Geb
07-08-2007, 07:38 PM
Ok, on the 7.7.07. 2 big events took place:
«Live Earth» (concerts)
«New Seven Wonders of the World» selection in Lisbon
Live Earth is the name for a series of multi-venue concerts of pop and rock music featuring various artists which took place on July 7, 2007 (7.7.07). The concerts aimed to raise awareness about anthropogenic climate change (global warming) and to encourage people to live greener lives, all the while accepting the need to contribute to a global carbon tax. The concerts have the intent of bringing together more than 150 of the world's most popular music acts and drawing an estimated worldwide audience of 2 billion people, making it one of the largest global events in history.
The umbrella organization for the event is Save Our Selves, founded by Kevin Wall, and includes as major partners, former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, MSN and Control Room, a concert production company producing Live Earth. Their logo/trademark is SOS written in Morse Code. Talent and programming for all of the sites was handled by Aaron Grosky; the worldwide producer of all of the events was Lily Sobhani. Unlike the similar multi-venue rock music concert Live 8, which was free, Live Earth charged admission but the event was made broadly available via television and the internet
Concerts:
Giants Stadium in New York
Wembley Stadium in London
Aussie Stadium in Sydney
Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro
the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg
Makuhari Messe in Tokyo
the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai
HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg
1) Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). Look closely at labels when buying light bulbs. Those marked as CFLs last 10 times longer and use 66 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs while delivering the same light levels. As a result, CFLs accrue net savings between $30 and $45 over their lifetimes, depending on your cost of electricity, the wattage size of the CFL, and the lamp's lifespan (manufacturers make CFLs that last 6,000, 8,000, or 10,000 hours). The return on investment is 15 times higher than leaving your money in a bank account or the average return on Dows-Jones stock investments. CFLs also reduce the release of greenhouse gas emissions and are safer because they burn at a lower temperature (160° F or less) than incandescent and halogen lights, which can burn at temperatures up to 500° F.
2) Turn down the thermostat just three degrees in the winter and up three degrees in the summer. You can prevent the emission of nearly 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
3) Inflate your car tires. When walking or biking isn't feasible, you can do something to better protect the Earth while driving. Take a step in the right direction by inflating your car tires. Pumping them up can improve your gas mileage by about 3.3 percent -- a savings of about 7 cents per gallon. It's the right thing to do for your wallet and the right thing to do for the Earth.
4) Turn down the hot water heater. Set your water heater to 130° F. While you're at it, turn down your house thermostat during the winter to 55° F when you go to bed or leave home. These simple actions can have enormous positive consequences, preventing the emission of more than 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of the year, while cutting your energy bill by more than 10 percent. And that's just from you! Get your friends on board, and the benefits will multiply.
5) Choose your seafood wisely. We can't afford to wait until 2008. The world's seafood will be entirely depleted by 2048, according to an early November report in the journal Science. That means the moment to shape up is now. By buying and eating certain types of seafood, you can discourage harmful fishing practices and avoid the more depleted or threatened species. Take a look at Seafood Choices Alliance or Seafood Watch to make smart choices.
6) Purchase EnergyStar-labeled appliances. EnergyStar products are among the top 25 percent most efficient and can provide a 30 percent return or better through lower utility bills.
7) Wash and rinse in cold water. If everyone in the United States alone switched to cold water with their washing machines, we could save about 30 million tons of carbon dioxide each year -- and more than $3 billion in energy costs, collectively. And what's more? Cold water cleans your laundry just as well as hot water.
8) Buy locally produced meats and produce. Sounds like a good idea, but you don't know where to start? Just type in your zip code on Local Harvest's website to see a list of farms and farmers' markets close to home, as well as nearby restaurants committed to supporting their neighbors. Buying locally produced food cuts out the middlemen and the vast amounts of energy required to get your products onto store shelves. Most produce in U.S. supermarkets travels an average 1,500 miles before it is sold!
