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miércoles, 2 de junio de 2010

Today Only: Savings Coupon, Half-Off Shipping & Free Necklace Offer!



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The Literacy Site - Building Blocks

Dear Supporter,

Just yesterday, June 1st, people all over the world took part in events to celebrate International Children's Day. For almost 90 years, this global holiday has focused on the rights, health, and education of young people. Some countries even declare June 1st a national holiday: Kids get the day off from school to go out and, well...be kids!

Click Every DayAlthough International Children's Day is not a widely recognized holiday here in the U.S., you can still do your part on behalf of young people at The Literacy Site each and every day. Make your clicks on the orange button to help fund free books for kids; keep up on the latest news on literacy and education; or take action by signing one of our online petitions. Together, our community that cares can help bring about some amazing changes in the lives of kids all over the world.

Three Reasons To Shop Today

Today, June 2nd (through 11:59 p.m. PT), is your last chance to take advantage of two great cost-cutting opportunities in our do-good store. Start by taking $5 off your $25 order: All you need to do is enter TAKEFIVE into the promotion code box when you checkout to cash in on these savings. It's also the last day to get half off all of our shipping on your $25 U.S. or $50 international order. And we do mean all shipping options: Standard, 3-Day, 2-Day, or Next Day deliveries.

Free Necklace!If that weren't enough, if you shop before the stroke of midnight tonight, we'll throw a little something extra in with your order, absolutely free: a Peace Love Harmony Hoop Necklace! This triple-dose of inspiration features three silver-tone hoops, each engraved with one of these positive attributes. All are strung on a faux-suede cord making for a simple, yet impactful everyday accessory. Knowing that each item you purchase in our do-good store gives at least one book to a child in need is perhaps the greatest gift of all: Shop today.

On behalf of young people across the globe, we thank you.

Sincerely,
signature- Tim Kunin, Greg Hesterberg

Tim Kunin & Greg Hesterberg
timkunin@theliteracysite.com
greghesterberg@theliteracysite.com
The Literacy Site
The Literacy Site store

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Don't Let Mitsubishi Destroy a Natural Treasure



Save Alaska's Bristol Bay. Stop the Disastrous Pebble Mine.

STOP MITSUBISHI.
SAVE BRISTOL BAY.

Beluga whales are at risk
Protest Pebble Mine
Speak out now to be heard at Mitsubishi's Shareholders Meeting on June 24 -- before Alaska's unspoiled Bristol Bay watershed is ruined.
Dear Raul,

"America does not want the Pebble Mine! Stay out of Bristol Bay!"

That's the Earth Day message we delivered -- in the form of a Petition signed by more than 100,000 Americans -- to foreign mining giant Anglo American at its Shareholders Meeting in London last month.

Now it's time to ratchet up the pressure on another mega-company behind the disastrous Pebble Mine: the Mitsubishi Corporation.

Please sign our new Petition of Protest so that your voice can be heard loud and clear at Mitsubishi's annual Shareholders Meeting in Tokyo on June 24.

Nothing less than an American natural treasure is at stake. Bristol Bay is home to orcas and beluga whales, wild moose and caribou, and one of only two populations of freshwater harbor seals in the world -- all intimately connected to the health of the bay and its world-class salmon runs.

Those salmon runs also support thousands of sustainable jobs in fishing and tourism as well as Alaska Natives who depend on the salmon for food.

Anglo American and Mitsubishi couldn't pick a much worse place on the planet to dig a 2,000-foot-deep open-pit mine.

Sited in a known earthquake zone, the Pebble Mine's colossal earthen dams -- which are supposed to hold back some 10 billion tons of mining waste mixed with toxic chemicals -- are a disaster waiting to happen.

But it wouldn't even take an earthquake to irreparably contaminate this unspoiled corner of Alaska. Just constructing the Pebble Mine -- before it goes into full-scale operation -- will permanently destroy over 60 miles of salmon habitat.

If Bristol Bay's world-famous salmon runs collapse, so could the entire ecosystem -- not to mention the communities that rely on salmon for their very subsistence. That's why a vast majority of Native Alaskans oppose the Pebble Mine.

Please stand in solidarity with Alaska's Native communities by making your voice heard at Mitsubishi's Shareholders Meeting.

It is unconscionable for a company that sells so many cars, trucks, and electronics in the United States to sacrifice a spectacular piece of America's heritage.

Will Mitsubishi back down when faced with worldwide opposition? It did 10 years ago.

When Mitsubishi and the Mexican government planned a massive industrial salt plant in the planet's last untouched gray whale nursery at San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico, NRDC joined with leading Mexican environmental groups to oppose it.

Working with an international coalition, we brought public opinion to bear on Mitsubishi -- deluging the company with more than one million petitions. In the end, the Mexican government called a halt to the project, and Mitsubishi abandoned its salt plant project!

