June 9, 2007
HRH The Prince Of Wales Driving Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle: GlobalGiants.com
Photo: HRH the Prince of Wales driving Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicle June 8, 2007. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 8:42 AM | Link to this Post
June 5, 2007
World Wildlife Fund reports transformation of Natural Wonder of the World : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: The last eruption of the Maly or Lesser geyser in the Valley of the Geysers in Kamchatka's Kronotsky Nature Preserve before it disappeared under water after a massive landslide choked the Geyser River. (Photo Credit: World Wildlife Fund, A. Filatkina)
KAMCHATKA, Russia, June 4 -- According to World Wildlife Fund, Kamchatka's Kronotsky Nature Preserve is one of only four places on Earth where geysers punch holes through the Earth's crust to spew boiling water and steam skyward (the three other sites are in Yellowstone National Park, Iceland and New Zealand). But that disappeared under water within hours after a massive slide of boulders, gravel, snow and ice choked the Geyser River in the world-famous Valley of the Geysers.
Part of the Volcanoes of Kamchatka UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Valley of the Geysers is nestled in a canyon of a mountain river, where more than 20 large geysers and 200 thermal springs, vapor-steam jets, and mud-pots belch, boil and gush in an area of only about seven square kilometers.
At the time of the disaster, 19 tourists were exploring the valley after being flown in by helicopter for a three-hour excursion to one of Kamchatka's literal tourist hotspots. It was a miracle no one was killed, eyewitnesses said, as the landslide came to a grinding halt within a meter of the helicopter and buildings where people were located. An earthquake the night before may have triggered the slide.
"We've lost one of the great natural wonders of the world," says Laura Williams, director of WWF-Russia's Kamchatka office. Known in the United States as World Wildlife Fund and recognized worldwide by its panda logo, WWF leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats and to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. Now in its fifth decade, WWF, the global conservation organization, works in more than 100 countries around the world. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 6:09 AM | Link to this Post
May 24, 2007
DaimlerChrysler's 'smart' now an Official Global Partner of Live Earth : GlobalGiants.com
24-hour, concert series on all continents to combat global warming.
Partnership announced today in Stuttgart by DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, SOS/Live Earth founder Kevin Wall and singer Katie Melua.
Photo: Katarina Witt, Dieter Zetsche (Chairman of the Board of Management DaimlerChrysler and Head of Mercedes Car Group), Katie Melua.
Stuttgart, May 24, 2007 -- “Open your mind” - and combine an exciting lifestyle with environmental protection: smart is supporting the Live Earth concerts and “Save Our Selves – SOS” campaign against global warming launched by Founder Kevin Wall and Partner former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. DaimlerChrysler is with smart the world’s only automaker serving as an official partner of the Live Earth concerts, which will feature more than 100 headliners on July 7, 2007. smart is providing the official shuttle service for all artists and other celebrities participating in Live Earth.
The objective of the Live Earth concerts is to mobilize more than two billion people to play an active role in climate protection. The nine concerts will offer a total of 24 hours of live music at venues in Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hamburg, London, Rio de Janeiro and New York. They will be broadcast in more than 120 countries on TV, the radio and the Internet. The events will feature performances by internationally renowned rock and pop stars including The Police, Madonna, Genesis, Bon Jovi, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sheryl Crow. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 12:14 PM | Link to this Post
May 22, 2007
Ricoh Sustainable Development Award Presented to Three Students at Intel ISEF 2007 Special Awards Ceremony : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Ricoh Sustainable Development Award winners (from L to R) Danielle Lent, Emily Levine and DJ Ray Horton pose with Robert Whitehouse, director, Environmental Management and Product Compliance, Ricoh Americas Corporation, at a special awards ceremony at Intel ISEF 2007.
Ricoh Americas Corporation presented three high school students with the Ricoh Sustainable Development Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) 2007 hosted by Agilent Technologies during a special awards ceremony in Albuquerque on Thursday night. The students will share a $50,000 scholarship from Ricoh Americas Corporation.