9) Drink more water from reusable glassware. It's great for your bank account, your health, and your planet. The average American consumed more than 400 beverage bottles and cans in 2006, leaving behind wasted glass, plastic, steel, and aluminum. That adds up to excessive amounts of fossil fuels and hydropower for mining, processing, refining, shaping, shipping, storing, refrigerating, and disposing of those materials. Of course, changing your drinking habits both at home and at work is applicable to just about every other habit, as well. You've heard it before and you'll hear it again: Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
10) Walk, bike, and carpool. In the United States, the car represents one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, you don't have to give up your car for a healthier planet, just expand your transportation options. You can significantly reduce your emissions by commuting to work. Try combining trips to minimize emissions, which are greatest at the beginning of a journey before the engine has reached optimum temperature and efficiency. When purchasing your next car, make it a fuel-efficient one. Hybrid cars can get twice the fuel efficiency of the average new car, cut greenhouse gas emissions by half or more, and reduce urban air pollutants. Carpooling saves energy, cuts on additional pollution, and allows you to take a turn as a passenger instead of driving everyday. Car-sharing (not pooling) is available in numerous U.S. cities. Car-sharing enables you to rent a car just when you need it. Each car-share vehicle displaces four to eight privately held cars, requiring less parking area and creating less road congestion. If you live within an hour's bicycle ride to the office (~10 miles), consider biking to work one or more days a week.
Most of us spend a third of our day at the office (or in schools.... argh) -- and that's not counting the commute. Apply these energy-saving tips in the workplace to reduce stress on yourselves (and on the planet).
1. Turn off the lights. Remember to hit the switch on your way out for that well- deserved lunch break. The energy savings from 10 million employees turning off unneeded lights for 30 minutes a day is enough to illuminate 50 million square feet of office space.
2. Get off mailing lists. The last thing you need is another office supply catalog or credit card offer on your desk. Before tossing out junk mail, call the company's toll- free service number and ask that your name be removed from the mailing list. Have online retailers e-mail you instead. Almost half of all catalogs are never opened, yet nearly 62 million trees are destroyed and 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce them every year.
3. Put your monitor to sleep. Whether it shows off your vacation photos or a cool 3D animation, a computer screen saver is not at all designed for energy efficiency. It's intended to save your screen from "burn in," not to save energy. Because monitors are responsible for more than one-third of a computer's energy consumption -- even with screen savers -- the best way to conserve energy is to set the monitor to sleep or power off when you're away for an extended period. If you're gone for 5-10 minutes, enjoy one of CI's screen savers. Any longer than that, put the monitor to sleep.
4. Use the stairs. Your brain gets exercise all day, why not exercise your body? Get your heart pumping by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. It's good for your health, and it saves electricity.
5. Make your printer's toner last. Being cheap is a first date no-no, but it's okay to be frugal at the office. When printing rough drafts or documents for internal purposes, change the printer's settings to economy mode and avoid color if possible. Econo-mode uses up to 50 percent less toner and prints twice as many pages as other higher quality settings. Duplex printing also uses half the amount of paper.
6. Provide incentives for commuters. Free food and a year-end bonus are nice perks, but to really make workers happy, help ease their daily commute. The government rewards businesses that encourage their staff to carpool, bicycle, or walk to work under the Commuter Choice Program. Telecommuting and flexible work hours can also save employers by reducing absences and job retention costs.
7. Recycle and reuse paper. Americans toss out about 35 million tons of paper each year. Buck the trend and start recycling -- not only standard white printer paper, but all of the magazines, manila folders, and colored post-it notes that decorate your space. If it tears, it can be recycled. Recycled paper manufacturing generates 74 percent less air pollution, and saves trees, water, and energy. To salvage papers that are printed on one side only, flip them over and use for incoming faxes.
