A paradise of birds a few kilometres from Lisbon (with video)

Between the estuary of the Tejo and the Lezíria de Vila Franca de Xira lies an area of birdwatching indispensable for anyone who wants to learn more about the biodiversity of the greater Lisbon.

The space is called EVOA and, here, the species and the landscapes change depending on the seasons. "The best time to see large quantities of birds is between November and February. In winter, the estuary of the Tejo receive up to 120 thousand birds at the same time â€" and this is the time par excellence for the show the flight of birds, "explained to the green economy EVOA Coordinator, Sandra Silva.

In addition to feeling the landscape and see the birds, visitors can also learn a little about the natural heritage of the region. Rain or shine, it is normal to see dozens of children on a school excursion through EVOA.

With 70 acres, three ponds and three observatories linked by a pedestrian rail, the project is yet to begin, but one of the major objectives is to attract foreign visitors interested in seeing the birds â€" and invest in tourism of Portuguese nature and on the outskirts of Lisbon.

Here are waterfowl, raptors and small birds. "It's a diamond in the middle of a densely urbanized, the Lisbon Metropolitan area", explained to the green economy's sustainability director, Franco Caruso.

Funded by the breeze, Companhia das Lezírias and for Community funds, the EVOA opened doors to the public in April. Since then received some 4,000 visitors. "This type of activity has been growing. According to Turismo de Portugal, there are growth rates of 4% per annum, although the Portuguese are now only known [the birdwatching] "continues Sandra Silva.

"In an area of the country where, probably, many children do not have a direct contact with nature, can move to a free space and EVOA and wild is a way to build the knowledge and the awareness of reality," concluded Franco Caruso.

EVOA space has the largest wetland of Portugal and one of the ten most important in Europe. A visit costs between € 5 and € 12, with special prices for family and groups. For € 40/year, bird watchers can enter whenever they want.

Meet the EVOA in episode 172 of the green economy.

Foto:  basykes / Creative Commons

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5 corporate strategies to improve urban mobility

Companies can change the mobility of cities, stipulating more flexible schedules for your employees or developing strategies to work from home. The subject has been, in recent years, the priorities not only of businesses and citizens but also of organizations such as the United Nations.

The UN, incidentally, has already said that by 2050, about 80% of the world's population will live in cities â€" and that something must be done to health, economy and well-being do not become hostage of the queues, traffic jams and urban chaos.

Some of the more chaotic metropolitan areas in the world are in Brazil â€" São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. Thus, it is no surprise that the country try to improve its urban mobility.

The last exam of the Sustainability Forum, held in São Paulo, listed five initiatives that organizations can adopt â€" Brazilian women and not only â€" to help improve mobility in the big cities. Keep the list.

1. flexible hours

Citizens will have more flexibility to enter later and leave later, too. This is one of the keys to the new urban mobility and is already used by many companies: it is established the amount of hours that the employee should fulfill in a week â€" and he rides his schedule the way we understand.

2. work from home

By allowing your employees to work at home during some days of the week, companies are helping to reduce the congestion in the cities. To this end, it is necessary that bosses and employees have a good relationship.

This measure was not implemented, however, in the United States, and should therefore be crafted carefully.

3. telecommunication systems

To gamble in telecommunication equipment that allows employees to conduct meetings without leaving the physical space of the company, these are helping to reduce traffic jams. With this option, the company also drastically reduces their costs.

4. incentive Policies

There are companies that promote carpooling to work â€" among employees who live near â€" and idas for bike, skateboard or even on foot. In these case, many companies have built showers and changing rooms for those who need a morning bath.

5. mobility plan

In Europe, there are several cities that have laws requiring companies to draw plans of mobility. Employees can also put pressure on companies to do it, contributing to a win-win situation â€" for the company, which receives an employee more motivated and punctual; and to the clerk, who spends less time in traffic and, in General, are more cheerful.

Foto:  Joel Müller / Creative Commons

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Poaching could wipe out a fifth of the population of African elephants in the next decade

In 2012, were killed illegally less than three thousand African elephants that in 2011, reveals a report from the Convention for international trade of Natural Flora and Fauna threatened with extinction (CITES, the acronym in English), which monitors several populations of elephants.

