storm charity

Pollution along the coast of Argentina

March 17th, 2009. Published under Life Savers, The Earth. 1 Comment.

The habitat of Punta Tombo Penguin has already damage at this time, causes the climate change and pollution exposure. The number of them was getting lowest and in each year they must to work hard to be able to survive.  Punta Tombo colony population shrink 22 percent since 1987, when the first census carried out. Excessive fishing and the loss of sea ice force the birds to swim 40 miles more far from their nest then 10 years ago only to find some food.

The oil pollution from offshore and oil spillage from ships also threaten them.  The difficulties faced penguin from the Punta Tombo is also experienced by penguin in around the world. On going development in the beach area is not impossible to make this extinct bird.

Amsterdam as Smart City: Going Green, Fast

March 14th, 2009. Published under Green Technology, News. No Comments.

Among Amsterdam’s 17th century town houses and meandering canals, big changes are afoot. On Utrechtsestraat, a major shopping avenue in the center of the Dutch capital, street trash soon will be collected by nonpolluting electric trucks, while the electronic displays in local bus stops will be powered by small solar panels. Elsewhere, 500 households will pilot an energy-saving system from IBM (IBM) and Cisco (CSCO) aimed at cutting electricity costs. An additional 728 homes will have access to financing from Dutch banks ING (ING) and Rabobank to buy everything from energy-saving light bulbs to ultra-efficient roof insulation.

The projects, all getting under way over the next few months, represent Amsterdam’s initial steps toward making its infrastructure more eco-friendly. The move comes as governments worldwide set aside billions of dollars to create so-called “smart cities,” or towns that mix renewable projects, next-generation energy efficiency, and government support to cut overall carbon dioxide footprints. Yet, unlike cities that could take decades to upgrade their infrastructure, Amsterdam aims to complete its first-round investments by 2012. That makes it one of the first and most ambitious adopters of the smart city concept, attracting attention from policymakers worldwide hoping to glean lessons from the green experiment. (more…)

The green house

March 14th, 2009. Published under Green Technology. No Comments.

Alanna Stang, Christopher Hawthorne, National Building Museum (U.S.)

From the arid deserts of Tucson, Arizona to the icy forests of Poori, Finland to the tropical beaches of New South Wales, Australia to the urban jungle of downtown Manhattan, critics Alanna Stang and Christopher Hawthorne have traveled to the farthest reaches of the globe to find all that is new in the design of sustainable, or “green,” homes. The result: more than thirty-five residences in fifteen countries — and nearly every conceivable natural environment — designed by a combination of star architects and heretofore unknown practitioners. Six different climactic zones are presented in The Green House — waterfront, forest and mountain, tropical, desert, suburban, and urban; there is also a section on mobile dwellings. Each chapter features a series of homes that show the diversity and possibility of sustainable design. Projects are presented with large color images, plans, drawings, and an accompanying text that describes their green features and explains how they work with and in the environment. Architects included: Santiago Calatrava, Shigeru Ban, Miller/Hull, Rick Joy, Lake Flato, Kengo Kuma, Glenn Murcutt, Pugh & Scarpa, Werner Sobek, and many others. The Green House is not only a beautiful object in its own right, but is sure to be an indispensable reference for anyone building or interested in sustainable design — and if you ask us, that should be everyone.

First Aid Training for Lifeguards is a Must

March 13th, 2009. Published under Life Savers. No Comments.

Who is a lifeguard? What role does he have to portray? How necessary is the first aid training for him? You surely are familiar with the now defunct television series called Baywatch, right? You have seen those gorgeous hunks and babes who carried around their life buoys and who immediately jumped into the water to save those who are in dire need. However, being gorgeous is not a basic requirement for someone to become a lifeguard. What is very important is that he knows how to swim to the rescue of the victim and then apply the necessary first aid as a lifesaving technique. (more…)

DEEP Indonesia International Underwater Photo Competition 2009

March 5th, 2009. Published under News. 1 Comment.

On the heels of announcing the prestigious 4th-annual, US-based international photo and video competition, wetpixel inline and divephotoguide.com  have once again organized a unique joint collaboration with a second international competition in association with DEEP Indonesia , Indonesia’s first-ever diving, adventure travel and water sports expo.
For three years now two international competitions associated with dive expos on opposite sides of the world have cooperated to establish a complementary series of categories and prizing opportunities.

Photographers will compete in 7 themed categories to win over $30,000 in prizes, including photo equipment, dive gear, and premium dive travel packages to some of the top photo destinations in Indonesia and beyond. Indonesia trips include Bali, Fak Fak, Komodo, Lembeh, Manado, and Raja Empat. Additional dive packages include Papua New Guinea and The Bahamas. The contest includes a category for images that focus on conservation and the marine environment, one specifically for entries taken by compact digital cameras, and one specifically for Indonesian entrants. (more…)

Tsunami

March 5th, 2009. Published under The Earth. No Comments.

Tsunamis , also known as seismic sea waves (mistakenly called “tidal waves”), are a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance such as an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or meteorite. A tsunami can move hundreds of miles per hour in the open ocean and smash into land with waves as high as 100 feet or more.

From the area where the tsunami originates, waves travel outward in all directions. Once the wave approaches the shore, it builds in height. The topography of the coastline and the ocean floor will influence the size of the wave. There may be more than one wave and the succeeding one may be larger than the one before. That is why a small tsunami at one beach can be a giant wave a few miles away.