8. Purchase 100 percent post-consumer waste, chlorine-free paper. Take note when buying paper -- the higher the percentage of post-consumer waste, the larger the amount of recycled material is contained in the paper stock. This means that 100 percent post-consumer waste paper is made entirely from recycled products. Also, chlorine used for bleaching is one of the biggest polluters in the paper-making process. Choose non-chlorinated paper, which has the same quality as the bleached variety.
9. Recycle and reuse office supplies. Do as Mom says and clean your plate, literally. Washing and reusing the plastic dishes and cutlery you get with take-away food is an easy way to cut down on waste at work. Better yet, pack your lunch in reusable containers and pocket your hard-earned dollars! Skip the paper (or worse, Styrofoam) cups and refill your travel mug at the nearby coffee shop instead. It may even get you a discount. Besides aluminum cans and glass bottles, there are many other supplies stashed in and around your desk that are recyclable, such as batteries, printer cartridges, DVDs, CDs, and more.
10. Curb phantom electricity. Many appliances still consume energy even when turned off. Items left plugged into the wall, such as a cell phone charger or laptop adapter, can leak more than 20 watts of power. In the United States alone, "phantom electricity" emits roughly 12 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Avoid this by plugging office equipment into a power strip and turning it off at night and on weekends.
Unfortunately, people are not always good stewards of our natural world. Overfishing and over-hunting can disrupt a habitat's balance. Mountain bikes and horseback riders can alter the landscape. Even hiking and camping leave their mark. Following are our Top 5 guidelines every outdoor enthusiast should try to follow while enjoying the best that nature has to offer.
1) Plan ahead. Camping or hiking responsibly requires knowing the environment you'll be occupying -- including marked trails, designated campgrounds, animals you may encounter, and more. Be prepared!
2) Stay the course. If you're hiking in a muddy area, it's easy to create secondary paths as you try to sidestep the wet stuff. Avoid this by walking on rocks or logs. If you have no other choice, stay on the designated trail and walk through the mud. Use an existing campsite. Don't create a new campsite when you can use an existing one.
3) Keep fires small. Most areas have rules about how big your campfire can be. You can minimize your fire by using smaller pieces of wood.
4) Think reusable and clean up. Pack your food in reusable, collapsible containers instead of taking along disposable boxes and cans, and leave your campsite clean for the next group.
5) Don't bother wildlife. Aside from the fact that some animals can hurt you, you could also disrupt mating or nesting seasons. Feeding wildlife is always a bad idea. Once wild animals associate food with humans, a dangerous situation is created for both groups.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The New Seven Wonders of the World is a proposed alternative to the Seven Wonders of the World, organized by a Swiss corporation called New Open World Corporation (NOWC). The final list was announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Estádio da Luz, SL Benfica's stadium at 9:30pm (local time). Voting closed on July 6, 2007. Next in the company's series is the " New7Wonders of Nature ", nominations possible until August 8, 2008.
The selection was made by free and paid votes, through telephone or online. The first vote was free to registered members and additional votes were purchased through a payment to NOWC. In addition to the sale of votes, NOWC relied on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.
Pyramid of Giza near Caïro in Egypt (+/- 4600 years old)
Colossus at the port of Rhodos in Greece (2200 years collapsed by a earthquake)
Hanging gardens of Babylon in Iraq (2700 years ago)
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Turkey (2350 years ago)
The lighthouse at Alexandria near the coast of Egypt (+/- 2100 years old)
The statue of Zeus in Greece at Olympia (2400 years old)
Temple of Artemis at Efeze in Turkey (2600 years old)
Only the pyramid of Giza still exists. There is nothing left of the other six constructions
The New 7 Wonders of the World are: The Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichén Itzá , the Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Colosseum, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal.
More than 100 million votes were cast worldwide.
Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various structures - the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – can still be seen today and are demonstrative of an extraordinary commitment to architectural space and composition. The pyramid itself was the last, and arguably the greatest, of all Mayan temples.
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/8034/chichenitzasw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This statue of Jesus stands some 38 meters tall, atop the Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, it is one of the world’s best-known monuments. The statue took five years to construct and was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. It has become a symbol of the city and of the warmth of the Brazilian people, who receive visitors with open arms.
