environment

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Last week, NASA released its 2012 version of the famous "Blue Marble" image. By using a planet-pointing satellite, Suomi NPP, the space agency created an extremely high-resolution photograph of our watery world.
The photo centered on the western hemisphere, highlighting North and Central America. It went viral and got even more hits on Flickr than the iconic "Situation Room" photo, taken at the time of the assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Now, responding to public demand, the agency has created a companion image: this time focusing its lens toward the East and showing Africa, Saudi Arabia and India.

The Suomi NPP satellite hugs the Earth too closely to get this kind of image in one shot. It’s in a polar orbit with an altitude of 824 kilometers, but the perspective of the Eastern hemisphere Blue Marble is from 12,743 kilometers away.

As such, Nasa Goddard oceanographer Norman Kuring used images from six different orbits of the satellite over an eight-hour time period on Jan. 23, then stitched the photos together to achieve the final composite.  read more »

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Happy and harmonious Lunar Year of the Dragon 2012!
"Build a School For a Dollar" - In the past 5 years, Jackie's fans have donated over US $90,000 and Jackie has matched this donation for a total of over US $180,000, enough to build 2-3 schools...

Jackie Chan's Diary January 17, 2012 "...a story that I wanted to share with you. Maybe you remember the little boy, Will Shadley, who starred in "The Spy Next Door" with me several years ago. He's twelve years old now and living in California and has been spending a lot of his time doing charity work..."

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Shonan Maru 2's new version: "Government of Japan". Question: does it represent Japanese government? Or has Japanese government relocated onboard to exercise its power? Life in peril: 7 Japanese ships, $29mil Tsunami-fund armed coastguards vs 23 nations' volunteers


*Update Jan. 17, 2012*
The Japanese whalers have escalated their aggression by throwing iron grappling hooks at Sea Shepherd boats. Two Steve Irwin crew were struck in the shoulder with iron grappling hooks and one crewmember was struck twice in the face with a long bamboo pole.

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*Update Dec. 31, 2011* Indeed odd: 7 Japanese ships seem not interested in whales but - "Japanese government security ship Shonan Maru #2 continues to tail the Steve Irwin and the Brigitte Bardot" on their way back to port for repairs. Now the Bob Barker is alone at the mercy of the other 6 Japanese ships with armed coast guards continuously moving eastward (to where?), far from any rescue/backup as the Bob Barker, on January 6'2010, rescued Ady Gil's 6 crew who were nearly killed when the Ady Gil was suddenly sliced in two by a whaling ship.

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"Despite the suspension of the program this year, we of MAFF are determined to continue the program until it leads to the resumption of commercial whaling," senior vice minister Nobutaka Tsutsui said.

Takanarita, a widely experienced journalist, blogged his disappointment. Pro-whaling politicians had taken control, he said. It had become an expression of male pride: ''We can't give in to the likes of Sea Shepherd.''  read more »

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Tsunami Relief: Help People Not Whalers

To Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda:

We stand with the Japanese people in the ongoing disaster recovery and condemn the use of relief funds to promote the Japanese whaling industry. We demand the Japanese government immediately end all whaling subsidies and instead prioritize the immediate relocation and assistance of families still suffering in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster and tsunami.

Right now, the Japanese whaling fleet is barreling south to hunt thousands of majestic whales, escorted by a 30 million dollar security force paid for out of the tsunami disaster relief fund!

Anti-whaling champions were successfully blocking the Japanese whale hunt -- which is exactly why the Japanese government decided to swipe money from relief efforts to stop the ocean guardians from bothering the boats while they engage in their brutal slaughter.  read more »

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Antarctic Ocean Alliance: Call to save threatened, frozen world
The Antarctic Ocean Alliance, a newly formed organisation whose membership includes such environmental campaigners as Greenpeace and Mission Blue, has called for the establishment of the world's largest marine reserve network around Antarctica.

The alliance made the call yesterday in Hobart, directing its message at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which is also meeting in Hobart later this week.  read more »

*Update Nov. 6, 2011 - "Brazil's Senate passed a landmark reform of the country's land law on Dec. 6, 2011... could spark a new wave of deforestation in the Amazon region"

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These are among the most beautiful photographs ever taken - and the ugliest: aerial images show the damage caused by industrial pollution, but they also capture the striking vivid colours created by toxic waste. "Red mud" bauxite waste from aluminium production containing significant amounts of heavy metal contamination, in Darrow, Louisiana.  read more »