Environmental News Round-Up: October 4-10
Source: By Elizabeth Haggarty, AOL.ca
Posted: 10/08/09 3:20PM
Filed Under: Environment
Overwhelmed with pooTaiwan's environmental protection bureau is offering vouchers worth 100 Taiwan dollars ($3) for every kilo of dog poo collected by its citizens. The island's poo problems started after the economic successes of the 90's led to a boom in pet ownership. "By means of offering rewards, the bureau hopes to goad the public into spontaneous clean-up efforts that protect the environment," the city council said on its website.
LOL Beaver If you're worried about the river wildlife in your region, send them a text to make sure they're OK. Sounds crazy, but that's exactly what commuters in New York can do. Amphibious Architecture, a project set up by students from New York University's Environmental Health Clinic and the Living Architecture Lab at Columbia University, uses sensors in the Bronx and East Rivers to identify the number and species of animals in certain areas. Concerned commuters can then text the project to receive replies like, on a good day, "There are 19 of us, and it's pretty good down here!" from the beaver, herring or whatever is in the region.
Stand With the Whales Ever wanted to swim with whales? In Norway you can get an idea of what it might feel like by standing next to life-size photos of the magnificent beasts at the Whaling Museum in Sandefjord. Watch a video about the exhibit at the Guardian Online.
Naked FeetIf you want to experience the joys of running through nature without forking out for expensive running shoes, then follow the rules of 'Born to Run' author Christopher McDougall. McDougall learned his techniques from Mexico's Tarahumara Indians, a tribe of epic runners who sport thin sandals on their hundred mile jaunts. Watch the New York Times video to learn the barefoot running technique.
Thought surfing was a green sport? Well the Times disagrees. Laid-back surfers haven't been able to avoid petroleum products, with fossil fuels being found in most surf board waxes. Add the wet suits, the toxic materials in the boards and the wanderlust surfer’s frequent flying between the beaches of Hawaii, Cornwall and Patagonia, and dude, you've got some major environmental killers.
News Photos of the Week
People watch a fight between monkey with a dog at a roadside in Lahore, Pakistan on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. These entertainment shows are usually seen in Pakistani rural areas and spectators offer money to owners of these animals. These fights are generally for entertainment and avoid serious injuries to participants.
AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary
A picture of French photographer JR is displayed on a wall of the bank of the River Seine as part of the Paris annual round-the-clock culture festival "Nuit blanche" (White Night) on October 3, 2009. The White Night 2009 is expected to draw at least a million people into the streets to enjoy dusk-til-dawn access to music and modern art venues across the capital.
JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images
The "Big Giant" and "Little Giantess" of the French theatre company "Royal de Luxe" leave Berlin on a boat on October 4, 2009. From October 1 to 4, the street theatre company presented an open-air theatre spectacle with two marionettes Little Giantess and Big Giant visiting various historical sites in the Berlin, as part of celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin wall.
DAVID GANNON/AFP/Getty Images
Zubaida, an Afghan girl holds her younger sister as she poses for a photograph in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009. Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, most Afghan children still don't attend school and face the prospect of a life of poverty no different from their parents. Prospects for girls are bleaker. Figures show that only about 13 percent of females over 15 years old can read or write -- compared to 43 percent for males.
AP Photo/Altaf Qadri
Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) of the Indian Air Force's Sarang aerobatics team cross during the final full dress rehesal of Indian Air Force Day parade at The Air Force Station at Hindon in Ghaziabad on the outskirts of New Delhi on October 6, 2009. The Indian Air Force will celebrate its 77th Anniversary on October 8, with an air display by 52 aircraft as part of an Air Force Day Parade at Air Force Station Hindon.
Photo credit should read RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images
Demonstrators are swept by a water canons as police clash with demonstrators in Istanbul, Turkey, protesting against the International Monetary Fund and World Bank who are holding an annual meeting in the city Wednesday Oct. 7, 2009. Protesters clashed with police who used tear gas and water canons to disperse demonstrators who attacked several bank offices and business in Istanbul, for the second day of protests.
AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta
Spectators watch piglets at the feeding trough, after a traditional pig race at the Swiss agriculture fair OLMA, in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009.
AP Photo/Keystone, Ennio Leanza
A large Golden Orb Spiders crawls on the face of Sydney Wildlife World Keeper Borisat in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. The Wildlife park is holding a survey to establish which of the two types of animals the public find more creepy, snakes or spiders. A dangerous and deadly trail has revealed that most people (87 percent) would not know how to identify a dangerous snake if they saw one, even though Australia has five of the top 10 most deadly snakes in the world.
AP Photo/Rob Griffith
A crowned solitary eagle flies to its trainer Andres Capdevielle before being released after going through a rehabilitation program at the Buenos Aires zoo, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Less than 1000 crowned solitary eagles remain in the world as of 2004, landing them on the list of most endangered species in South America, according to Buenos Aires Zoo's Raptor Birds Rescue and Conservation Project.
AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
A 'recortador' jumps over a bull during a bull leaping contest show at the Plaza Monumental bullring in Barcelona, Spain, Friday Sept. 25, 2009.
AP Photo/Manu Fernandez
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