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/9015/christredeemerbp7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Great Wall of China was built to link existing fortifications into a united defense system and better keep invading Mongol tribes out of China. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built and it is disputed that it is the only one visible from space. Many thousands of people must have given their lives to build this colossal construction.
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/4711/greatwalloe5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachacútec built a city in the clouds on the mountain known as Machu Picchu ("old mountain"). This extraordinary settlement lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. It was probably abandoned by the Incas because of a smallpox outbreak and, after the Spanish defeated the Incan Empire, the city remained 'lost' for over three centuries. It was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5714/machupicchuwu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
On the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.). Masters of water technology, the Nabataeans provided their city with great tunnel constructions and water chambers. A theater, modelled on Greek-Roman prototypes, had space for an audience of 4,000. Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-meter-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8498/rtemagiccpetra01jpgze0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This great amphitheater in the centre of Rome was built to give favors to successful legionnaires and to celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire. Its design concept still stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible imprint of the Colosseum's original design. Today, through films and history books, we are even more aware of the cruel fights and games that took place in this arena, all for the joy of the spectators.
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/5179/rtemagicccolosseum01jpgyt5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This immense mausoleum was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, the fifth Muslim Mogul emperor, to honor the memory of his beloved late wife. Built out of white marble and standing in formally laid-out walled gardens, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the most perfect jewel of Muslim art in India. The emperor was consequently jailed and, it is said, could then only see the Taj Mahal out of his small cell window.
http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/2425/rtemagicctajmahal01jpgxu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://www.liveearth.msn.com/
http://www.liveearth.org/
http://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.new7wonders.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org
So, any comments on this?
Did you see the concerts (been to one of them)?
Whose performance was the best in your opinion?
Are you willing to do any of these "actions" to help the planet (if you are, what are they)?
What do you think of the New Wonders, good choices?
...
{to the mods - i didn't really know where to put this.. so if this was the wrong section, please move it, thanks:)}
«Live Earth» (concerts)
«New Seven Wonders of the World» selection in Lisbon
Live Earth is the name for a series of multi-venue concerts of pop and rock music featuring various artists which took place on July 7, 2007 (7.7.07). The concerts aimed to raise awareness about anthropogenic climate change (global warming) and to encourage people to live greener lives, all the while accepting the need to contribute to a global carbon tax. The concerts have the intent of bringing together more than 150 of the world's most popular music acts and drawing an estimated worldwide audience of 2 billion people, making it one of the largest global events in history.
The umbrella organization for the event is Save Our Selves, founded by Kevin Wall, and includes as major partners, former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, MSN and Control Room, a concert production company producing Live Earth. Their logo/trademark is SOS written in Morse Code. Talent and programming for all of the sites was handled by Aaron Grosky; the worldwide producer of all of the events was Lily Sobhani. Unlike the similar multi-venue rock music concert Live 8, which was free, Live Earth charged admission but the event was made broadly available via television and the internet
Concerts:
Giants Stadium in New York
Wembley Stadium in London
Aussie Stadium in Sydney
Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro
the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg
Makuhari Messe in Tokyo
the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai
HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg
1) Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). Look closely at labels when buying light bulbs. Those marked as CFLs last 10 times longer and use 66 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs while delivering the same light levels. As a result, CFLs accrue net savings between $30 and $45 over their lifetimes, depending on your cost of electricity, the wattage size of the CFL, and the lamp's lifespan (manufacturers make CFLs that last 6,000, 8,000, or 10,000 hours). The return on investment is 15 times higher than leaving your money in a bank account or the average return on Dows-Jones stock investments. CFLs also reduce the release of greenhouse gas emissions and are safer because they burn at a lower temperature (160° F or less) than incandescent and halogen lights, which can burn at temperatures up to 500° F.
