Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295679012?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, March 31, 2013
Death toll at 18 in Tanzania building collapse
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) ? At least 18 people were killed when a building collapsed Friday in the Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam, police said Saturday, as hopes dimmed of rescuing more survivors.
Poor equipment hampered efforts to rescue more than 60 people believed to be trapped under the rubble, said Police commissioner Meshak Saddik. At least 17 people, three seriously injured, were pulled out of the debris Friday.
Officials said constriction work on the building, located on one of the busiest streets in Tanzania's commercial center, was about to be completed and that the structure did not have tenants. Most of the people caught in the collapse of the 12-story building were laborers as well as those passing by or loitering nearby. Some witnesses said dozens of construction workers and food vendors were in the building when it collapsed Friday morning and that scores of children were playing soccer in a nearby playground. Others said more than 200 casual laborers and engineers worked on the building regularly.
Saddik said three engineers who worked on the building had been taken into custody for questioning. In recent years building collapses have become frequent in East African countries as some property developers bypass regulations to cut costs.
Dar es Salaam police have halted work on a 16-story building that was being built adjacent to the one that collapsed, saying the construction project needs to be reviewed. Both buildings have the same owner.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/death-toll-18-tanzania-building-collapse-102928087.html
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Easter bunny horror stories: Resist the urge to give rabbits, ducks, chicks
Easter bunny horror stories are a post holiday tradition, say animal control officials across the US. The cute gifts ? rabbits, ducks, chicks ? suddenly get abandoned or maltreated because they were impulse buys. Pubescent bunny behavior is not cute; and the fowl mess can be a rude surprise.
Easter bunny horror stories are a post-Easter tradition in the US, say animal control and rescue officials who see an uptick in abandoned rabbits, ducklings, and chicks at Easter and advise against impulse buys. A Muscovy duck named Quasimodo watches two Pekin ducks play in a pool at The Lucky Duck Rescue & Sanctuary in Sun Valley, Calif., August 2011.
Lydia Yasuda/AP
EnlargeFor Easter, when Lindsay Durfee?s sister-in-law Kelley was young and sweet and wide-eyed, her parents bought her a team of ducklings. Kelley and her family, Ms. Durfee says, lived on a lake in Orlando, Fla., populated with different species of wildlife.?
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So, shouldering a video camera to record it, young Kelley marched her Easter ducklings to the water like a drum major. But nature was ahead of her: before she and the ducks reached the edge of the lake, a large bird ? probably a heron? swooped down and made off with a duckling by its neck. The gory detail of what happened next is PG-13; but suffice to say, says Durfee, the videotape captured it and Kelley's scream.?
?It's one of those stories that comes up every year,? Durfee wrote in an e-mail to the Monitor. To this day, says Durfee, "My husband and I laugh until we cry over how appalling it is!??
Pet horror stories are a staple of the post-Easter season in the United States, day animal control and rescue officials. The Easter holiday brings out the duckling, chick, and baby bunny lovers in people. They make an impulse buy, the recipient goes wild with joy for a day, but the honeymoon soon ends and parents scramble to surrender the animals.
Animal rescue staff, traditionally inundated with calls from regretful parents immediately following Easter, are asking consumers to stop and think before buying an animal for Easter, and with good reason.
If, and it?s a big if, the animal doesn?t die from all that Easter excitement, now there?s a growing and soon-to-be mature duck, chicken (worse, a rooster), and rabbit on your hands.
A pubescent rabbit is not one to cuddle. Females are prone to running in circles, lunging, and grunting, says Anne Martin, shelter director for House Rabbit Society?s headquarters in Richmond, Calif. And if you purchased a male? ?The boys will spray urine ... all over the place,? says Ms. Martin, who owns six rabbits and adds that a mature rabbit is a fantastic pet. But they can be quite alarming for a new pet owner whose supplier did not warn them.
Suppliers are also known for selling bunnies that have been taken away from their mothers too soon, says Mary Cotter, vice president of the House Rabbit Society. ???
Ducklings and chicks have their own drawbacks, says Susie Coston director of the Farm Sanctuary shelter.
Like bunnies, ducklings and chicks are extremely fragile. If a child plays with them like a toy instead of fine china, they are likely to die from over-handling, Ms. Coston says.
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The Savvy Real Estate Investor Always has a Good Exit Strategy ...
Act Fast, but have it together; if you don?t, you might as well get out of the game.
The great news is that investing in today?s market is very forgiving, if you implement a few simple concepts and navigate a clear path to minimize your risk.
The not so great news is that if you don?t have it together you will, at best, lose out; at worst, lose money.
With properties flying off the market in record time these days, you have got to be decisive and quick; the current real estate climate is merciless and, at risk of sounding trite, if you snooze, you will lose.
One of the most recognizable differences between a ?newbie? real estate investor, and an experienced real estate investor, is the time it takes to walk in, assess the property and make a decision about its viability as an investment.
The new real estate investor will often put in a lot of time checking the property, looking into the deal, re-checking the property, checking the competitive market analysis, having the property inspected and asking for advice or opinions; meanwhile, the experienced real estate investor will walk in behind him, take a look at the property, make a quick initial determination about whether or not the property is a good investment and, often without even having inspected it, get it under contract, thereby tying it up quickly and taking control of it.
What about consideration?
Won?t an investor lose his ?earnest money? by acting so hastily?
Not if you have done your first line of due diligence; you should be prepared to snap up that property quickly by getting it under contract and then follow up with your ?serious? due diligence.
So what is the first line of due diligence?
- Know enough about the area and what you are looking for.
- Know what kind of financial evaluation you need to conduct and know what it needs to look like when you?re done.
- Know your exit strategy.
This is where contingency clauses come in. A contingency clause is a condition, which must be met before a contract becomes legally binding. When you write up your contract, always make sure you have included contingencies. By putting the property under contract, you have basically made it yours; you control it. By putting in the right contingency clause, you will have a legal ?out? should you discover something that doesn?t work for you as you conduct your ?serious? due diligence; ?you will be able to get your money back.
When you have the property under contract you are the only one that can buy it and you only have to buy it if you want to. However, you will have that exit only if you have written the contract correctly, with the right contingencies, and if you have followed it to the letter.
Of course, you should always have your lawyer approve your contract and check your state?s laws that surround contingency clauses.
Use contingencies judiciously and use them ethically, but do use them because they will help you get that deal quickly and they will save your butt if it doesn?t work out.
Smart Real Estate Investors learn the ropes before getting into the game by getting some strategic marketing and real estate training. Do your homework; when you do, regardless of how new you are to the real estate investment game, you will be able to move quickly and make informed decisions so that you make money, not mistakes.