The three students who received top honors at the ceremony were DJ Ray Horton of Hotchkiss High School in Hotchkiss, Colorado, for his four year study on the biological control of a common corn crop parasite and Emily Levine and Danielle Lent of Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Hewlett, New York, for their research on optimizing recycled polymer blends using supercritical carbon dioxide.
The Intel ISEF is the world's largest pre-college celebration of science and is held every year in May. Intel ISEF brings together over 1,500 students from around the world to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, and scientific field trips. This year's event was held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 7:51 AM | Link to this Post
May 14, 2007
EMI America Records to Release Steve Irwin's Final Documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, on DVD : GlobalGiants.com
Hosted by 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin and Philippe Cousteau.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 14 -- On June 19, EMI America Records will release the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's final documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, on DVD. Steve Irwin is joined by explorer and adventurer Philippe Cousteau, grandson of the famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, as they explore the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, the northern Cape York Peninsular, and the Southern Ocean off South Australia. Cousteau, who was aboard Croc One with Irwin's crew when Irwin was killed by a stingray during an underwater shoot on September 6, 2006, narrates the 66-minute documentary.
For thousands of years, venomous snakes, saltwater crocodiles and giant sharks have patrolled the waters off of Australia. In Ocean's Deadliest, Irwin and Cousteau join many scientific experts who study these creatures as part of their vocation, learning the reason they have evolved with such dangerous defenses and how they fill an important role in the overall ecosystem that is vital to the ocean's survival.
Last September, the international community mourned the loss of animal expert and conservationist Steve Irwin. The world was stunned and the outpouring of condolences was immeasurable. Irwin's impact on conservation efforts worldwide will resonate for years to come. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 2:50 PM | Link to this Post
YAHOO! BE A BETTER PLANET CHALLENGE : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Yahoo!-donated eco-friendly taxi fleet rolls out of multi-megawatt Times Square to kick-off Yahoo! challenge issued today in search of the greenest city in America. People across the country can go to better.yahoo.com to take simple actions against climate change and enter their city to win another fleet of hybrid cabs from Yahoo!. May 14, 2007. Yahoo!/Ray Stubblebine. (Yahoo! Inc.) |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 7:39 AM | Link to this Post
May 6, 2007
SUN MICROSYSTEMS ECO LIVE : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: SAN FRANCISCO -- Dave Douglas, right, Sun Microsystems VP of Eco Responsibility greets Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., left, before he delivers the keynote address at KGO Radio and Sun's Eco Live, held at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center. Over 5,000 people participated in the event, focusing on eco-friendly alternatives for the home, workplace, and environment. SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2007. (Sun Microsystems/Don Feria) |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 2:29 AM | Link to this Post
April 28, 2007
ZERO GRAVITY CORPORATION: ZERO GRAVITY FLIGHT : GlobalGiants.com
Professor Stephen Hawking Experiences the Freedom of Weightlessness During Historic Zero-Gravity Flight Out of Kennedy Space Center.
Photo: Ted Straight (center), an 8th grader at Stone Middle School in Melbourne, FL, served as a stand-in for Professor Stephen Hawking on the test flight held April 25. On board the flight, coaches and ZERO-G co-founders Peter H. Diamandis (left) and astronaut Byron Lichtenberg (right) conducted flight protocols planned with Professor Hawking. Pictured here, they helped to guide Straight from both sides as he floated up from the floor of the aircraft during a zero- gravity parabola. (Zero Gravity Corporation) |GlobalGiants.com|
Photo: Professor Stephen Hawking experiences the freedom of weightlessness during historic zero-gravity flight out of Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, FL, April 26, 2007. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 4:27 AM | Link to this Post
April 26, 2007
Bentley/TIME Leadership Forum, April 25, 2007 : GlobalGiants.com
'We're Turning to a Time of Hope ... and Moving to a Time of Action'
WALTHAM, Mass., April 26 -- "We are in a time when great frustration is turning into a time of hope and we are also moving to a time of action," said keynote speaker Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, speaking at the standing-room-only Bentley College 2007 Leadership Forum, the third in an annual collaboration with TIME Magazine in Waltham, Massachusetts.