Although there has been a reduction, the number of dead animals due to hunting for the illegal trafficking of ivory amounts to 22 million in 2012, which equates a poaching rate (the proportion of elephants killed illegally in relation to the number of the total population) of 7.4%. This value of the poaching rate is superior to the natural increase of the population of African elephants, which does not exceed the 5% per annum. Faced with this high number of elephants killed illegally, CITES estimates that a fifth of the population of these elephants can be decimated in the next decade, referred to Quartz.

The seizure of illegal shipments of ivory, which trade analysts consider to be a good indicator of trends of poaching, increased slightly in 2012. But the number of seized illegal shipments as early as 2013 points so that the value is 20% higher compared to that of 2011. In addition to increasing the number of seizures, the amount of ivory confiscated shipment is also increasing. The amount of ivory confiscated this year is to be the largest of the last 25 years.

The decrease in the number of elephants killed illegally in 2012 may be related to the fact that the number of shipments of ivory being smaller in amount, but larger in volume, since the average weight of shipments increased 15% compared to 2011.

One of the main export markets of ivory is China. "Ultimately, the illegal slaughter of elephants for the ivory trade is driven and sustained by demand from consumers who are willing to pay for illegal ivory, as examined by the domestic consumption in China," said the report.

To combat the increase in poaching, elephants not only, but also of other protected species, the European Union approved this week a programme to improve the protection of elephants, great apes and rhinos in Africa, as well as other species such as sea turtles in the Caribbean and Pacific.

The programme should strengthen the monitoring of animal populations and poaching, help to strengthen the legal framework for poaching and allow the creation of an emergency response system for sudden increases of hunting and illegal trade.

The program â€" Minimising the Illegal Killing of Elephants and other Endangered Species (MIKES) â€" will be funded with €12,3 million for the period from 2014-2018 and will be implemented by CITES, in collaboration with several agencies of protection of African animal life.

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Sewers Chinese are feeding bacteria that no antibiotic can kill

Over the past few years, antibiotics have saved hundreds of millions of lives and prolonged billions of others. But, paradoxical as it may seem, by the increase in administration of antibiotics the bacteria are becoming more resilient, which may represent potential lethal consequences, both for humans and for animals.

Although some "super-bactérias" â€" as are known bacteria resistant to antibiotics â€" can be neutralized with special antibiotics there is the fear that others cannot.

An example of this resistance is the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1), an enzyme discovered in 2010 in India which causes bacteria such as Escherichia coli and salmonella to proliferate immune to antibiotics.

A recent study reveals that the sewage treatment plants in northern China are failing to kill bacteria containing NDM-1 and that are, in fact, makes them stronger.

"We see the waste treatment plants as a place of protection, to get rid of all these disease-causing used waters," says one of the study authors, Pedro Alvarez, Rice University, quoted by Quartz. "It turns out, however, that these microbes are eating their waste and to proliferate. Sewage treatment station out between four to five of these super-bactérias for every one who entered ".

In addition to the feed, treatment stations are helping bacteria to run rampant since the effluents that contain these bacteria are reintroduced into the environment. The study found an even greater concentration of these bacteria in residual sludge used as fertilizer.

Previous investigations revealed that bacteria containing the NDM-1 have been quite ineffective in transferring the enzyme for other bacteria. However, Pedro Alvarez and other researchers discovered that bacteria carriers of this enzyme can spread it to ' healthy ' bacteria-which means the NDM-1 can spread antibiotic resistance out of the sewage treatment stations.

"It's scary. There's no antibiotics that can kill, "says Alvarez. "We learned of its existence Only recently, when a Swede got infected in New Delhi, in India. Now, people are starting to realize that more and more tourists who try to climb the River Ganges are getting infected and cannot receive effective treatment, "reveals.

This is another study that highlights the importance of Governments or hospitals to reduce the administration of antibiotics for humans but also animals.