About Kent Clothier
Kent Clothier is President and CEO of Real Estate Worldwide (REWW), a multi-faceted real estate education company with headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, San Diego, California, and Boca Raton, Florida.Source: http://kentclothier.com/the-savvy-real-estate-investor-always-has-a-good-exit-strategy
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Saturday, March 30, 2013
Finding Hidden Money at Your Hospital
Mar 28, 2013 6:27pm
ABC News? Paula Faris reports:
Joyce Ann Huston of Las Vegas has been a musician her entire life and is one of the 26 percent of Americans who say that they or a family member have struggled to pay medical bills in the last year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Want to learn how to slash those medical bills?
Join Michelle Katz in a live Twitter chat at 7 p.m. ET today. Check it out here:?@michellekatzmsn?#RealMoney or www.facebook.com/michellekatzmsn
Huston, known as ?Lady J,? was on stage Wednesday night and today, she?s paying for it.
Like millions of Americans, Huston has a chronic medical condition: She suffers from lupus.
She preps her body for days before performing, citing music as not just her only escape, but the only way she pays her bills.
Huston still owes $25,000 from her original diagnosis, and new bills from her ongoing care are mounting. With medical bills continuously contributing to her debt, she worries she could lose everything. Among those Americans who file for personal bankruptcy, 62 percent do so because of medical bills, according to one study in the American Journal of Medicine.
?I could end up losing my house,? Huston told ABC News.
ABC News' Paula Faris talks to Joyce Ann Huston of Las Vegas about saving money on her medical bills.
But what Huston and many others don?t realize is that more than half of the nation?s hospitals ? the nonprofits ? are required to give back to the community, often through what is called ?Patient Assistance Programs.?
?No, I wasn?t aware of that, at all,? Huston told ABC News.
Non-profit hospitals are required to publicize their policies on assistance programs. The American Hospital Association told ABC News, ?Hospitals should widely publicize on the premises, on the website, and distribute directly to patients their policies on assistance programs.?
But in one study by Community Catalyst of 100 hospitals, nearly half didn?t mention it on their website and almost 70 percent didn?t tell patients how to qualify when they called.
With the help of a patient advocate at the Colors of Lupus Foundation in Nevada, Katz and Huston went after some of that money. Sure enough, Huston?s hospital had a fund.
It took several weeks of phone calls to cut through all the red tape.
?You have to understand if they announce it, everyone would be flooding, right?? said Hui-Lim Ang, founder of the Colors of Lupus Foundation in Nevada.
?It?s just a matter of negotiation,? Ang added, ?just knowing it?s out there and not being afraid to ask for it.?
In the end, Huston qualified for assistance. ?Her $25,000 bill was reduced to just $7,000, which she will pay in monthly, interest-free payments of $100.
?I?m just shocked you all were able to do that,? Huston said. ?I didn?t know how I was going to make it through. I didn?t know things like this were possible. I?m so touched, so deeply touched.?
And today, after saving $18,000 on her medical bills, Huston is singing a much different tune.
Tips that could save you money:
1.?????? Ask for a written financial assistance policy.? Hospitals should have a written financial assistance policy available that includes eligibility criteria, the basis for calculating charges and the method for applying for financial assistance.
2.?????? If you can, let your hospital know ahead of time.? Hospitals use a process to identify who may or may not be able to pay in advance of billing, in order to determine whether a patient?s care needs could be funded by an alternative source, such as a charity care fund. This is also done during the billing and collection process, but it is best to address any billing issues in a timely manner. Since 2000, hospitals of all types have provided more than $367 billion in uncompensated care to their patients, according to the AHA.
3.????? Keep communicating and be calm.? People make mistakes, so it?s important to stay in touch with your care providers, hospital representatives and insurance providers. Be sure you document everything. Be prepared for representatives who may disagree with something you said. But if you have documentation to back up your claim, remain calm and use it.
For more, check out Michelle Katz? tips on her blog
If this story helped you, let us know on Twitter:?#MyWorldNewsStory
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/03/28/real-money-hidden-money-at-your-hospital/
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Google vows not to sue over certain patents for open source ...
Google today is "taking a stand on open source and patents," vowing not to sue anyone on specified patents unless first attacked.
The company, which today announced its Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge, said to start with, it has identified 10 patents related to MapReduce, a model for processing large data sets. It has pledged not to sue any user, distributor, or developer of open-source software based on patents related to MapReduce.
Duane Valz, Google senior patent counsel, said in a blog post that Google wants to ensure open source software remains open:
"At Google we believe that open systems win. Open-source software has been at the root of many innovations in cloud computing, the mobile web, and the Internet generally. And while open platforms have faced growing patent attacks, requiring companies to defensively acquire ever more patents, we remain committed to an open Internet -- one that protects real innovation and continues to deliver great products and services."
Patent-related litigation has been rampant in the technology sector, particularly in the fast-growing smartphone and tablet markets. Apple and many other companies, including Google partner Samsung, have been suing each other over infringement, and Apple in August won its case against Samsung. Other companies have been making acquisitions -- like Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility -- to help build their patent arsenals.
So why care about MapReduce? Well, it was first developed by Google but has many open-source offshoots, including Hadoop. The technology, which gives users the ability to quickly analyze huge sets of data, is supported and used by Yahoo, Cloudera, and many other companies. As organizations create more data, specialized technology is required to make sense of all the information. Without context or analysis, big data is pretty worthless.
Google said today that it plans to expand the set of patents covered by the pledge to other technologies over time.It also said it hopes the OPN Pledge will serve as a model for the industry, and it's encouraging other patent holders to adopt the pledge or a similar initiative. Google said leading companies and organizations such as Cloudera and IBM agree and endorse the OPN Pledge.
Google believes the pledge will provide more transparency around patent rights, and Google's pledge will expand to all open-source software that relies on the patents, not just a specific project. In addition, Google said its pledge remains in force for the life of the patents, even if it transfers them, and the pledge may only be terminated if a party brings a patent suit against Google products or services or directly profits from such litigation.
The company added that along with the OPN Pledge and other similar initiatives, it continues to support patent reforms that would "improve patent quality and reduce excessive litigation."
Here's the full text to Google's Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge:
Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge
Google is committed to promoting innovation to further the overall growth and advancement of information technology and believes that Free or Open Source Software is a very important tool for fostering innovation. Google is therefore pledging the free use of certain of its patents in connection with Free or Open Source Software on the following terms:Definitions
"Free or Open Source Software" means any software that is licensed or otherwise distributed to the public in such a way that satisfies any version of "The Open Source Definition" provided by the Open Source Initiative at opensource.org/osd or any version of "The Free Software Definition" provided by the Free Software Foundation at gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html."Pledged Patents" means the specific patents listed by Google at the following URL designated for purposes of this Pledge: www.google.com/patents/opnpledge/patents/. Google may supplement this list of patents from time to time in its discretion.
