All you need for a life of action
What happens to nature after a nuclear accident? And how does wildlife deal with the world it inherits after human inhabitants have fled? In anticipation of the 25th anniversary of the historic nuclear accident at Chernobyl, filmmakers and scientists set out to document the lives and genetics of packs of wolves and other wildlife thriving in the “dead zone” which still surrounds the remains of the reactor.
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.
Radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan have been detected in the great kelp forests off the California coast, according to a new study released by researchers at Cal State Long Beach. Following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, a wave of radioactivity traveled across the Pacific Ocean.
After the Fukushima incident last spring, Stephen Manley and Chris Lowe, biology professors at California State-Long Beach wondered how released radiation would affect giant kelp canopies, a keystone for the coastal ecosystem. What they found, low-levels of certain radioactive isotopes, seemed to have no impact on the kelp’s health, but their discovery adds anxiety for those who fear the ability for nuclear fallout to have long-ranging consequences.
Iodine 131 “has an eight-day half-life, so it’s pretty much all gone,” Manley told the San Francisco Chronicle. “But this shows what happens half a world away does effect what happens here. I don’t think these levels are harmful, but it’s better if we don’t have it at all.”
Source: Common Dreams
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
Disappearing dialects endanger some oral traditions and their cultural heritage.
Language is the conduit of culture, distinctive accents and unique colloquialisms unite people to their past and effect how we see, interpret and engage with one another. It is therefore incumbent of tradition, to prevent the loss of language to unified translation as this erodes a nations heritage.
As the new generation rapidly embraces a version of english along with abbreviations thereof, others hope to hold on to their heritage as we explore with Month’s Mission!
Saving the Lost Languages
Closely monitoring the loss of languages is SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc): a faith-based nonprofit organization committed to serving language communities worldwide as they build capacity for sustainable language development. SIL does this primarily through research, translation, training and materials development (founded in 1934). SIL works with ethnolinguistic minority communities as they build their capacity for the sustainable development of their own languages. Language development is the series of ongoing planned actions that a language community takes to ensure that its language continues to serve its changing social, cultural, political, economic and spiritual needs and goals. SIL’s expertise related to language development includes training and consulting for activities such as linguistic analysis, orthography and writing systems development, literature development and multilingual education and literacy.
Innovative Initiatives from SIL
Net.Lang: Towards the Multilingual Cyberspace. This collection of articles explores strategies for improving Internet accessibility for speakers of all languages. Among the contributing researchers is Dr. Maik Gibson of SIL.
Graphite, the “smart font” system designed to handle complex scripts.
The FieldWorks software suite provides the tools researchers need to process linguistic and cultural data. Download the latest version.
ScriptSource provides information on the world’s writing systems and a platform for collaboration for font developers. Check out new features, including real-time discussions.
Subscribe to monthly e-newsletters from SIL International Publications and receive offers for discounts on selected titles.
National Geographic has been involved with the documentation and preservation of cultures around the world since 1888. Today, their commitment to the conservation of culture continues – through the Enduring Voices Project. The Enduring Voices Project represents a partnership between National Geographic Mission Programs and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages.
Innovative Initiatives from National Geographic
Talking Dictionaries, giving listeners around the world a chance to hear some of the most little-known sounds of human speech.
Several communities are now offering the online record of their language to be shared by any interested person around the world. While you probably won’t walk away from these Talking Dictionaries knowing how to speak a new language, you will encounter fascinating and beautiful sounds–forms of human speech you’ve never heard before–and through them, get a further glimpse into the rich diversity of culture and experience that humans have created in every part of the globe.
Revitalisation: The Enduring Voices Project, where invited, will assist indigenous communities in their efforts to revitalize and maintain their threatened languages. By using appropriate written materials, video, still photography, audio recorders, and computers with customized language software, as well as Internet-accessible archiving where possible, the Enduring Voices Project is helping empower communities to preserve ancient traditions with modern technology.
Language Technology Kits have been given to a dozen communities, along with follow-up training and capacity building.
How you can help save the Lost Languages
Adopt a Language: Living Tongues has many ongoing documentation projects currently taking place around the world. They need your help to sustain these projects. Their mission is to record vanishing languages as well as create state-of-the-art digital audio-visual materials in collaboration with speakers of endangered language.
Volunteer: Living Tongues will be accepting new volunteers for this coming Autumn (September 17 – December 14, 2012) and will post the application form online on Monday, August 13th, 2012.
Fundraise for recording equipment and computers for 8 indigenous language activists in India, Papua New Guinea, Chile and Peru.
Support National Geographic’s Enduring Voices Project.
Learn about Language Loss and help educate others – through cultural exchange we can help preserve the rich diversity of human heritage.
Eurasian brown bear (Photo: Wild Wonders of Europe/ Staffan Widstrand) 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...