2) Turn down the thermostat just three degrees in the winter and up three degrees in the summer. You can prevent the emission of nearly 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
3) Inflate your car tires. When walking or biking isn't feasible, you can do something to better protect the Earth while driving. Take a step in the right direction by inflating your car tires. Pumping them up can improve your gas mileage by about 3.3 percent -- a savings of about 7 cents per gallon. It's the right thing to do for your wallet and the right thing to do for the Earth.
4) Turn down the hot water heater. Set your water heater to 130° F. While you're at it, turn down your house thermostat during the winter to 55° F when you go to bed or leave home. These simple actions can have enormous positive consequences, preventing the emission of more than 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of the year, while cutting your energy bill by more than 10 percent. And that's just from you! Get your friends on board, and the benefits will multiply.
5) Choose your seafood wisely. We can't afford to wait until 2008. The world's seafood will be entirely depleted by 2048, according to an early November report in the journal Science. That means the moment to shape up is now. By buying and eating certain types of seafood, you can discourage harmful fishing practices and avoid the more depleted or threatened species. Take a look at Seafood Choices Alliance or Seafood Watch to make smart choices.
6) Purchase EnergyStar-labeled appliances. EnergyStar products are among the top 25 percent most efficient and can provide a 30 percent return or better through lower utility bills.
7) Wash and rinse in cold water. If everyone in the United States alone switched to cold water with their washing machines, we could save about 30 million tons of carbon dioxide each year -- and more than $3 billion in energy costs, collectively. And what's more? Cold water cleans your laundry just as well as hot water.
8) Buy locally produced meats and produce. Sounds like a good idea, but you don't know where to start? Just type in your zip code on Local Harvest's website to see a list of farms and farmers' markets close to home, as well as nearby restaurants committed to supporting their neighbors. Buying locally produced food cuts out the middlemen and the vast amounts of energy required to get your products onto store shelves. Most produce in U.S. supermarkets travels an average 1,500 miles before it is sold!
9) Drink more water from reusable glassware. It's great for your bank account, your health, and your planet. The average American consumed more than 400 beverage bottles and cans in 2006, leaving behind wasted glass, plastic, steel, and aluminum. That adds up to excessive amounts of fossil fuels and hydropower for mining, processing, refining, shaping, shipping, storing, refrigerating, and disposing of those materials. Of course, changing your drinking habits both at home and at work is applicable to just about every other habit, as well. You've heard it before and you'll hear it again: Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
10) Walk, bike, and carpool. In the United States, the car represents one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, you don't have to give up your car for a healthier planet, just expand your transportation options. You can significantly reduce your emissions by commuting to work. Try combining trips to minimize emissions, which are greatest at the beginning of a journey before the engine has reached optimum temperature and efficiency. When purchasing your next car, make it a fuel-efficient one. Hybrid cars can get twice the fuel efficiency of the average new car, cut greenhouse gas emissions by half or more, and reduce urban air pollutants. Carpooling saves energy, cuts on additional pollution, and allows you to take a turn as a passenger instead of driving everyday. Car-sharing (not pooling) is available in numerous U.S. cities. Car-sharing enables you to rent a car just when you need it. Each car-share vehicle displaces four to eight privately held cars, requiring less parking area and creating less road congestion. If you live within an hour's bicycle ride to the office (~10 miles), consider biking to work one or more days a week.
Most of us spend a third of our day at the office (or in schools.... argh) -- and that's not counting the commute. Apply these energy-saving tips in the workplace to reduce stress on yourselves (and on the planet).
1. Turn off the lights. Remember to hit the switch on your way out for that well- deserved lunch break. The energy savings from 10 million employees turning off unneeded lights for 30 minutes a day is enough to illuminate 50 million square feet of office space.
2. Get off mailing lists. The last thing you need is another office supply catalog or credit card offer on your desk. Before tossing out junk mail, call the company's toll- free service number and ask that your name be removed from the mailing list. Have online retailers e-mail you instead. Almost half of all catalogs are never opened, yet nearly 62 million trees are destroyed and 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce them every year.
