Have you ever thought what’s the best job in the world? We’ve “conducted research” and can say for certain that you’ll have to be an island caretaker.

Tourism Queensland is looking for a person who’s willing to look after Australia’s Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, the jewel in the crown of the Whitsunday Islands. The successful applicant will be offered a rent-free three-bedroom beach home complete with plunge pool and golf buggy, a 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) salary package for six months, free airfare, travel insurance and the needed gear.

For a six-figure salary and the job of your life, one must be willing – it’s actually encouraged – to sit under palm trees, swim with the turtles, snorkel the reef, make friends with locals and generally enjoy the tropical Queensland climate and lifestyle.

Of course there’s work involved. Starting July 1st, the new recruit will have take care of a few minor tasks that include keeping a blog and a photo diary, give media interviews and promote the island as a tourist attraction.

“There are hundreds of islands scattered along the Great Barrier Reef,” said Anthony Hayes, Chief Executive, Tourism Queensland. “We are looking for someone who can go and explore all the different islands then report back to the world on what they see. We need a special person. They are going to be pretty busy having a good time.”

The lucky person who’ll manage Hamilton Island for six months and enjoy the hell out of it, will be chosen from a list of 11shortlisted candidates. Open internationally, applications are open till February 22 – that if you can get the site loading. Roughly 160,000 people flocked to see how they could make money from living on the island, watch whales and scuba dive. Who wouldn’t?

I really wonder what will happen when the six-month contract ends and the guy/gal won’t want to go home. I think you can get used to that kind of life. Hamilton Island is beautiful, isn’t it? Take your chances …

SMH.au, Yahoo, CNN
Images, courtesy of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Japanese continue to pig out on whale meat. Or is is whale out on pig meat?

“Why do people say we can’t eat the things we’ve eaten since the end of World War II?” asked Koji Shingu, the proprietor of a whale eatery called Yushin in Tokyo, a few blocks from the city’s oldest temple, a popular tourist draw.

Japan has hunted whales for hundreds of years and whale meat is a sentimental favorite of people who survived Japan’s post war lean years. At that time whale meat was the chief source of protein, sometimes eaten every day.

Most whale meat eaters are over 40. Young diners eat whale meat for novelty sake.

Japanese whalers hunt between New Zealand and Chile. One crew member has already been lost this year. PETA? Greenpeace? Sea Shepherd chased Japan’s whaling ships for several thousand miles, threw bottles of rancid butter at Japanese boats and even collided with one boat at sea.

Japan catches primarily minke whales and minke whales are not endangered.

“We deal with a ruthless and cruel enemy whose very reason for being here is to inflict agonizing suffering and to deliver cruel death to gentle, sensitive, intelligent and socially complex sentient beings,” says the captain of Sea Shepherd.

Tokyo calls Sea Shepherds aggressive save-the-whales activities terrorism. It seems the harder knuckleheads like Sea Shepherd try, pro-whaling sentiment in Japan increase.

Can’t we all get along?

Illegally logged trees amount to one-third of all forest area that is cleared in Malaysia each year according to the World Wildlife Fund. An insanely large amount of lush green forest area is being simply destroyed.

That is exactly the reason why the Malaysian government is doing all it can to ensure that illegal logging is stopped with immediate effect. Operation Eye in the Sky allows the government authorities of Malaysia to constantly monitor forest area using direct satellite images.

Darus Ahmad, deputy director-general with the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency confirmed that the program has been in place since last October and for now it covers only the western peninsular part of Malaysia. The country has lost more than 13% of its forest area in the 90s alone and with the national economy heavily dependant on its timber industry, there’s an urgent economic and ecological need to protect its forests.

One can only hope that the program meant to save the planet’s rich forest resources won’t just stop at this, but extends to other regions of the world that are still home to lush green tropical forests. [via Physorg]

Image courtesy of thaths

Olive waste is something that really does not catch our imagination, as most often it is the edibles and the peace-preaching branches that hog our attention.

An Israeli company is finding new ways to turn the trash into energy source by compressing and using olive waste into solidified rolls.

Olivebar turns waste produced from the olive plant into an energy source that produces 2.5 times the energy generated by burning the same amount of wood.

Using the waste is a double-edged sword that does the planet good in more than just one way. The rolled up stacks can be used in wood-burning stoves and their high efficiency compared to wood, ensures that fewer trees are chopped off each year.

Also, the natural decomposition process makes the waste a lot more harmful for the planet and the local water sources when left alone. Olivebar obviously is trying to extract every last ounce of energy from what we normally discard and that surely is a good thing. Even the residue left over after burning, can be used as manure for your home garden.

“It’s a totally green product, all natural, without any glues or chemicals,” according to general manager Eli Karniel. “Whereas once it was more economical to buy heating oil, today people are looking for all kinds of alternatives. People went over to wood, but now governments don’t want people to cut down forests, so they’re turning to natural alternatives like ours.”

That’s the good thing about editing/writing this blog. You learn as you go, and most of the time it’s pretty interesting stuff. I never knew the good part about olives, other than the benefits of olive oil up until now. Did you? [via Israel21c]

There’s an investigation going on in Lincolnshire, UK. Locals are saying that an UFO might be the cause for damage to a wind turbine. A strange light appeared from nowhere causing damage to the giant whirlygig.

Hmm … well, I don’t believe in UFOs, and I suppose there are people who don’t believe that wind turbines are a viable source for energy. i wonder what they are going to do with this. An act of God? Something else?

Apparently, the culprits made off with the third prop. Or perhaps it landed in France somewhere.

“It’s a bird, it’s a plane! No, it’s a prop off a wind turbine!”

“Huh!?”

Wind turbine usage is having enough trouble gaining traction. GP is sure they don’t need interference from Unpredictable Foreign Obstacles. Don’t you say?