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China: company that sold contaminated milk returns to the market with organic products

Five years after the scandal of milk contaminated with melamine, the Chinese company Sanlu is back on the market a new segment â€" the organic products.

In 2008, recalled, Sanlu produced and marketed milk powder contaminated with melamine, which caused the deaths of six babies and poisoned more than 300 thousand children. The case, publicized internationally, led to the bankruptcy of the company and to life imprisonment of the former Director-General of the company.

Now, under a new management, the company is dedicated to the production and trade in organic products, like noodles or spaghetti corn-based. After the bankruptcy of the Sanlu Group, which was held in part by New Zealander Fronterra, the image and the registration of the mark were acquired by Xinhua Jiang, a private investor who now leads the Zhejiang Sanlu, the new owner of the company brand, writes the Quartz.

In an attempt to return to the market, the company revealed in November, a food fair, a small range of products based on buckwheat, corn and other cereals. Through the new line of products, the Zhejiang Sanlu is trying to get part of the revenue and popularity that Sanlu was one of the largest milk powder brands in the Chinese market.

"Our commercial objective is to revive the brand ' Sanlu ' and build a new world mark of organic cereal-based food," says marketing director of Zhejiang Sanlu, Yang Xiangdong. "We don't want to see a reputable brand with more than 50 years disappear in history", he adds.

The reintroduction of the brand through new products had so far little impact among Chinese consumers, who have not yet forgotten the scandal of 2008. "In the heart of the public, the Sanlu is practically a synonym of counterfeiting, shoddy and dangerous products," said Li Zhiqi, a marketing consultant in Beijing. "The value of this tag is almost zero," he stresses.

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Designer builds House in the forest from containers

Julio Garcia, artist and designer, built his home in a forest of Savannah, in the State of Georgia. To build the housing, the designer used two cargo containers recycled and transformed into a bright home.

The humble dwelling is the artistic haven of Garcia when he's not working in Miami or Brooklyn.  Housing, of 74.3 square meters, is composed of one bedroom, a kitchen and a large living area. The predominant color is the White House so that it can reflect the natural light that illuminates the House through the large Windows.

Both containers are connected by a wooden structure with two meters which is covered by a roof, highest Inhabitat.

The House also has a small terrace and wooden doors of containers can be opened, allowing an extension of the dwelling.

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The most read news 20 of 2013

The year isn't over yet, but we love lists. So, we decided to publish the list of the 20 most read news of the year. The list can be changed at any time, of course, but it's a very interesting source to realize what the likes of our readers â€" your tastes.

The list can also be leveraged for you, dear reader, to catch up on some "stories" that you passed throughout the year. Also these year-end lists turn out to contribute so much to our main goal to inform and reach more and more people.

Some of the news is from 2012, but remain with thousands of visitors. What shows the continuity of the online, even off the time when the information was published.

Biodiversity, employment, innovation and a bit of science fiction are the most viewed themes for our community. And the reader, I'd like to see covered themes in 2014? Comment-this news.



1. scientists discover finally what is the Appendix

2. Portuguese Tiago Barros Architect may have created the more sustainable means of transport ever

3. the community living in the tunnels of Las Vegas

4. the French girl who lived until the age of 10 in the African jungle

5. Fascinating ruined mansions all over the world

6. Eight bad habits responsible for backache

7. the most dangerous airport in the world

8. Belgium: there are 8,000 jobs to the Portuguese. Learn how to apply.

9. the Lake that turns the animals in calcified statues

10. Why do McDonald's left Bolivia?

11. English couple spends less than € 60 for the expenses of the House

12. the monk who lives alone at the top of a 40-foot monolith

13. East Timor needs more 34 teachers. Applications until February 13.

14. Dogs of the air force who guarded Prince William slaughtered after the mission

15. Students prove that plants die in the presence of wi-fi

16. what will the cities with rising sea levels?

17. Animal unknown to four meters gives the coast in southern Spain

18. Grotto with clouds inside discovery in China

19. amazing images captured by the world's most expensive camera

20. the cities and abandoned equipment from around the world

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