More Wonders Added to List

8 Natural Wonders have been added to the list of natural wonders, called the World Heritage List, as designated by UNESCO.

“Natural World Heritage sites represent the best of what nature has to offer,” says native Australian David Sheppard, Head of the Protected Areas Program for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the organization which recommended the sites.

The UNESCO designation is meant to protect natural wonders from the encroachment of humanity, but the sites inevitably draw more attention when they are added to the list, from well-meaning tourists.

Sanqingshan National Park in China was designated by UNESCO for its"scenic quality, marked by the concentration of fantastically shaped pillars and peaks: 48 granite peaks and 89 granite pillars, many of which resemble human or animal silhouettes."

Lagoons of New Caledonia in the South Pacific are a highly diverse coral reef ecosystem, which some scientists believe have a high marine life population than Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia is a series of rocks and cliffs in Eastern Canada contains fossils of reptiles and preserved upright fossil trees from the Coal Age 300 million years ago.

Surtsey is one of the Westman Islands found off the coast of Iceland. A nature preserve, Surtsey is currently closed to visitors, although interested travelers can investigate the nearby island of Heimaey, where archaeologists are digging up a town buried in 1973 by a volcanic eruption.

The Swiss Tectonic Area of Sardona is a treasure trove of jagged rock formations.

Saryarka is composed of two clusters of wetlands: Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve and Naurzum Nature Reserve, both in northern Kazakhstan and can only be reached with a special permit.

Socotra Archipelago is an island in the Indian Ocean sometimes known as the "Galapagos of the Indian Ocean." and largely untouched by tourism, although the industry is growing.

The Monarch Butterfly Reserve is only one hour north of Mexico City and is site dedicated to the preservation of the monarch butterfly by the World Wildlife Fund and ecotourism.

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Caffeine-Crazed Consumers

Consumers have craved caffeine for centuries. Almost everyone is an addict or knows someone who can’t wake up without a morning cup of coffee. But now, marketers and scientists are cashing in on the caffeine craze and introducing it in everything from sunflower seeds to body lotions, according to an article on Time.com.

The caffeine trend began with the introduction of highly caffeinated energy drinks in the last part of the last century. But now, the caffeine craze is in full bloom, according to the market research giant Mintel. In the past five years, firms have launched at least 126 caffeinated food products for sale in the U.S., with twenty-nine such products introduced this year alone.

Although caffeine is considered a relatively safe drug, a 1998 study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, found that 7% of caffeine users have experienced what is called caffeine intoxication. Caffeine intoxication is characterized by nervousness, insomnia, tachycardia and psychomotor agitation and has even led to death in rare instances. The symptoms abate when users stop consuming caffeine, but with the new prevalence of caffeinated products, consumers may no longer be aware of their limits and thus more likely to overuse.

Many of the new products don’t say how much caffeine is in their product on the label. Companies are even getting kids in on the craze, with products like Jelly Belly's Extreme Sport Beans, which the company calls "Energizing Jelly Beans." Sumseeds, a brand of caffeinated sunflower seeds, contain 120 mg of caffeine per packet, 16% more than in a typical 6-oz. serving of coffee. Shower Shock soap is designed to deliver a crackling 200 mg of caffeine when lathered into the skin, twice the amount in that same cup of coffee.

The FDA has not yet responded to petitions started by a Johns Hopkins neuroscience professor named Roland Griffiths, that ask that caffeinated products be labeled.

Although there is no definitive finding as of late that the new stream of caffeine has affected public health, it is definitely affecting the youth of the nation.

Doctors recommend that children not have any caffeine, caffeine is being put into traditional childhood junk food favorites, including candy, chips, gum and other snacks. It was reported that 4 middle school boys were sent to the emergency room after school officials thought they were suffering symptoms of a heart attack, including profuse sweating. It turns out that the boys had simply consumed energy drinks.

Because there is no official action on caffeine products, consumers should read labels carefully and factor in any additional caffeine consumption, beyond their coffee and tea, into their daily total.

