Events

Wild Wonders of Europe

by Action Advisor on May 17, 2012

On 22 May 2012, The United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity, the next Wild Wonders of Europe outdoor exhibition will open in Berlin.

If your passion is photography or you simply delight in the visual beauty of nature – then you won’t want to miss this ‘free’ outdoor exhibition comprising of 100 spectacular and unforgettable European nature photographs.

The Wild Wonders of Europe team asked 69 of Europe’s best nature and animal photographers to travel the continent: 135 assignments in all 48 countries of Europe reflect the natural wonders of the continent.

The goal of the exhibition is to raise the visitors’ awareness of the value and the delicate balance of nature. Informative captions and topical documentation on biological diversity will complement the exhibition and Federal Environment Ministry staff will answer questions in an information pavilion.

Made possible by The Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit), the Wild Wonders of Europe exhibition will form the central part of the city’s official UN decade of Biodiversity celebrations.

This year’s crucially important UN theme is Marine Biodiversity. In line with that, the exhibition contains many fabulous marine images by some of Europe’s leading underwater photographers (a selection of these images to feature in the book ‘Wild Waters of Europe’ published later in the year).

A special selection of images from Berlin’s impressive urban biodiversity and of Germany’s UNESCO World Heritage Beech Forests will also be on display.

Along with a captivating image of wild boar in central Berlin (link: image 10) taken by photographer and Wild Wonders of Europe Director, Florian Möllers – who was recently awarded the position of Biodiversity Ambassador for the UN Decade of Biodiversity for Germany.

His own much acclaimed exhibition “Biopolis-Wild Berlin” will be on show at Berlin’s Natural History Museum (the Museum für Naturkunde ) 8 Nov 2011 – July 31st 2012.

The exhibition will be inaugurated by The German Minister for Environment, Norbert Röttgen, at Washingtonplatz, right in front of the Hauptbahnhof, Europe’s largest central station and close to the Reichstag and Kanzleramt.

It will remain on display until 27 July 2012.

The exhibition is open 24 hrs a day, with free admission to all!

The Wild Wonders of Europe Outdoor Exhibition will be on tour throughout Europe and beyond until 2013 – check the website for details.

Whilst the exhibit is great for locals or tourists visiting Berlin at this time of year – everyone can enjoy the diversity of nature with the free ‘Wild Friends’ App.

Designed for families, nature lovers, photographers or explorers, Wild Friends provides exciting content, updated daily, delivered as Visual Stories.

Whether you’re looking for adventurous up-close nature photography or just some relaxing wallpaper for your desktop or iOS device, Wild Friends delivers.

You can download the App here!

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Anatomy of a Protest

by Action Advisor on May 7, 2012

Using Twitter to monitor news also offers people a tool for mobilising public gatherings and capturing events as visual information.

Applications that provide this kind of visual data are not new, take for instance Ushahidi a free open-source software, first developed in early 2008 to map reports of violence in Kenya after post-election fallout. But Twitter has trending power and a platform universally recognised around the world – now managing over 465 million accounts.

In this article by John Nelson, Twitter coverage is integrated into a visual graph that offers insight into the anatomy of an event as it trends in space and time.

An analytical reference sourcing data from a huge resource of Twitter users (supporters, detractors and everybody in between) to examine behavioural aspects, influence and impact of large-scale movements like the example illustrated here of March’s Mayday protest in Manhattan.

The visual coordination of three dimensions of data: location, time, and topic, provides an up-to-the-second profile of a social event as it forms, moves, and dissipates. A catalyst for geospatial awareness with valuable application for understanding and interpreting the organic nature of social phenomena so as to anticipate events before they happen!

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Human-Triggered Earthquakes

by Action Advisor on April 20, 2012

Getting rid of wastewater by injecting it into deep rock formations has been shaking things up lately. Scientists have been making a connection between deep disposal and quakes in such places as New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, and Arkansas, but they are only now beginning to learn how to predict when messing with Mother Nature is ill-advised.

Is there a connection between “fracking”—the brief, high-pressure injection of water into Earth’s crust to free up natural gas—and any of the quakes that have happened lately? How big could triggered quakes be? And is there any hope for anticipating which deep injections will set off intolerable seismic activity?

Join Science for the live chat at 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, 19 April.

After which the full text of the chat will be archived here.

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Reflections of a Revolution

by Action Advisor on April 16, 2012

The ‘Road to Tahrir’ is a chronological record of events that occurred in Mohammed Mahmoud street which connects Tahrir Square with the building of the Ministry of Interior. A photo album and ebook have been created documenting the account offering a raw perspective of Cairo’s Revolution.

The hour by hour story by By Martha Lou is available for purchase as a e-book and printed book. The photo album with more than 200 coloured pictures is the story of a street neighbouring the governmental district; this street is located in the vicinity of the Ministry of Taxes and the Ministry of Interior.

You can also view a ‘free’ virtual gallery of the album from the website.

About the Author: Martha Lou (1981) – a graduate of Cultural Studies at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. During the studies she lead the field research about cultural diversity along the eastern borderland of Poland, with special interest in religious differences in. In the years 2010 – 2011 she lived in the capital of the pharaohs’ country which led her to write several books, including the photo album about the Revolution in Cairo. She’s also planning to publish a book about everyday life of Egyptians in the capital.

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Everest 2012

by Action Advisor on April 14, 2012

Conquering the mighty mountain ‘Everest’ is for many the ultimate quest and for others inspiration comes from those who’ve endured the challenging climb.

National Geographic offer an opportunity for you to take a practice run at the perilous peak – ‘vicariously’ through live footage of their own expedition.

Starting next Monday, April 16th, you can follow a team of National Geographic scientists, researchers, and photographers in real time as they make their climb to the top of the highest point on the planet.

It has been nearly 50 years since a National Geographic-sponsored American team first made a historic trek to the summit in 1963. Take a look at how much climbing equipment alone has changed over that period of time and see what they have learned since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the summit.

For this spring’s climb, NG’s team will be split into two groups. The first will follow the West Ridge and climb in the alpine style, carrying all their own food and equipment.

The second group will climb the Southeastern Ridge in the expedition style using fixed ropes, stocked camps, help from porters, and supplemental oxygen.

Meet all the members of the team.

View amazing photos from past climbs up Everest.

Check for regular updates throughout the climb on the Everest Blog. Or, follow this special climb in real time on your iPad with the National Geographic Magazine App in the iTunes store.

View National Geographic’s People’s Choice award-winning video of paragliding off Mount Everest, or test your knowledge with the Everest Quiz and special puzzles.

And, don’t miss the May/June 2012 issue of our ‘free magazine’ Bare Essentials it features an insiders guide on ‘Climbing into the Clouds’.

Source: National Geographic

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