PlanetLife - January 31_2014

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    DUMPING OF DREDGE SOIL APPROVED BY GREAT BARRIER REEF AUTHORITYBy The Australian, January 31st2014

    The Great Barrier ReefMarine Park Authority hasapproved the dumping of up tothree million tonnes of dredgespoil inside the park's boundary. The decision, related to theAbbot Point coal port expansionnorth of Bowen, was announcedin Townsville. The Abbott government hadalready given its approval for thecontentious dredging plan,which was strongly opposed byenvironmental groups. Authority chairman Dr RussellReichelt said there had beenstrong community concern anddebate about the application byNorth Queensland Bulk PortsCorporation to dispose ofdredge spoil in the park.

    But he said allowing the projectto proceed would help containdevelopment to existing ports,and the reef itself and seagrassme a d o w s w o u ld s t i l l b eprotected. "It's important to note the seaoor of the approved disposalarea consists of sand, silt andclay and does not contain coralreefs or seagrass beds,'' DrReichelt said in a statement. The au thor i ty ' s genera lmanager for biodiversi ty,conservation and sustainable use,

    B ru c e E l l i o t , s a id s t r i c tenv i ronmenta l cond i t ionsimposed on the project by thefederal government would helpprotect the reef. "The federal environmentminister, as part of his approvalconditions for this development,

    has required North QueenslandBulk Ports to identify alternatedisposal sites within an identiedinvestigation zone,'' Mr Elliotsaid. "We would support the useof an alternative site if it isfound to be equal to or better interms of environmental orheritage outcomes.'' The approved disposal site islocated approximately 25kmeast-north-east of the port, whilethe investigation zone beingassessed for alternative locationsis located 20 to 30km from the

    area being dredged.The dredge spoils bound for theocean will be tested before theyare dumped to ensure they aresafe.

    For more on this story visit:www.theaustralian.com.au

    PLANET LIFE

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    Fracking: Untangling FactFrom Fiction

    Page 8

    Emergency Management Lets Plan Together

    Page 13

    Earths Cool - Educatingthe Young About

    Sustainability

    Page 2

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    EARTHS COOL LEADING THE WAY SCHOOLS MUST EDUCATE YOUNG ON

    SUSTAINABILITY By Bob Thomas, The Age, January 21st, 2014

    How important is it thatevery schoolchild develops abalanced understanding of thechallenge of sustainability,including the science ofclimate change and the kind ofenvironmental threats thatthey and their offspring willinherit? My own view is thatfor children now in thee d u c a t i o n s y s t e m , asophisticated understanding ofthese matters will be asimportant to their future asliteracy and numeracy. In recognition that thecurriculum must be bothrelevant to the lives of studentsand address the contemporaryissues they face, Australianeducators have been involvedin a ve-year process ofnational curriculum redesign.

    It has been agreed thatAustralian school curriculumsneed to give special attentionat all stages and across multiplesubject domains to threepriority areas: sustainability,Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander history and culture,and Australia's engagementwith Asia. Reasonably enough, the

    federal Education Ministerwants to be assured that thenew national curriculum willmee t the need s o f theeducation system, for which hehas responsibility during hister m of o fc e. He hasappointed a two-personcommission to review thec u r r i c u l u m a n d m a k erecommendations about it bymidyear, so that if necessary,m o d i c a t i o n s c a n b eimplemented in 2015. In hisannouncement he said that he

    was looking to his nominatedreviewers to evaluate thed e v e l o p m e n t a n dimp le me n ta t i o n o f t h eAustralian Curriculum and itsrobustness, independence andbalance. A few days after the minister'sannouncement, 176 educationleaders from across Australiasigned an open letter to the

    minister expressing theirconcern at the timing of thereview and the suitability ofone of the two reviewers. Theyalso pointed to the difcultiesthat this process will impose ona system that is still beingbedded down after ve years ofprofessional deliberation bycurriculum agencies andeducators across the nation.

    For more on this story visit:theage.com.au

    EARTH SANCTUARY

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    Pictured: Children fromNSW are being

    entertained by DrumaAtweme at Earth

    Sanctuarys Earths Coolprogram.