At one point, directing his remarks to the Tomorrow25 -- a group of high school students honored at the Forum as "leaders of tomorrow," Sachs said, "You're the ones who will have to fulfill some very deep hopes -- the hope to build a world without poverty, without hunger and without disease."
This year's Leadership Forum theme was, The Business of Healing our World. "We desperately want a world at peace," said Sachs, a world that is not lived with an "us versus them" mentality -- and "a world with a safe and sustainable environment."
Bentley is a national leader in business education located minutes from Boston. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 1:42 PM | Link to this Post
VIRGIN MOBILE CANADA; FLICK OFF SIR RICHARD BRANSON : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group of Companies, appeared in Toronto yesterday morning to announce the launch of FLICK OFF - a cross-country initiative designed to educate Canadians about the devastating effects of global warming and motivate people to do something about it. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 6:21 AM | Link to this Post
April 24, 2007
Citi Announces Plant-A-Tree Program to Help Drive Environmental Awareness : GlobalGiants.com
Encourages Customer Enrollment in Paperless Statements.
Announces First Quarter Success With More Than 300,000 Trees Planted.
NEW YORK, April 24 -- Citi, the leading global financial services company, is aiming to help make a difference in the environment this year, while delivering tangible benefits to customers who desire to reduce their dependence on paper and help to protect the environment. In January, the company put in motion a customer-focused "Plant- a-Tree" initiative - a program that creates environmental awareness by encouraging its credit card holders to switch to paperless statements, planting a tree for each conversion made. Today, the company announced its first quarter results from the program, where already more than 300,000 customers have opted to "go paperless" and just as many trees have been planted on their behalf nationwide.
For every customer that switches to paperless statements, Citi, in partnership with the National Arbor Day Foundation (NADF), will plant a tree on his or her behalf in a location where it is most needed. Along with the environmental benefits, going paperless has its consumer advantages as well. Going paperless helps reduce paper clutter and allows customers to view their statements online for up to six months, as well as provides easy access to account activity anywhere, anytime.
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 1:26 PM | Link to this Post
April 22, 2007
PANASONIC EARTH DAY CLEAN-UP : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Led by Panasonic Corporation of North America COO, Joe Taylor (center, in gray), Panasonic employees teamed up with students from Secaucus Middle School and the Hackensack River Keeper for an Earth Day clean-up program of the Hackensack River. Panasonic employees on foot and in canoes picked up trash along the banks of the river. Panasonic Corporation of North America has its headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 12:49 PM | Link to this Post
April 21, 2007
World Wildlife Fund: Amur Leopard Nearing Extinction : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Logging, building, farming and poaching have virtually killed off the Amur Leopard, environmentalists said. There are only 25 to 34 of the graceful animals still living in the wild, WWF said at a news briefing in Moscow to report on the results of a census of leopard numbers in Russia's Far East. At least 100 would be needed to guarantee the species' survival.
The Amur leopard used to roam freely around the Korean peninsula and northeast China but farms, villages and roads have eaten away at its forest habitat where it hunts for deer, hare, badgers and small rodents. The Amur leopard has longer legs and fur than other leopard species, allowing it to prowl and hunt with ease in the snowy eastern fringe of Siberia. (Picture Credit: Reuters) |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 8:36 AM | Link to this Post
April 15, 2007
Student Team Achieves More than 1900 Miles Per Gallon at the First Shell Eco-marathon(TM) Americas : GlobalGiants.com
Challenge featured a range of student-built vehicles powered by hydrogen, solar, ethanol blend and gasoline powered engines.