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Make October 31 a Green Halloween

Holidays can be amongst the most wasteful days of the year. With Halloween coming up at the end of the month, here are some tips to ensure that you celebrate a Green Halloween, from candy to costume.

When it comes to candy, China’s tainted milk problem has become a global affair, with tainted milk products being found in Asian candy sold in Britain and the US as well as Australia, choosing organic sweets are best. Look for candy that is labeled organic or natural and fair-trade. Products with these labels undergo a great deal of supervision during production and are thus less likely to be contaminated.

For trick or treating sized confections, check out Endangered Species Chocolate and Equal Exchange Chocolate Minis, which are organic and use ethically traded ingredients. For the rest of the year and especially the end of the year holiday season, also be sure to buy organic and fair-trade treats for yourself and others.

When it comes to the all-important Halloween costume, don’t rush out to buy the cheap, mass-produced at your local drugstore. Instead of being a naughty nurse or sending your kid out as the latest superhero, get creative and you might be surprised at the environmentally-friendly choices you can make.

Go to a thrift store. They can be chock full of old Halloween costumes just right for recycling. Power Ranger anyone?

Search the web for ideas on how to make your own costume, especially if you are handy with a needle and thread. Use stuff from around the house to create your own capes, swords crowns and other miscellaneous needed to make your costume come to life.

If you have a new, unused Halloween costume, donate it. Until October 26, participating Starwood hotels are ensuring that all children get a treat this year. Click here to find participating hotels that are collecting Halloween costumes for local kids in need.

Make this year’s Halloween Green, whether you are tricking or treating.

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Toyota Builds First 'Green' Dealership In Western USA

It might seem like an oxymoron, but Toyota is at least trying to off-set some of its carbon footprint. The car manufacturer will be opening its first eco-conscious dealership to the public today in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new Mark Miller Toyota facility was built from the ground up with green initiatives in mind and expects to earn a Gold LEED Certification in the coming weeks.

While not using any major technological innovations such as hydrogen fuel cells or solar panels for power, the dealership was designed to conserve energy and water. It was also built with recycled materials, using much of the original building site in it's 're-construction.' Some of the environmentally friendly features include sun-tracking skylights to optimize natural daylight (to cut down on interior light use), low-flow faucets and toilets and waterless urinals, a cistern system to collect and store rainwater and air conditioning condensation for irrigation and for washing cars, and cool-roof system to lower the overall heat that comes off large buildings.

The facility can serve as an example of many of the small ways we can make an impact on global warming--something as simple as leaving light bulbs off for most of the hours of the day can go a long way in carbon savings.

Mark Miller, the dealer principal, said, "It wasn't a cheap proposition, but we think what we've done will have a payback both monetarily and in a reduced impact on the environment. In fact, we expect the facility's design to pay for itself within a decade. As buildings are the number one user of energy in the economy, our design will help reduce our energy use by about a third. We are pleased to help lead the way in Salt Lake City with an energy-efficient and environmental facility."

The dealership has applied and expects to win a Gold LEED certification in coming weeks. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a voluntary program designed to promote and validate environmental leadership in the building industry. It is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, and is coveted by business owners.

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New Way to Create Stem Cells

Researchers have found a new way to transform "ordinary stem cells into powerful stem cells" by sprinkling a chemical onto the cells. This chemical allows a team of scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Massachusetts to use a mixture of 2 genes to transform skin cells into "powerful induced pluripotent stem cells or 1PS cells." (Maggie Fox, Reuters)

Though these cells may prove difficult to make, however as they require the use of embryo or cloning technology and certain groups object to these practices in places like the US, making funding limited. In order to place these genes into the cells, the scientists have to place a retrovirus in order to get their material into the cells they infect. But this can prove dangerous and can cause tumors, among other things.

However, results of recent tests have proven promising, as doctors like Danwei Huangfu say the other 2 genes may not even be needed. The way the physical chromosomes are structured, scientist may be able to alter their DNA more easily. "These results support the possibility of reprogramming through purely chemical means, which would make therapeutic use of reprogrammed cells safer and more practical," Huangfu wrote in the group's report.