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    By Brian Clark Howard, National Geographic, January 30th 2014.

    Illegal drugs have a surprising new victim:ecologically important lands in Central America,where criminal activities associated with the drugtrade are wreaking havoc, scientists report.

    It has long been known that rain forests areoften cleared to grow coca for cocaine, but a newpaper in the journal Science warns that thebusiness of transporting illegal drugs andlaundering the proceeds is contributing todeforestation, too.

    Trafckers build landing strips and roads inthe forest to move their product, the new researchnds. Some trafckers bribe ofcials to look theother way, then buy up local land to convert it intopalm oil plantations and ranching operations as away of laundering drug money.

    "There are profound ecological impacts intrafcking corridors," says Kendra McSweeney,lead author of the new paper, which waspublished Thursday.

    McSweeney studies conservation and theinteractions between people and the environmentat Ohio State University and went to Honduras in2011 to study how indigenous communitiesrespond to climate change.

    Instead, she was struck by "rapid rates of

    forest loss, over massive areas in the heart ofprotected areas."We wondered who had the money and

    impunity to do that, and when we looked into itwe found that the answer was narco-trafckers,"says McSweeney, who was conducting herresearch on a National Geographic grant. "Theow of drugs through the region resulted inecological devastation."

    She was quick to point out that deforestationin Latin America has many causes, includingimpacts from development projects such as damsand roads, pressure to convert forest into

    farmland, illegal logging, and urban sprawl."But what we were seeing was over and abovethat, it was literally deforestation on drugs," shesays, in that drug trafcking was acceleratingforest-clearing.

    Linking Degradation and DrugsIn their paper, McSweeney and colleagues

    from several universities in the U.S. and Germanynote that deforestation rates have been particularlyhigh in parts of Honduras, Guatemala, andNicaragua, especially in the Caribbean lowlands.

    The Central American region is host to richbiodiversity and is sparsely populated, making inan attractive route for smuggling drugs from SouthAmerica, where the drugs are grown, to the U.S.,where they are consumed.

    Forest loss at the hands of narco-trafckersprovoked UNESCO to list Honduras's RoPltano Biosphere Reserve as a "World Heritagein Danger" in 2011, the scientists write.

    In Guatemala's Peten region, rising drugtrafcking activities are correlated with risingdeforestation rates. Those activities includeconstruction of large ranches owned by cartelsinside Laguna del Tigre National Park.

    The presence of well-funded and potentially violent crimi nals has al so inhibi ted theconservation work of government ofcials,scientists, environmental groups, and indigenousgroups, the scientists say.

    For more on this story visit:news.nationalgeographic.com.au

    DRUG TRAFFICKING POSES SURPRISINGTHREATS TO RAIN FORESTS SCIENTISTS FIND

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    http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/196http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/196http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/196http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/196http://www.geography.ohio-state.edu/our-department/faculty-more/mcsweeneyhttp://www.geography.ohio-state.edu/our-department/faculty-more/mcsweeneyhttp://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/09/in-palm-oils-wake-an-interview-with-robert-hii/http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/09/in-palm-oils-wake-an-interview-with-robert-hii/https://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6170/489.full?sid=ef7a130b-fce7-416e-9e74-a1a005ee0c75https://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6170/489.full?sid=ef7a130b-fce7-416e-9e74-a1a005ee0c75https://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6170/489.full?sid=ef7a130b-fce7-416e-9e74-a1a005ee0c75https://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6170/489.full?sid=ef7a130b-fce7-416e-9e74-a1a005ee0c75http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110218-cocaine-coca-farming-colombia-rainforests-environment-science/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110218-cocaine-coca-farming-colombia-rainforests-environment-science/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110218-cocaine-coca-farming-colombia-rainforests-environment-science/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110218-cocaine-coca-farming-colombia-rainforests-environment-science/
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    By ABC, January 31st, 2014

    An estimated 6,000 people gathered at Perth's CottesloeBeach today amid nationwide protests against WesternAustralia's catch-and-kill shark policy.

    The protests came after the second shark killed under thepolicy was pulled from a baited drum line off Leighton Beachthis morning.

