The halos we think are magnificent are not the kind that comes in a box – think Halo 3 – but the ring of light that can be seen encircling and extending outwards from the sun or moon. The halo is created ( I love this word) when the sun or moonlight is refracted when passing through ice crystals. There are two types -a 22 degree halo which is created via randomly falling ice crystals and 46 degree halo which is a refraction of light through hexagonal column-type ice crystals. And, all that by chance, mind you…..NOT!

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Suzuki Motor Corp of Japan has made a decision between spending upwards of $50 million a year to participate in the World Rally Championships for the sake of name recognition or spend that money on Research & Development to make more environmentally friendly cars.

The decision is in favor of producing more environmentally friendly cars!

Hats off to Suzuki for taking the longer view of things, and in my opinion the higher road with its cars. Of course, WRC is fun. Name recognition is important. Relaxation, enjoyment in the forum of car racing is big business and brings not a little pleasure to a lot of people.

But, when the world is in a hurting state, doing what is best in the long run takes maturity and character. And these qualities are often displayed by Japanese carmakers. And, in this case, not just the big three – Toyota, Honda and Nissan, but Suzuki, too.

Talk about name recognition. Suzuki gets a tip of the hat from me and more on this one.

The very fact that 46,000 cruise ship passengers have been able to make their way to Antarctica – places which would have been inaccessible 20 years ago, are good examples of the effects of global warming at the South Pole.

While the world still argues about how real or unreal the threat of global warming is, the effects though are giving definitive proofs. With shrinking icebergs, cracked ice caps and collapsing sheets of ice, it’s a fact that Antarctica is becoming a warmer place. And while that might be a great thing for tourists come every summer, it could mean disaster for the planet in the long run.

Kayaker Jon Bowermaster led his team of 12 men across 500 miles around the northern Antarctic Peninsula for five weeks and found the dangerous effects of global warming loom large. The region has gotten 5 degrees hotter than it was in 1945 with average temperatures always on the rise each year.

However, the greatest threat in the region is that during summers it rains more frequently now. The rain melts the snow at a rapid pace and leaves creatures like the Penguins and Seals wet and shivering in the Antarctic cold. They believe that the excessive and unseasonal rain in Antarctica is causing both its topography and its creatures more harm than the rising temperatures.

If the trend continues, then very soon we could find the rate of melting ice caps increase to a point where every coastal city on the planet is under serious and immediate threat. Yet, much of the world still ironically debates global warming in its well furnished boardrooms. Doesn’t sound fun anymore, is it?

Image copyright to 1, 2, 3, 4

Alex came across some beautiful images of Aurora Borealis (northern lights). They are called aurora australis In the southern hemisphere.

I thought it might be interesting to throw in some of the appearances of the aurora in mythology that I found at wikipedia.

In Bulfinch’s Mythology, Thomas Bulfinch claimed in 1855 that in Norse mythology:

The Valkyrior are warlike virgins, mounted upon horses and armed with helmets and spears. /…/ When they ride forth on their errand, their armour sheds a strange flickering light, which flashes up over the northern skies, making what men call the “aurora borealis”, or “Northern Lights”.

Pretty stunning stuff. Must be incredible to see it live.

Check out more pictures …

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Whether you are a political or an environmental analyst, the word you’ll likely use to describe Barrack Obama’s new environment team at the White House is green.

From a political point of view, the team led by Steve Chu – director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and a Nobel laureate in Physics, doesn’t seem to have any experience and may, at times, fail in those crucial political negotiations that circle around environment issues. However, for those concerned about the planet, the team really is green as it seems to be made up of a team of people that have the planet’s best interests at heart.

Apart from Steve Chu, the team will consist of Lisa Jackson, who until recently headed the commission on environmental protection in New Jersey and is now all set to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Carol Browner, who will fill in the new position of White House Energy czar and Nancy Sutley, who will head the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Stacked with people who know a lot about the latest green energy technology, environment standards and what needs to be done to improve it during the next few years, unlike the past Bush administration, this team has worked long and campaigned hard for a cleaner planet.

With green jobs an important part of the agenda for the next government, expect stringent pollution control laws, a probable backing of emission standards that California has been asking for and a tight leash on polluting big boys who were let lose in the Bush regime.

Sounds like a good direction to be headed to.

Images by ktpupp and inAction

Every time we talk about why each threatened species got so close to disappearing forever, the inevitable answer seems to be human activity (be it habitat destruction or excessive hunting).

The Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys are one of the rarest primates on Earth. Though only 200 of them exist, new hope emerged as another group of angry-looking monkeys has been found in wild in Vietnam by a group of scientists. While moving through the dense forests, they uncovered a rare treasure – 20 Tonkin monkeys that had three young among them, indicating a vibrant clan and active breeding.

Their initial reaction to human contact was panic and danger which shows that hunting is still prevalent in these lands as the snub-nosed monkeys recognize people as a threat. That means that the whole clan should be protected because there is a long and hard road to recovery before we they get out of the “Red Zone”. Meanwhile locals, the Vietnamese government and the conversational organizations are working hard to make sure that we do not lose them.

Source: DailyMail

Here at GP we love all of God’s creatures, except for maybe spiders and snakes and such (still want them safe though). We especially love animals that are cute. What we don’t like it when people make fools out of animals. I mean, c’mon. We make fools out of ourselves easy enough. Why do we need to make fools out of animals as well?

Some people in Korea thought it would be cute to take the tuxedo off of penguins, or I guess more precisely put something on over the tuxedos they usually wear. Like Santa Claus outfits!

What’s up with that? Everybody knows that penguins don’t have hands. How could they possibly hold the reins and drive the reindeers on Christmas eve? And isn’t this going to confuse little ones everywhere, except for maybe little baby penguins who have not been naughty and have been very nice?

What do you think of people using animals in this way for pleasure? Though they look cute, the whole thing seems to be a little out of line.

Source: Sina

Black-necked cranes (Grus Nigricollis) can be seen flying over the Lhasa river valley near Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. There are around 7,000 Grus Nigricollis perched in the natural reserve this year.

Image by Jayanth Sharma

Though the bird is endangered its number has been rising by 3.9 percentage annually over the past few years due to a series of protection measures. Now, if only the Tibetans could find some protection from Beijing. But, that’s a different story.

The Black-necked Crane, Grus nigricollis is also called the Tibetan Crane.

Its size is 139 cm (55 in) long, 235 cm (7.8 ft) wingspan and 5.5 kg (12 lbs).

Both sexes are similar.

Image by over.expozed

The Black-necked Crane can be found in Pakistan (Kashmir region), China, India, Bhutan and Vietnam. The bird breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and has neighbors in adjacent Ladakh, and Kashmir. It is the “State bird of Kashmir”. There are six wintering areas which are mostly at lower altitudes in China. The bird also winters in Bhutan.

The Black-necked Crane is also considered one of the spiritual creatures for the people of the area. It can be found pictured alongside many of their deities in the monasteries of the region and in movies starring Pandas who do Kung Fu.

Its survival is threatened by the cultivation of its breeding grounds and tourism. However, It is legally protected in China, India and Bhutan.

There always seems to be a point – animals or people? Why can’t we all just get along?

I was doing some research on Tata Motors and learned some 20 things that I listed up.

One of the things I learned was Tata Motors has a 50.3% holding in electric vehicle technology firm Miljø Grenland^/Innovasjon of Norway. So, off to Norway I went to learn something about this technology.

The company bills itself as a “Driving for a Cleaner Environment.” A bit of an oxymoron, but nonetheless, everyone needs a slogan, right?

Miljøbil Grenland imagines a car made for driving in town, that is environmentally friendly, that is reliable and enjoys all the bells and whistles.

Miljøbil Grenland imagines a car which is economical, which needs little service, which needs little maintenance and be charged by plugging into an average outlet.

Miljøbil Grenland imagines a car which doesn’t make a lot of noise, and which doesn’t release poisonous emissions into the atmosphere.

Miljøbil Grenland imagines it a reality with the backing of Tata Motors. That was a half dozen years ago. What are they doing now, we wonder?

Tata Motors has electric versions of its passenger car Tata Indica and its commercial vehicle Tata Ace.

I am not very smart. I freely admit that and sometimes readers remind me of it. But, I do believe there are not many whales in Mexico City. I think Mexico City is landlocked. This causes me to wonder, “What in the world are Greenpeace protestors doing chaining themselves to the Japanese embassy in Mexico City to protest whale hunting?”

I get the idea that people are opposed to the Japanese exploiting whales under pretenses of research. But, young folk in Mexico City protesting Japanese activities in the Antarctic? I don’t get that. And Greenpeace wonders why some (many?) people don’t take them seriously.

Advice to Greenpeacers – find an issue closer to home that folks nearby can really relate to. Maybe then, somebody will take your cause seriously.

Source: BreitBart