"This study demonstrates there's a possibility that instead of using genes and viruses to reprogram cells, one can use chemicals," said Dr. Doug Melton, who directed the study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Huangfu, a postdoctoral researcher in his lab, confirmed that this was the first time lab scientists feel they can actually make stem cells by inducing this chemical.

Stem cells are the body's main cells, which give rise to tissues, organs and blood. Embryonic stem cells are thought to be the most powerful kinds of stem cells, since they alone have the power to "give rise to any type of tissue." Doctors hope this find will be used to transform the way they use medicine.

Doctor Melton, for example wants to find a way to reuse the pancreatic cells destroyed in type 1 diabetes to hopefully cure the disease. "We may need two types of chemicals, 1 to loosen the chromatin structure, and one to reprogram. We are looking for that reprogramming chemical and it should be possible to find it eventually," Huangfu said.

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Scientists Develop "Synthetic Telepathy"

Pretty soon it seems like time travel will be the only subject science fiction writers have left, and at the rate science is progressing, perhaps that will be outdated soon as well. Currently the army is financing technology that allows e-mail or voice mail to be sent by thought alone.

Known as "synthetic telepathy," the technology reads electrical activity in the brain using an electroencephalograph, or EEG. For what, the exact purpose other than 'convert operations' is still unknown according to MSNBC, but the researchers working on the project expect it to trickle down to consumer use eventually--perhaps for the video games of the future.

"I think that this will eventually become just another way of communicating," said Mike D'Zmura, from the University of California, Irvine and the lead scientist of the project. "It will take a lot of research, and a lot of time, but there are also a lot of commercial applications, not just military applications," he said.

Similar forms of the technology appeared in the 1960s to send morse code through brain waves, but sending complete thoughts is completely unprecedented. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland are also working on the project, and hope individuals will be able to use it to send thoughts to a radio or to a printable e-mail.

"The eventual application I see is for students sitting in the back of the lecture hall not paying attention because they are texting," added D'Zmura. "Instead, students could be back there, just thinking to each other."

The team is also hopeful the technology will be used in medical practice, such as with patients with Lou Gehrig's disease, or who are deaf or dumb.

One hopes that however the technology for synthetic telepathy works--it comes with an off switch too.

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Venus Flytraps Threatened in Own Habitat

The delicate yet deadly flower, most popularly known as the venus flytrap which sits atop a long stem is now in danger in a green swamp reserve in North Carolina. Laura Gadd, a nature preserve specialist, marks them as she walks by, finding them hidden beneath wisps of wire grass. She finds a half a dozen a day, which is enough to “warrant a spray of glue and inconspicuous powder used to identify the plants and track down poachers who pluck them.” (Mike Baker, Associated Press)

One of nature’s most popular obscure plants, the venus flytrap’s ability to snatch living prey makes it a favourite of school children and plant enthusiasts alike. The flytrap’s natural habitat exists only within a few hundred miles of South Carolina’s coast, where larger more dominating plants have taken over the area. Building development and commercial growth along the North and South Carolina coast has threatened the few “sensitive and thin populations of venus flytraps that still exist in the wild.”

An AP review of state botany records found that nearly 80 percent of the 117 identified wild populations of flytraps in North Carolina have little to no chance of surviving and have either been scarce or wiped out. Most of the large clusters are in nature preserves, but most experts think the dwindling has to do with “encroaching humans.” Wildfires and logging along the Savannah are also responsible for their demise as well as poaching, since flytraps have been popular for various medical procedures around the world. Repeated poachers face misdemeanour charges and are usually only fined less than 200 dollars. Rarely do they face jail time, so it happens more than it should. The traps were once found in as many as 4 counties in South Carolina, and have now narrowed down to only one.

"When you go out looking for these populations that have been recorded, you find you're either in a golf course or a subdivision, or a road or a shopping center," James Luken, a professor at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., who studies wetland ecology, said. "It's a biological hotspot, but it's a development hotspot. These areas are being transformed as fast as the bulldozers can roll."