    The shark - believed to be a 2-metre tiger shark - wasplaced further offshore.

    The policy allows for great white, tiger, and bull sharkslarger than 3 metres to be killed, while smaller sharks are tobe released.

    A 2.3m tiger shark was also caught this morning onbaited drum lines off Scarborough Beach, and was released1.4 kilometres offshore.

    PROTESTER LOCKS HERSELF TO BOAT

    The protest action kicked off at 4:30am (AWST) when a19-year-old woman locked herself to one of the two sheries

    vessels being used to set and monitor baited hooks off thePerth coast.

    The woman had to be cut from the vessel by emergencyservices, and activists from the Marine Response Unit say theprotest delayed the boat's departure by two hours.

    Elsewhere, nearly 2,000 people gathered at Manly Beachin Sydney, while protesters also gathered at Glenelg inAdelaide and beaches in Victoria and Queensland.

    Greens leader Christine Milne addressed the crowd atCottesloe along with a number of conservation groups.

    "Rights, rights, rights for great whites," the crowdchanted.

    Cottesloe Beach protester Pat Murphy says she swims inthe ocean every day and is appalled by the StateGovernment's policy.

    "All I can say to Colin Barnett as a Liberal supporter,Colin Barnett you've let us down big time," she said.

    Premier Colin Barnett says shark attacks are increasingand that WA had seen seven fatal attacks in the past three years.

    For more on this story visit:

    WESTERN AUSTRALIAN SHARK CULL:THOUSANDS RALLY AT COTTESLOE BEACH AS CATCH-

    AND-KILL PROTESTS RAMP UP

    P L A N E T L I F E 3 1 J a n u a r y

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    By Matt McGrath, BBC News.

    Fracking, as it is known, is acontroversial technique for recovering

    gas and oil from shale rock. But howconcerned should people be about theenvironmental impacts?

    Hydraulic fracturing is widely usedacross the US to exploit reserves of oiland gas that were once believed to beinaccessible.

    But in the UK, the use of frackingwas halted in 2011 after some minorearthquakes near Blackpool, in north-west England, were attributed to testwells being drilled by the energy

    company Cuadrilla.The company carried out its ownreport into the incident and found thatit was "most likely" that the seismicevents were caused by the directinjection of uid into the fault zone.

    The De partment f or Energy andClimate Change (Decc) then askedthree experts to make an independentassessment. Their report indicated thatfuture earthquakes as a result offracking could not be ruled out - but therisk from these tremors was low andstructural damage extremely unlikely.T h e e x p e r t s a l s o m a d erecommendations on how to minimisethese risks.

    Another review, carried out by theRoyal Society and the Royal Academyof Engineering, also gave fracking thegreen light - provided that strongregulations were in place.

    Earthquake issues have also beenattributed to fracking in BritishColumbia, Canada, and in some partsof the United States.

    But according to the Francis Egan,chief execu tive o f Cuadrilla, thereneeds to be a sense of proportion aboutthe risk of earthquakes from fracking.

    "If you look at the BritishGeological Survey website, in the lasttwo months alone there were nineevents of the same magnitude," he toldBBC News.

    "We have a host of measures inplace to ensure there is no recurrence."

    It is expected that if frackingresumes in the U K, the government wi llinsist on constant monitoring and athreshold of seismic activity.

    If fracking causes a tremor abovethe limit, it could lead to a suspension ofdrilling.

    FLUID SITUATIONMany people have concerns about

    the uid used in fracking. It is normally

    a mixture of water, sand and somechemicals that is pumped into the wellunder high pressure to force the gasfrom the rock.

    There have been worries that theuid is dangerous - suspicions that werefuelled by the reluctance of manycompanies in the US to disclose what'sexactly in the mixture. Democrats in theUS Congress released a report thatdetailed some 750 different chemicalsand other components used in frackinguid.

    In the UK, Cuadrilla has beenopen about what is in its frackingmixture.

    But the liquid going down into thewell isn't the whole story.

    Fracking requires tens of millions oflitres of uid - much of what goes downthe well comes back up as "producedwater".

    It can contain a mixture of organichydrocarbons, and naturally occurringradioactive material.