"Pledge" means the promise set forth in the first two paragraphs under "Our Pledge."
Our Pledge
Google promises to each person or entity that develops, distributes or uses Free or Open Source Software (a "Pledge Recipient") that Google will not bring a lawsuit or other legal proceeding against a Pledge Recipient for patent infringement under any Pledged Patents based on the Pledge Recipient's (i) development, manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, lease, license, exportation, importation or distribution of any Free or Open Source Software, or (ii) internal-only use of Free or Open Software, either as obtained by Pledge Recipient or as modified by Pledge Recipient, in standalone form or combined with hardware or with any other software ("Internal-Only Use"). The preceding Pledge does not apply to any infringement of the Pledged Patents by hardware or by software that is not Free or Open Source Software, or by Free or Open Source Software combined with special purpose hardware or with software that is not Free or Open Source Software (except Internal-Only Use).It is Google's intent that the Pledge be legally binding, irrevocable (except as otherwise provided under "Defensive Termination" below) and enforceable against Google and entities controlled by Google, and their successors and assigns. Thus, Google will require any person or entity to whom it sells or transfers any of the Pledged Patents to agree, in writing, to abide by the Pledge and to place a similar requirement on any subsequent transferees to do the same.
The Pledge is not an assurance that any of the Pledged Patents cover any particular software or hardware or are enforceable, that the Pledged Patents are all patents that do or may cover any particular Free or Open Source Software, that any activities covered by the Pledge will not infringe patents or other intellectual property rights of a third party, or that Google will add any other patents to the list of Pledged Patents. Except as expressly stated in the Pledge, no other rights are waived or granted by Google or received by a Pledge Recipient, whether by implication, estoppel, or otherwise.
Defensive Termination
Because our Pledge is a promise not to assert certain Google patents without requiring any payment from a Pledge Recipient, we think it is only fair that we condition the Pledge upon the Pledge Recipient (and its affiliates) not asserting or profiting from the assertion of patents against Google, its affiliates, or its products or services. Accordingly, Google reserves the right to terminate the Pledge, to the extent Google deems necessary to protect itself, its affiliates, or its products and services ("Defensive Termination") with respect to any Pledge Recipient (or affiliate) who files a lawsuit or other legal proceeding for patent infringement or who has a direct financial interest in such lawsuit or other legal proceeding (an "Asserting Party") against Google or any entity controlled by Google or against any third party based in whole or in part on any product or service developed by or on behalf of Google or any entity controlled by Google.Any Defensive Termination by Google with respect to an Asserting Party shall have the same effect as if Our Pledge was never extended to such Asserting Party in the first instance. Google, in its sole discretion, shall determine the manner and terms, if any, by which rights under Pledged Patents may be extended to an Asserting Party after that Asserting Party's lawsuit or other legal proceeding is permanently dismissed, terminated or withdrawn in writing.
Mistaken Assertion
Should Google ever initiate a lawsuit or other legal proceeding for patent infringement based on software which is not the subject of a Defensive Termination, and then receive written notice from the party against whom such lawsuit or other legal proceeding has been filed providing sufficient information for Google to reasonably determine that such software in fact satisfies the requirements of the Pledge, then Google will use reasonable efforts to withdraw such lawsuit (or the applicable claims therein) or move to terminate such other legal proceeding (or the applicable portions thereof) within sixty (60) days after receiving such written notice.
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Even graphene has weak spots
Mar. 28, 2013 ? Graphene, the single-atom-thick form of carbon, has become famous for its extraordinary strength. But less-than-perfect sheets of the material show unexpected weakness, according to researchers at Rice University in Houston and Tsinghua University in Beijing.
The kryptonite to this Superman of materials is in the form of a seven-atom ring that inevitably occurs at the junctions of grain boundaries in graphene, where the regular array of hexagonal units is interrupted. At these points, under tension, polycrystalline graphene has about half the strength of pristine samples of the material.
Calculations by the Rice team of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues in China were reported this month in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters. They could be important to materials scientists using graphene in applications where its intrinsic strength is a key feature, like composite materials and stretchable or flexible electronics.
Graphene sheets grown in a lab, often via chemical vapor deposition, are almost neverperfect arrays of hexagons, Yakobson said. Domains of graphene that start to grow on a substrate are not necessarily lined up with each other, and when these islands merge, they look like quilts, with patterns going in every direction.
The lines in polycrystalline sheets are called grain boundaries, and the atoms at these boundaries are occasionally forced to change the way they bond by the unbreakable rules of topology. Most common of the "defects" in graphene formation studied by Yakobson's group are adjacent five- and seven-atom rings that are a little weaker than the hexagons around them.
The team calculated that the particular seven-atom rings found at junctions of three islands are the weakest points, where cracks are most likely to form. These are the end points of grain boundaries between the islands and are ongoing trouble spots, the researchers found.
"In the past, people studying what happens at the grain boundary looked at it as an infinite line," Yakobson said. "It's simpler that way, computationally and conceptually, because they could just look at a single segment and have it represent the whole."
But in the real world, he said, "these lines form a network. Graphene is usually a quilt made from many pieces. I thought we should test the junctions."
They determined through molecular dynamics simulation and "good old mathematical analysis" that in a graphene quilt, the grain boundaries act like levers that amplify the tension (through a dislocation pileup) and concentrate it at the defect either where the three domains meet or where a grain boundary between two domains ends. "The details are complicated but, basically, the longer the lever, the greater the amplification on the weakest point," Yakobson said. "The force is concentrated there, and that's where it starts breaking."
"Force on these junctions starts the cracks, and they propagate like cracks in a windshield," said Vasilii Artyukhov, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice and co-author of the paper. "In metals, cracks stop eventually because they become blunt as they propagate. But in brittle materials, that doesn't happen. And graphene is a brittle material, so a crack might go a really long way."
Yakobson said that conceptually, the calculations show what metallurgists recognize as the Hall-Petch Effect, a measure of the strength of crystalline materials with similar grain boundaries. "It's one of the pillars of large-scale material mechanics," he said. "For graphene, we call this a pseudo Hall-Petch, because the effect is very similar even though the mechanism is very different.
"Any defect, of course, does something to the material," Yakobson said. "But this finding is important because you cannot avoid the effect in polycrystalline graphene. It's also ironic, because polycrystals are often considered when larger domains are needed. We show that as it gets larger, it gets weaker.