Photo: Students from California State Polytechnic University celebrate their victory with an astonishing 1902.7 miles per gallon in the Shell Eco-marathon America's challenge at the CA Speedway in Fontana, CA. The challenge measured the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel. "I hope teams like ours will help shape the vehicles people drive years from now and those vehicles will be more environmentally friendly," said Tom Heckel, manager for Cal Poly's Super Mileage team. (Shell Oil Company, Bob Riha, Jr) |GlobalGiants.com|
Photo: California State Polytechnic University student Kevin Fang drove the winning internal combustion engine to a first-place victory with an astonishing 1902.7 miles per gallon after in the Shell Eco-marathon America's challenge at the CA Speedway in Fontana, CA, Saturday, April 14, 2007. The challenge measured the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel. (Shell Oil Company, Bob Riha, Jr) |GlobalGiants.com|
HOUSTON, April 15 -- Students from the across the U.S. and Canada competed yesterday at the first Shell Eco-marathon(TM) Americas. Shell challenged the engineering students to drive their vehicles the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel, either conventional or alternative. While all of the teams accomplished impressive fuel economy figures, team Cal Poly San Luis Obispo won the challenge with an astonishing 1902.7 miles per gallon.
After more than 20 successful years in Europe and the United Kingdom, the world-renowned Shell Eco-marathon(TM) made its debut in the United States as the Shell Eco-marathon(TM) Americas. From vehicle design to financing, student participants gain hands-on experience managing their project and applying skills in science, technology, mathematics, business and design. Throughout the project, they demonstrate hard work, creativity and ingenuity, while addressing one of the most pressing issues in today's society: sustainable mobility.
The 2007 European Shell Eco-marathon(TM) event is set to take place at the Nogaro Racing Circuit in the South of France on May 11-13, 2007. With more than 250 teams from educational institutions in 20 different countries, this year's event is set to be the biggest ever. The teams are not only competing to break the European Shell Eco-marathon(TM) fuel efficiency record, but also competing for a host of coveted other awards in various categories -- from best Urban Concept vehicle (designed for normal road car use), to the most eco-friendly vehicle with the lowest emissions, best technical innovation, most impressive design and most effective communications campaign. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 4:49 AM | Link to this Post
April 14, 2007
SEAWORLD & BUSCH GARDENS CONSERVATION FUND : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: In Belize the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is helping researchers address the increase in watercraft-related injuries and mortality among Antillean manatees. The resulting data is helping the local community effectively manage boating activities while protecting this endangered species. (SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund) |GlobalGiants.com|
Photo: In addition to supporting rescue and rehabilitation efforts for bald eagles and other raptors in the U.S., the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is helping recovery efforts for the Philippine eagle and Spanish Imperial eagle, among the most endangered birds in the world. (SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund) |GlobalGiants.com|
Photo: Over the past two years alone, the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has granted nearly $50,000 to an innovative and successful breeding program for the Mexican gray wolf - the rarest wolf in the world. (SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund) (PHOTOGRAPHER: Joel Sartore/National Geographic) |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 8:21 AM | Link to this Post
April 12, 2007
The New York Times Adds to Its Delivery Fleet the First Medium-duty Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Dodge Sprinter plug-in hybrid for The New York Times delivery fleet. (Photo Credit: DaimlerChrysler) |GlobalGiants.com|
The New York Times has been selected to receive the first medium-duty plug-in hybrid vehicle on the East Coast of the United States, and the first of its kind in New York State, as part of a commercial fleet performance demonstration and technology evaluation process.
The van, a Dodge Sprinter plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), will be housed at The New York Times printing plant in College Point, Queens. It will be used to transport New York Times newspapers to The Times’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan, as well as to different locations in the New York City area. It will also travel to The Times’s plant in Edison, N.J.