    In the US, this water is often storedin open pits before it is processed but inthe UK the pits will have to be covered.

    In many locations where thefacilities don't exist on site, the water hasto be trucked away to be cleaned .

    Prof Richard Davies, director ofthe Durham Energy Institute, says thatthis would also be the likely scenario in

    the UK if fracking becomes morewidespread."It'll be a bit like Pennsylvania,

    where a whole industry has grown up todeal with waste-water," he said. "We'llhave to clean the water if we want to re-use it."

    The International Energy Agency(IEA) has suggested ways of cleaning upthe water that is used in shale gasexploitation. The IEA says that thetechnologies to address these issues existor are in development and if they areadopted, fracking might be more widelyaccepted.

    The other water issue associatedwith fracking is the potential of thetechnology to contaminate existingdrinking supplies. In the US, theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA)investigated complaints from residentsin Pavillion, Wyoming, who complainedthat fracking was affecting theirdrinking water.

    For more on this story visit:www.bbc.co.uk

    FRACKING: UNTANGLING FACT FROMFICTION

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/09/06/bc-fracking-earthquakes.htmlhttp://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/shale-gas-extraction/report/http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Geomechanical-Study-of-Bowland-Shale-Seismicity_02-11-11.pdfhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14432401http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=news/committee-democrats-release-new-report-detailing-hydraulic-fracturing-productshttp://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/media/weowebsite/2012/goldenrules/WEO2012_GoldenRulesReport.pdfhttp://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/media/weowebsite/2012/goldenrules/WEO2012_GoldenRulesReport.pdfhttp://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/media/weowebsite/2012/goldenrules/WEO2012_GoldenRulesReport.pdfhttp://www.dur.ac.uk/dei/http://www.dur.ac.uk/dei/http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/what-we-do/hydraulic-fracturing/fracturing-fluid/http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/what-we-do/hydraulic-fracturing/fracturing-fluid/http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=news/committee-democrats-release-new-report-detailing-hydraulic-fracturing-productshttp://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=news/committee-democrats-release-new-report-detailing-hydraulic-fracturing-productshttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/09/06/bc-fracking-earthquakes.htmlhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/09/06/bc-fracking-earthquakes.htmlhttp://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/shale-gas-extraction/report/http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/shale-gas-extraction/report/http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Geomechanical-Study-of-Bowland-Shale-Seismicity_02-11-11.pdfhttp://www.cuadrillaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Geomechanical-Study-of-Bowland-Shale-Seismicity_02-11-11.pdfhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14432401http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14432401
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    By Terry MacAlister, The Guardian, January 26th, 2014

    Soaring electricity demand for air-conditioning, iPadsand increasingly cars, combined with a growing populationand inadequate investment in creaking power networks, ispushing the world towards frequent blackouts, academicswarn.

    China, Brazil and Italy have all had signicant powerfailures in the past decade but these are just "dress rehearsalsfor the future" in which the lights will go out with increasingfrequency and severity, predicts a new paper, Blackouts: a

    sociology of electrical power failure.The authors, Hugh Byrd of Lincoln University in the

    UK and Steve Matthewman of Auckland University in NewZealand, argue that the west needs to abandon the idea ofuninterrupted electricity supply.

    "Supply will become ever more precarious because ofpeak oil, political instability, infrastructural neglect, globalwarming and the shift to renewable energy resources.Demand will become stronger because of population growth,rising levels of afuence and the consumer addictions whichaccompany this," they argue.

    They note that there have already been frequent

    warnings about future blackouts in Britain from as early as2015 from government advisers, network operators and theenergy regulator, Ofgem. Byrd and Matthewman argue thepicture is broadly similar across the world, with the AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers warning that US generation

    systems could collapse by 2020 without $100bn of newinvestment in power stations.

    The enormous growth in demand across the US ishighlighted by gures showing that even as long ago as 2007commercial and domestic air-conditioning alone consumed484bn kilowatt hours of electricity not much more than thecountry's total energy consumption in the mid-1950s.