Due to the dwindling supply of flytraps they still aren’t actually considered endangered, since there are so many other plants ahead of them “on the waiting list.” Representative Carolyn Justice, a Republican who represents the Wilmington area, has pushed to begin regulating flytraps in the same fashion as ginseng in the past, a plant used for a variety of herbal needs in Eastern medicines. But legislation has stalled to take action for now. "Our population down here is exploding," Justice said. "And as we encroach on these forests, we encroach on (the flytrap). We just need to be real careful monitoring how these are harvested and sold."

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Global Warming Already Producing Refugees

In Bangladesh, climate change is creating climate refugees as increasing numbers of people are moving inland, away from rising sea levels that are already submerging coastlines. Despite the fact that the country’s major rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, carry enough sediment to create new sand bars and extend the coastline by a rate of about 8 square miles per year, the number of climate change refugees continues to climb.

According to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says there will be 20 million people internally displaced people within Bangladesh by 2050 as a result of climate change, while James Hansen of the NASA Goddard Institute predicts that the country's entire population of 144 million are at risk of becoming environmental refugees by the end of the century.

However, some don’t believe that climate change is eroding the land because of visible new land. The Dhaka-based Centre for Environment and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) has studied 32 years of satellite images and says the country's landmass has increased by 20 square kilometers (eight square miles) annually. In the past 30 years, CEGIS says that 1,000 square kilometers of land have risen from the sea.

But according to one of Bangladesh’s leading climate change experts, Atiq Rahman, the number of refugees is still increasing, despite evidence of new land. He says, "Yes, the new land is forming, but because sea levels are rising so fast that millions of people will still be climate refugees.”

Bangladesh diplomats plan to plea for international support to help fight the consequences of climate change.

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Google Introduces Mail Goggles

Just as friends don’t let friends date through beer goggles, Google doesn’t want you emailing through them either. To further this end, Google is introducing Mail Goggles, to prevent drunken emailers from regretting what they write in the morning.

Jon Perlow, Gmail engineer writes on the official Gmail Blog about his introduction of Mail Goggles to prevent you sending a message you might later regret.

Perlow’s inspiration for the helpful feature comes from personal experience: telling a girl he had a crush on her via text message and telling an ex-girlfriend that they should get back together.

Mail Goggles requires the sender to solve some simple math problems as a sobriety test to see whether or not you are sober enough to click send. By default, the feature is active late on weekend evenings, the time most are most likely to need the service. You can reset the settings to help them accommodate your needs.

To set up Mail Goggles, go to the Gmail Settings Menu and select “Labs.”

Mail Goggles won’t prevent you from drunk dialing; but it might save you some embarrassment from an especially debauchery-filled night. Seems like it might be an especially good feature for the college crowd.

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Study Shows Cell Phones Shaping Romantic Relationships

AT&T recently conducted a survey to see how text messaging is affecting the modern dating realm, and the results are complex. At least forty percent of texters between the ages of 18-55 who are dating or in relationships believe that text messaging plays a significant or very significant role in their relationships, and not all of it necessarily positive.

"People have discovered that there are moments when just the right text, sent at just the right time, can go a long way to keeping romance alive," said Alecia Bridgwater, director of Messaging for AT&T Wireless. "We wanted to understand more deeply how our customers were using text messaging in this way, and our study turned up some interesting insights."

While AT&T conducted the study for marketing purposes, they acknowledge the results aren't entirely in their favor. It found that in some ways text messaging provides an easier approach to making--and keeping--a love connection. One 26-year-old who participated said, "I spend a ton of time texting every day. I think it's much easier to flirt via text message than in person because you have a moment to think of a cute, flirty, creative response without being embarrassed about what the other person will think."

According to the survey, roughly sixty-eight percent of texters admitted to sending a "love note" or "flirty" message. Twenty-eight percent indicated that they text at least three times a day with a significant other. Both of which suggest a great deal of people send out "sweet nothings" on their cell phones just about whenever the mood strikes.