The Dodge Sprinter plug-in hybrid was made available to The Times by a partnership between DaimlerChrysler, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Con Edison. The partnership was created to test and evaluate plug-in hybrid technology in real world driving environments. DaimlerChrysler is the only automaker to test plug-in hybrid technology with customers within the United States. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 2:27 PM | Link to this Post
New SeaWorld Web Site to Feature Photographs and Reflections From Park Guests Past and Present: GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Baby Shamu performs at SeaWorld during a recent performance of "Believe." The photograph was submitted for SeaWorld's Web site redesign by park guests Steven Joshua Koontz and Daniella Koontz. (Busch Entertainment Corporation) |GlobalGiants.com|
ST. LOUIS -- SeaWorld is launching a new Web site and it needs your help. The Orlando, Fla., San Diego, Calif., and San Antonio, Texas marine life adventure parks have issued a call for photographs and reflections from park visitors that will form the backbone of the parks' new Web site.
According to Joseph A. Couceiro, Corporate Marketing Vice-President for SeaWorld's parent company, Busch Entertainment Corp., the strategy is intended to create a true interactive online experience for fans of SeaWorld and to engage them before and after their visit.
Photo: SeaWorld guest Daniella Koontz watches bottlenose dolphins with her daughter Lillian Ava in a photograph taken by Steven Joshua Koontz, the first guest photo accepted by SeaWorld as part of a Web site design that will feature photos and accounts from its guests. (Busch Entertainment Corporation) |GlobalGiants.com|
"By our reckoning something approaching a billion photographs have been taken by SeaWorld guests," he said, noting that the estimate excludes the thousands of cameras and SeaWorld photographs ruined in the infamous 'Splash Zone' at Shamu Stadium. "The history of these parks is in shoeboxes across America and around the world. There are remarkable photos of families enjoying SeaWorld in those boxes and we want them."
In addition to SeaWorld, Busch Entertainment Corporation operates Busch Gardens parks in Tampa, Fla. and Williamsburg, Va.; Discovery Cove in Orlando; Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa. near Philadelphia; Adventure Island in Tampa; Water Country USA in Williamsburg. Aquatica, SeaWorld's water park, is under construction in Orlando and is scheduled to open next spring. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 2:25 AM | Link to this Post
March 30, 2007
Washington, D.C. Springtime Blooms : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: The blooming of the cherry blossoms heralds the arrival of spring both in Japan and the United States. Cherry blossom festivals in the United States are a spring tradition that dates back to gifts of cherry blossom trees from the Japanese to communities in the United States as a symbol of friendship. The most prominent Cherry blossom festival in the U.S. happens each year in Washington, D.C. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place March 31 through April 15 this year, celebrates Japan gift of 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington, D.C. in 1912. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 3:16 AM | Link to this Post
March 27, 2007
JAPAN: Japan on Edge as Aftershocks Continue to Threaten : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Aftershocks jolted the west coast of central Japan on Monday, keeping residents on edge a day after a strong earthquake killed one person, injured nearly 200 and flattened homes.
Sunday morning's 6.9-magnitude quake, which struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, about 300 kilometers (190 miles) west of Tokyo, destroyed houses, buckled roads, triggered landslides and cut off water and electricity supplies to thousands of homes. (Reuters) |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 4:30 AM | Link to this Post
March 13, 2007
Lifting Chinese Tiger Trade Ban a Death Sentence for Wild Tigers Says WWF : GlobalGiants.com
Photo: Any easing of the current Chinese ban on trading products made from tigers is likely a death sentence for the endangered cats, according to a new report released today by World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC -- the wildlife trade monitoring program of WWF and IUCN. (WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey)
The report warns that Chinese business owners who would profit from the tiger trade are putting increasing pressure on the Chinese government to overturn its successful 1993 ban and allow domestic trade in captive-bred tiger parts for use in traditional medicine and clothing to resume.
The largest multinational conservation organization in the world, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. |GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by Editor | 5:04 AM | Link to this Post