    It has grown substantially since then, while air-conditioning sellers have moved on to China, wherehousehold ownership of units has tripled in a decade and isstill growing at 20% a year. India is showing the same

    pattern, says Byrd, a professor at Lincoln's school ofarchitecture, and Matthewman, an associate professor fromAuckland's sociology department.

    Their report records a growing pattern of failures inpower systems, starting with 50 million people being plungedinto darkness on 14 August 2003 across the north-eastern USand Ontario, 60 million ofine on 10 November 2009 inBrazil and Paraguay, and 600 million affected by failuresacross India on 31 July 2012.

    However, the authors note that the move to renewable often intermittent and weather-dependent energy can alsoexacerbate the problem. There were blackouts in Kenya and

    Venezuela in 2010, and Tanzania in 2006, that were blamedon shortages of rain for hydroelectric power schemes.

    For more on this story visit:theguardian.com/environment/

    PAST POWER FAILURES DRESS REHEARSALS

    FOR FREQUENT FUTURE BLACKOUTS

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    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/energyhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/energyhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/energy
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    P L A N E T L I F E

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    2 0 1 4 EARTHQUAKES AROUND

    THE WORLD THIS WEEK 5.0 CARLSBERG RIDGE5.0 TONGA5.0 OFF COAST OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 5.1 MYANMAR5.7 TARAPACA, CHILE5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS5.1 WESTERN IRAN5.0 REYKJANES RIDGE5.3 REYKJANES RIDGE5.4 CHUQUISACA, BOLIVIA5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS5.1 SOUTHEAST OF EASTER ISLAND5.0 NEAR S COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA5.3 GREECE5.2 MINDORO, PHILIPPINES6.0 GREECE5.2 MYANMAR5.1 TONGA5.1 VANUATU

    5.5 PERU-ECUADOR BORDER REGION5.2 SOLOMON ISLANDS5.2 VANUATU5.5 PERU-ECUADOR BORDER REGION5.2 SOLOMON ISLANDS5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS6.1 JAVA, INDONESIA 5.4 BANDA SEA

    OSAKA JAPAN: QUAKETO CUT WATER TO94%By Japan Times

    A powerful earthquake originating inwhat seismologists call the NankaiTrough off the Pacic coast could cutoff tap water to roughly 8.32 millionpeople in Osaka, or 94 percent of theprefectures residents, the OsakaPrefectural Government said Friday.

    The outage would be caused bydamage to tap water infrastructurestemming from the intense oscillation,tsunami and liquefaction, it said,quoting the conclusions of an advisorypanel to the prefecture.

    An intense temblor would cut power toa combined 2.34 million households(55 percent) in the prefecture, and gasto 1.15 million (34 percent), accordingto the prefectural government.

    Damage to buildings, distributionnetworks and other infrastructurewould surpass 28 trillion.

    Although the central governmentearlier predicted that a Nankai Trough

    quake would cut tap water to only 4.3million people, Osakas projectionalmost doubles that estimate.

    The prefectures estimate is moresevere because it accounts for possibledamage to water intakes along theYodo River, its main source of tapwater.

    Any tsunami induced by the quakewould put a combined 11,000 hectares

    of the area under water, roughly 3.6times that estimated by the centralgovernment, it said.

    Osaka also assumes the quake wouldtrigger tsunami that would reverse theow of the Yodo northeast towardKyoto and reach the prefectural borderin about two hours, it added.

    The water intakes at 12 points alongthe river might be rendered useless,and direct damage to water pipelines isalso feared, it says.

    For more on this story visit:www.japantimes.co.jp

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    By Dan Falzon, of Earth Sanctuary, January 31st,2014

    It isn't well known that the Governments havebeen covering up the fact the aliens have bases onthe moon. There are many facts, Pictures, videos,satellite images, and testimonies that create hardevidence of this fact. From well known respectedscientists, Astronauts, and military personal wegain a pretty dene perspective on this subject.

    First we have this video here ( http://alien-ufo-research.com/alien_moon_bases/ ) which ispart of the disclosure project that starts off with awomen talking to Military personnel about animage from space that has an Unidentied Flyingobject in it. She asks, "is that a UFO" and heanswered, "I'm not allowed to tell you that". Nowwe know that he could have even said yes because

    a UFO doesn't stand for some alien ship it simplymeans an Unidentied Flying object. But heinstead says it's privileged information. When sheasks what hes going to do with this extraordinaryinformation he replies, "it's procedure to air brush

    these images out before we release them to thepublic".