3. Put your monitor to sleep. Whether it shows off your vacation photos or a cool 3D animation, a computer screen saver is not at all designed for energy efficiency. It's intended to save your screen from "burn in," not to save energy. Because monitors are responsible for more than one-third of a computer's energy consumption -- even with screen savers -- the best way to conserve energy is to set the monitor to sleep or power off when you're away for an extended period. If you're gone for 5-10 minutes, enjoy one of CI's screen savers. Any longer than that, put the monitor to sleep.
4. Use the stairs. Your brain gets exercise all day, why not exercise your body? Get your heart pumping by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. It's good for your health, and it saves electricity.
5. Make your printer's toner last. Being cheap is a first date no-no, but it's okay to be frugal at the office. When printing rough drafts or documents for internal purposes, change the printer's settings to economy mode and avoid color if possible. Econo-mode uses up to 50 percent less toner and prints twice as many pages as other higher quality settings. Duplex printing also uses half the amount of paper.
6. Provide incentives for commuters. Free food and a year-end bonus are nice perks, but to really make workers happy, help ease their daily commute. The government rewards businesses that encourage their staff to carpool, bicycle, or walk to work under the Commuter Choice Program. Telecommuting and flexible work hours can also save employers by reducing absences and job retention costs.
7. Recycle and reuse paper. Americans toss out about 35 million tons of paper each year. Buck the trend and start recycling -- not only standard white printer paper, but all of the magazines, manila folders, and colored post-it notes that decorate your space. If it tears, it can be recycled. Recycled paper manufacturing generates 74 percent less air pollution, and saves trees, water, and energy. To salvage papers that are printed on one side only, flip them over and use for incoming faxes.
8. Purchase 100 percent post-consumer waste, chlorine-free paper. Take note when buying paper -- the higher the percentage of post-consumer waste, the larger the amount of recycled material is contained in the paper stock. This means that 100 percent post-consumer waste paper is made entirely from recycled products. Also, chlorine used for bleaching is one of the biggest polluters in the paper-making process. Choose non-chlorinated paper, which has the same quality as the bleached variety.
9. Recycle and reuse office supplies. Do as Mom says and clean your plate, literally. Washing and reusing the plastic dishes and cutlery you get with take-away food is an easy way to cut down on waste at work. Better yet, pack your lunch in reusable containers and pocket your hard-earned dollars! Skip the paper (or worse, Styrofoam) cups and refill your travel mug at the nearby coffee shop instead. It may even get you a discount. Besides aluminum cans and glass bottles, there are many other supplies stashed in and around your desk that are recyclable, such as batteries, printer cartridges, DVDs, CDs, and more.
10. Curb phantom electricity. Many appliances still consume energy even when turned off. Items left plugged into the wall, such as a cell phone charger or laptop adapter, can leak more than 20 watts of power. In the United States alone, "phantom electricity" emits roughly 12 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Avoid this by plugging office equipment into a power strip and turning it off at night and on weekends.
Unfortunately, people are not always good stewards of our natural world. Overfishing and over-hunting can disrupt a habitat's balance. Mountain bikes and horseback riders can alter the landscape. Even hiking and camping leave their mark. Following are our Top 5 guidelines every outdoor enthusiast should try to follow while enjoying the best that nature has to offer.
1) Plan ahead. Camping or hiking responsibly requires knowing the environment you'll be occupying -- including marked trails, designated campgrounds, animals you may encounter, and more. Be prepared!
2) Stay the course. If you're hiking in a muddy area, it's easy to create secondary paths as you try to sidestep the wet stuff. Avoid this by walking on rocks or logs. If you have no other choice, stay on the designated trail and walk through the mud. Use an existing campsite. Don't create a new campsite when you can use an existing one.
3) Keep fires small. Most areas have rules about how big your campfire can be. You can minimize your fire by using smaller pieces of wood.
