in London and the south-east seeing their income race ahead of the national average, while those in the rest of the country fell behind, official figures reveal.
The north-south pay gap: what do people earn where you live? | News | guardian.co.uk
Professor James Lovelock, the scientist who developed Gaia theory, has said it is too late to try and save the planet.The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change.
China renewable energy: An employee displays a solar panel at a workshop in a factory in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Photograph: LANG LANG/REUTERS
China has overtaken the US for the first time in a league table of investments in low-carbon energy among the G-20, according to a new report by not for profit group the Pew Charitable Trusts published this week.
How China overtook the US in renewable energy | News | guardian.co.uk
High-pressure fragrance sprays will be installed at Asuwei dump, one of several hundred overflowing landfill sites that are the focus of growing public concern 
In pictures: zooming in on Beijing's rubbish
Beijing to sweeten stench of rubbish crisis with giant deodorant guns | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The owner of a house on a Scarborough cliff edge has hosted a special dinner as a farewell gesture to the property. Teetering on the edge of Knipe Point in Scarborough, the property is at risk of falling off the cliff as it crumbles. Owner Kane Cunningham invited twelve guests to the bungalow's "last supper" to highlight the perils of climate change.
BBC News - Volcano erupts near Eyjafjallajoekull in south Iceland
