I’ve always admired how some of the tallest mountains on Earth stitch even the most beautiful clouds, but I never had the curiosity to research and see which are the biggest mountain peaks, how people call them or exactly how tall they are. For those that don’t know, here is a list with world’s top 14 highest and a few details on each one. They’re all eight-thousanders.

14. Shishapangma is a mountain entirely located within China (in central Tibet) and the name means “crest above the grassy plains” in Tibetan language. Highest peak on Shishapangma is 8,013 metres (26,289 ft). (more…)

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Toyota is doing its part to make a mint, um, decrease the impact that its cars have on the world’s fossil fuel resources. By 2010 the automaker wants 1/10th of its sales to be hybrid vehicles. Toyota had not set a target date to reach one million units until now. Presently, the car maker sells 450,000 hybrids a year and wants to more than double that figure within two years.

A fully redesigned Prius hybrid is expected out next spring as well as a second hybrid vehicle. Toyota not only wants to keep its lead in the hybrid market, but expand it.

Toyota not only wants to win, but win big.

When there is not enough food to go around caused by global climate change, poor stewardship of the planet’s resources, pollution, mismanagement or otherwise, bad things happen. Really bad things happen.

A little 9-year old boy was found who weighed only 8kg, (17.6 lbs) in Honduras. He’s doing better now after months of treatment, but the crime is that Jason was ever in such a situation in the first place. If there is no better reason to care for our planet than Jason and other little boys like him, then what is that reason?

In Honduras, about 30% of all children suffer from malnutrition. Something is wrong with that picture. What are you going to do about it?

Question: What did the one alligator say to the other alligator after he ate the human?

Answer: I love these things. They are soft and chewy on the outside and crunchy on the inside.

it might be funny if it weren’t true.

It seems that there’s an 18-feet crocodile down under who ate a camper, a 62-year old bloke on vacation with his wife. Now his wife is on permanent vacation from her husband.

Charlie is the name of the croc and is considered the likely depository of the man who has been missing for a couple of days. Charlie is normally “pretty docile and pretty shy.” Yeah, animals can be that way when they have a full belly.

Let’s take care of the animals before they take care of us, eh?

Image courtesy of Alberto F.

And the winners are … Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects.

It looks like there’s a trend these days to redesign rooftops into spectacular eco-friendly retreats no matter what the costs are. Do these guys do it for publicity or just to do their good deed for the environment? A little bit of both I suppose. Take the guys at Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects and the 14,000 sq-ft rooftop in downtown Chicago (900 North Michigan Avenue) which was turned into a living … thing.

They used tall verbena, phlox and nodding onion, small trees, including Japanese tree lilacs, cranberry cotoneaster, recycled concrete and sustainable, toxin-free ipe wood which other than looking great on the roof, provide a great heat and cold insulation for the building, and offsets excessive noise.

Their whole project won the 2008 Green Roof Award of Excellence.

A great scenery for a quiet day/evening on top of your building, with a great view over the city and knowing that your roof is helping the environment, even if it’s just a little bit, sounds just about right. Isn’t it?

Washington officials are already discussing a possible ban on washing cars at home on the driveway, for environmental reasons. Apparently they’re really concerned that the shampoo or whatever cleaning products people use, are going into the storm drains and then off into the rivers, seas, oceans where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks other ecosystem havoc.

Though it sounds like a good initiative, state residents have complained against it, and I think it’s mainly because they don’t know much about ocean’s water pollution. Would they do it anymore if they would’ve been told that the fish they’re going to eat the next day is full of soap? Probably not.

If the ban will be voted for (which I don’t think will happen) most people will be allowed to was their cars at home, as long as it’s not on the driveway. Do it on the grass and it’s okay, state officials said. How come? It’s better to kill the lawn and the soil under, instead of the shrimp and tuna?

Maybe instead of banning what people have been doing for the last tens or hundreds of years, maybe we should develop greener solutions that no matter where they drain, will not harm the environment. How’s that? Better, I know!

Image courtesy of Micah Taylor

Japan’s Dr. Shigeru Omi is/was a senior World Health Organization (WHO) offiical. He stepped down a couple days ago and was replaced by Dr. Shin Young-Soo of the ROK. Dr. Omi reflected on his 10 years on the post.

1. Tuberculosis in the Western Pacific Region dropped from 1,000 daily deaths to 600.

2. Tobacco control, fights against HIV/AIDS, measles and maternal mortality also made impressive progress.

The biggest problem - health care financing and building up human resources to fight the averse effects of climate change (global warming). “Dr Shigeru Omi said climate change would expand the range of mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue to areas other than their natural Southeast Asia habitat.”

Omi continued,  “I must be honest. We have not been as successful in this area as we have with communicable diseases.”

So, what are we going to do? We can’t stop the world from its warming trend, but maybe we can do something about health care.

Really, why can’t we all just get along? I’m for kissing and making up, aren’t you? A dolphin and a sea lion, not your best of friends, have learned to kiss their hostility away at an aquarium in Beijing. China has a National Holiday coming up. To prepare the aquarium folk taught the two how to kiss in order to entertain anticipated crowds. Whatever!

At first, the sea lion fled from the dolphin and the dolphin fidgeted at the sight of the sea lion. I get both of those responses when I meet people of the opposite sex. So, I am wondering what the big deal is.

Here at GP we are just happy to see animals getting along and showing us humans that we can do it, too, if we just think about kissing and making up.

We also wonder what happens if these two get really close together? Seaphins? Dollions?

IAMS Home 4 the Holidays has found homes, presumably by the holidays, for more than 2 million pets. This year, the IAMS people are teaming up with Felicity Huffman to place 1 million orphaned animals between October 1, 2008 and January 5, 2009.

“I’m proud to be a part of Iams Home 4 the Holidays to help raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption so we can place 1 million animals in loving homes this holiday season,” said Huffman. “When our family decided to get a new pet, we chose to adopt, and now, Tucker is more than a
wonderful pet, he’s part of our family,” says Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives.

But IAMS says -

“Felicity’s first-hand knowledge and experience from adopting Tucker, coupled with her passion to educate people about the millions of homeless animals looking for homes, makes her an amazing ambassador and voice for Iams Home 4 the Holidays,” said the General Manager, P&G Pet Care in North America. “Last year, our pet adoption drive found homes for nearly 500,000 animals, and this year, we’ve doubled our adoption goal. All of our partner animal organizations, including the team at Helen Woodward Animal Center and the pet passionate folks here at Iams are committed to working together to help place at least 1 million orphaned pets into new homes.”

Fido said, “Woof, woof.”

Pussy said, “Meow, meow.”

Both can be translated to mean, “Take me, take me.”

Beautiful puppy image, courtesy of heraldpost

Though I’d wish every little thing on Earth to be greener, a pedal-powered Japanese Roller Coaster part of a green amusement park (The Skycycle at Washuzan Highland Park in Okayam), is not exactly what I was thinking of. See who cares about the environment? Japan does!

I’d would love to see how many ecogeeks or environmentalists would hop on for a ride on the side-by-side tandem pedal-powered carts. They do have seat belts but still look unsafe for my taste. Can I only promote it, rather than taking a ride? Plus, what’s with the pink basket? Who’d use it? Check out a full gallery after the break. (more…)