    Next we have a man sergeant Karl Wolfe inthe video, that was brought to Langley air forcebase where the NSA (National Security Agency)was bringing in information and pictures from thelunar orbiter. At that point one of the Ofcers saidthat they had found a base on the back side of themoon. Afterwords sergeant Karl Wolfe was shownimages of the base from large towers to sphericaldomes over half a mile in diameter on a section ofthe dark side of the moon. He immediatelystopped looking at the moon base pictures fearingfor his safety. These are real Military personnelnot just people off the street. They came forwardknowing that they and their family's would be atrisk just so they could reveal to the public the truthabout UFOs and alien moon bases.

    SPACE LIFE ALIEN BASES ON THE MOONTHE TRUTH IS OUT

    P L A N E T L I F E 3 1 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4

    Is there an "Alien Base" on the Moon. More and more people

    are coming forward with storiesof an Alien presence on the

    Moon. Rumors are that their"Moon Base" is on the dark side

    of the moon, the side we never seefrom Earth.

    Did you ever wonder why the Moonlandings stopped and why

    have we not tried to build a MoonBase. It seems a better and

    easier idea than a floating spacestation?

    http://alien-ufo-research.com/alien_moon_bases/http://alien-ufo-research.com/alien_moon_bases/http://alien-ufo-research.com/alien_moon_bases/http://alien-ufo-research.com/alien_moon_bases/http://alien-ufo-research.com/alien_moon_bases/moonbasedisclosure.phphttp://alien-ufo-research.com/alien_moon_bases/moonbasedisclosure.php
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    By PETA

    There is nothing remotely sporting about sportsthat involve unwilling animal participants. For the animalswho are forced to participate in them, these activities areno gamethey are about surv ival. Even the winnersemerge physically and emotionally scarred and the lose rspay with their lives.

    Bulls who are used in bullghting are deliberately

    weakened before the ghts by being drugged andsometimes having their horns shaved down in order todisorient them, sandbags dropped on their backs, andpetroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes to blur their vision.The tortured bulls never stand a chance against thematador, who tries to kill them slowly with repeat edstabbing.

    Animals who are used in dogghting, hog-dog rodeos,and cockghting are typically kept chained outdoors in

    horric conditions with little or no shelter. They arestarved, drugged, and beaten to make them aggressive. Ifthey dont die in the ghting ring, the losers are killed bytheir trainersoften by being electrocuted, drowned,

    hanged, burned, or shot. Many others are abandoned todie slowly from their injuries.In rodeos, individuals try to look tough by provoking

    relatively tame animals (who, unlike the humanparticipants, dont choose to participate in these dangerousevents) into acting wild. Electric prods, spurs, andbucking straps are used to irritate and enrage the animals,all for the crowds amusement. Countless animals havebeen severely injured and killed in rodeos.

    Hunting and shing are unnecessary, violent forms ofentertainment that tear animal families apart and leavecountless animals dead, orphaned, and/or badly injured.Most people who hunt or sh do so under the guise ofsaving deer from starving to death in the winter or tohelp regulate the population or simply for the pleasurethat killing gives themnot because they need to in orderto survive.

    Animals who are used in racingincluding,greyhounds, and dogs used in dog-sled racingare oftendrugged to mask sickness and injury and are forced torace. Between races, they are typically conned for most ofthe day to cramped stalls or cra tes with barely eno ughroom to turn around in or, in the case of dogs used fordog-sled races, chained up outside. When they stopwinning races, most of these animals are euthanized, shot,sold to laboratories for experiments, or sent toslaughterhouses.

    No animal deserves to be abused or killed forentertainment. Please help sideline these cruel sportsby never attending or supporting them.