4) Think reusable and clean up. Pack your food in reusable, collapsible containers instead of taking along disposable boxes and cans, and leave your campsite clean for the next group.
5) Don't bother wildlife. Aside from the fact that some animals can hurt you, you could also disrupt mating or nesting seasons. Feeding wildlife is always a bad idea. Once wild animals associate food with humans, a dangerous situation is created for both groups.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The New Seven Wonders of the World is a proposed alternative to the Seven Wonders of the World, organized by a Swiss corporation called New Open World Corporation (NOWC). The final list was announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Estádio da Luz, SL Benfica's stadium at 9:30pm (local time). Voting closed on July 6, 2007. Next in the company's series is the " New7Wonders of Nature ", nominations possible until August 8, 2008.
The selection was made by free and paid votes, through telephone or online. The first vote was free to registered members and additional votes were purchased through a payment to NOWC. In addition to the sale of votes, NOWC relied on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.
Pyramid of Giza near Caïro in Egypt (+/- 4600 years old)
Colossus at the port of Rhodos in Greece (2200 years collapsed by a earthquake)
Hanging gardens of Babylon in Iraq (2700 years ago)
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Turkey (2350 years ago)
The lighthouse at Alexandria near the coast of Egypt (+/- 2100 years old)
The statue of Zeus in Greece at Olympia (2400 years old)
Temple of Artemis at Efeze in Turkey (2600 years old)
Only the pyramid of Giza still exists. There is nothing left of the other six constructions
The New 7 Wonders of the World are: The Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichén Itzá , the Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Colosseum, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal.
More than 100 million votes were cast worldwide.
Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various structures - the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – can still be seen today and are demonstrative of an extraordinary commitment to architectural space and composition. The pyramid itself was the last, and arguably the greatest, of all Mayan temples.
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/8034/chichenitzasw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This statue of Jesus stands some 38 meters tall, atop the Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, it is one of the world’s best-known monuments. The statue took five years to construct and was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. It has become a symbol of the city and of the warmth of the Brazilian people, who receive visitors with open arms.
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/9015/christredeemerbp7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Great Wall of China was built to link existing fortifications into a united defense system and better keep invading Mongol tribes out of China. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built and it is disputed that it is the only one visible from space. Many thousands of people must have given their lives to build this colossal construction.
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/4711/greatwalloe5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachacútec built a city in the clouds on the mountain known as Machu Picchu ("old mountain"). This extraordinary settlement lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. It was probably abandoned by the Incas because of a smallpox outbreak and, after the Spanish defeated the Incan Empire, the city remained 'lost' for over three centuries. It was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5714/machupicchuwu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
On the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.). Masters of water technology, the Nabataeans provided their city with great tunnel constructions and water chambers. A theater, modelled on Greek-Roman prototypes, had space for an audience of 4,000. Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-meter-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8498/rtemagiccpetra01jpgze0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This great amphitheater in the centre of Rome was built to give favors to successful legionnaires and to celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire. Its design concept still stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible imprint of the Colosseum's original design. Today, through films and history books, we are even more aware of the cruel fights and games that took place in this arena, all for the joy of the spectators.
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/5179/rtemagicccolosseum01jpgyt5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This immense mausoleum was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, the fifth Muslim Mogul emperor, to honor the memory of his beloved late wife. Built out of white marble and standing in formally laid-out walled gardens, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the most perfect jewel of Muslim art in India. The emperor was consequently jailed and, it is said, could then only see the Taj Mahal out of his small cell window.
http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/2425/rtemagicctajmahal01jpgxu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://www.liveearth.msn.com/
http://www.liveearth.org/
http://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.new7wonders.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org
So, any comments on this?
Did you see the concerts (been to one of them)?
Whose performance was the best in your opinion?
Are you willing to do any of these "actions" to help the planet (if you are, what are they)?
What do you think of the New Wonders, good choices?
...
{to the mods - i didn't really know where to put this.. so if this was the wrong section, please move it, thanks:)}