Also found was that twenty-six percent agreed that someone would be more likely to accept a first date with them if they have exchanged text messages first. Thirty-four percent agreed they would feel more comfortable if they received a text from a romantic interest shortly prior to the first date.

The inverse of these findings, however, show that texting can create a great deal of uncertainty and frustration. Eighty-four percent agreed that text messages can sometimes be misunderstood by a date or suitor. Twenty-four percent said the biggest turnoff when texting with a date is a slow response; however, eighty-two percent said they answer a text message immediately or as quickly as possible. As common as the cell phone may seem as a "tool of love," about a third of texters who are dating or in relationships said they would get upset if their romantic interest would respond to a wireless call while on a date, although fourty-four percent admitted to answering their cell phones while on a date.

Age played a huge role in the findings as well. Thirty-seven percent of respondents who are 18-35 years old said they text at least three times a day with their significant other compared with twenty-two percent of those who are 36-55. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed who are 18-35 have

flirted via text messaging compared with sixty percent of those who are 36-55.

Text messaging is still a recent phenomena in human evolution. While it is certainly changing how relationships and dating function today, at this point texting still hasn't replaced the basic human need to communicate directly as much as possible. Eighty-four percent of cell phone users agree that text messages can be misunderstood, and just under the majority (forty percent) say text messages play a role in their relationships. Where these numbers will be in ten years from now will be very fascinating to see.

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Google Unveils Massive National Energy Plan

As part of Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, the company recently unveiled a 4.4-trillion-dollar national energy plan that it said would largely wean the country of fossil fuels by 2030.

Called "Clean Energy 2030," the plan predicts it could reap a net savings of 1 trillion dollars over the idea's 22-year term. It relies on halting the generation of electricity from coal and oil by 2030 and instead relying on power from wind, nuclear, and geothermal sources. It also entails cutting oil use for cars by 40%.

Jeffrey Greenblatt, Google.org's climate and energy technology manager says it works by tapping geothermal energy as key technologies mature during the next few years. It also calls for heavy investments in transmission capacity for wind and solar power in the Great Plains and southwest to help cut 88% of fossil fuel use and 95% of carbon-dioxide emissions by 2030.

Google essentially laid down the work lawmakers have not done yet. At this point it sits as a proposal for consideration, and the company hopes more will listen and plan on adopting it once they see how 1 trillion dollars can be saved in energy profits.

"With a new administration and Congress--and multiple energy-related imperatives--this is an opportune, perhaps unprecedented, moment to move from plan to action," Greenblatt said. "We see a huge opportunity for the nation to confront our energy challenges. In the process we will stimulate investment, create jobs, empower consumers and, by the way, help address climate change."

More details on the plan can be read on the Google.org Blog.

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Phoenix Lander Gathers Useful Information About Mars

NASA has decided to extend its Phoenix mission on Mars due to the snowfall on the red planet Monday. The space programs claims it will operate the lander there “until it dies in the cold and dark of the Martian winter.” (Maggie Fox, Reuters)

The explorer found evidence that the dust on the surface of Mars apparently resembles seawater in its chemical makeup, adding to previous studies that support the theory that liquid water may have once flowed on the planet’s surface. The Phoenix lander has lasted far longer than anticipated when it began its mission on Mars back in May and its controllers are intending to “squeeze every drop of life they could” of the solar-powered machine. The machine has already lasted over 40 days past what was expected by its makers at NASA.

“We are literally trying to may hay as the sun shines,” Barry Goldstein, the Phoenix project manager in Pasadena, California said to reporters concerning the lander; however, the lander has already begun to lose power since the sun has slowly begun to dip below the horizon. Mars weatherman Jim Whiteway, based in Toronto, Canada at York University, confirmed that the lander has experienced “snow, frost and clouds forming as the atmosphere cools,” though the snow will vaporize before it reaches the ground.

