Global warming threatens more than just poles and tropics

Some of the world’s most distinctive and biologically diverse climate regions – from South America’s Andes Mountains to southern and eastern Africa and the US Southwest – may be drastically altered by century’s end, endangering plant and animal life there, according to a new climate-modeling report issued March 26.

Beat the spammers with disposable email addresses

Guerrilla Mail provides you with disposable e-mail addresses which expire after 15 minutes. You can read and reply to e-mails that are sent to the temporary e-mail address within the given time frame.

Europe’s oldest astronomical observatory unearthed

German experts on Thursday hailed Europe’s oldest astronomical observatory, discovered in Saxony-Anhalt last year, a “milestone in archaeological research” after the details of the sensational find were made public.

The Air Car Becomes a Reality

How noisy would the world be powered by these?

By Chris Russell

The MiniC.A.T Air Car has been in development by Moteur Development International (MDI) for the last 14 years, resulting in an engine which will run on thin air. Understandably, MDI say this “could become one of the biggest technological advances of this century”.

The engine runs on compressed air and, with a single charge, will deliver 2000km worth of pollution free travel- although this assumes you’re driving under 60km/h, once you go faster than that you’ll start to burn fuel. Nonetheless, at speeds above 60km/h the car still produces less pollutant than your average.

Quite literally not a car for the petrol head then, but it sounds like great news for the environment. Just don’t tell Gordon Brown, lest he starts taxing us for air in the next budget!

No idea when the car will be released, but it could cost as little as £5,500 according to Metro

Dance, Monkey, Dance!

Click here to see the movie

2008 vs 1984

Amazing what people with talent and motivation can do. What will Apple’s legal army do?

Landmark carbon limits plan for UK

In its draft Climate Change Bill, the Government said carbon dioxide emissions had to be cut by at least 60 per cent by 2050, set out five-year carbon budgets to reach the target and created an independent monitoring committee to check annual progress.

Prime Minister Tony Blair put climate change at the top of the international agenda when Britain was head of the Group of Eight industrialised nations in 2005 and it could now become the first nation to limit emissions by statute.

…The draft bill will go to three months of public and parliamentary consultation before becoming law next year, but green campaigners want to raise the 2050 target to 80 per cent and set annual three per cent cut targets to ensure compliance.

…The Kyoto Protocol is a global pact on tackling carbon gas emissions from burning fossil fuels for power and transport that scientists say will boost average temperatures by between 1.8 and 4.0 degrees Celsius this century.

Pet tiger tears off woman’s arm

A pet Siberian tiger tore off a woman’s arm who was trying to feed the animal at a family farm in Montenegro today, a hospital official said.

Slavka Sekulovic, whose son keeps two of the rare animals at the property near the coastal town of Sutomore, was attacked by one of them during feeding, said doctor Zoran Srzentic.

The woman was brought to the hospital in “extreme traumatic shock, losing lots of blood,” Srzentic said.

EU takes aim at Apple’s iTunes

Reuters

European Union consumer chief Meglena Kuneva has hit out at Apple’s bundling of its popular iPod music players and its iTunes online music store, according to German weekly magazine Focus.

…They argue that Apple uses digital rights management technology to limit consumers’ free use of songs bought on iTunes, including the ability to copy and transfer songs to other users and other MP3 devices besides the Apple iPod.

Both at the national and EU levels, however, the issue has been looked at by consumer agencies rather than the competition watchdogs whose role it is to decide whether a business activity violates rules on fair competition.

Ford sells Aston Martin in $US925m deal

March 13, 2007 – 10:24AM

Ford is selling British luxury car maker Aston Martin to a group fronted by former Benetton and BAR motor racing boss David Richards in a deal worth 479 million pounds ($US925 million).

Australia’s richest man, James Packer was among the unsuccessful bidders.

The second-biggest US carmaker said on Monday it would retain a $US77 million investment in Aston Martin, the carmaker made famous by the James Bond spy films, and that it expected the deal to close during the second quarter of this year.