Today, Mitsubishi needs to know that proceeding with the Pebble Mine will give the company a black eye in the view of millions of American consumers.


Please tell Mitsubishi's CEO that you will vigorously oppose his company's efforts to build a mega-mine that will destroy our natural heritage, devastate Alaskan Native communities, and contaminate Alaska's wild salmon paradise.

Let me know that you'll help us stop Mitsubishi and defeat the disastrous Pebble Mine.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

P.S. Hurry -- with the Mitsubishi Shareholders Meeting only weeks away, we don't have much time to collect at least 100,000 signatures on our Petition. Please act now when your signature will do the most good!


 

 

martes, 25 de mayo de 2010

Secret Space Plane Sighted in the Night Sky


Space Weather News for May 25, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

X-37B SIGHTINGS: Amateur satellite watchers have spotted a US Air Force space plane similar in appearance to NASA's space shuttle circling Earth in a heretofore secret orbit.  Known as the "X-37B," it can be seen in the night sky shining about as brightly as the stars of the Big Dipper. Flyby predictions and more information may be found at http://spaceweather.com .

Would you like to turn your iPhone into an X-37B tracker?  There's an app for that: http://simpleflybys.com .

AURORA WATCH:  A magnetic filament on the sun erupted yesterday (May 24th), and the blast hurled a coronal mass ejection in the general direction of Earth.  High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras around May 27th when the advancing cloud is likely to deal a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field.



sábado, 22 de mayo de 2010

MNN Daily Briefing: Birds in the Urban Forest


MNN Daily
Good morning! And welcome to the Daily Briefing for the weekend of May 22. To stay on top of Earth-friendly news all day, visit us at Mother Nature Network.

THE BIRDS AND THE TREES: As songbirds migrate across the United States each fall and spring, even tiny urban forests may offer a big boost to their chances for survival, according to a new study in the journal Landscape Ecology. Researchers used data from radio tags to learn the Swainson's thrush (pictured) often rests and refuels in small tree clusters while making its grueling cross-country trips, and they even deduced how the bird decides when to pull over. "We were able to record how long the birds were staying, and we found that it was not necessarily the forest size that was influencing the birds," one of the study's co-authors tells the BBC. "Instead, they were responding to internal factors, such as [the amount of] fat reserves they had." In other words, it's like a hungry family settling for fast food on a road trip instead of holding out for something better. But unlike McDonald's and Taco Bell, bird-friendly forests may be getting harder and harder to find, the authors write: "With the expansion of urban areas worldwide, migrating songbirds increasingly encounter fragmented landscapes where habitat patches are embedded in an urban matrix." Since land birds spend up to 90 percent of their migrations resting and regaining energy, the researchers say their study shows the importance of even minor tree-conservation efforts. "These findings suggest that remnant forests within urban areas have conservation value for Swainson's thrushes and, potentially, other migrant land birds," one says. "Obviously, larger forest patches are better, but even smaller ones are worth saving." (Source: BBC News)
 
CAR TALK: Toyota has announced that it will purchase $50 million in stock of the electric car company Tesla during its initial public offering of stock later this year. The joint venture will operate out of the recently shuttered auto plant known as Nuumi in Freemont, Calif. Listeners of the popular This American Life radio show will be familiar with the Nummi plant, which revolutionized car assembly in the mid-1980s. (The radio show recently dedicated an entire hour to a report about the unique plant.) As MNN's car blogger Jim Motavalli reports in the New York Times, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the new facilities "could create more than 1,000 green jobs in California." The Associated Press reports that the embattled Toyota is hoping, among other things, that its investment in the up-and-coming Tesla will help its recently tarnished image over faulty car components. As for Tesla, the investment comes with the added benefit of years of Toyota know-how. "We look forward to learning and benefiting from Toyota's legendary engineering, manufacturing and production expertise," says Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive (who, apparently, was the inspiration for Iron Man's Tony Stark). (Sources: New York TimesLos Angeles Times, USA Today, This American Life, Associated Press)
 
DISPERSION IMMERSION: The chemical dispersants being used to break up the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are just too risky, the EPA has decided, just a few weeks after the agency gave BP its blessing to use them. In a statement released Thursday, the EPA said that, "Because of its use in unprecedented volumes and because much is unknown about the underwater use of dispersants, EPA wants to ensure BP is using the least toxic product authorized for use." BP has already sprayed nearly 700,000 gallons of Corexit dispersants onto the surface oil slick as well as the leaking oil well located a mile underwater, shattering the previous record of about 160,000 gallons used for a single spill. The EPA gave BP 24 hours to identify a less toxic alternative to Corexit, and 72 hours after that to make the switch. Corexit is made by the Illinois-based Nalco, which has hired some senior executives from major oil companies, Wired reports. According to EPA testing data, at least one competitive product, U.S. Polychemical's Dispersit SPC 1000, is already known to be less toxic and and more effective than Corexit. U.S. Polychemical tells the New York Times that it has received an order from BP and will boost its production to 20,000 gallons a day, and eventually up as high as 60,000 daily. A BP spokesman, however, also defends the company's use of Corexit up till now: "Corexit was an EPA-approved dispersant that had been widely used in the Gulf and was available in the quantities we required." (Sources: New York Times, WiredEPA)

Check out all of the news for the weekend.