"If you need a patch of graphene for mechanical performance, you'd better go for perfect monocrystals or graphene with rather small domains that reduce the stress concentration."
Co-authors of the paper are graduate student Zhigong Song and his adviser, Zhiping Xu, an associate professor of engineering mechanics at Tsinghua. Xu is a former researcher in Yakobson's group at Rice. Yakobson is Rice's Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and professor of chemistry.
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation supported the work at Rice. The National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program and Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology of China supported the work at Tsinghua.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rice University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Zhigong Song, Vasilii I. Artyukhov, Boris I. Yakobson, Zhiping Xu. Pseudo Hall?Petch Strength Reduction in Polycrystalline Graphene. Nano Letters, 2013; : 130325121321001 DOI: 10.1021/nl400542n
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/xg9lzfuF17M/130328142410.htm
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Friday, March 29, 2013
Giant robot jellyfish reporting for recon duty, sir (video)
As if there weren't enough real jellyfish around to trigger our thalassophobia, researchers at Virginia Tech have created Cryo -- an eight-armed autonomous robot that mimics jelly movement with the help of a flexible silicone hat. The man-sized jellybot altogether dwarfs previous efforts, hence the upgrade from small tank to swimming pool for mock field tests. And unlike the passively propelled bots we've seen recently, Cryo runs on batteries, with the researchers hoping to better replicate the energy-efficient nature of jelly movement to eventually increase Cryo's charge cycle to months instead of hours. That's also the reason these robotic jellyfish are getting bigger -- because the larger they are, the further they can go. Potential uses include ocean monitoring and perhaps clearing oil spills, but the US Navy, which is funding the work, sees an opportunity to recruit jellies for underwater surveillance -- a job the researchers say is suited to their natural-looking disguise. But, before the tables are turned, you can spy on Cryo for yourself in the video below.
Via: Wired
Source: Virginia Tech (Vimeo)
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/3kT_NsemL_U/
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Thursday, March 28, 2013
Position Yourself for Success: A Solo Professional's Marketing ...
Great marketing has the power to position your business so your ideal clients find you, follow you, and buy from you.
Think about it: if you?re the first one people think about, you?ll be the first one they buy from. Nice place to be, right?
However, somebody somewhere started making marketing really complicated, especially for solo-professionals and other small businesses. With so many marketing tactics and doo-dahs everywhere, where do you begin?
My advice is to position yourself so your ideal clients know that you?re the one for them, they know the type of results they can get from you, and how you stand head and shoulders above your competition.
Go through this handy checklist and let it guide your path to success.
-
You understand your expertise and how it helps others.
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You confidently claim your expertise without undervaluing it,?over-inflating?it, or making false claims
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You communicate your expertise in results based language so prospective clients ?get? you and want to work with you
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You know who your ideal client is.
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You know where to find your ideal client.
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You understand how to price your services
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You are able to serve clients in a way that leverages your time yet still delivers maximum results
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Your branding is consistent, current, and relevant
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Your marketing is consistent, current, and relevant
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You have a network of colleagues, referral partners, and other businesses who share opportunities with you
When you have all 10 of these in place, your business can go beyond where you are and put you on a whole new level. Whether you?re a start-up or established business, keeping these tips in mind will keep you visible to the right people and attracting the most lucrative of opportunities.
Action Step:?Some of you reading this are realizing you need a second set of eyes to evaluate and strategize around your business. ?Contact me directly?for information on working with me to put these components into place.
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U.S. Strategic Helium Reserve Dwindles, Prompting Supply Concerns And Legislative Action
By John Kemp
LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Bipartisan bills introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate aim to avert the imminent shutdown of the Federal Helium Reserve, which provides a third of all the gas consumed worldwide, and develop a proper market to avoid a long-term crunch in supplies of one of the world's most critical raw materials.
Helium is best known for filling party balloons and making people talk with a squeaky voice.
But its properties as the second-lightest element, chemically unreactive, and with a boiling point just 4 degrees above absolute zero, give it an essential role in a range of cutting-edge scientific applications.
The biggest uses are to cool the superconducting magnets used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners; help manufacture semiconductors and fibre optic cables; and, purge and pressurise the liquid hydrogen/oxygen propulsion systems used on space rockets, including the giant Delta IV launch vehicles that put spy satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Prices for refined helium sold to end-users have quadrupled from $40 per thousand cubic feet in 2000 to $160 in 2012, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which warned the Natural Resources Committee of the House of Representatives last month of "urgent issues facing the Bureau of Land Management's storage and sale of helium reserves."
Availability has fluctuated wildly in the last seven years. Problems at helium refineries in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as start up delays with new refining facilities in Qatar in 2006, led to shortages and rationing.
Reliable and affordable supplies are essential. But more than 40 percent of the helium used in the United States, and roughly a third of the gas consumed worldwide, is sourced from a stockpile in northern Texas left over from the Cold War.
As a result, helium is one of the last commodities where the government still drives prices. The price charged by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which runs the Federal Helium Reserve, effectively sets minimum prices charged for helium around the world.
However, legislative authorisation for sales from the reserve will expire in the next few months, leaving lawmakers scrambling to extend the sales programme temporarily, while putting in place proper price incentives and a market to enable a private helium production industry to flourish in the long term.
WHY HELIUM MATTERS SO MUCH
"The availability of helium at low prices and the stability of the market ... contributed to the rapid growth of MRI as a (medical) diagnostic tool in the 1980s," according to the U.S. National Research Council's report on "Selling the Nation's Helium Reserve." By 2010, when the report was published, there were already more than 22,000 MRI machines in the U.S. and abroad.
In recent years, MRI makers have adapted their systems to use smaller quantities of helium and recycle more of it. But there is no substitute at the present time. Without an adequate helium supply, MRI scanners would cease working.
Helium is irreplaceable in many other applications. "Helium is just one of a number of gasses used to make our memory chips, but it's absolutely vital. To put it simply, without helium, we cannot operate," one American semiconductor manufacturer warned the Natural Resources Committee.
In 2011, Brookhaven National Laboratory was forced to delay restarting its particle accelerator, the second most powerful in the world, following an electrical fault, because of delivery problems obtaining fresh supplies of helium.
RECOVERABLE SOURCES OF GAS
The atmospheric concentration of helium, about 5.2 parts per million, is too low to make it economic to extract helium from air.
Usable helium comes instead from the decay of uranium, thorium and other radioactive elements deep underground. Most of it is lost to the atmosphere, but small quantities are trapped in the same underground formations as natural gas and carbon dioxide, where it can be recovered along with natural gas.