Scientists knew it had snowed on Mars, but the lander was able to construct unique measurements that showed it happening in real time. The lander has also managed to gather information about the planet’s water supply at one point. It also detected red Martian dust, not unlike seawater, taken through its “atomic force microscope.” Latest analysis of Mars also shows limestone exists on its surface. This information supports the idea further that there’s a high possibility that life exists, or could have existed, on the red planet.

Mars apparently wobbles more than Earth does as it spins, according to Peter Smith, a Phoenix principal investigator at the University of Arizona. This means the poles are sometimes pointed directly at the sun, which would make them warmer. “If you were to sweep away this thin soil layer on what looks like this flat plain you would find it is more like a skating rink,” Smith says. He and his team plan to record the lander’s descent with a live microphone recording, which will be the first time anyone’s been able to actually listen to Mars.

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Bill Gates Helps Combat Malaria

There are fewer positive news stories than when rich men do good things. Billionare and active philanthropist Bill Gates recently announced he and his wife's foundation will donate $168.7 million to develop vaccines for malaria.

Worldwide the disease targets 300-500 million people a year, with over one million cases resulting in death--primarily among African children. Malaria is transmitted through the bites of parasites like mosquitos, who breed in less than sanitary waters.

A slew of other multi-million dollar companies recently donated funds to prevention efforts, but Gates' contribution is largely going to a specific vaccine, known as RTS,S. According to studies it shows to be the most promising combatant to malaria, as attacking the root of the problem by ridding the world of unsanitary conditions proves to be a next to impossible dream.

Originally developed in 1987, RTS,S induces the production of antibodies and white blood cells that are believed to diminish the capacity of malaria parasite to infect, survive, and develop in the human liver. In it's current state it only provides partial protection against malaria, but it also stimulates a protective immune response to hepatitis B.

"I'm very hopeful that the malaria vaccine currently in advanced testing will be proven effective, but that will just be the first step," said Gates at a press conference. "Now it's time to develop a new generation of vaccines that are even more effective, and could someday help eradicate malaria altogether."

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant will go to the Malaria Vaccine Initiative towards projects raning from early-stage laboratory research to advanced clinical testing.

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Bill Clinton Quits Washington to Help Save the World

The end of George Bush’s reign as two-term American president will soon be coming to a close, but what do presidents do when they’re out of a job? Most of them try to use their name for the greater good. Like former president Bill Clinton; however, he has gone beyond what most presidents before him have done once they’ve retired from the highest political job in the land. He’s left politics.

Bill Clinton has not only started his own foundation, which funds AIDS projects in 25 different countries, funds health care projects, sells medicine in 69 countries, and funds a childhood obesity project in America, he has also gotten the global warming bug from Vice President and friend Al Gore and has begun to fund climate change initiatives as well. And, whereas he got involved with his wife’s campaign and toured with her around America, for the past 8 years he’s been heavily involved outside of Washington.

His Global Initiative is a project that brings together a community of global leaders, university students, and private citizens to identify and implement innovative solutions to the world’s “most pressing challenges.” (William J. Clinton Foundation) Talks between leaders include subjects such as poverty control, global health and education.

His Climate Change Initiative works with 40 of the world’s largest cities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. CCI assists in “making energy-savings improvements to buildings, transit systems, lighting and waste management.” Along with these his foundation also has an HIV/AIDS Initiative, which works with governments and communities to increase awareness, lower the cost of medicines needed and find treatment for those not receiving it.

Clinton has also started economic initiatives and opportunities by helping families and individuals keep more of the money they make “by supporting state and city efforts to promote access to basic financial services.” The program also matches inner-city entrepreneurs to business leaders in order to help them achieve their goals. His Hunter Development helps people in Rwanda and Malawi launch projects that generate agricultural productivity and help to alleviate poverty.

In fact President Clinton may be making even more of a global difference than he did when he was in office. The job allowed him the clout, however, to pull something like this off. And I have tremendous admiration for someone who uses his powers and resources to bring people together for the greater good. And let’s face it; the greater good doesn’t often involve politics.

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