Toyota says it will launch as many as 10 new hybrid gas-electric models within the next four years IF the economic downturn doesn’t prevent them and IF there is renewed consumer demand.

When gas was $4+ gallon (US) consumers didn’t mind paying an extra $3-5,000. They seem to mind now that gas is half that price.

Toyota has a fleet of 500 plug-in Priuses that it will unleash next year. A new redesigned Prius and Lexus luxury sedan will be unveiled in Detroit.

Toyota will also unveil a concept car – a battery-electric vehicle for city use that the company hopes to put into production by 2012. Sales were down by half in December.

How soon we forget! Save gas when it is expensive. Gulp it down when it is not. Now is the time to save on gas, BEFORE the next oil crisis comes.

Edmunds.com, an online car research service, estimates that, as a result of the drop in gas prices, a Prius owner must now wait more than eight years to recoup the extra cost of the vehicle in fuel savings, compared with 3.5 years when the gas price climbed above $4 a gallon last spring.

Meanwhile, Honda’s “Prius-Fighter” the Insight Hybrid is coming, GM’s Volt is on its way – sometime in late 2010, while Cadillac has the Converj which is expected in 2012. I wonder if that will turn out to be true, or not …

Source: Nikkei (sub req)

There is a point beyond which you cannot trample with the mightily patient Mother earth. She has taken everything that has been thrown at her and has tried to balance the planet and keep it up and running by making tiny adjustments and giving us gentle jolts once in a while. But when the planet that you call home is heading towards a chaotic order, then she has to step in at some point to wipe out the infestation and set the record straight.

Image courtesy of Roberto Rizzato

With the way man has been destroying delicate balance of natural ecosystems and causing a steep rise in the global temperatures, global warming seems to be the cause that will one day bring about a catastrophic end to much of human race, much like nature put dinosaurs in their place millions of years ago. And when you have Nobel Laureates and the best minds in the world talking about how bad the situation is, then it is hard to dismiss it away.

This is why GP has compiled a list with what we believe to be the 15 most deadly effects of global warming. (more…)

It seems a bit odd that the idea of 21 year old British student Emily Cummins is really being seriously looked at, now when you consider that both the blueprint and the usage of a simple technique of evaporation to cool things has been in operation since long.

The not-so-unique cooling device conceived by the young Brit is a simple machine that contains two cylinders. The inner metal cylinder holds the perishable stuff while the outer cylinder that is soaked in mater and made out of wood helps keep stuff cool (keeps everything cool for days) at a comfortable 6° C without using any power.

The ironic thing is that the technique that is being hailed for its simplicity and convenience – apart from its cheap cost of production, has been something in use since long across he planet. Pot’s made out of clay and covered with a jute fabric drenched in water are used extensively in eastern countries as water cooling units, while using ice in a beer container to keep it cold is no different to a certain extent.

The simple unit of refrigeration developed by Cummins might be an upgraded version of the existing technique, but it is unlikely to set anything on fire.

Yet, one must appreciate the effort of a college student when it comes to her commitment towards cleaner and better future. If college students can do this, surely top notch IT researchers can give us much better! [via CleanTechnica]

Image courtesy of Darren Hester

Modern day electric cars and bikes are most often viewed by the vast majority as slow slugs that really are no match for the Ferraris and that Hayabusas on the road. But that perception of owning an electric car ‘just for the sake of the planet’ is being fast changed and Eliica is attempting to bring about that change with one radical blitz.

Designed by a team at Keio University in Japan and brainchild of Hiroshi Shimizu, the 8-wheeled all-electric car, powered by lithium-ion batteries intends to get past the 250 mph mark making it the fastest street-legal car on the planet; quite a step forward from the electric cars of the past that struggled to dish out 50mph!

Eliica’s eight wheels (Electric Lithium-Ion car) are not there just to make it look big. Along with superb aerodynamics that allows it to cut through air like a hot knife through butter, each wheel sports an 80hp electric motor which ensures that it does not dropdown on pace. This does not mean that the car is short on mileage though. It can currently dish out 200miles on a single charge with a top speed of 230mph.

That is something both revolutionary for electric vehicles and the planet, as it gives a great ad for green energy. However, the team of scientists are now seeking corporate financing to keep the project running.

Right now, there are two of these babies each priced at a whooping $320,000. Considering that this a zero-emission vehicle, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds, tops at 230mph and has a range of 200 miles, the price tag seems pretty justified. However, we can’t guarantee it will get you a date or something. [Eliica via EV World & Engadget]

It seems that the sinking Motorola is not going down without a fight and if not in the mobile world, it sure is winning the battle in the ‘green domain’ with the unveiling of the world’s first carbon neutral mobile cell phone at CES this year.

Motorola Renew W233 is being dubbed as the world’s first carbon-free mobile and that is not just in regards to its production. The green mobile from Motorola is not just eco-friendly in regards to its making by using 100% recycled materials and recycled water bottles, but also extends the planet-friendly features in its operation and disposal.

Motorola has partnered with Carbonfund.org to offset the energy to manufacture, distribute, and operate the phone by investing in renewable energy sources and reforestation. This keeps your conscious clean every time you make a call from your cell, as you will now know that you are really not causing any damage to the planet. The W233 will use packaging that is minimal in pollution and once you are done with it, you can mail it back to Motorola in a specially designed envelope that comes with the purchase.

Motorola has gone in a completely different direction with the Renew W233 and the mobile’s green features along with simple and ergonomic looks make it an affordable delight.

This obviously is no high-end smartphone, so do not expect a whole lot of features, but for those who care for the planet, Renew W233 is a fine start; a blueprint that hopefully will be taken up by other mobile firms. [via Inhabitat]