Most gas fields do not produce helium in sufficient concentrations to make it worthwhile separating out. But a few contain much higher concentrations that support commercial helium extraction. Exxon's Riley Ridge field in Wyoming contains 0.6 percent helium. Some fields in southern Kansas contain as much as 1.9 percent.
Helium can be extracted as a by-product at natural gas processing plants that extract liquids like ethane, propane and butane. If the concentration is high enough, it may be worth constructing specialist facilities to remove it. Most helium is currently produced this way, which requires a minimum concentration of about 0.3 percent.
In future, however, the most promising source of helium is the giant liquefaction plants used to produce LNG. Helium is left as a gas when methane is chilled to become a liquid. LNG facilities may be able to extract helium commercially at concentrations of just 0.04 percent.
1996 HELIUM PRIVATISATION ACT
Helium's strategic importance was realised during the First World War, when it was used as a safer alternative to hydrogen to lift reconnaissance and weather balloons.
The 1920 Mineral Leasing Act reserved all helium produced on federal lands for the federal government. In 1925, the Helium Act declared helium was a critical war material, controlled production and curbed exports.
Production underwent a massive expansion during the Second World War, then again during the 1950s and 1960s as part of the cold war space race and missile programme.
The 1960 Helium Amendment Act gave natural gas producers financial incentives to separate helium and sell it to the federal government. It also established a strategic helium storage facility in the Bush Dome Reservoir, a partially depleted gas field near Amarillo in Texas.
Several companies built separation facilities at the most promising gas fields in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Roughly 36 billion cubic feet of helium were bought by the government and injected into Bush Dome.
The stockpile borrowed almost $300 million from the U.S. Treasury to acquire and fill the facility. The aim was to pay the money back plus interest, as well as cover all operating costs, when the helium was eventually sold to consumers such as NASA and the Department of Defense. The loans were supposed to be repaid by 1985.
By 1973 it had become clear helium demand would never be as high as originally forecast. New injections into the reservoir matched withdrawals. The stockpile remained about 35 billion cubic feet throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The deadline for repayment was eventually extended to 1995. But by 1995, the amount owed had spiralled to $1.3 billion, including accumulated interest, and it became clear the "helium debt" would never be cleared.
The Clinton administration and Congress decided to get out of the helium business. The 1996 Helium Privatisation Act ordered the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to close all government-owned facilities for refining helium.
It froze the helium debt, and ordered the Bureau to start selling crude helium from the reserve at a steady rate over 10 years starting no later than 2005 at prices sufficient to repay the debt and cover operating costs.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
The law directed BLM to carry out stockpile sales "with minimum market disruption," but it has not worked out as intended.
The cost-recovery pricing formula ensured BLM was originally charging much more for its helium than other suppliers, minimising the market impact. BLM sales were originally priced at about double the normal market rate.
But BLM has become such an enormous seller, in a market with few other competitors and substantial barriers to entry, that other suppliers have taken it as a benchmark, and moved their own prices higher to match it. Helium prices have shifted upwards as a result.
The main companies involved in refining and distribution are Air Products and Chemicals, Linde, Praxair and American Air Liquide.
Meanwhile, helium demand has been growing more rapidly than expected, especially outside the U.S. in the burgeoning semiconductor and technology industries of Asia.
Worldwide consumption rose 3.6 percent per year between 1990 and 2008, from 3.28 billion cubic feet to 6.3 billion, including a growth spurt of 7.8 percent per year between 1996 and 2001, according to the National Research Council.
The Bureau has raised far more money from its sales than expected, meaning it will meet its target of paying off the helium debt early. At the end of September 2012, the outstanding helium debt had been reduced to just $44 million. BLM will meet its repayment deadline within a matter of months, far ahead of the original deadline of 2015.
Once the debt is repaid, the helium programme will terminate automatically under the law. Any further sales revenues will go straight to the Treasury. Unless Congress appropriates money, there will be no money to pay the salaries of the 51 full-time equivalent employees and other operating expenses, including running a crude helium enrichment unit and pipeline infrastructure.
Far more helium has been withdrawn from the reserve, earlier, than policymakers intended. "By 2008, the market price for helium began to hover near the BLM's price, leading to greater withdrawals ... than anticipated," a senior Interior Department official told the House Committee hearing.
The strategic reserve is dwindling. Much of it is being turned into refined helium and exported. By the end of September 2012, BLM had sold 16.2 billion cubic feet and had just 11.4 billion left in the conservation reserve.
As reserves have fallen, fears have grown about the long-term security of U.S. supplies. And because the BLM has become a huge supplier, it has stunted the growth of private helium production.
Similar bills introduced into the House of Representatives and published in draft form in the Senate, both with cross-party support, would try to solve some of the problems.
Both would extend the authority for stockpile sales, for one further year (the House version) or until the end of September 2014 (Senate bill).
Thereafter, the bills would permit further sales, but require at least some of them take place on an auction basis. There are some differences in the details. But the intention is to create a proper market and enable price discovery, with the ultimate aim of stimulating the creation of a private helium industry.
Both bills order BLM to disclose more information about its holdings and transactions to help create a proper market. Finally, the bills aim to encourage research into new ways to separate helium, particularly from reservoirs with low concentrations, in a bid to improve long-term security.
Also on HuffPost:
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/us-strategic-helium-reserve_n_2961771.html
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Politico SL News ? Fond memories of Fourah Bay College
By Peagie Woobay-Foday
Come October, when the heavy rains pour without stopping us, young and old, with all the fights at Model junction to get on the SU bus, which rarely came, or the overloaded taxis, we rush up Mount Aureol to achieve higher education.
A hill so promising and rewarding?
Down the ?blocks?, the boys strive hard to make it?.e nor easy don block, wata wata food nar di the canteen, blackout to name a few, but they burn their midnight candles well and the results are there?..
And for sure up & down? the difficult winding numerous steps leading to Lati Hyde and Beethoven, the ladies courageously go to classes, cook in their rooms and study hard to make their grades?
An interesting place Mount Aureol, A world of its own with the best supermarket in the world ?Third World? open 24hrs, 1st class library, though many important pages in the books for students reference work have been torn by their own very dear brothers and sisters before them (a miracle we still do our term papers and make our grades)
The Engineering students with their surveying materials at Mary Kinsley ? binoculars etc giving us the hope that the roads leading to FBC will be enlarged or new constructions may spring up after their reports, but this never happens.
The Aureol Times ? WOW! A newspaper that comes out once a year; a very scary one with all underground activities on campus revealed. But it is great and the last edition comes out during my time, and there is even ?a peagie woobay trophy? now that?s funny.