Quick Links:
> 5 cheap ways to save 1,000 gallons of water a year (good for Earth, good for the wallet)
> Nearly barefoot: Three awesome minimalist shoes that may improve your running. 



Looking forward to your visit,

The team at Mother Nature Network

Atlantis and the ISS Transit the Sun


Space Weather News for May 23, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR TRANSIT: Yesterday in Switzerland, Thierry Legault photographed the International Space Station and space shuttle Atlantis passing directly in front of the sun, not far from new sunspot 1072. The veteran astrophotographer calls the image his "best ever of a solar transit," and indeed the silhouette of the docked spaceships backlit by "solar fire" is a must see.  It is featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

DOUBLE FLYBY ALERT:  Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the  ISS on Sunday, May 23rd, at 11:22 am EDT, setting the stage for double flybys over many towns and cities around the world.  Need a flyby prediction?  There's an app for that: http://simpleflybys.com .

 

domingo, 16 de mayo de 2010

Amazing 3D Space Station Movie


Space Weather News for May 14, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

Today's edition of spaceweather.com features a remarkable 3D movie of the International Space Station (ISS) recorded by French astrophotographer Thierry Legault. No special glasses are required to see the ISS pop out of your screen in amazing detail.

The movie will whet your appetite for a weekend of bright spaceships and planets.  On Friday, May 14th at 2:20 pm EDT, space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center on its final voyage to the ISS.  An on-time liftoff would set the stage for an incredible sky show.  On Saturday and Sunday, May 15th and 16th, many observers will be able to see Atlantis and the ISS flying past Venus and the crescent Moon in the evening sky.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.

Seeing the ISS is easy if you know when to look. Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE (http://spaceweatherphone.com) and we will call you when the space station is about to fly over your hometown.

 

Fwd: Gulf Spill: Can We Learn to Conserve?



NRDC Online - News you can use from NRDC's digital network Donate Now
MAY 2010, VOLUME 2
Disaster in the Gulf
WILL WE PROTECT GULF WILDLIFE?

The Gulf of Mexico, which supplies as much as a third of America's domestically caught seafood, is at risk of becoming a giant "no fishing" zone after the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform disaster. Eminent marine biologist Daniel Pauly spoke with OnEarth about the expected impacts of the BP oil spill, the damage it will likely cause to ocean life and the hope that this disaster could provide an opportunity for rebirth.

Watch the audio slideshow.

Read the full interview with Daniel Pauly.

See all of NRDC's Gulf oil spill coverage.



Simple Steps - green living fromNRDC
Low-Cost CoolingCO2 Smackdown, Step 5: Low-Cost Cooling
Before the full heat of summer hits, take steps to shrink your AC use and your energy bill with our guide to passive cooling. Read the article.



Break Our AddictionChange Shouldn't Be This Hard
It's time for our politicians to break their addiction to Big Oil so we can break ours. It's time for clean American energy.

Check out NRDC's call for Senate action on YouTube.



Take Action Now

Tell your senators to pass energy legislation that will prevent future oil spills.

Take action now »


New OnEarth

Obama's Man in the Gulf
On the eve of retirement, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was tasked with cleaning up BP's mess and protecting Gulf Coast shores from a massive oil spill. Read our exclusive interview about how he's helping reshape the government's approach to safeguarding our seas.

From Our Blogs

Rocky Kistner, press secretary
Rocky Kistner, press secretary


On the Water Next to the Oil Slick, Dolphins Swimming Nearby
"Gulls, terns and frigate birds circled overhead, oblivious to the toxic soup below. The smell quickly overcame us. It was a sharp, pungent stench of petroleum and diesel. It was ugly to see and depressing to witness. What lay underneath the water no one could tell. But the reddish brown pollutant was about two football fiends wide. And we had no idea how far it stretched."

Read the post.


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To subscribe to NRDC Online or to read it on the web, go to http://www.nrdc.org/newsletter/.

NRDC Online is a weekly email newsletter from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation's most effective environmental action organization. To learn more about what we do and how to become a member of NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org or write to us at nrdcinfo@nrdc.org.

© Copyright 2010 Natural Resources Defense Council

Photo credits -- Lorna Baldwin, PBS NewsHour; Simple Steps: I, Timmy/Flickr