    For more on this story visit:www.peta.org/issues

    ANIMAL LIFE ANIMALS USE FOR ENTERTAINMENT

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    http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/cockfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/dogfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/hog-dog-rodeos/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/bullfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/hog-dog-rodeos/http://www.peta.org/issueshttp://www.peta.org/issueshttp://www.peta.org/issueshttp://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/dogsled-racing/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/dogsled-racing/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/greyhound-racing/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/greyhound-racing/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/fishing/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/fishing/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/hunting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/hunting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/rodeos/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/rodeos/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/cockfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/cockfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/hog-dog-rodeos/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/hog-dog-rodeos/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/dogfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/dogfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/bullfighting/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment-3/bullfighting/
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    By Todd Goldfarb

    Meditation is the art of focusing 100% of your attentionin one area. The practice comes with a myriad of well-publicized health benets including increased concentration,decreased anxiety, and a general feeling of happiness.

    Although a great number of people try meditation atsome point in their lives, a small percentage actually stickwith it for the long-term. This is unfortunate, and a possiblereason is that many beginners do not begin with a mindsetneeded to make the practice sustainable.

    The purpose of this article is to provide 20 practicalrecommendations to help beginners get past the initialhurdles and integrate meditation over the long term:

    MAKE IT A FORMAL PRACTICEYou will only get to the next level in meditation by settingaside specic time (preferably two times a day) to be still.

    START WITH A BREATHBreathing deep slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles,focuses the mind and is an ideal way to begin practice. STRETCH FIRSTStretching loosens the muscles and tendons allowing you tosit (or lie) more comfortably. Additionally, stretching starts theprocess of going inward and brings added attention to thebody.

    MEDITATE WITH PURPOSE

    Beginners must understand that meditation is an activeprocess. The art of focusing your attention to a single point ishard work, and you have to be purposefully engaged!

    NOTICE FRUSTRATION CREEP UP ON YOUThis is very common for beginners as we think hey, whatam I doing here or why cant I just quiet my damn mindalready. When this happens, really focus in on your breathand let the frustrated feelings go.

    MEDITATION: YOUR PASSPORT TO THEDIMENTIONS

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    HEALTHY LIFE

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    By Dan Falzon of Earth Sanctuary, January 31st, 2014

    An Earthship is a type of passive solarhouse made ofnatural and recycled materials (such as earth-lled tires),designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture ofTaos, NewMexico.

    Earthships are primarily designed to work asautonomous buildings using thermal mass construction andnatural cross ventilation assisted by thermal draught ((stackeffect) to regulate indoor temperature. Earthships aregenerally off the grid homes, minimizing their reliance onpublic utilities and fossil fuels. Earthships are built to utilizethe available local resources, especially energy from the sun.For example, windows on sun- facing walls admit lighting andheating, and the buildings are often horseshoe-shaped to

    maximize natural light and solar- gain during wintermonths. The thick, dense outer walls provide thermal massthat naturally regulates the interior temperature during bothcold and hot outside temperatures.

    Internal, non-load-bearing walls are often made of ahoneycomb of recycled cans joined by concrete and are

    referred to as tin can walls. These walls are usually thickly

    plastered with adobe. Tin can walls can also be used on topof the tire walls ("can and concrete bond beams") as analternative to wooden shoes. An alternative to these concrete

    bond beams are wooden bond beams with wooden shoes.The wooden shoes are made using wooden shimming blocks(of 6x6x8' dimensions) placed on top of the wooden bondbeam

    (the latter is basically just 2 layers of 2x12 lumber boltedon concrete anchors; concrete anchors are poured blocks ofconcrete located inside the top tyres). Some rebars are used to"nail" the wooden shoes to the wooden bond beam. The tirewalls are additionally strengthened by using concrete in thetires on the ends (called "concrete half blocks"). The roof ismade using trusses or vigas (wooden support beams) whichrest on the wooden shoes (or tin can walls) placed on thewooden (or concrete) bond beams. The roof as well as thenorth, east and west facing walls of an Earthship are alsoheavily insulated to prevent heat loss.

    EARTHSHIPS: BUILDING WITH LOVE,

    HOUSES IN HARMONY

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    1 ADULT FOOD SUPPLY You can't prevent certain events in life, but you can prepare for them.

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    WISE FOOD

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