The famous night club ? SU Building ? where we can dance everyday of the week and still go to classes the next day. That building must have been giving us the energy.
The ?Bonfire? celebrating Bob Marley Night on 11 May. Only on this campus can we do that.
The march towards State House demanding student rights, famous ?Bus Tick? where all the gossip is done. The sport season, morning jogging time with singing and dancing of various halls. Bai Bureh Hall (my hall), the best hall on campus ?we de nar ya oh, we de kekte?. It is so much fun going up and down Court right.
The various social clubs on campus, fraternities, sororities with elegant dinners and speeches teaching us ethics in life after college. All done peacefully. We shall give back to the University, we say, to help improve in our little ways from funds raised through our clubs. Painting of ?bus tick? building kiosk for students, putting dust bins on campus?
The various grants students can benefit from ? Catholic scholarship, SLG as we call Sierra Leone Government Grant-in-aid, etc. I have a Catholic scholarship and my roomy has SLG. So we are sort of lucky and can survive the month. But not all are so lucky??
The debates at Mary Kinsley (great vocabularies/jargons we have that I can still recognize the writings of most FBC Alumni) and the drama concerts?.
Plus, of course, the best-organized well-run SU governments. The SU presidential campaigns, debates, candidates giving their vibes, we bombarding them with questions?.I long for the State of the Union addresses. We listen attentively as we are informed of how the Union is run, taking care of our affairs (accountability and all). It is so serious that I wonder what happens to these same people when they come down from Mount Aureol and do not keep to what they do up there. That hill must have something and I am wondering if the national government should not relocate its offices to Mount Aureol?
I must confess that I have a swell time at FBC, learn a lot. This great institution forms and shapes me for good and I owe most of my knowledge to Mount Aureol! Going through the hands of Professors like Dr Eustace Palmer, Dr Kadie Sesay (whose pure British English phonetics, I must admit, scared the hell out of me on the first day, so much so that I thought I would not survive in the English department), Mr Kenneth Osho, Dr Patrick Bernard, Mr Earnest Cole (now a Doctor) all of the English department. Then of course the French dept professors like Dr Bai-Sheka, Dr Lulu Wright, Dr Yillah, Dr Denis Bright, Mr Solomon Fofana and Mr Saidu Bangura. And in the linguistics dept, Mr Hasholu-Luke. RIP.
As the saying goes ?all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?. We work hard and party hard so finishing with a Honors degree in French and a solid linguistics package is the best I can do???.
And in my dreams, I just hope that these memories I have, these good memories, maybe shared by the current students of this Great University. That the students will be united and work hard and live life on campus as it should be without violence but with fun.
That the campus will be enlarged and modernized. That I will be able to realize one dream, a dream of helping out at the library with good modern books.
God Bless Mama Salone.
(C) Politico 28/03/13
Source: http://politicosl.com/2013/03/fond-memories-of-fourah-bay-college/
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Amanda Knox Murder Acquittal Ruling Overturned (VIDEOS)
Amanda Knox Murder Acquittal Ruling Overturned (VIDEOS)
Amanda Knox has been ordered to stand a re-trial over the 2007 killing of her British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia. Knox said the news that the Italian court had overturned the acquittals of her and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the murder was “unfair” and “painful”. The family of the victim, Meredith Kercher, has admitted ...
Amanda Knox Murder Acquittal Ruling Overturned (VIDEOS) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/03/amanda-knox-murder-acquittal-ruling-overturned-videos/
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Oklahoma earthquake: How oil extraction shifts the ground beneath us
Oklahoma's largest recorded earthquake is the latest epicenter of a debate over the connection between fossil fuel recovery and seismic activity. To what extent does oil and gas production cause earthquakes? In the case of the 2011 Oklahoma earthquake, a new study suggests the connection is strong.
Joe Reneau displays the damage his home received in two earthquakes in less than 24 hours in Sparks, Okla. The 5.7 magnitude earthquake in November 2011 may have been the result of wastewater injection from oil production, according to a new study.
Sue Ogrocki/AP/File
EnlargeOklahoma's largest recorded earthquake may have been the result of injection wells?used for disposing wastewater from oil extraction, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, Columbia University and the US Geological Survey. Their findings challenge the state's own geological survey, which concluded the 5.7 magnitude earthquake was likely "the result of natural causes."
Skip to next paragraphWhy It Matters
Energy: The increase in US oil production can help reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil.?
Environment: Wastewater injection techniques used in conventional and unconventional fossil-fuel extraction are linked to seismic activity.
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It's the latest back-and-forth in a decades-long debate over the connection between fossil fuel recovery and seismic activity. To what extent does oil and gas production shift the ground beneath us? When does the risk of seismic activity outweigh the benefit of increased energy resources??
The 2011 event in Oklahoma is the largest earthquake linked to wastewater injection, according to the study, published Tuesday in the journal Geology.
?There?s something important about getting unexpectedly large earthquakes out of small systems that we have discovered here,? said study co-author Geoffrey Abers, a seismologist at Columbia University, in a press release. His conclusion is that ?the risk of humans inducing large earthquakes from even small injection activities is probably higher? than previously thought.?
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Writing While the Rice Boils: Self-Publishing Tips for Indie Authors
?These days, you can barely click a link without hearing something about ebooks, self-publishing, or indie authors. Along with all the other decisions and jobs a writer undertakes, this one is a big one. I still don't know which way I'll go when my manuscript is ready, so I figure it's a good idea to stay on top of what's happening.
And there's a lot happening.
A new title.
There's something new. Authors who start out putting their own book up for sale and later accepting print deals are now called 'hybrid authors'. Agent Kristin Nelson explains what's going on with hybrid authors.
One of those authors is Nelson's own Hugh Howey, the author of Wool. Nelson (and many other agents) courted him. A nice way for things to work out, right? Check out Howey's own account of how things went down.
?
Another author enjoying great ebook sales that led to a print deal is Jennifer L. Armentrout, with her book Wait for You. Forbes published an article on her, titled The Fast-Track to Making a Million Dollars from Writing Books.
A new perception.
There used to be quite a stigma attached to those who took on publishing themselves. There's still some stigma, but not like it used to be. In fact, indie authors are increasingly proving that they don't need publishers at all--or might accept them on their own terms. Check out this post called Self-Publishers: The New Generation of Cool Kids.
Even the Big Six (or five) are discovering huge sales in the ebook market. Lucrative electronic sales were documented by Publishers Weekly.
A new opportunity.