All tsunamis are potentially dangerous, even though they may not damage every coastline they strike. A tsunami can strike anywhere along most of the U.S. coastline. The most destructive tsunamis have occurred along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Earthquake-induced movement of the ocean floor most often generates tsunamis. If a major earthquake or landslide occurs close to shore, the first wave in a series could reach the beach in a few minutes, even before a warning is issued. Areas are at greater risk if they are less than 25 feet above sea level and within a mile of the shoreline. Drowning is the most common cause of death associated with a tsunami. Tsunami waves and the receding water are very destructive to structures in the run-up zone. Other hazards include flooding, contamination of drinking water, and fires from gas lines or ruptured tanks.

PLANTING SEEDS

March 5th, 2009. Published under Planting. No Comments.

Any reliable seed house can be depended upon for good seeds; but even so, there is a great risk in seeds. A seed may to all appearances be all right and yet not have within it vitality enough, or power, to produce a hardy plant.

If you save seed from your own plants you are able to choose carefully. Suppose you are saving seed of aster plants. What blossoms shall you decide upon? Now it is not the blossom only which you must consider, but the entire plant. Why? Because a weak, straggly plant may produce one fine blossom. Looking at that one blossom so really beautiful you think of the numberless equally lovely plants you are going to have from the seeds. But just as likely as not the seeds will produce plants like the parent plant. (more…)

Thunderstorm

March 5th, 2009. Published under The Earth. No Comments.

Thunderstorm, rain cloud or clouds that produce thunder and lightning. Thunderstorms are very tall clouds that extend from near the ground up to, and often slightly above, the top of the troposphere, the bottom layer of the atmosphere. A thunderstorm has a characteristic cylindrical or slight hour-glass shape with a puffy, cauliflower texture. Clouds with this texture are called cumulus, and clouds that produce rain are called nimbus. Because thunderstorms are a combination of these two, they are called cumulonimbus clouds. Many thunderstorms develop an anvil-shaped top as the top is sheared by high-altitude wind. Severe thunderstorms can produce hail, strong winds, and tornadoes. Weak thunderstorms are called thundershowers. Some thundershowers are so weak that they produce virga, which is rain falling from the cloud that evaporates before reaching the ground. (more…)

Save Palestine with MER-C

March 4th, 2009. Published under Human Being. No Comments.

MER-C (Medical Emergency Rescue Committee) is a social organization that engaged in emergency humanitarian medical field and have the nature of trust, professional, neutral, independent, voluntary, and high mobility.
After Military Israel attacks Palestine (Gaza) and killed most of the non guilty citizen, many countries in the world condemn these attacks. But if only talk without significant help, it useless. So one of the social organization in Indonesia, called MER-C, collecting fund for humanitarian aid for Palestinians. To participate you can distribute the funds through bank accounts that have been listed in the MER-C website or via SMS donations, as shown below.

Formation of Tropical Storms

March 4th, 2009. Published under The Earth. No Comments.

Most tropical storms form over warm tropical oceans from preexisting regions of low pressure called tropical depressions. In these regions, air is moistened and warmed. The hot air rises, creating an area of low pressure. The rising air forms thunderstorms. Air moving in toward the low-pressure area travels across the warm ocean waters, and is moistened. This air provides more water vapor to fuel a storm.

As the hot, humid air rises, the water vapor in the air condenses to form clouds and rain. When water vapor condenses, it releases energy. This energy is called latent heat, or heat of condensation. It represents the amount of heat that is absorbed or released by a substance when the substance undergoes a change of phase—in this case, a change from water vapor to liquid water. A storm is a type of heat engine. Latent heat powers a storm and intensifies it. A storm will intensify as long as warm, humid air flows toward the center of low pressure that, in turn, continues to attract air. In addition, the change of wind speed and direction with altitude (called wind shear) must be small (change of wind speed of less than 27 km/h, or 17 mph) so that the heat from the thunderstorm remains within the storm’s center.
The rotation of Earth also affects the movement of air. In the northern hemisphere, Earth’s rotation deflects air from left to right, while in the southern hemisphere, it deflects air from right to left. This deflection is called the Coriolis effect . As air moves toward a low-pressure center, the deflection causes the air to spiral around the center rather than travel straight into the center. The inward spiraling of air causes the formation of circular bands of thunderstorms, which are a distinctive feature of tropical storms and hurricanes, along with spiraling winds. The spiraling winds rotate faster as they approach the center. Centrifugal force flings the rotating air outward, making it increasingly difficult for air to reach the center
As a storm intensifies and its winds gain strength, the winds reach a speed at which the air can no longer reach the center. The region corresponding to the maximum penetration of the spiraling air is called the eye wall. The eye wall contains the strongest winds. Inside this ring of strong winds, a calm area develops, known as an eye. A major distinction between a tropical storm and a hurricane is the presence of an eye in a hurricane. An eye forms when the winds near the center reach about 119 km/h (74 mph).

Within 5° of latitude north or south of the equator, tropical storms and hurricanes do not occur, despite frequent thunderstorms. The reason for this absence is the weakness of the Coriolis effect within 5° of the equator. In this equatorial region the winds can travel straight into the center of a low-pressure system and eliminate it. This process halts a cluster of thunderstorms before it can intensify into a tropical storm. Tropical storms and hurricanes also are very rare anywhere in the south Atlantic Ocean or in the eastern part of the south Pacific Ocean. This near absence is the result of relatively cold ocean temperatures and persistent large wind shear.