Many authors are discovering the benefits of publishing single short story titles and anthologies in ebook form. Author and writing teacher James Scott Bell promotes this idea. He's got a nice list of traditionally published books, but found extra money by publishing his short story titles. His article (which includes some great plotting info for short story writers) will encourage writers who have found little success querying literary journals. And speaking of literary journals, it was fascinating to read how one writer used an actual New Yorker story to query literary journals. His results are worth reading in The New Yorker Rejects Itself: A Quasi-Scientific Analysis of Slush Piles.
A new perspective.
Pricing ebooks remains a murky area. With hundreds of thousands of individuals making their own decisions, as opposed to a handful of long-standing publishers, there's a huge number of different ideas on pricing. One idea is to offer the first book in a series free, in order to entice readers to take a chance on a new author. Writer Jordyn Redwood examines this idea in Is Free Always Good? On the other hand, some authors believe that free or low-cost pricing devalues the product. Dean Wesley Smith makes some pertinent points on the subject in The New World of Publishing: Book Pricing from Another Perspective. Definitely worth some consideration.
So where do you fall? On stigma, pricing, perception, etc. Is the idea of going the indie route attractive to you? Have you already taken the plunge?
Source: http://writingwhilethericeboils.blogspot.com/2013/03/self-publishing-tips-for-indie-authors.html
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Hope for Galapagos wildlife threatened by marine invaders
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 26-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Kim Marshall-Brown
kxm@noc.ac.uk
44-023-806-96170
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)
Increasing tourism and the spread of marine invasive non-native species is threatening the unique plant and marine life around the Galapagos Islands.
Increasing tourism and the spread of marine invasive non-native species is threatening the unique plant and marine life around the Galapagos Islands.
UK scientists from the Universities of Southampton and Dundee are currently investigating the extent of the problem following a grant from the UK Government's Darwin Initiative, which aims to protect biodiversity and promote sustainability around the world.
UK Environment Minister Richard Benyon said:
"The UK has played a major role in supporting the establishment of the Galapagos Marine Reserve and our Darwin Initiative has funded a range of important projects protecting and enhancing both marine and terrestrial wildlife.
"Invasive non-native species can cause huge damage to local ecosystems and I am delighted that action is being taken to monitor this threat."
Project leader Dr Ken Collins, Ocean and Earth Science of University of Southampton based at the National Oceanography Centre said:
"Tourism is partly to blame for the influx of invasive non-native species, due to the huge rise in ships and planes from mainland Ecuador bringing in pests. In recent years, it was realised that cargo ships were carrying disease-infected mosquitoes, which were attracted to the ship's bright white deck lights. Simply changing from conventional filament bulbs to yellow sodium lamps, along with fumigation in the hold has substantially reduced the threat.
"We are trying to protect marine biodiversity by identifying newly arrived species to the Galapagos, assessing if they have the potential to compete for space and overcome other species of algae and native corals."
White coral, which has already been reported off the mainland Ecuador coast (600 miles away), is also causing anxiety. It could easily hitch a lift on the frequent vessels supplying Galapagos tourists and residents. Already, two new algae species have been found in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, a World Heritage Site.
Another species causing concern and which has the potential to overwhelm natural populations is the Indian Ocean lionfish. This fish colonised the Caribbean through accidental release from an aquarium and has spread through the entire Caribbean in the last decade. Its rapacious appetite has led to the decimation of coral reef fish populations in the southern Caribbean. Lionfish can consume prey up to two thirds of their own length and data shows that they can eat 20 small wrasses in 30 minutes. Their stomachs can expand by up to 30 times in volume when consuming a large catch. The Panama Canal could provide a short cut to Ecuador's Pacific coast and then the Galapagos.
One of Ken Collin's PhD students is Fadilah Ali, who is at the University of Southampton studying how the lionfish is eating its way through coral reef fish populations in the southern Caribbean. For over a hundred years Southampton, one the UK's busiest ports has been receiving marine hitchhikers from around the world, changing the entire balance of its underwater marine plants and animals. One example is the Pacific Oyster, which is being studied in the Solent region by another of Ken's PhD students Steff Deane.
Prof Terry Dawson, SAGES Chair in Global Environmental Change at Dundee, added,
"Invasive species are becoming one of the greatest threats to biodiversity on a global scale. The Galapagos islands are particularly vulnerable due to the fact that much of the indigenous wildlife have evolved over millions of years in the absence of predators, competition, pests and diseases, which makes them very susceptible to the negative impacts of aggressive non-native species.
"We are very pleased to have Inti Keith, one of the staff of the Charles Darwin Research Station, registered with the University of Dundee to study for her PhD on this important topic. Her extensive local knowledge of the marine environment of the Galapagos Islands gives us a head start in developing the research to tackle the issue.
The team have recently returned from the Galapagos, where they met the Ecuadorian Navy and DIRNEA, the national maritime authority, to discuss control measures and helped take part in the first underwater survey of the Galapagos capital port.
###
Notes to Editors
For more information contact National Oceanography Centre Press Officer Kim Marshall-Brown on 023-8059-6170 or email on kxm@noc.ac.uk.
Images of the researchers with lionfish and invasive algae are available from Dropbox, go to http://bit.ly/11GrNZI.
1. A previous Darwin Initiative funded project (1997-2000) supported the establishment of a new Galapagos Marine Management Plan that led to the declaration of Galapagos Marine Reserve as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This year the control of marine invasives is being incorporated into its management plan.
The UK Darwin Initiative is supporting this project, which is led by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the University of Southampton. Other collaborators are the Galapagos National Park Service, the Ecuadorian Navy's Oceanographic Institute, the Ecuadorian Biosecurity Agency, and the University of Dundee.
Further information on the Darwin Initiative projects can be found at darwin.defra.gov.uk/.
2. The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is the UK's leading institution for integrated coastal and deep ocean research. NOC operates the Royal Research Ships James Cook and Discovery and develops technology for coastal and deep ocean research. Working with its partners NOC provides long-term marine science capability including: sustained ocean observing, mapping and surveying; data management and scientific advice.
NOC operates at two sites, Southampton and Liverpool, with the headquarters based in Southampton. Among the resources that NOC provides on behalf of the UK are the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems (MARS) facility, the National Tide and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF), the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) and British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility (BOSCORF).
The National Oceanography Centre is wholly owned by the Natural Environment Research Council.
3. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.
With over 23,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover well in excess of 435 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. It combines academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.
The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres including the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Institute for Life Sciences, the Web Science Trust and Doctoral training Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute and is a partner of the National Oceanography Centre at the Southampton waterfront campus.
4. The University of Dundee is one of Scotland's leading institutions and one of the world's top 250 universities. Dundee is internationally recognised for the quality of its teaching and research, spread across four Colleges Arts & Social Sciences; Art, Science & Engineering; Life Sciences; and Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing.
The University is a major employer in the east of Scotland and a hub for investment in biotechnology and the creative industries. Dundee was voted best in the UK for student experience in the 2012 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey. See http://www.dundee.ac.uk for further details.
The University's School of the Environment comprises Town & Regional Planning, Architecture, Geography and Environmental Science.
By bringing together distinct but related subjects, it has been possible to enhance inter-disciplinary research, and research-led teaching and create innovative degree programmes aimed at finding solutions to the social and environmental issues underpinning many of the world's most pressing problems.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 26-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Kim Marshall-Brown
kxm@noc.ac.uk
44-023-806-96170
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)
Increasing tourism and the spread of marine invasive non-native species is threatening the unique plant and marine life around the Galapagos Islands.
Increasing tourism and the spread of marine invasive non-native species is threatening the unique plant and marine life around the Galapagos Islands.
UK scientists from the Universities of Southampton and Dundee are currently investigating the extent of the problem following a grant from the UK Government's Darwin Initiative, which aims to protect biodiversity and promote sustainability around the world.
UK Environment Minister Richard Benyon said:
"The UK has played a major role in supporting the establishment of the Galapagos Marine Reserve and our Darwin Initiative has funded a range of important projects protecting and enhancing both marine and terrestrial wildlife.
"Invasive non-native species can cause huge damage to local ecosystems and I am delighted that action is being taken to monitor this threat."
Project leader Dr Ken Collins, Ocean and Earth Science of University of Southampton based at the National Oceanography Centre said:
"Tourism is partly to blame for the influx of invasive non-native species, due to the huge rise in ships and planes from mainland Ecuador bringing in pests. In recent years, it was realised that cargo ships were carrying disease-infected mosquitoes, which were attracted to the ship's bright white deck lights. Simply changing from conventional filament bulbs to yellow sodium lamps, along with fumigation in the hold has substantially reduced the threat.
"We are trying to protect marine biodiversity by identifying newly arrived species to the Galapagos, assessing if they have the potential to compete for space and overcome other species of algae and native corals."
White coral, which has already been reported off the mainland Ecuador coast (600 miles away), is also causing anxiety. It could easily hitch a lift on the frequent vessels supplying Galapagos tourists and residents. Already, two new algae species have been found in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, a World Heritage Site.
Another species causing concern and which has the potential to overwhelm natural populations is the Indian Ocean lionfish. This fish colonised the Caribbean through accidental release from an aquarium and has spread through the entire Caribbean in the last decade. Its rapacious appetite has led to the decimation of coral reef fish populations in the southern Caribbean. Lionfish can consume prey up to two thirds of their own length and data shows that they can eat 20 small wrasses in 30 minutes. Their stomachs can expand by up to 30 times in volume when consuming a large catch. The Panama Canal could provide a short cut to Ecuador's Pacific coast and then the Galapagos.
One of Ken Collin's PhD students is Fadilah Ali, who is at the University of Southampton studying how the lionfish is eating its way through coral reef fish populations in the southern Caribbean. For over a hundred years Southampton, one the UK's busiest ports has been receiving marine hitchhikers from around the world, changing the entire balance of its underwater marine plants and animals. One example is the Pacific Oyster, which is being studied in the Solent region by another of Ken's PhD students Steff Deane.
Prof Terry Dawson, SAGES Chair in Global Environmental Change at Dundee, added,
"Invasive species are becoming one of the greatest threats to biodiversity on a global scale. The Galapagos islands are particularly vulnerable due to the fact that much of the indigenous wildlife have evolved over millions of years in the absence of predators, competition, pests and diseases, which makes them very susceptible to the negative impacts of aggressive non-native species.
"We are very pleased to have Inti Keith, one of the staff of the Charles Darwin Research Station, registered with the University of Dundee to study for her PhD on this important topic. Her extensive local knowledge of the marine environment of the Galapagos Islands gives us a head start in developing the research to tackle the issue.
The team have recently returned from the Galapagos, where they met the Ecuadorian Navy and DIRNEA, the national maritime authority, to discuss control measures and helped take part in the first underwater survey of the Galapagos capital port.
###
Notes to Editors
For more information contact National Oceanography Centre Press Officer Kim Marshall-Brown on 023-8059-6170 or email on kxm@noc.ac.uk.
Images of the researchers with lionfish and invasive algae are available from Dropbox, go to http://bit.ly/11GrNZI.
1. A previous Darwin Initiative funded project (1997-2000) supported the establishment of a new Galapagos Marine Management Plan that led to the declaration of Galapagos Marine Reserve as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This year the control of marine invasives is being incorporated into its management plan.
The UK Darwin Initiative is supporting this project, which is led by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the University of Southampton. Other collaborators are the Galapagos National Park Service, the Ecuadorian Navy's Oceanographic Institute, the Ecuadorian Biosecurity Agency, and the University of Dundee.
Further information on the Darwin Initiative projects can be found at darwin.defra.gov.uk/.
2. The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is the UK's leading institution for integrated coastal and deep ocean research. NOC operates the Royal Research Ships James Cook and Discovery and develops technology for coastal and deep ocean research. Working with its partners NOC provides long-term marine science capability including: sustained ocean observing, mapping and surveying; data management and scientific advice.
NOC operates at two sites, Southampton and Liverpool, with the headquarters based in Southampton. Among the resources that NOC provides on behalf of the UK are the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems (MARS) facility, the National Tide and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF), the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) and British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility (BOSCORF).
The National Oceanography Centre is wholly owned by the Natural Environment Research Council.
3. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.
With over 23,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover well in excess of 435 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. It combines academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.
The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres including the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Institute for Life Sciences, the Web Science Trust and Doctoral training Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute and is a partner of the National Oceanography Centre at the Southampton waterfront campus.
4. The University of Dundee is one of Scotland's leading institutions and one of the world's top 250 universities. Dundee is internationally recognised for the quality of its teaching and research, spread across four Colleges Arts & Social Sciences; Art, Science & Engineering; Life Sciences; and Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing.
The University is a major employer in the east of Scotland and a hub for investment in biotechnology and the creative industries. Dundee was voted best in the UK for student experience in the 2012 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey. See http://www.dundee.ac.uk for further details.
The University's School of the Environment comprises Town & Regional Planning, Architecture, Geography and Environmental Science.
By bringing together distinct but related subjects, it has been possible to enhance inter-disciplinary research, and research-led teaching and create innovative degree programmes aimed at finding solutions to the social and environmental issues underpinning many of the world's most pressing problems.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/nocs-hfg032613.php
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